Mini-Medical School 2024-2025
The Snyder Institute's Mini-Medical School is designed for anyone who is interested in learning about chronic, infectious and inflammatory diseases. Our interactive lecture series features topics such as chronic inflammation, HIV, kidney diseases, autoimmune diseases, cancer, the microbiome, lymphatics, diabetes, respiratory diseases and much more.
You won’t graduate with a medical degree after attending our Mini-Medical School series, but you will gain insight into healthy living and chronic diseases.
There are no pre-requisites to attend these lectures and they are open to the public from high school students to retirees. Each lecture will combine basic science with real life clinical situations in order to give Canadians a better understanding of the effects of chronic diseases on the body. Each presenter is highly knowledgeable and respected in their field of research, and most are current members of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine.
As one attendee commented: "While your clinical trials may still be years away, I know you are on to something huge that is going to transform many people's lives!"
Mini-Medical School will take place one Monday evening per month from 6:30-8:00pm and each lecture will be presented in a hybrid format: both in person and online via ZOOM.
To attend in person, please register first, then join us in Clara Christie in the Health Science (HSC) Building on Foothills Campus. Directions to Clara Christie can be found here. Doors open at 6:15 PM.
Mini-Medical School is proudly sponsored in part by UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine.
Should you have any questions or concerns please contact Hannah Reilly, hannah.reilly@ucalgary.ca
November 4, 2024
Presenters: Dr. Justin Chun, Dr. Craig Brideau and Dr. Bjӧrn Petri
Topic: How is research done at the Snyder Institute?
Dr. Justin Chun
Dr. Justin Chun, MD, PhD, is a nephrologist (kidney doctor) and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He obtained his MSc and PhD in Cell Biology at the University of Alberta and a medical degree from the University of Calgary. He then completed an internal medicine residency and nephrology clinical fellowship at the University of Calgary followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He is the Co-Director of the Human Organoid Innovation Hub and Assistant Director of the Precision Medicine Program in Nephrology in the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases.
Dr. Chun’s current research interests include diabetic kidney disease and bioengineering stem cell derived kidney organoids for regenerative medicine, disease modelling and drug testing. His molecular medicine, patient-oriented research program focuses on identifying biomarkers and new therapies to improve patient care.
Dr. Craig Brideau
Dr. Craig Brideau, PhD, MASc, is a Biomedical and Electrical Engineer with over 20 years’ experience in laboratory equipment design and automation. This includes construction, modification, and operation of advanced sample handling, imaging, and spectroscopic platforms for a wide variety of cell and tissue types. He has successfully published on topics ranging from Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering microscopy to custom 3D printing for microscopy applications. He is also a contributor to the international QUAREP-LIMI protocol for reproducibility in microscopic imaging and, along with Dr. Pina Colarusso, assisted with the development of an internationally recognized optical power measurement device for microscopy applications.
Dr. Bjӧrn Petri
Dr. Bjӧrn Petri, PhD, is the Scientific Director of the Snyder Institute Mouse Phenomics Resource Laboratory. He obtained his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Immunology/Cell Biology and Genetics from the Westfalian Wilhelms-University and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster, Germany. Before he started his studies in the field of Immunology Dr. Petri obtained his MSc (Diploma) in Zoology and Physiology at the Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim and the Philipps-University in Marburg, Germany investigating mechanisms of body weight regulation. He can look back at over 20 years experience working with in vivo models in the field of physiology and immunology.