BIG CITY, BIG EVENTS, BIG AMENITIES, BIG FUTURE PROGRESS 2019  Page 12


‘Scientists of his calibre are rarely available’ Canada150ResearchChairDemeler stokesUofL’s researchaspirations


Tim Kalinowski LETHBRIDGE HERALD


tkalinowski@lethbridge herald.com


uspended in solution, turned at a centrifugal force of 100,000 g and observed in the ultra-


violet spectrum, particles at the atomic level settle out and reveal something of their true natures for researchers to observe, measure, record and discuss. For much of the last 25


years, German-born bio- physicist BorriesDemeler worked at theUniversity of TexasHealth Science Center in San Antonio.He was arguably the leading expert in his field of analytical ultracentrifugation—he had a nice office and awell- funded lab at a respected medical school in a niche area of research that all but ensured his long-term employment and stability. Looking fromthe outside,


an observer would have been pardoned for thinking Demeler had beenwell- settled and measured himself. After all—didn’t he already have everything he could want? Evidently not.When the


Canada 150 Research Chair came up for bid at the University of Lethbridge, Demeler cast away 25 years of comfortable employment and well-established funding streams in a instant for a chance at something strange, new and exciting. “Way back when I first


came to the U.S., Imoved to Montana,” recallsDemeler. “I went to undergraduate


Herald photo by Ian Martens


Canada 150 Chair Borries Demeler, seenwith research associate Amy Henrickson, is one of theworld's leading researchers on AUC technology.


school there and back then the dollar exchange rate was favourable for buying airline tickets out of Calgary.We would drive through Lethbridge; so I knew where Lethbridge was. I was aware of Lethbridge, but I was not aware there was a university here. I didn’t learn that until 2017 when this position came open.” To gain a researcher of Demeler’s stature is of


immeasurable importance to the university. “This truly promises to be


one of themost impactful additionswe’ve made to our faculty,” acknowledged ErasmusOkine, the university’s vice-president (research), at the time of Demeler’s appointment to the Canada 150 Chair. “Scientists of his calibre are rarely available, and the opportunities his research


programwill create here at theUof L and for Canadian researchers in general are incredible” And while modest,Demeler


also acknowledges the mutual benefits. “I hope what it means is


added exposure and more awareness among students that there is top-notch research being done here,” Demeler states. “This is a seven-year position so that


means for seven years there will be guaranteed funds.You can do some long range planning around that.” ForDemeler, it all comes


down to collaboration. In fact, without collaboration, the amazing instrument of his advanced Center for AnalyticalUltracentrifugation ofMacromolecular Assemblies (CAUMA) lab, which he has now reproduced at theUniversity of Lethbridge, is like owning a Stradivarius violin without having anyone to play it. “What I really enjoy about science in general is the interaction with other scientists,”Demeler confirms. “Whether they are here at this university or the other universities I travel to. Working with other bright people, and collaborating, that is the best thing.” Besides work he is doing


with theUof L’s own AARTI, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and various other departments, Demeler has, in his first year as the Canada 150 Research Chair, begunmore than 40 other collaborations with research projects at post- secondary institutions across Canada, theUnited States, England, India and Germany. “To me coming to the


University of Lethbridge seemed like a great opportunity to get into a real university (undergraduate research) environment,” he says. “Because I was at a medical school, it was a difficult place to find students whowere interested in this type of research. I hoped when I came here it would be much easier—and it has turned out to be that way.”


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