BCID 2025 Program

May 21  |  May 22  |  May 23  |  May 24  |  May 25

Download Schedule

Wednesday | May 21

4:00 PM - 6:00 PMCheck-in and Badge Collection
(Front Desk-Professional Development Building)                                                                                            
 (On your own for dinner)
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

"Trainee Social Events"

Hike to Surprise Corner & Bow Falls Viewpoint 

Meet outside the Professional Development Center

This will be an easy hike (relatively flat, well-marked trails), but participants should come prepared for the weather and to be walking for at least 1 hour

  
 Session 1 - New Horizons
Chair: Jon Dennis | University of Alberta
6:10 PM - 6:25 PMOpening Remarks | Tracy Raivio and Alexei Savchenko
6:25 PM - 7:15 PMDr. Don Woods Lecture: John Whitney | McMaster University
A widespread family of broad-spectrum protein antibiotics
7:15 PM - 7:20 PMQuestions
7:20 PM - 7:50 PMKaren Maxwell | University of Toronto
Exploring the anti-phage defence system network in Vibrio species
7:50 PM - 7:55 PMQuestions
7:55 PM - 8:25 PMBrent Weber | University of Alberta
Antibacterial drug discovery using physiologically-relevant growth conditions
8:25 PM - 8:30 PMQuestions
8:30 PM- 10:00 PM Opening reception and Meet the Speaker - KC301

Thursday | May 22

7:00 AM - 8:20 AMBreakfast | 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 AMTamara O'Connor | Johns Hopkins University, US
Lipid resources: Friend versus foe to pathogens and their hosts
9:00 AM - 9:10 AMQuestions
9:10 AM - 9:40 AMKarla Satchell | Northwestern University
Vibrio MARTX toxins host cell surface interactions
9:40 AM - 9:50 AMQuestions 
9:50 AM - 10:10 AMCOFFEE BREAK
10:10 AM - 10:40 AMCaroline Cameron | University of Victoria
Investigating the Pathogen-Host Interface During Infection with the Syphilis-Causing Spirochete, Treponema pallidum
10:40 AM - 10:50 AMQuestions
10:50 AM - 11:20 AMJoanne 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 AMQuestions
11:30 AM - 11:45 AMTrainee talk - Malcolm Forster | University of Alberta
Salmonella SspH2 mimics inflammasome signal one to induce IL-1β production in macrophages
11:45 AM - 11:50 AMQuestions
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM Lunch | Sally Borden Building)
1:15 PM - 2:45 PMPoster session 1
2:45 PM - 7:00 PMOn your own for dinner
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

"Trainee Social Events"

Trivia & Pub Social
This will be hosted at the St James Gate Old Irish Pub (appetizers provided!)

 Session 3 - Vector Borne Infections
Chairs: George Chaconas | University of Calgary and Nathan Peters | University of Calgary
7:00 PM - 7:30 PMDr. 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 PMQuestions
7:35 PM - 8:05 PMMelissa Caimano | University of Connecticut, US
Tick-Tok: How Lyme disease spirochetes time differential gene expression according to tick feeding.
8:05 PM - 8:10 PMQuestions
8:10 PM - 8:30 PMCOFFEE BREAK (20 minutes)
8:30 PM - 9:00 PMMatthew Rogers | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
Do Leishmania make a biofilm to aid their transmission?
9:00 PM - 9:05 PMQuestions
9:05 PM - 9:20 PMTrainee Talk - Daiana Alvarez-Olmedo | University of Calgary 
Discovery of Novel Borrelia burgdorferi Adhesins That Facilitate Binding to Activated Endothelium
9:20 PM - 9:25 PMQuestions
After HoursMeet the Speaker - Maclab Bistro | Kinnear Centre

Friday | May 23

7:00 AM - 8:20 AMBreakfast
 Session 4 - Antimicrobial drug resistance
Chairs: Diego Nobrega | University of Calgary and Brent Weber | University of Alberta
8:30 AM - 9:00 AMHerman 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 AMQuestions
9:50 AM - 10:10 AMCOFFEE 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 AMQuestions
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 AMQuestions
11:30 AM - 11:45 AMTrainee Talk -  Manoj Jangra | McMaster University
Discovery of a New Antibiotic, Lariocidin: A Knotty Solution to Antibiotic Resistance
11:45 AM - 11:50 AMQuestions
12:00 PM - 1:15 PMLunch | Sally Borden Building
1:15 PM - 2:45 PMPoster 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 PMQuestions
7:35 PM - 8:05 PM Jim Sun  | University of British Columbia
Novel targets for tuberculosis host-directed therapy
8:05 PM - 8:10 PMQuestions
8:10 PM - 8:30 PMCOFFEE BREAK
8:30 PM - 9:00 PMAnn C. Gregory | University of Calgary
Breathing Life into Viromics: Understanding Viral Communities in the Human Lung.
9:00 PM - 9:05 PMQuestions
9:05 PM - 9:20 PMTrainee Talk - Alex Ensminger | University of Toronto
The discovery of a Legionella phage explains a key determinant of human disease
9:40 PM - 9:45 PMQuestions
After Hours: Meet the Speaker - Maclab Bistro | Kinnear Centre

Saturday | May 24

7:00 AM - 8:20 AMBreakfast | 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 AMQuestions
9:10 AM - 9:40 AMWael Elhenawy | University of Alberta
TBA
9:40 AM - 9:50 AMQuestions
9:50 AM - 10:10 AMCOFFEE BREAK (20 minutes)
10:10 AM - 10:40 AM Elena Verdu | McMaster University
Microbial Pathogenesis in Celiac Disease
10:40 AM - 10:50 AMQuestions
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 AMQuestions
11:30 AM - 11:45 AMTrainee 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 AMQuestions
12:00 PM - 1:30 PMLunch
 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 PMTrainee 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 AMBreakfast | Sally Borden Building                                                                                                                       
11:00 AMCheckout