CNMSRSspeakers

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	CNMSRS Speakers June 5th, 2013 CNMSRS Schedule
		Dr.Christopher Power, Neurologist University of Alberta Canada Research Chair in Neurological Infection and Immunity Research involves Using neuroimaging, molecular biology, and nanotechnologies - with an interdisciplinary team approach - to study infectious and immune diseases of the brain. Research relevance The research is deepening our knowledge of infectious and immune diseases of the brain, especially HIV dementia and multiple sclerosis. Fighting Diseases of the Brain One in ten Canadians suffers a disabling disease of the brain, often caused by a neurological infectious or immune disease (NIIDs). The brain is particularly vulnerable to this kind of damage because of its circumscribed and interdependent structures and its lack of resident lymphoid cells for protection. There are plenty of NIIDs to go around. NIIDs include major global infections - cerebral malaria and tuberculous meningitis - as well as West Nile virus, prion diseases, poliovirus, and measles. Other immune diseases of the brain include systemic lupus erythematosis, hemorrhagic stroke, and two diseases of special interest to neuroscientist Dr. Christopher Power: HIV-associated dementia and multiple sclerosis. Power has long concentrated on clarifying the molecular bases of these diseases early in the course of their development. Although their primary causes differ, both exhibit neural cell stress, neuroinflammation with ensuing neurodegeneration, culminating ultimately in cell death, similar to the outcomes of other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. As a Canada Research Chair, Power is developing a world-class research centre at the University of Alberta where a self-perpetuating "circle of research," involving both the clinic and the laboratory, is at work. The centre's chief goal is the translation of research findings into clinical benefits through an improved understanding of disease mechanisms and better diagnostic tools. Thanks to Power, we are one step closer to effective treatment of these diseases.
		Brian Postl, MD Dean, Faculty of Medicine ‘Burgeoning Career Opportunities for Clinician Scientists’ Dr. Brian Postl's five-year term as Professor and Dean, Faculty of Medicine, began July 1, 2010. Dr. Postl succeeds Dr. J. Dean Sandham as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Postl is a graduate of the University of Manitoba. He received his doctor of medicine degree in 1976 and the Royal College Fellowship in Community Medicine and in Pediatrics in 1981 and 1982, respectively. He was the founding president and CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA), a position he held for 10 years. Dr. Postl has served as head of Pediatrics and Child Health and as head of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. He has also served as director of the J.A. Hildes Northern Medical Unit, a division of community and northern medicine, and as director of the Faculty of Medicine’s community medical residency program. His research, published works and professional involvement focus on Aboriginal child health, circumpolar health and human resource planning. His contributions in these areas, combined with his experience as a visiting pediatrician to communities in northern Manitoba and Nunavut, contributed to him earning the Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centre’s Child Health Award of Distinction in 2006 and the Inter-Professional Association on Native Employment’s Champion of Aboriginal Employment award in 2007. Dr. Postl serves on a number of committees and boards of provincial and national associations, foundations, institutes and other organizations. He was inducted as a fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2011 and invested in the Order of Manitoba in 2012.
		Dr. Mike Williams Graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1988 with the degree Bachelor of Science, Genetics (Honours) and graduated from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas with a Doctorate in Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1994. Following graduation, Mike was employed as a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1996, Mike joined Ade & Company as a technical consultant and successfully completed the Canadian Patent Agent examination, so as to become a registered Patent Agent in Canada and USA in 1998. Mike's area of practice is biotechnology and he has prepared and successfully prosecuted patent applications in USA, Canada and foreign countries for pharmaceutical compounds, nutraceuticals, lotions, chemical compositions, medical devices, diagnostic methods and recombinant DNA patents.
		Dr. Laura Wilson Dr. Laura Wilson, PhD, is Director of Grants at Barts and the London Charity, UK. In this role she leads development of research funding strategies to enhance high standards of hospital care, as well as original research found to be of major importance to health. Historically Barts was established to help alleviate pain and suffering for the poor and needy within the City of London and the East End. William Harvey discovered the circulation of the blood at Barts in 1609. Barts Health NHS Trust builds on this rich history of pioneering healthcare to provide the very best in patient care, medical research and staff and student development. Dr Wilson obtained her a doctorate in Immunology from the University of Manitoba working with Dr. Xi Yang. Her research addressed the hypothesized link between prevalence of infectious disease and the prevalence of allergy in westernised countries. Following her PhD, she was recruited to NIH where she was active in grant review and management for 6 years at the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Disease, Division of Allergy, Immunology & Transplantation. There, her focus was primarily on funding multi-million dollar grants and contracts to improve responses of immune compromised individuals to the annual flu vaccine and development of successful HIV vaccines.
		Dr. Peter Nickerson, BSc, MD, FRCPC Associate Dean, Research (Medicine) Dr. Peter Nickerson is a Clinical Nephrologist and Professor of Internal Medicine and Immunology and the Associate Dean (Research) at the University of Manitoba. He is the Executive Medical Director, Organs and Tissue Office, Canadian Blood Services (CBS). Dr. Nickerson obtained his MD, Internal Medicine, and Nephrology training at the University of Manitoba, followed by a Transplant Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School from 1991 to 1995. Dr. Nickerson currently holds the Flynn Family Chair in Renal Transplantation at the University of Manitoba. His clinical research focuses on developing non-invasive techniques for diagnosis of renal allograft rejection; mechanisms underlying acute and chronic rejection; and health care system design to enhance access to transplant.
	CSHRF Speakers June 6th, 2013 CSHRF Schedule
		Dr. Lee Hood Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA "A Systems Approach to Disease, the Emergence of Transformational Technologies, the Challenge of Big Data and Proactive P4 Medicine"
		Dr. Marco Essig University of Heidelberg Medical School, Germany "Data and Protocol Management in Functional MR Imaging of the Brain"
		Dr. Iain Fraser National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD "Exploring Immune Signaling Systems with High Throughput, High Content Screening"
		Dr. Thomas Gingeras Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Laurel Hollow, NY "Communication Inside and Outside Cells via RNA"
		Dr. Curtis Huttenhower Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA "Bug Bytes: Bioinformatics for the Human Microbiome in Health and Disease"