The 2019 event focused on translational research across the lifespan in parasitology, autoimmune diseases and HIV
Oct. 8, 2019
Source: RI-MUHC. The Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program (IDIGH) of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) held its fifth annual Research Symposium on October 4.
Since its inauguration in 2015, the IDIGH Symposium has catalyzed and promoted interactions among program members and guests from numerous institutions. These synergies help to make the IDIGH Program an international leader in translational research in the field of infection and immunity.
The 2019 symposium focused on translational research across the lifespan in parasitology, autoimmune diseases and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). Four top-level scientists were invited speakers, and we are grateful to them for sharing their expertise in the following fields:
- Kevin Kain, MD (University of Toronto)—Parasitology
- Sharon Walmsley, MD (University of Toronto)—HIV and clinical trials
- Charu Kaushic, PhD (McMaster University)—Immune responses to sexually transmitted viruses
- Katherine A. Siminovitch, MD (University of Toronto)—Molecular mechanisms of autoimmune diseases.
The IDIGH Symposium aims to provide a platform for participants to interact, exchange research ideas and initiate new collaborations in the area of infectious diseases, immunity and global health. This year it drew 293 registrants from more than 40 academic research departments, centres, institutions and companies. These included graduate students, established researchers, highly qualified research professionals, and representatives of companies providing lab equipment, drugs, chemicals, new technologies and services.
The synergies emerging from this year’s event again point toward new and innovative collaborations, not only among the RI-MUHC and McGill University groups, but also in the larger Canadian and international global health communities. This ecosystem contributes to the training of our students, who will become the experts of tomorrow.
Fifth annual IDIGH Symposium at the Research Institute of the MUHC (Oct. 4, 2019)To highlight the excellence of IDIGH trainees, the competition chair Martin Olivier, PhD, announced the awardees of the 2019 IDIGH Travel Awards Competition. The trainees who will showcase their work on national and international stages are:
- Mikashmi Kohli, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, supervisor: Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD)
- $2,000 to attend the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health, India
- Adam Hassan (PhD candidate, supervisor: Momar Ndao, PhD)
- $1,500 to attend the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, National Harbor, USA
- George Dong (PhD candidate, supervisor: Martin Olivier, PhD)
- 500$ to attend CRISPR 2019, Quebec
- Kariane St-Denis (M.Sc. candidate, supervisor: Theresa Gyorkos, PhD)
- $1,000 to attend the Canadian Conference for Global Health, Ottawa.
Congratulations to the awardees!
The IDIGH Program would like to thank the sponsors who generously contributed to this event and representatives from 25 companies who took an active part in the vendor show:
