Mini Medical School 2018-19
May 6, 2019
Presenters: Drs. Paul Beck & Christian Turbide
Topic: An update on celiac and gluten sensitivity
Dr. Paul Beck
Dr. Paul Beck is a clinician-scientist with the Division of Gastroenterology. He is part of the Gastrointestinal Research Group (GIRG) and is an associate member of the Inflammation Research Network (IRN). His current areas of research include the role the inflammasome in intestinal inflammation, how the innate immune system is involved in Clostridium difficile-associated colitis, and processes involved in the resolution of inflammation. Dr Beck has been on the Calgary Celiac Disease Association Advisory board for over ten years and has been involved in clinical trials on new approaches in the management of celiac disease.
Dr. Christian Turbide
Dr. Christian Turbide is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, with specialty training in Therapeutic Endoscopy and ERCP, along with a fellowship in Endoscopic Ultrasound. He received further training in clinical nutrition and functional medicine with the Institute of Functional Medicine. He is also a past recipient of the Endoscopy Teacher of the Year award.
April 8, 2019
Presenters: Drs. Jori Hardin and Christophe Altier
Topic: Understanding the biology of pain and itch
Dr. Christophe Altier
Dr. Christophe Altier an Associate Professor with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Calgary, where he also holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in inflammatory pain. His research recognizes that chronic pain correlates with a sensitization of the nervous system that cause a permanent reduction in the threshold of pain. His lab is examining how the process of sensitization occurs and what points of the process may provide opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
Dr. Jori Hardin
Dr. Jori Hardin is a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Division of Dermatology at the University of Calgary. Her clinical and research interests are in cutaneous lymphoma, transplant dermatology, and complex medical dermatology. She has been working with the Division of Dermatology since 2017 and is also a Master Teacher.
March 4, 2019
Presenters: Drs. Don Morris & Gwyn Bebb
Topic: Immunotheraphy and Cancer
Dr. Gwyn Bebb
Dr. Gwyn Bebb is a Medical Oncologist at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre with a clinical focus in the treatment of lung malignancies. Dr Bebb is also an active Investigator in the Translational Research Laboratory focusing on targeted therapy in vitro and in vivo of non small cell lung cancer and Mantle Cell Lymphoma. As Associate Professor of Medicine with The University of Calgary, Dr. Bebb has a keen interest in educating medical students, graduate students, residents and other healthcare professionals.
Dr. Don Morris
Dr. Don Morris is a Professor and Head of Medical Oncology at the University of Calgary, and Section Head of Medical Oncology, and the Director of the Translational Cancer Laboratories with Alberta Health Services – CancerControl. Dr Morris’ clinical areas of interest involve both thoracic and musculoskeletal tumour sites. His research interests include development of novel cancer therapeutics, oncolytic viruses, immunotherapeutics, and strategies for graft engineering during autologous transplantation.
February 4, 2019
Presenters: Drs. Paul Kubes & Paul Fedak
Topic: How Immune Cells Can Break Your Heart!
Dr. Paul Fedak
Dr. Paul Fedak is a cardiac surgeon and translational scientist at the University of Calgary with the Department of Cardiac Sciences. He is also the Director of the Marlene and Don Campbell Translational Research Laboratory. Dr. Fedak is committed to the innovation and translation of new surgical therapies for patients with advanced heart disease. He has pioneered the novel sternal closure techniques and is currently developing tissue engineering approaches to treat heart failure. He has expertise in surgery for bicuspid aortic valve and its associated aortopathy, and he also leads a collaborative research effort with Northwestern University in Chicago to better understand mechanisms of progression and risk prediction.
Dr. Paul Kubes
Dr. Paul Kubes is a Professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and Founding Director of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. He also holds a Canada Research Chair in Leukocyte Recruitment in inflammatory disease. Dr. Kubes has received numerous awards including the CIHR Investigator of the Year in 2011 for his basic science work on how the brain affects immunity. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Alberta Science and Technology Award and has been published in many prestigious academic journals including Cell, Science and the Nature. His latest work has uncovered a key role for peritoneal cavity macrophage in healing visceral organs.
January 7, 2019
Presenters: Drs. Luanne Metz & Shalina Ousman
Topic: The A,B, C's of multiple sclerosis (MS)
Dr. Luanne Metz
Dr. Luanne Metz is a neurologist and Head of the Division of Neurology at the University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services. She currently co-leads the MS program with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and is known for her development of the Calgary MS Clinic, and for her development of a bench-to-bedside translational research program. She was honored as one of the Top 40 University of Calgary Alumni, and was awarded the Faculty of Medicine Watanabe Distinguished Achievement Award for overall excellence and extraordinary contribution to the Faculty of Medicine.
Dr. Shalina Ousman
Dr. Shalina Ousman is the Co-Director at the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and Associate Professor in the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Cell Biology & Anatomy at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary. Dr. Ousman is interested in identifying endogenous protective mechanisms in multiple sclerosis and peripheral nerve regeneration. Her research is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
December 3, 2018
Presenters: Drs. Richard Leigh & Kamala Patel
Topic: Asthma in 2018: A success story?
Dr. Richard Leigh
Dr. Richard Leigh is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology with the University of Calgary and the Zone Clinical and Academic Department Head for Medicine with Alberta Health Services. His clinical and research interest areas include understanding the basic mechanisms underlying airway remodeling in asthma, the assessment of airway inflammation, and clinical trials in asthma and COPD.
Dr. Kamala Patel
Dr. Kamala D. Patel is Executive Director of the Live Cell Imaging Laboratory and Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology at University of Calgary. She is an expert in eosinophil and endothelial cell biology and her recent work is shedding light on how eosinophils move into the lung in models of airway inflammation and asthma.
November 5, 2018
Presenters: Dr. Christopher Andrews & Dr. Keith Sharkey
Topic: Cannabis and the gut: the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Dr. Christopher Andrews
Christopher Andrews, MD, is a Gastroenterologist and Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine. He has had advanced training in gastrointestinal motility and function at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, where he also obtained a Masters' Degree in Clinical Health Research. He is the GI Site Chief at Foothills Hospital, and is Director of the Calgary Gut Motility Centre. Dr. Andrews specializes in motility disorders and physiology, in addition to development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods related to gut function.
Dr. Keith Sharkey
Dr. Keith Sharkey, PhD, is a gastrointestinal physiologist and neuroscientist who studies the nervous control of the gut in health and disease. He is a Professor at the University of Calgary with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. He also holds the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) Chair in inflammatory bowel disease research. Dr. Sharkey is a member of both the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. He is a leading expert in brain-gut communication, and he studies how “endocannabinoids” regulate how the gut works. Endocannabinoids are body chemicals that act in the same way as cannabis. His work reveals how cannabis acts in the gut and has shed light on possible medical benefits of cannabis for gastrointestinal diseases.