Journalists can be a tough group to impress, much less corner for nearly two days in the midst of tight news deadlines. Despite these odds, close to 20 journalists recently participated in CIHR's first-ever workshop for media, held in Toronto.

Freelancers and reporters from outlets such the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, CBC Television, CBC Radio and Macleans heard presentations by 12 of Canada's leading experts in the field of genetics. The event marked the first of a series of future CIHR workshops on health research topics.

The workshop covered a wide range of themes relevant to genetics. Subjects included genetics and drug discovery, stem cells, genetically complex diseases, cancer genetics and genetics and health care. Expert speakers included researcher and entrepreneur Dr. Michael Hayden (University of British Columbia), Alzheimer's researcher Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop (University of Toronto) and bioethicist Dr. Bartha Maria Knoppers (Université de Montreal and Dr. Roderick McInnes, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Genetics.

According to a post-workshop survey, the workshop was very favorably reviewed by the attending journalists. About 55% of the attendees ranked it as "very valuable" and another 39% rated it as valuable. Dr. Rosanna Weksberg of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, delivered a particularly well-received presentation on the subject of epigenetics. DNA is the code of life, but Dr. Weksberg's talk highlighted that when this code is not read properly there can be any number of outcomes. The talk also pointed to research suggesting that exposure to environmental factors can create changes in how the body reads its genetic code.

Despite good-natured complaints about the early morning start of the workshop, the majority of participants said they look forward to another such event.

Journalists and science writers have frequently requested help in making sense of highly specialized and complex fields of health research, such as genetics. Effective coverage of health research news tells a compelling and balanced story, but also helps audiences understand the underlying research and issues around the science. The workshop on genetics was developed to help journalists find this balance. CIHR plans to offer more of these workshops on different topics. Journalists and science writers who are interested in attending future workshops can send a message to the CIHR media relations email media@cihr-irsc.gc.ca asking to be placed on a notification list.

The CIHR Institute of Genetics and CIHR Corporate Communications organized the workshop, with the guidance of Carolyn Abraham, health reporter for the Globe and Mail.

Final Workshop Agenda

1st CIHR Science Writers Workshop: Genetics