SPP-ARC Events

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional faculty trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speakers this month:

1. Aleksandra Stojic (Marchant Lab): Respiratory syncytial virus: clinical and community viral surveillance
2. Aishwarya Sriraman (Wille Lab): Rational design of structure based vaccine candidates against the misfolded proteins of Alzheimer’s disease

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional faculty trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speaker this month is a recent recipient of the SPP-ARC Travel and Training Grant. Rebecca Reif from the Yanow laboratory was able to train at Mount Kenya University, home to their collaborators on research for plasma biomarkers for placental malaria. 

Rebecca will be presenting on her experience in a talk titled, "Travel research in Kenya: the importance of communication and trust in establishing international collaborations"

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional faculty trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speakers this month:

1. Alberto Felix Lopez (Hobman Lab):  Identification of host factors required for SARS-CoV-2 infection
2. Julian Ortiz Munoz (Elhenawy Lab):  Targeting a key regulator in bacterial pathogens: a pathway to precision antimicrobials

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional faculty trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speakers this month:

1. Maia Finch (Shmulevitz Lab):  Overcoming constraints to reovirus oncolysis with σ1 variants
2. Daniel Ferrer Vinals (Yanow Lab):  Development of vaccine candidates against placental malaria using peptide-decorated antigenic liposomes

On May 6th, 2024, SPP-ARC will be hosted its inaugural “SPP-ARCing Connections Outside Academia”. This networking event aims to provide trainees with an intimate opportunity to meet with leading industry partners and government officials about employment prospects in their respective fields. Programming included:

• Keynote Speaker: Chris Procyshyn, former CEO Vanrx Pharmasystems, will be providing our keynote address and speaking to the importance of innovation in academic and industrial spaces. 
• Interactive roundtable session: With over 10 biotechnology companies and organizations in attendance, trainees will have the opportunity to interact with leaders to learn more about their respective organizational structure, priority research areas, and career opportunities.
• Panel discussion: We will also be holding a panel discussion with industry and government leaders who will discuss the current landscape of the biotechnology industry in Canada, especially since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. 
  Some of the companies to be present include: Merck, Moderna, Gilead, BD Biosciences, Entos Pharmaceuticals, Providence Therapeutics, Sanofi, 48Hour Discovery, AppliedPharma and many more! 

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional faculty trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speakers this month:

1. Nolan Bird (Noyce Lab): Deciphering poxvirus telomere binding proteins:
   potential targets for antiviral therapeutics
2. Mirza Kazbekov (Magor Lab): Regulation of RIG-I signaling by duck RIPLET and
   counter response by influenza A NS1

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional faculty trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

This month, in a special edition of our Integrated Seminar, we are showcasing the talent of one of our newest faculty members, Dr. Karina Top, who will be presenting, "Investigating biological mechanisms of rare vaccine adverse events to improve vaccine safety and confidence".

Dr. Karina Top is a clinician-scientist in vaccine research and pediatric infectious disease consultant at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Dr. Top is the Principal Investigator of the International Network of Special Immunization Services and co-Principal Investigator of the Canadian Immunization Research Network’s Special Immunization Clinic Network. Dr. Top’s research focuses on understanding causes and risk factors for rare adverse events following immunization, and improving vaccination practices for individuals who may be considered at higher risk of an adverse event, such as those with previous history of adverse events following immunization, immunocompromised patients, and people who are pregnant.

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speakers this month:

1. Tim Footz (Shmulevitz Lab): Reovirus as a vaccine vector: good things in a small package
2. Stephen Lee (Evans Lab): Evolution of drug-resistant poxviruses by intracellular competition

SPP-ARC hosts an annual retreat as a means to bring internal members and external partners together to reflect on the past year's accomplishments and to establish research, infrastructure, and training objectives for the upcoming year. As we hosted our inaugural retreat from November 16-18th, 2023 at Banff Conference Centre for Arts and Creativity, this event provides opportunities to initiate team activities and create synergy among different research efforts within the consortium. 

Full Program 2023

This seminar takes place monthly and aims to highlight the work of our exceptional trainees in biochemistry, chemistry, infectious disease, immunology and beyond as they tackle projects related to our initiative's main objective of pandemic preparedness.

Our speakers this month:

1. Justine Beghin, (Meier-Stephenson Lab):  Influencing Influenza: An aptomeric approach to interfering with IV's cap-snatching viral polymerase
2. Lucy Luo (Julien Lab):  Integration of proteomics in virology: building virus-host protein interaction networks
3. Kelli McCord (Macauley Lab): Evaluating the roles of glycans in SARS-CoV-2 infection

1. Amelia Chen (Lemieux Lab): SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Protease Variants of Concern Display Altered Viral Substrate and Cell Host Target Galectin-8 Processing but Retain Sensitivity toward Antivirals
2. Mengyi Zhu (Tsai Lab): New vaccine adjuvant approach: insulin receptor
   mediated regulation of B cell function
3. Paulo (Tsai Lab): Cellular metabolism mediates insulin-associated
   effects on B cell functions

1. Joseph Primeau (Young Lab): SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein OR7b: a regulator of intracellular calcium transport
2. Madeleine Fleming (Wille Lab): Optimization and analysis of structure-based prion vaccines in transgenic mouse models
3. Ahmed Oraby (Marchant Lab): Structure-based design of allosteric viral polymerase inhibitors

1. Shae Komant (Baldwin Lab): Genetically engineered vaccinia virus expressing MHC-I as a vaccine vector
2. Nawell Fayad (Hobman Lab): Targeting peroxisomes in broad-spectrum antiviral therapy
3. Hery Lee (Götte Lab): Mechanisms of resistance associated with the COVID-19 antiviral drug Remdesivir

As part of our efforts in knowledge translation, SPP-ARC members meet regularly to discuss the scientific directions of our research portfolios in vaccine and small molecule therapeutic development. 

In this meeting, we will continue the discussion points from our previous meetings surrounding project development in vaccinology, research core formations, collaborations, and resource sharing.

In particular, we will be facilitating discussions on developing collaborative projects among members of the portfolio group. 

As part of our efforts in knowledge translation, SPP-ARC members meet regularly to discuss the scientific directions of our research portfolios in vaccine and small molecule therapeutic development. 

In this meeting, we will continue the discussion points from our previous meetings surrounding project development in therapeutics, research core formations, collaborations, and resource sharing.

In particular, we will be facilitating discussions on developing collaborative projects among members of the portfolio group. 

• Collaboration generation and optimizing resource sharing
• Project development in vaccinology and therapeutics
• Research core formation