The LMP Research Conference and product show 2021

The LMP research conference banner

Our annual Research Day celebrates the research conducted within the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology and is organised by a steering committee comprised of learners across a variety of programs.

This conference provides a networking opportunity between graduate students, residents, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, as well as faculty, through research engagement and topical seminars.

We will be recognizing ongoing research conducted by graduate students, postgraduate trainees, and postdoctoral fellows through poster and oral presentations.

The conference took place on Thursday, May 20, 2021: read all about it in LMP Research Day: a virtual success

Watch the keynote address by Dr. Allison McGeer: The COVID-19 Pandemic After a Year – What has been accomplished? Where are we going?

The Agenda

You can download this agenda as a PDF

Time Topic/event
8:15 – 8:30

Welcome Address

Dr. Michael Ohh

8:35 – 9:55

Poster Session (A)

Students and learners of LMP

10:00 – 10:45

Oral Presentations – Session I

  • Marc Shenouda
  • Daniel Vasic
  • Dr. Shirley Yu
10:45 – 10:55 Break
11:00 – 12:00

Keynote Speaker: The COVID-19 Pandemic After a Year – What has been accomplished? Where are we going?

Dr. Allison McGeer

12:00– 12:45

Mid-day break and Exhibit Hall tours with sponsored vendors

12:50 – 14:10

Poster Session (B)

Students and learners of LMP

14:15 – 15:15

Oral Presentations – Session II

  • Ruilin Wu
  • Dr. Jana Dengler
  • Ryan Hiebert
  • Saher Panjwani
15:15 – 15:25 Break
15:30 – 16:30

Power Hour - concurrent seminars

Dr. Samira Mubareka: From Zoonotic Origins to VOCs, SARS-COV-2 Plasticity and Pandemics

Dr. Theo Moraes: Challenges Translating Research to Impact the Patient: Three Examples Spanning Basic Science to Epidemiology

Dr. Michael Seidman: Autopsies during COVID-19 era

Dr. Phedias Diamandis: Resolving molecular heterogeneity with artificial intelligence: automation and discovery

16:35 – 17:05

Award Reception and closing remarks

 

Speaker biographies

Keynote speaker: Dr. Allison McGeer

The COVID-19 Pandemic After a Year – What has been accomplished? Where are we going?

Dr. McGeer trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Toronto, then completed a fellowship in hospital epidemiology at Yale New Haven Hospital in 1989/90. Dr. McGeer is the director of infection control, and a microbiologist and infectious disease consultant at the Mount Sinai Hospital. She has been a member of Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization, and is currently a member of the infection control subcommittee of the Ontario Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee.

Dr McGeer’s primary areas of research interest are:

  • the prevention of healthcare-associated infection
  • the epidemiology of influenza
  • adult immunization.

 

Power Hour Speaker: Dr. Samira Mubareka

From Zoonotic Origins to VOCs, SARS-COV-2 Plasticity and Pandemics

Dr. Mubareka completed her MD at Dalhousie University in 1999 and Internal Medicine training in 2002 at McGill University in Canada. She specialized in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at the University of Manitoba (2005). She went on to a research fellowship at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Palese, Department of Microbiology (2009). Dr. Mubareka focused on the development of a novel animal model for the transmission of the influenza virus, developing an interest in the aerobiology of virus transmission, which remains a focus of her work.

Dr. Mubareka is currently a Clinician-Scientist, Medical Microbiologist, and Infectious Disease consultant at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is also an Assistant Professor in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

 

Power Hour Speaker: Dr. Theo Moraes

Challenges Translating Research to Impact the Patient: Three Examples Spanning Basic Science to Epidemiology

Dr. Theo Moraes graduated from medical school in 1997 (Toronto) and then completed his paediatric residency (Kingston) and paediatric respirology fellowship (Toronto) before pursuing his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Downey and a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Tania Watts.

His research focuses on respiratory epithelial biology, respiratory viruses, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. Dr. Moraes is the Toronto Site Director for the CHILD Cohort Study, a prospective longitudinal birth cohort study that aims to understand the genetic and environmental determinants of asthma and allergy. He is a member of the Program for Individualized CF Therapy (CFIT) which aims to advance personalized therapy in CF. He is a member of the Tobacco Action Committee at the American Thoracic Society and has a long-standing interest in advocacy around smoking and vaping cessation.

 

Power Hour Speaker: Dr. Michael Seidman

Autopsies during COVID19 era

Dr. Seidman received his B.A., M.D., and Ph.D. from Cornell University, and completed residency and clinical fellowships at Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School. He worked in Vancouver as a cardiovascular, autopsy, and rheumatologic pathologist and clinician investigator prior to relocating to a similar role at the University Health Network.

His research background is in vascular biology, immunology, and molecular genetics. Currently, his research is primarily collaborative, with foci on translational and clinical aspects of cardiovascular medicine and rheumatology.

Major foci include:

  • valvular disease (particularly bioprosthetic valves)
  • inflammatory cardiomyopathies
  • vasculitis
  • IgG4-related disease.

Power Hour Speaker: Dr. Phedias Diamandis

Resolving molecular heterogeneity with artificial intelligence: automation and discovery

Dr. Diamandis completed his combined MD/PhD and residency training in neuropathology at the University of Toronto. His graduate work focused on designing high-throughput screening platforms to chemically profile neural precursors. This work resulted in the identification of novel regulators of neural and cancer stem cell function. Following the completion of his training in 2016, he was hired as a Neuropathologist at the University Health Network.

He was appointed as a Scientist at Princess Margaret in 2019. Here, his research focuses on using chemical biology, deep learning, and mass spectrometry-based proteomics to resolve phenotype-level heterogeneity in different brain and glioblastoma niches.

How to join the conference and use the virtual platform

View a short video tour of the conference platform.

https://vimeo.com/551469663

You can join the conference at any time after registering to see the posters, build your itinerary, message other registrants, and more!

Exhibit Hall contest and point system

This year’s LMP Research Conference/Product Show will be sponsored by vendors at the Exhibit Hall.

We will be hosting a contest where YOU, the attendee, can earn activity points by interacting with the vendors to win some AWESOME PRIZES!

You can participate in the contest by earning activity points for specific tasks associated with actively engaging with our vendors at the exhibit hall.

The top prize will be Apple air pods given to the attendees with the most engagement points. Along with our top prizes, other prizes include, $50, $25 and $10 e-gift cards to one of the following of your choosing: Amazon, Starbucks, Indigo, Uber Eats.

Think of these prizes as an expression of our gratitude for your choice to support our sponsors for this wonderful event! To learn more about how to earn engagement points, and the award breakdown please see below:

Prizes

placing based on number of activity points earnedPrize
1stApple air pods
2nd and 3rd$50 e-gift card
4th - 10th$25 e-gift card
11th - 15th$10 e-gift card

How to earn Activity Points

ActivityPOints awarded
Attend a vendor booth40 points
Click on a banner advertisement30 points
Visit/click a vendor booth resource (check out their products)50 points
Engage with a vendor in their exhibitor room (a meeting session to talk about their offers!)200 points
Engage with a vendor in their exhibitor room (a meeting session to talk about their offers!)250 points