BCID 2025 Program
Wednesday | May 21
| 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | Check-in and Badge Collection (Front Desk-Professional Development Building) |
| (On your own for dinner) | |
| Session 1 - New Horizons Chair: Jon Dennis | University of Alberta | |
| 6:10 PM - 6:25 PM | Opening Remarks | Tracy Raivio and Alexei Savchenko |
| 6:25 PM - 7:15 PM | Dr. Don Woods Lecture: John Whitney | McMaster University A widespread family of broad-spectrum protein antibiotics |
| 7:15 PM - 7:20 PM | Questions |
| 7:20 PM - 7:50 PM | Karen Maxwell | University of Toronto Exploring the anti-phage defence system network in Vibrio species |
| 7:50 PM - 7:55 PM | Questions |
| 7:55 PM - 8:25 PM | Brent Weber | University of Alberta Antibacterial drug discovery using physiologically-relevant growth conditions |
| 8:25 PM - 8:30 PM | Questions |
| 8:30 PM- 10:00 PM | Opening reception and Meet the Speaker - KC301 |
Thursday | May 22
| 7:00 AM - 8:20 AM | Breakfast | Sally Borden Building |
| Session 2 - Host Pathogen Interface Chairs: Amit Bhavsar | University of Alberta and Alexei Savchenko | University of Calgary | |
| 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM | Tamara O'Connor | Johns Hopkins University, US Lipid resources: Friend versus foe to pathogens and their hosts |
| 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM | Questions |
| 9:10 AM - 9:40 AM | Karla Satchell | Northwestern University Vibrio MARTX toxins host cell surface interactions |
| 9:40 AM - 9:50 AM | Questions |
| 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM | COFFEE BREAK |
| 10:10 AM - 10:40 AM | Caroline Cameron | University of Victoria Investigating the Pathogen-Host Interface During Infection with the Syphilis-Causing Spirochete, Treponema pallidum |
| 10:40 AM - 10:50 AM | Questions |
| 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM | Joanne Lemieux | University of Alberta Mechanistic insight into the regulation of virulence factors in pathogenic E. coli by rhomboid protease GlpG |
| 11:20 AM - 11:30 AM | Questions |
| 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Trainee talk - Malcolm Forster | University of Alberta Salmonella SspH2 mimics inflammasome signal one to induce IL-1β production in macrophages |
| 11:45 AM - 11:50 AM | Questions |
| 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM | Lunch | Sally Borden Building |
| 1:15 PM - 2:45 PM | Poster session 1 |
| 2:45 PM - 7:00 PM | On your own for dinner |
| 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | "Trainee Social Events" Trivia & Pub Social |
| Session 3 - Vector Borne Infections Chairs: George Chaconas | University of Calgary and Nathan Peters | University of Calgary | |
| 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Dr. Lucas Tirloni | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Studying Tick Feeding Biology to Better Understand Ticks and the Transmission of Tick-Borne Pathogens |
| 7:30 PM - 7:35 PM | Questions |
| 7:35 PM - 8:05 PM | Melissa Caimano | University of Connecticut, US Tick-Tok: How Lyme disease spirochetes time differential gene expression according to tick feeding. |
| 8:05 PM - 8:10 PM | Questions |
| 8:10 PM - 8:30 PM | COFFEE BREAK (20 minutes) |
| 8:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Matthew Rogers | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK Do Leishmania make a biofilm to aid their transmission? |
| 9:00 PM - 9:05 PM | Questions |
| 9:05 PM - 9:20 PM | Trainee Talk - Daiana Alvarez-Olmedo | University of Calgary Discovery of Novel Borrelia burgdorferi Adhesins That Facilitate Binding to Activated Endothelium |
| 9:20 PM - 9:25 PM | Questions |
| After Hours | Meet the Speaker - Maclab Bistro | Kinnear Centre |
Friday | May 23
| 7:00 AM - 8:20 AM | Breakfast |
| Session 4 - Antimicrobial drug resistance Chairs: Diego Nobrega | University of Calgary and Brent Weber | University of Alberta | |
| 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM | Herman Barkema | University of Calgary Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans and animals: One Health approach for fighting AMR |
| 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM. | Questions |
| 9:10 AM - 9:40 AM | David Heinrichs | University of Western Ontario Investigations into new molecules to control MRSA |
| 9:40 AM - 9:50 AM | Questions |
| 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM | COFFEE BREAK |
| 10:10 AM - 10:40 AM | Tanis Dingle | University of Calgary From Bad to Worse: The Last Decade of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales in Alberta |
| 10:40 AM - 10:50 AM | Questions |
| 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM | Omar El-Halfawy | University of Regina Unlocking new antimicrobial strategies by studying virulence and antibiotic resistance under host-relevant conditions |
| 11:20 AM - 11:30 AM | Questions |
| 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Trainee Talk - Manoj Jangra | McMaster University Discovery of a New Antibiotic, Lariocidin: A Knotty Solution to Antibiotic Resistance |
| 11:45 AM - 11:50 AM | Questions |
| 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM | Lunch | Sally Borden Building |
| 1:15 PM - 2:45 PM | Poster session II |
| 2:45 PM - 7:00 PM | On your own for dinner Consider Activity: https://www.banffadventures.com/things-to-do/big-canoe-tours/ |
| Session 5 - Respiratory Infectious Diseases Chairs: Christina Thornton | University of Calgary and Nargis Khan | University of Calgary | |
| 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Stephen Barr | Western University Establishing a Hypertensive Hamster Model for Clinically Relevant COVID-19 Research and Beyond |
| 7:30 PM - 7:35 PM | Questions |
| 7:35 PM - 8:05 PM | Jim Sun | University of British Columbia Novel targets for tuberculosis host-directed therapy |
| 8:05 PM - 8:10 PM | Questions |
| 8:10 PM - 8:30 PM | COFFEE BREAK |
| 8:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Ann C. Gregory | University of Calgary Breathing Life into Viromics: Understanding Viral Communities in the Human Lung. |
| 9:00 PM - 9:05 PM | Questions |
| 9:05 PM - 9:20 PM | Trainee Talk - Alex Ensminger | University of Toronto The discovery of a Legionella phage explains a key determinant of human disease |
| 9:40 PM - 9:45 PM | Questions |
| After Hours: | Meet the Speaker - Maclab Bistro | Kinnear Centre |
Saturday | May 24
| 7:00 AM - 8:20 AM | Breakfast | Sally Borden Building |
| Session 6 - Microbiome in infection and health Chairs: Ben Willing, Wael Elhenawy | University of Alberta and Laura Sycuro | University of Calgary | |
| 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM | Matthew Sorbara | University of Guelph Harnessing genomic diversity in Lachnospiraceae to restore colonization resistance |
| 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM | Questions |
| 9:10 AM - 9:40 AM | Wael Elhenawy | University of Alberta A Crohn's Disease-Associated Escherichia coli Strain Assembles Biofilms Using a Hybrid Type IV Secretion System |
| 9:40 AM - 9:50 AM | Questions |
| 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM | COFFEE BREAK (20 minutes) |
| 10:10 AM - 10:40 AM | Elena Verdu | McMaster University Microbial Pathogenesis in Celiac Disease |
| 10:40 AM - 10:50 AM | Questions |
| 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM | Trevor Alexander | AAFC Lethbridge The role of the bovine respiratory microbiota in health and disease |
| 11:20 AM - 11:30 AM | Questions |
| 11:30 AM - 11:45 AM | Trainee talk - Kat Pick | University of Alberta One size does not fit all: examining molecular mechanisms of prophage induction in the gastrointestinal environment |
| 11:45 AM - 11:50 AM | Questions |
| 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Lunch |
| Session 7 - Infectious diseases, bench-to-bedside Chair: Trainee led session | |
| 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM | Kevin Kain | UHN Transforming Fever Management: new tools to save lives and money |
| 2:00 PM - 2:05 PM | Questions |
| 2:05 PM - 2:35 PM | Dylan Pillai | University of Calgary Improving access to precision infection diagnostics and outcomes |
| 2:35 PM - 2:40 PM | Questions |
| 2:40 PM - 3:00 PM | COFFEE BREAK |
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Simon Otto | University of Alberta AMR and One Health |
| 3:30 PM - 3:35 PM | Questions |
| 3:35 PM - 3:55 PM | Sameeh M. Salama | Fedora Pharm Antibiotic Drug Discovery: State of the Industry |
| 3:55 PM - 4:00 PM | Questions |
| 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM | Trainee Talk - Nik Ewasechko | University of Calgary Establishing a pipeline for recombinant outer membrane protein production and purification to be screened as antigens for human monoclonal antibody selection |
| 4:15 PM - 4:30 PM | Trainee Talk - Barbara Waddell | University of Calgary Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) of a multi-drug resistant Shigella sonnei outbreak affecting unhoused individuals across Calgary, Alberta |
| 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM | (on your own) |
| William Paranchych Lecture: Lori Burrows Introduction - Chair: Joe Harrison | |
| 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | Dr. Lori Burrows | McMaster University Scouting - a new mode of Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility |
| 5:50 PM - 6:00 PM | Questions |
| 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM | Networking | KCCI 1st floor Patio, Cash Bar |
| 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Closing Banquet - Trainee Talk and Poster Prizes (Rm 101 Kinnear Centre) |
Sunday | May 25
| 7:00 AM - 9:30 AM | Breakfast | Sally Borden Building |
| 11:00 AM | Checkout |