Research Day 2024 will be held at
McGill's Thomson House, 3650 McTavish Street
Research Day 2024 Abstracts (.docx)
SIS Research Day Program (pdf)
Research Day 2024 Booklet (pdf)
QR code for Research Day 2024 Booklet (pdf)
Keynote Speaker
Scott Dulchavsky, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon in Chief, Henry Ford Health, CEO of Henry Ford Innovations,
Principal investigator for NASA
Dr. Dulchavsky is currently a professor of surgery, molecular biology and genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Michigan State University. He serves as the Roy D. McClure Chairman of Surgery and the Surgeon in Chief at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. He is the founder and CEO of the Innovation Institute at Henry Ford. He founded several successful companies in the medical device and software industry and manages multiple innovation grants.
Dr Dulchavsky is a principal investigator for NASA: his research investigates the long-term effects of microgravity on human physiology on astronauts/cosmonauts on the International Space Station and for exploration class spaceflight. This work has been modified for use on the Earth where his team supports on-site care of professional sports teams, the United States Olympic Committee and other worldwide organizations to support maternal care in over 60 countries.
He maintains an active role in local and National medical associations including the American College of Surgeons where he is the Vice Chair for Technology and Research. He has served on the White House Medical Team to provide regional care for the President of the United States.
Title of Presentation: EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL MEDICAL CARE
There has been a continuous human presence in space for over 2 decades. The provision of medical care in remote or extreme environments including space is challenging secondary to limited availability of trained personnel, resource constraints, cost, and communication delays. The International Space Station, and soon a lunar outpost require thoughtful approaches to allow planned or urgent medical care to be provided using novel approaches. A number of medical innovations have been developed to support the space program: fortunately these unique test environments and constraints require solutions that also have terrestrial applicability in resource constrained areas in Canada, the US, and our world.
Novel advances in telemedicine, remote sensing, telementoring, just in time training, and autonomous medical care techniques allow our crewmembers to conduct low Earth orbit, and soon exploration class spaceflight with appropriate medical care capabilities. Many of the lessons learned in space medicine have and can be transitioned to improve care back on our planet.
Clinical Research Day Speaker
Guillermo Rocha, MD, FRCSC, FACS
Guillermo Rocha, MD, FRCSC, FACS is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. He trained in Ophthalmology at McGill University in Montreal and has completed subspecialty training in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, and Cornea and External Diseases. He completed the Physician CEO Executive Program at the Kellogg School of Management (2016) and the Foundations of Clinical Research Certificate Program, Harvard Medical School (2022).
He is Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at McGill University and Chief, Division of Ophthalmology at MUHC in Montréal, Canada, President of the COS Foundation, Past President of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society (2016-2018), and past President of the Canadian Cornea, External Diseases and Refractive Surgery Society.
In 1995, he was awarded the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation & Medical Research Council of Canada Resident Research Award for his work on the causative factors of ocular inflammation. Dr. Rocha was the recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba iCare Award for 2014. In 2015, he was recognized as one of the 10 Most Successful Mexicans in Canada, followed by an award as one of the 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians in 2016. Dr. Rocha performs Anterior Segment, Refractive and Corneal Surgeries.
Title of Presentation: Designer surgery of the cornea
This presentation will review the current innovations in the concept of "designer corneal surgery", contrasting basic techniques with advanced technology; the use of simple biologicals vs. genetic approaches to corneal transplantation and the development of customized laser approaches to enhance visual recovery in our patients.
Alan J. Forster MD, FRCPC, MSc
Alan J. Forster is the Director, Innovation, Transformation, and Clinical Performance at the McGill University Health Center and the McGill University Professor for Health Innovation.
His focus is enabling teams to create higher value health care – in which patient outcomes are realized and health system costs are lowered.
Over his career, he has led local, national, and international efforts to improve healthcare quality. His research programs have contributed to over 240 publications in peer review journals and innumerable advances in quality. Lasting contributions include his impact on the development of a model for learning health systems leveraging healthcare data.
In recognition of his contributions, he was listed as one of Canada’s top 10 healthcare power brokers by Maclean’s Magazine in April 2023 and named to the International Society for Quality in Healthcare’s International Academy for Quality and Safety in Healthcare in July 2023.
Title of Presentation: Is a hospital based innovation program necessary?
Márquez Fosser Santiago MD, MSc
Dr. Márquez Fosser Santiago is a Physician and Clinical Informatics Specialist known for his expertise in facilitating data access for research at the RI MUHC. With an MD and a Master's degree, he plays a crucial role in Health Informatics, serving as a dedicated specialist at RI MUHC and consultant at MUHC Infocentre Group. He is committed to advancing healthcare through data-driven insights and helping researchers have access to vital hospital datasets. He excels in navigating the complex process of accessing and utilizing datasets, supporting precise and effective investigations. At the core of Dr. Marquez's work is his adept use of the MUHC Data Warehouse, a valuable clinical and administrative data repository. He also integrates external synthetic data sources like MDClone-Sheba to expand research possibilities and innovate in healthcare analytics.
Title of Presentation: Unleashing Data Insights: Transforming Healthcare with MDClone's ADAMS Platform
Summary: In this talk, we will delve into the transformative capabilities of MDClone's ADAMS Platform, revealing how healthcare institutions can harness data insights to revolutionize patient outcomes and operational efficiencies. MDClone serves as a catalyst for collaboration and analysis that balances patient privacy with innovative features such as dynamic data exploration and synthetic data generation. Furthermore, we will explore the vital process of accessing synthetic data at Sheba, highlighting its pivotal role in propelling research and innovation and driving unparalleled innovation in secondary data use.
Muskan Alad (PhD Candidate)
Pegah Rahimizadeh (PhD Candidate)
Title of Presentation: Surgical and Interventional Sciences (SIS/ESGSS) Council Presentation
Research Day Awards
For Oral Presentation:
- 1st Prize: $200
- 2nd Prize: $150
- 3rd Prize: $100
- Two runners-up: $100 each
For Poster prizes:
- 1st Prize: $100
- 2nd Prize: $75
- 3rd Prize: $50
- Two runners-up: $50 each
Abstract Reviewers
- Dr. Amani Hassan (Postdoc)
- Dr. Anie Philip (PI)
- Dr. David Labbé (PI)
- Dr. Geoffroy Danieau (Postdoc)
- Dr. Joanna Przybyl (PI)
- Dr. Lisbet Haglund (PI)
- Dr. Maria Petropavlovskaya (PI)
- Dr. Nicoletta Eliopoulos (PI)
- Dr. Rahul Gawri (PI)
- Dr. Renzo Cecere (PI)
- Dr. Richard Miallot (Postdoc)
- Dr. Wassim Kassouf (PI)
- Muskan Alad (PhD Candidate)
- Pegah Rahimizadeh (PhD Candidate)
Oral Session 1 (10:15 AM - 11:30 AM)
- Dr. Joanna Przybyl (PI)
- Dr. Richard Miallot (Postdoc)
- Dr. Anie Philip (PI)
- Dr. Fackson Mwale (PI)
Oral Session 2 (1:00 PM - 2:15 PM)
- Dr. Cristian O'Flaherty (PI)
- Dr. Orçun Haçariz (Postdoc)
- Dr. Sampath Loganathan (PI)
- Dr. Amir Hooshiar (Postdoc)
Oral Session 3 (2:50 PM - 4:00 PM)
- Dr. Eva Michaud (Postdoc)
- Dr. Swneke Bailey (PI)
- Dr. Liane Feldman (PI)
- Dr. Julio Fiore (PI)
- Dr. Chelsia Gillis (PI)
The Surgical and Interventional Sciences Graduate Program extends special thanks to our presenters and posters judges
Poster Session 1 (4:15 PM - 5:15 PM)
- Dr. Fackson Mwale (PI)
- Dr. Scott Dulchavsky
- Dr. Amir Hooshiar (Postdoc)
- Dr. Chelsia Gillis (PI)
- Dr. Kenneth Finnson (Research Associate)
Poster (5:30 PM - 6:30 PM)
- Dr. Richard Miallot (Postdoc)
- Dr. Eva Michaud (Postdoc)
- Philippe Jolivet (Project Manager)
- Dr Nadia Boufaied (Research Associate)
- Dr. Swneke Bailey (PI)
The Research Day Organizing Committee:
- Dr. Fackson Mwale, Professor and Graduate Program Director
- Dr. Jake Barralet, SIS Associate Program Leader
- Muskan Alad, PhD student, Vice-President Academic Experimental Surgery Graduate Student Society
- Pegah Rahimizadeh, PhD student, Experimental Surgery Graduate Student Society
- Micha Huynh, SIS Program Administrator
- Sharon Turner, SIS Graduate Program Coordinator
- Laura Epure, MSc Eng., SIS Administrative and Student Affairs Coordinator
- Anne Mathiot, SIS Program Manager MUHC
- Janae Palmer, SIS Program Assistant MUHC
- Terry Ng Wan, Chief Multimedia Technician
If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact Ms. Sharon Turner at gradstudies.surgery [at] mcgill.ca