Researchers and trainees engage with experts in a dynamic half-day event.
SOURCE: RI-MUHC
October 9, 2024
On October 1 the Centre for Translational Biology (CTB) Technology Platforms of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) held their annual Platform Expo. This highly anticipated half-day event highlighted the institute's cutting-edge platform facilities, offering the research community insights into the latest technologies and services designed to accelerate innovative research initiatives.
“The Platform Expo is an exceptional opportunity for our skilled team to connect with researchers,” says Patrice Vaillancourt, general manager of the technology platforms. “This year, we’re particularly excited to give centre stage to the researchers and trainees who presented their outstanding work, highlighting how advanced technology and expert advice from the platforms propelled their research. Science was the driving force, with innovation and discovery taking the spotlight.”
This event brought together over 160 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff and scientists from the RI-MUHC, McGill University, other Montreal research institutions and industry professionals participating both in-person and online.
“The importance of the expo for informing the scientific community about the technology offered by the platforms cannot be overstated, as it provides updates and insights on current scientific advancements and opportunities for exploration,” says Carolyn Baglole, PhD, director of the Histopathology Platform and scientist in the Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases (RESP) Program at the RI-MUHC. “These platforms have provided my trainees with unique opportunities to learn from experts skilled in cutting-edge technology, resources that would otherwise be out of their (and my) reach.”
“PLATFORM EXPO24 was a highly interesting event that truly showcased the advantages for researchers of working with platforms that have cutting-edge equipment and demonstrated expertise. It is a model we strongly believe in at Génome Québec and I was glad to have the opportunity to network with other platforms that complement our service offerings,” says Frederick Robidoux, associate director, client management at Génome Québec.
The event kicked off with Tyler Lalonde, Small Animal Imaging Labs Platform Manager, who emphasized the importance and the value of leveraging multidisciplinary platforms to advance research projects. Joanna Przybyl, PhD, from the Cancer Research Program, then discussed how the support of the Centre for Applied Nanomedicine and the Proteomics and Molecular Analysis platforms were instrumental in aiding her research on liquid biopsy testing. Rima Slim, PhD, from the Child Health and Human Development Program, explained how Histopathology and Molecular Imaging platforms significantly contributed to advancing her research on the genetics of various forms of fetal loss. Research associates and trainees then had the opportunity to showcase their emerging research. Augusto Montezano from Dr. Rhian Touyz’s lab, José Joao Mansure from Dr. Wassim Kassouf’s lab, Tho-Alfakar Al-Aubodah from Prof. Ciriaco Piccirillo’s and Dr. Tomoko Takano’s labs, and Sarah Danchuk from Dr. Marcel Behr’s lab, all highlighted the critical support they received from various platforms. These included Small Animal Imaging Labs, McGill Integrated Core in Animal Modeling, Immunophenotyping, Molecular Imaging, Containment Level 3, Biobank and Histopathology platforms, which all played crucial roles in advancing their research.
The event was capped by a keynote address from returning speaker Dr. Steven Laplante, Professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique and founder of NMX Research and Solutions. His talk, titled "Discovering Drug Leads and Chemical Biology Tools by Practical NMR Strategies," gave insights on the importance of platforms, strategies for establishing and maintaining them, and how they have contributed to his own research.
The expo concluded with an engaging expo at the platform kiosks, where participants interacted with experts from various technology platforms, including the Biobank, Bioinformatics, Centre for Applied Nanomedicine, Containment Level 3, Histopathology, Immunophenotyping, Molecular Imaging, Proteomics and Molecular Analysis and Small Animal Imaging Labs, as well as the Animal Resources Division and McGill Integrated Core in Animal Modeling.
We would like to thank Patrice Vaillancourt, Lise Sirois and the Platform Expo Organizing Committee for their efforts in planning yet another successful event.
