Prof. John Chang Symposium
Date: Monday, May 15, 2023
Venue: Room 2115 (Lecture Theater), Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan Campus, 52 Campus Drive
All CSZ 2023 registrants are welcome to attend this symposium. No separate registration is required.
This satellite symposium is organized to celebrate the research contributions and academic career of Prof. John Chang (University of Alberta), a pioneering comparative endocrinologist and mentor, and past president of the CSZ, who is retiring from active service later this year.
Biography
Dr. John Philip Chang obtained his BSc and MSc degrees in Zoology from the University of Manitoba, and his PhD in Zoology from the University of Alberta. Following post-doctoral training at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, he took up his academic post at the University of Alberta in 1987, attaining the rank of full professor in 1995. Since 2002, he has also held an adjunct professorship at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary.
Dr. Chang’s research focuses on the characterization of intracellular signalling mechanisms mediating the synthesis and secretion of gonadotropin and growth hormone by multiple neuroendocrine factors in goldfish. Results points to the differential involvement of signal transduction cascades in a function-, ligand-, and cell-specific manner, as well as a role for biased signalling by naturally occurring neuropeptide (GnRH) isoforms.
He was awarded the Grace Pickford Medal by the International Federation of Comparative Endocrinological Societies in 1997, and elected a Fellow of the North American Society of Comparative Endocrinology in 2022.
Dr. Chang has published over 180 primary research articles to date. In terms of administration, he has served as Associate Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, U of A (2001-2004, 2010), leader for the departmental Physiology and Cell Biology Research Interest Group, and undergraduate student advisor for the Physiology & Developmental Biology honors and specialization programs. In addition to services on local and provincial scholarships selection panels, he has also served on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada Discovery Grant Program grant selection committee and restructuring subcommittee at the federal level (2004-2009).
Dr. Chang was a member of the Board of Editors for General and Comparative Endocrinology from 1991 to 2012, and has been an Associate Editor for this journal since 2012. He has also served as a councillor and executive member of Canadian Society of Zoologists (Councillor: 2003-2006, 2nd VP: 2007-2008, 1st VP: 2008-2009; President: 2009-2010; Past President: 2010-2011), member of council for the International Federation of Comparative Endocrinological Societies (2009-2017), and as a member of council and officer of the North American Society of Comparative Endocrinology (Councillor: 2009-2015; Chair of Awards Committee: 2011-2015; Vice President: 2015-2017; President: 2017-2019; Past President: 2019-2021; Chair of Fellows Review Committee: 2022-present).
Source: http://www.isocce.org/john-chang.html (with permission from Prof. JP Chang)
Confirmed Symposium Speakers
- Chun Peng, Professor & Research Chair, York University, Toronto, Ontario
- Hamid R Habibi, Professor, University of Calgary, Alberta
- Vance Trudeau, Professor & Research Chair, University of Ottawa, Ontario
- Anderson OL Wong, Professor, The University of Hong Kong
- James D. Johnson, Professor & Deputy Director, Life Sciences Institute, UBC
- Joshua Pemberton, NICHD, USA
- Enezi Khalid, Chang Lab, Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta