Science Journalism Research Group
University of British Columbia, Canada
Tel: (604) 822-8747
Fax: (604) 822-6707  info@sciencejournalism.net



Pleiades Promoter Project
UBC School of Journalism
Journalism Ethics for
the Global Citizen
   

FEATURE ARTICLE ::

Science Journalism Program at UBC
In the fall of 2006, the UBC School of Journalism (SOJ) at the University of British Columbia established a science journalism program after Prof. Stephen Ward was awarded funding for research into science journalism, especially the communication of controversial science such as genomics.

The program will benefit not only students who intend to specialize in reporting on science and technology, but also students who simply want to learn more about reporting on this complex and important area of society.

The research project funds research and workshops, establishes a graduate course in science journalism and provides financial assistance to students who intend to become science journalists, among other benefits. The research is conducted by the Science Journalism Research Group at the SOJ, under the direction of Professor Ward.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROJECT

· A 3-credit science journalism course offered each winter term (January-April) that is open to SOJ students and a limited number of UBC science students.

· An annual $10,000 scholarship awarded to leading science journalism students in the SOJ program, or to science –orientated students who have been admitted to the first-year of the School’s program.

· Participation in the research project. The research project includes data collection, interviewing, the design of methods, the public communication of results and related activities.

· Participation in helping to organize and stage public events associated with the project, such as workshops, conferences and public presentations.

The science journalism initiative is part of a $10.2 million, four-year gene therapy program – the Pleiades Promoter Project – led by Dr. Elizabeth M. Simpson and an international team of scientific researchers. The science journalism project is the “GE3LS” component of the Pleiades Promoter Project and is funded by Genome Canada. “GE3LS” refers to research into the ethical, economic and social issues arising from genomics.

The Pleiades Promoter Project

Prof. Simpson is lead principal investigator for the Pleiades Promoter Project. She is Canada Research Chair in Genetics and Behaviour at UBC, and a senior scientist at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics in Vancouver. The Pleiades Project aims to develop a better, more flexible and safer set of tools for delivery of genes into the brain. The Pleiades Promoter Project is designed to help scientists, clinical researchers and the pharmaceutical industry develop new gene therapies for a broad range of common brain disorders such as Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, depression, addiction, ADHD, and autism resulting in improved control, specificity and tolerability of current gene delivery mechanisms. The brain study is one of the largest investments in gene therapy research in Canadian history.

The Science Journalism Research Group

Prof. Ward is the Director and an Associate Professor of journalism ethics at the UBC School of Journalism. He is an internationally recognized expert in media ethics and is the author of The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. The book won the 2005-2006 Harold Adams Innis Prize for the best English-language book in the social sciences, from the Federation for the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

The Science Journalism Research Group is:

Prof. Stephen J. A. Ward, Ph.D., Director, UBC School of Journalism

Eric W. Jandciu, M.Sc., M.J., Research Coordinator

Gwen Preston, scholarship recipient, researcher and SOJ graduate student

Jeffrey Helm, scholarship recipient, researcher and SOJ graduate student

Contact

Prof. Ward at (604) 822-6682 or sjward@interchange.ubc.ca

Eric Jandciu at (604) 822-8747 or jandciu@interchange.ubc.ca

For information on the Pleiades Promoter Project, go to www.pleiades.org


  
 
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