Our City Our World

NOTE: Because several of the answers to our quiz are contained in these bios, check with the questionnaire before editing any of these people out or trimming for space ....

Cora Hew:

She moved to Burma from China with her family when she was in high school. She came to the University of Manitoba and received her MA in economics. She married her husband in 1966 and both became high school teachers. She and a group of friends were concerned about how hard it was to teach their children about their culture and language so they organized the Manitoba Academy of Chinese Studies. She has volunteered at the school since 1974 and has served as president and principal. She also developed a Chinese language teaching curriculum for Manitoba high schools.

Judith and Maria Cheung: Judith is the chairwoman of the Falun Gong religious community at the University of Manitoba while her mother, Maria, is a professor of social work at the university who also practices the religion. They both protested outside the Bodies exhibition in 2010.

Patrick Choy:

He is an international leader in the study of heart disease and the dean of medicine at the University of Manitoba. He came to the U of M in 1979 as a researcher and professor in the biochemistry and medical genetics department and became the head of the department. His research has found connections between lipid metabolism, cardiac arrhythmias and atherosclerosis. He negotiated several agreements which allow students from Manitoba to study in China and Chinese students to study here. He has served as vice-president of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. He was inducted into the Order of Manitoba last year.

Mark Ki:

He came to Morden around 1918 and worked as a grocer. While there he showed his philanthropy by lending the local hospital the money it needed to pay its employees during the Depression. He was president and honorary life member of the Freemason's hospital board of Morden. He was honoured with the community's annual citizenship award in 1948. He died in Winnipeg in 1957.

Fang Wan:

She is an associate professor in marketing at the University of Manitoba. She is looking into the role of social influence in online consumer decision making and she has presented papers at the Conferences of the Association for Consumer Research and American Marketing Associations.

Wen Zhong:

She is an associate professor in the departments of textile sciences and medical microbiology. She specializes in research into biomedical materials including ones used for targeted drug delivery and biodegradable polymers. She was honoured with the 2011 Rh Award in Natural Sciences from the Winnipeg Rh Foundation.

Nancy Chow:

She is a geology professor at the University of Manitoba specializing in sedimentology. She is working to reconstruct the history of ancient Devonian reef evolution by looking at areas of Manitoba, Alberta and Australia.

Xiaochen Gu:

A professor in pharmacology at the University of Manitoba. He is best known for conducting a study on sun tan lotions which also contained bug repellant which found mixing the two could compromise the safety and effectiveness of both. He advises putting sunscreen on first and then putting bug repellent on half an hour later.

Feiyue Wang:

He has brought the Arctic to Winnipeg. He is a professor of environmental chemistry and he is studying how climate change is affecting sea ice. To do that he uses a special outdoor saltwater pool with various sensors on it to follow the formation of ice during winter.

Qiang Zhang:

He is a professor in the University of Manitoba's Biosystems Engineering Department. He is studying the buildings used to house livestock on farms including measuring the odour emissions from pigs using electronic nose technology. As well, he is designing a mobile mass euthanasia system for swine and poultry.

Xin Min Li:

He is the director of the Neuroscience Research Program at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Medicine. He is looking into the role of white matter and neurodegeneration in mood disorders and schizophrenia by using microMRI imaging and other techniques. He is also evaluating the therapeutic potential of natural compounds on strokes, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and ALS.

Xi Yang:

He is a professor in medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Manitoba and the Canada Research Chair in Infection and Immunity. He is currently studying the mystery of why it is that when countries reduce infectious diseases, there is a increase in allergies and asthma and is working on developing a vaccine for human chlamydial infection.

Dennis Wong:

His practice is at the CD Whyte Ridge Pharmacy and he has been said to be arguably the country's highest paid pharmacist because he charges $200 per hour for one-on-one consultations with women living with menopause. He credits actress Suzanne Somers with motivating

him through her books telling women to look

for new ways to relieve their symptoms. He was

named compounding pharmacist of the year in

2011 by the Professional Compounding Centers of

America Canadian division.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 28, 2012 J15