An existing partnership between Caritas and the University of Alberta departments has graduated to a new status. On December 2, 2002, a new Endowed Research Chair aimed at enhancing biomechanical engineering education and research in Canada was officially established and celebrated at the University of Alberta's Faculty Club.

The COMPRU/Westaim/ASRA Chair in Interfacial Biomechanics in the Faculty of Engineering formalizes and underscores an already successful research partnership between COMPRU (Craniofacial Osseointegration and Maxillofacial Prosthodontic Rehabilitation Unit) and the Faculty of Engineering. This "is the most significant development affecting COMPRU since the establishment of the Unit," notes Dr. John Wolfaardt, Co-Director of COMPRU.

Located at the Misericordia, COMPRU provides highly specialized care to people born with parts of the head and neck missing, or to those who have lost some of these features through cancer or injury. Research at COMPRU involves both basic science and applied research. Research in basic science has been conducted in areas such as cell biology, biochemistry and engineering. Applied research investigations have included a wide range of studies in relation to head and neck reconstruction. A considerable portion of COMPRU research relies on the expertise of biomedical engineers, who apply engineering and the basic sciences to the solution of problems arising in medicine and biology.

'We still have so many research questions in the area of interfacial biomechanics," Dr. Wolfaardt continues. "for example, a major focus of COMPRU involves the use of titanium implants that are surgically placed in the bones of the head and neck and connected through the skin to act as an anchor for prostheses of the face, jaws and special hearing aids. We need to better understand what makes the bones surrounding the implant fail or succeed. The research we'll be doing in partnership with the Faculty of Engineering will help us, for instance, to design better implants. Having a dedicated Chair in this area ensures that scientifically-based research will guide changes to our clinical procedures, strengthening the link between the academic and clinical practice."
"To have a permanently established link between engineering and a clinical research unit is very unique," notes Dr. Faulkner, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, "I see it as a huge sign of promise that investment in research is seen by Caritas as vital to growth in the ability to improve patient care."

Dr. Gail Thornton, whose research at the University of Calgary involved study of the mechanics of ligaments, is the first to hold the new position of Chair. "I'm enthusiastic about this partnership,” notes Dr. Thornton. "It gives our graduate students access to a clinical research lab at COMPRU and COMPRU a research lab at the university. I'm also pleased that it merges the academic with the clinical, helping our graduate students to appreciate the bench to bedside aspect of their work."

Who relied on student fees to support themselves. The first Chairs were created to free the masters from the vagaries of this dependence, knowledge. Endowed Chairs or professorships are financed from year to year by interest drawn from a banked sum of money, usually money donated for that specific purpose.