Local News
Noted Winnipeg doctor Brent Schacter recognized for leading role in developing standardized testing for technologists in new research sub-specialty

By MYRON LOVE
In a lengthy career, cancer specialist Dr. Brent Schacter has always been a leader in expanding the boundaries of medical research and preventive medicine.
As noted in Eva Wiseman’s “Healing Loves: A Century of Manitoba Jewish Physicians”, during his tenure as president and CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, Schacter initiated a breast cancer screening program for Manitoba, strengthened clinical epidemiology and health services research, implemented an electronic medical records system through the Community Cancer Program Network, and oversaw the design and construction of the new CancerCare Building on McDermot.
Nationally, in more recent years, he has been CEO of the Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies and the Canadian Tumour Repository Network, – the latter, he explains, a network of biobanks across Canada.
Biobanks are coĺlections of biological samples and data for research purposes, in particular for the study of complex diseases. Although retired from teaching at the University of Manitoba Rady Faculty of Medicine for four years and from clinical practice since June 2018, Schacter has continued to be involved in the area of biobanking – specifically as part of an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) writing group which has created a new global standard and benchmark for biobanking ( ISO 20387) and as part of the joint ISBER (International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories)/ASCP BOC (American Society of Clinical Pathology Board of Certification). team that collaborated to produce the QBRS (Qualification in Biorepository Science) exam.
This spring, Schacter was honoured with the ISBER Special Services Award for 2020 for his leadership role in the development of the QBRS Examination.
“I am very pleased that ISBER has chosen to honour me for my efforts in this initiative,” he says.
Biobanking, he explains, is still a relatively new area of biomedical research. The field involves the extraction and study of human tissue in order to detect abnormalities at the molecular level and in the development of designer drugs to alleviate disease resulting from these abnormalities.
“For research purposes,” he observes, “we require standardized methods to ensure that the results we produce are valid. Because Biobanking is only a few years old, until now, we have not had those standardized measures in the training of highly-skilled technologists. Until now, different medical labs have trained their own staff members according to their own methods.”
Schacter reports that the team that he was working with completed the standardized course in early January and posted it online worldwide. “The course serves as a benchmark qualification for the skills required to direct, manage and maintain a biobank for tissues required in biomedical research and animal or environmental research,” he explains. “It is a new instrument to improve the quality of biobanking, which is essential for progress in biomedicine and science generally.”
He adds that the first five applicants– three in the United States and two in Hong Kong – successfully passed the exam in April.
(QBRS certificate holders are required to revalidate their standing every three years through continuous education.)
The ISBER award, he notes, was supposed to have been presented in April at the AGM scheduled for Anaheim but, due to the pandemic, the conference was changed to a virtual affair in May. Schacter expects that the award will be mailed out to him.
He was previously honoured seven years ago by the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University. Schacter is a past president of the Winnipeg chapter and is still a member of the national board. He played a leading role in establishing a collaborative research project between the Hebrew University and the University of Manitoba investigating Fetal Alchohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
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First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”

