Mini Medical School 2022-2023
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 pain and IBD, COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment and vaccines, kidney diseases, autoimmune diseases, viruses that cause cancer, the interplay of microbiome and mental health in children, 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 is a partnered event with the Calgary Public Library. There is no cost to attend a lecture and you do not need Calgary Public Library card to register. Although, since Calgary Public Library cards are free, you can visit calgarylibrary.ca to get your free library card today.
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 at the Libin Lecture Theatre in Health Science (HSC) Building on Foothills Campus. Here is a video with instructions on how to get to the Libin Lecture Theatre, including parking instructions. Doors open at 6 pm.
Mini-Medical School is proudly sponsored in part by AstraZeneca and UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine.
Should you have any questions or concerns please contact Hannah Reilly, hannah.reilly@ucalgary.ca
May 1, 2023
Presenters: Drs. Richard Leigh and Brandie Walker
Topic: Asthma 2023 – how research has resulted in life-changing treatments
Event Description: Join Dr. Brandie Walker and Dr. Richard Leigh to learn how ongoing patient-based research is resulting in paradigm-shifting and life-changing treatments for the worst types of asthma.
Dr. Richard Leigh
Dr. Richard Leigh, MBChB, MSc, PhD FCP (SA), FRCPC, FCAHS, is a physician-scientist, the Senior Associate Dean – Faculty Affairs in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, and a full member of the Snyder Institute. Dr. Leigh obtained his medical degree from the University of Cape Town, and following further specialist and sub-specialist training, he furthered his research training in the areas of airway inflammation, asthma and COPD at McMaster University in Canada, where obtained a master’s degree in health research methodology and a PhD in medical sciences.
Dr. Leigh’s areas of interest include understanding the basic mechanisms underlying airway remodelling in asthma, the assessment of airway inflammation and early phase clinical trials in asthma and COPD. His clinical practice focuses on severe asthma and other airways diseases, and he previously served as the Division Head of Respiratory Medicine and as the Chair of the Department of Medicine before taking up his current appointment as Senior Associate Dean in January 2020. Dr. Leigh was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2021.
Dr. Brandie Walker
Dr. Brandie Walker, MD, PhD, FRCPC, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Respirology at the University of Calgary and an associate member of the Snyder Institute. She completed her PhD at the University of British Columbia and her Respirology Fellowship training at the University of Calgary. She is the Site Lead for the Division of Respirology at the Foothills Medical Centre, Program Director for the Advanced Fellowship in Severe Asthma at the University of Calgary, and Medical Director of the Calgary COPD and Asthma Program. Dr. Walker conducts clinical research in airways disease and is Principal Investigator for the CanCOLD study in Calgary. She has a busy clinical practice including specialized clinics in Severe Asthma and a multidisciplinary Severe COPD clinic.
April 3, 2023
Presenters: Drs. Laura Sycuro and Davide Martino
Topic: The Interplay of the Microbiome with Neurodiversity in Children
Description: Join Dr. Laura Sycuro and Dr. Davide Martino to learn how the microbiome relates to conditions associated with neurodiversity in children: autism, ADHD, OCD and Tourette syndrome.
Dr. Laura Sycuro
Dr. Laura Sycuro, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, the Genomics and Bioinformatics Theme Lead for the International Microbiome Centre, and a full member of the Snyder Institute. The broad goal of her research program is to harness the microbiome to promote the health of women and children. To this end, Dr. Sycuro’s lab couples microbiome discoveries relating to infection, preterm birth and neurodevelopment with service and educational efforts targeting gender-based health inequities. In addition to having her work published in respected academic journals like Cell and the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Sycuro has been honoured as a CIHR Early Career Investigator in Maternal Health and was appointed as the Functional Omics Lead for the IMPACTT Pan-Canadian Microbiome Core in 2018.
Dr. Davide Martino
Dr. Davide Martino, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine, Director of the Movement Disorders Program within the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, and a full member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. He is also co-founder and treasurer of the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome. Dr. Martino’s interdisciplinary research program focuses on the investigation of endophenotypes and biomarkers of complex movements disorders, like Tourette Syndrome and Parkinson’s Disease, and their translational application to evaluation and treatment. Dr. Martino also has a special interest in the development and implementation of clinimetric rating instruments, as well as management guidelines for Tourette Syndrome and drug-induced movement disorders. His research is funded in part by the National Institute of Health Research of NHS England and the European Union.
March 13, 2023
Presenters: Drs. Jennifer Corcoran and Wayne Matthews
Topic: Viruses That Cause Cancer
Description: Join Dr. Jennifer Corcoran and Dr. Wayne Matthews to learn how viruses, like HPV, cause cancer and how HPV-associated viral cancers are treated.
Dr. Jennifer Corcoran
Dr. Jennifer Corcoran, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) and a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and the Charbonneau Cancer Institute at the CSM.
Dr. Corcoran (Jenn) completed a PhD in molecular virology at Dalhousie University and post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Alberta and Dalhousie University. She started her lab in 2014 at Dalhousie, studying how individual viral genes encoded by the oncogenic virus Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) promote cancer. Jenn relocated her research group to the University of Calgary in 2018, continuing work on KSHV using molecular virology and recombinant virus genetic approaches. Capitalizing on expertise in recombinant virology and virus-host interactions, since 2020 Jenn’s lab has also studied human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2.
Dr. Wayne Matthews
Dr. Wayne Matthews, MD, is an Otolaryngologist. He completed his MD degree at the University of Toronto and went on to complete his residency in Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Ottawa. After 12 years in practice at Western University where he was Residency Program Director, Dr. Matthews moved to the University of Calgary in 2003, assuming many roles in medical education and research. He is a member of the Charbonneau Cancer Institute. Some of his accomplishments include initiating UCalgary’s Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery resident training program; becoming the first Program Director of the resident training program; serving as Section Chief of Otolaryngology from 2008 to 2018; Vice-Chair of the RCPS Oto-HNS Specialty Committee from 2008 to 2014; Chair of the Division of Otolaryngology from 2014 to 2021; and Chair of the RCPS Specialty Committee Otolaryngology from 2014 to 2021.
Dr. Matthews is currently the President of the AMA Section of Oto-HNS and the acting Executive Director of the Ohlson Research Initiative, a clinical effectiveness research program focused on head and neck cancer.
February 6, 2023
Presenters: Drs. May Choi and Antoine Dufour
Topic: The War Waged Within: Pacman in the Fight Against Autoimmunity
Description: Learn how art and the Pacman video game influence autoimmune disease research and how that can translate into the identification of diagnostic, predictive, and pathogenic biomarkers to improve autoimmune disease outcomes.
Dr. May Choi
Dr. May Choi, MD, is a rheumatologist and clinician scientist who is an assistant professor at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine. She is an Associate Member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. As an early career investigator, her research is focused on biomarker discovery and validation for prediction of clinical outcomes in autoimmune rheumatic diseases, and the prevention of autoimmune disease development and disease-related complications.
Dr. Antoine Dufour
Dr. Antoine Dufour, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine, and is a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. Dr. Dufour’s research team works on “molecular scissors” or proteases which are enzymes that perform essential functions to regulate most, if not all, cellular processes. Proteases act in concerted networks to amplify signals, regulate biology, generate cleaved proteins, and are molecular effectors involved in most human diseases including auto-immune diseases.
January 9, 2023
Presenters: Drs. Justin Chun & Dan Muruve
Topic: Precision Medicine in Kidney Health and Disease
Description: Join Drs. Chun and Muruve to learn about the impact of precision medicine in promoting kidney health
Dr. Justin Chun
Dr. Justin Chun, MD, PhD, is a nephrologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. He is the Assistant Director for the Precision Medicine in Nephrology Program in the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. His current research program uses induced pluripotent stem cells derived from patients for kidney disease modelling and drug testing. His molecular medicine, patient-oriented research program focuses on identifying biomarkers and therapies to improve patient care.
Dr. Dan Muruve
Dr. Daniel Muruve, MD, is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary and a member of the Immunology Research Group in the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Dr. Muruve is a practicing nephrologist in the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services. Dr. Muruve’s research expertise is in the areas of innate immunity, inflammation and kidney disease. Currently, his research program is focused on basic immune mechanisms in the kidney and how they contribute to acute and chronic diseases. Dr. Muruve also leads a precision medicine and translational research program for kidney and glomerular diseases.
December 5, 2022
Presenters: Drs. Craig Jenne & Dan Gregson
Topic: COVID-19: the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments
Description: It has been almost two years since COVID vaccines have become available, and in this time, we are learning more about the effectiveness of COVID tests, treatments, vaccines and boosters. Join Drs. Jenne, and Gregson for an evening discussion about COVID diagnosis, treatment and the impact of vaccines.
Dr. Craig Jenne
Dr. Craig Jenne, PhD, is the Scientific Director of the Snyder Institute Translational Lab in Critical Care Medicine, a position that allows him to work directly with clinicians and researchers on human clinical studies. He is a member of the Snyder Institute and has a faculty appointment within the department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine. Dr. Jenne is continuing his work using intravital microscopy to study the early innate immune response to viral and bacterial infections.
Dr. Dan Gregson
Dr. Dan Gregson, MD, is graduate of the University of Toronto where he also trained in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, and Medical Microbiology. He is a member of the Snyder Institute and an Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Medicine, in the divisions of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine. Dr. Gregson has been involved in training undergraduate and graduate students as well as many clinical fellows and residents. His current research focuses on the epidemiology and diagnosis of blood stream infections.
November 7, 2022
Presenters: Drs. Yasmin Nasser & Manon Defaye
Topic: Understanding the pathophysiology of chronic pain in inflammatory bowel disease.
Description: Join Drs. Nasser and Defaye to learn about some of the underlying causes of chronic pain in inflammatory bowel disease
Dr. Yasmin Nasser
Dr. Yasmin Nasser, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine and a clinician-scientist in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Dr. Nasser has recognized expertise in visceral pain, functional GI disorders and GI motility. She runs an IBD Chronic Pain Clinic at the University of Calgary, which is unique in Canada, where she treats IBD patients in endoscopic remission who continue to suffer from chronic pain. She is also co-lead for the University of Calgary High-Risk IBD clinic, which sees undifferentiated patients with diarrhea and abdominal pain, with the aim to provide a rapid diagnosis and initiate early treatment for IBD.
Dr. Manon Defaye
Dr. Manon Defaye, PhD, is a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine. She is a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute. She was awarded an Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and the Cumming School of Medicine postdoctoral fellowship in 2020 to conduct a project examining the mechanisms of visceral pain sensitization in gastrointestinal disorders. The overall goal is to identify pain biomarkers and new targets for safer and better pain therapies.