LEARN. ENGAGE. BE INSPIRED
Welcome to Mini Med School Kamloops & Williams Lake On behalf of BC Children’s Hospital, it is my pleasure to welcome you today and to acknowledge that we are hosting these events within the ancestral, traditional and unceded territory of the Secwepemc Nation. Today at Mini Med School, you’ll learn about some of the latest big ideas and discoveries in health research. Our speakers are among Canada’s leading investigators, health care professionals and up-and-coming new researchers. They’ll share their passion, their commitment and the way they’re working to transform child health for kids in our province and around the world. We’re here today with a big goal: to inspire you. We hope that you leave today excited about what’s possible in the fields of science and health and, most importantly, your own future careers.
Day One Monday, May 6 8:45 am - 2:30 pm Coast Kamloops Hotel & Conference Center 1250 Rogers Way, Kamloops Day Two -
Sincerely, Wyeth W. Wasserman, Ph.D. Executive Director, Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Tuesday, May 7 8:45 am - 2:30 pm Ramada Williams Lake 1118 Lakeview Crescent, Williams Lake
Stay connected with BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute BCCHResearch
@bcchresearch
@bcchresearch
OUR SCHEDULE 8:45 am
Registration & Refreshments Mini Med School is not a nut-free event. We cannot guarantee that there will not be cross-contamination of catering. Participants with any food allergies or dietary restrictions are asked to bring a lunch. We apologize for any inconvenience.
9:15 am
Welcome & Introductions Williams Lake Presented by • Jenny Morgan • Sugar Kane Drummers
Kamloops Presented by • Lorianna Bennett, Board Member, PHSA • Jenny Morgan
9:30 am
Vaccines: How and why they work at a population level Take a closer look at what a vaccine is, how they work and uncover their impact on society. And what about the zombie apocalypse? After the lecture, participants will be separated into smaller groups and discover how to calculate the reproductive rate for an infectious disease and what percentage of coverage is needed to stop transmission. Presented by Dr. Julie Bettinger
10:20 am
Research Jeopardy Test your health sciences knowledge! This interactive game will give you the opportunity to work as a team to compete for prizes and gain better insight on the latest translational and clinical research. Presented by Dr. Galen Wright & Dr. Britt Drögemöller
10:50 am
Why are my periods painful? Endometriosis and pelvic pain Did you know endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age? It refers to tissue from inside of the uterus, growing outside of the uterus, endometriosis is a common cause of painful menstrual cramps, painful sexual activity and difficulty conceiving. Learn about how endometriosis causes pain, and how it is diagnosed and treated. Presented by Dr. Paul Yong
11:30 am
Lunch & research activities During lunch you will have the opportunity to network with faculty speakers and, if interested, participate in a selection of hands-on activities.
#1 Come learn how meiosis helps to produce genetic
diversity! Using yeast, you’ll track how a set of traits gets distributed amongst the daughter cells following meiosis. Then you’ll identify if any of the traits are linked together, similar to how certain traits are often inherited together in humans. Presented by Alyssa Kirlin
#2
Build your own microscope! Designed to be extremely portable, durable, and to give optical quality similar to conventional research microscopes, pick up a Foldscope and discover how to bring hands-on microscopy to new places!
#3
How sensitive are you to bitter tastes? Take a taste test to find out how genetic variants influence your taste buds and apply this knowledge to other genetic traits. Presented by Dr. Britt Drögemöller
#4 Want to get a closer look at the fundamental
code that forms the building blocks for all living things? Create your own DNA extraction kit and watch as the strands of DNA float to the surface. Presented by Dr. Galen Wright
#5
Use a box trainer to practice the basic steps of laparoscopic surgery, which is used for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. Presented by Natasha Orr
#6 All medicine is based on science! Learn about what it takes to do good research by participating in a study yourself. Presented by Kate Wahl
12:30 pm
Health includes mental health! Why what we feel (physically) connects to how we feel (emotionally) For a long time, people though physical and mental health were two separate things. New research shows they are deeply connected. Knowing about this connection can spark creative ideas to treat human disease. Learn about the mind-body connection, and research being done to investigate whether emotionally focused treatments can improve a child’s physical health. Presented by Dr. Amrit Dhariwal
1:00 pm
A closer look at health resources Learn more about mental health resources available in your area.
Williams Lake
Presented by Raj Chahal, Social Program Officer, Interior Health
Presented by Janice Breck, Executive Director, Canadian Mental Health Association, Cariboo Chilcotin Branch
1:20 pm
- Break -
Kamloops
1:30 pm
Health pros tell all Explore a variety of career opportunities and interact with health science experts. This discussion will be driven by participants, so get your questions ready!
Kamloops
Williams Lake
Career Panelists • Chelsea Corsi, Wellness Coordinator, Thompson Rivers University • Mike Huitema, Store Owner & Pharmacist • Alyssa Kirlin, UBC Graduate Student • Natasha Orr, UBC Graduate Student • Joanna Norman, Registered Midwife, Interior Health
Career Panelists • Dr. Matthew Burkey, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist • Alyssa Kirlin, UBC Graduate Student • Natasha Orr, UBC Graduate Student • Lyn Temple, Street & Health Outreach, Interior Health • Alys Wardlaw, Speech Language Pathologist, Interior Health
OUR FACULTY Dr. Julie Bettinger Fun Fact: I speak Guarani, an Indigenous language from South America Dr. Bettinger is an associate professor at the Vaccine Evaluation Center in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research scholar. Her research interests include vaccine safety and vaccine preventable diseases (specifically meningococcal and pneumococcal invasive infections), as well as attitudes and beliefs around immunization uptake and use.
Dr. Amrit Dhariwal Fun Fact: I think children are smarter than grown-ups Dr. Dhariwal is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. At BC Children’s Hospital, she works as a psychologist and investigator, where she delivers heartfelt, respectful, and scientifically-supported care to children with physical conditions affected by somatization. She is interested in learning more about how family therapies can be optimized to support children’s emotional and physical well-being.
Dr. Britt Drögemöller Fun Fact: I can say a Xhosa tongue twister, which is considered one of most difficult tongue twisters in any language Dr. Britt Drögemöller is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety, University of British Columbia. Britt’s research focuses on using bioinformatic analyses to identify genetic variants that contribute to the development of severe adverse drug reactions caused by cancer treatments. The identification of these variants allows for the ability to predict which patients are at risk of experiencing adverse drug reactions before therapy begins, so that alternate treatment strategies can be considered in these patients.
Alyssa Kirlin Fun Fact: In the last 10 years, I have lived in 3 cities that were in 3 different provinces Alyssa is a PhD candidate in the Kobor Lab, where she studies a family of proteins called YEATS domains. These proteins play important roles in regulating how DNA is packaged in the cell by helping recruit downstream enzymes to sites in the genome. In her research, Alyssa uses yeast as a model organism to understand how these proteins function in order to shed light on the roles they may be playing in human diseases like leukemia and glioblastoma.
Natasha Orr Fun Fact: I am a chocolate connoisseur Natasha Orr is a PhD student in the Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program at the University of British Columbia. She graduated from Queen’s with a Honours Bachelor of Life Sciences and the University of British Columbia with a Master of Science in Reproductive Sciences. Her graduate research focuses on the pathophysiology of sexual pain in women with endometriosis, specifically looking at the role of the central nervous system and genetics.
Science making miracles Did you know BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute conducts world-class research to improve the health of children and families? 1,000+ researchers are leading scientific discoveries for a healthier future for all kids in BC and beyond
Kate Wahl Fun Fact: I spent my grade 11 year on exchange in France Kate Wahl is a population and public heath researcher and a graduate student at UBC. Her research focuses on developing tools to improve reproductive and sexual health outcomes, and she is currently studying the potential for school-based endometriosis education to reduce the burden of this disease. Kate completed her B.Sc. in psychology research at the University of Toronto and worked as a clinical research analyst at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre before coming to UBC.
Dr. Galen Wright Fun Fact: Even though I live in Vancouver, rather than skiing, I choose to spend my winters fly fishing (and usually not catching) for steelhead Dr. Galen Wright is a research associate at the Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety, University of British Columbia. He is interested in applying novel computational approaches to analyze large pharmacogenomic datasets in an effort to identify robust clinical biomarkers of treatment outcomes. His current research projects include investigating serious adverse drug reactions caused by chemotherapeutic agents and medications used to treat neurological conditions. The ultimate goal of such research is to make medications both safer and more effective by providing treatments on an individualized basis.
Dr. Paul Yong Fun Fact: My favourite place in the province is Hixon, BC Dr. Paul Yong is a surgeon and scientist in Vancouver who specializes in endometriosis, a condition that affects 1 in 10 women/girls and is a common cause of abdominal pain and difficulty having children. He has a great love for the north and interior of the province and is excited to meet the students in Williams Lake and Kamloops.
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