Professor and Senior Associate Dean (Research), University of Calgary

Gerald Zamponi is one of the world’s leading researchers on the molecular neurophysiology of ion channels. His seminal research has resulted in numerous contributions to both the basic and biomedical fields. He has described the underlying mechanisms of calcium channel inactivation, permeation and modulation by a variety of intracellular signaling molecules and pathways. His work has also defined the physiological consequences of genetic defects associated with calcium channel dysfunction in generalized epilepsies and congenital night blindness. The work has also defined novel molecular ...

Salim Yusuf is a Professor of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University and Director of the Population Health Research Institute. As a Rhodes Scholar, he initiated the concept of large simple trials, coordinating the first ISIS trial and developing concepts of meta-analysis. Subsequently, he has applied these principles to several other areas that led to the SOLVD and DIG trials in heart failure while at the US NIH, and more recently the HOPE, OASIS, CURE and CREATE trials since his move to McMaster University, Canada. He holds a Heart and Stroke Foundation ...

Professor & Co-Lead Multiple Sclerosis Neuro Team, University of Calgary

Wee Yong is an internationally recognized neuroscientist in multiple sclerosis. He has made several benchmark discoveries and he has translated laboratory results into clinical trials. Dr. Yong chairs the Medical Advisory Committee at the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, he serves on several international committees, and he is on the editorial board of 4 international journals. Dr. Yong has given numerous lectures internationally that expands the understanding and treatment of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Yong is also the successful supervisor of several past and present trainees, and he is ...

Professor and Ward Chair in Pediatric Brain Injury, University of Calgary

Dr. Yeates is a world-leading researcher in the field of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the most highly published author on childhood TBI and concussion in the world over the past decade. A neuropsychologist, Dr. Yeates has conducted innovative and clinically-impactful research regarding the environment's role in children's recovery from TBI, the social outcomes of childhood brain disorders, and the diagnosis and management of childhood concussion. Through outstanding mentorship and leadership nationally and internationally, Dr. Yeates has advanced the science and practice of ...

Ron Worton retired in 2007 from the position of CEO and Scientific Director of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Vice President of Research at the Ottawa Hospital and Professor at the University of Ottawa. He previously served as Geneticist-in-Chief at the Hospital for Sick Children and as the inaugural Scientific Director of the Stem Cell Network. Dr. Worton has served on the boards of many organizations, including the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists, the International Human Genome Organization, Genome Canada, Research Canada (two years as Chair) and the American Society of ...

Prof. of Pediatrics, Surgery, Immunology & Pathology/Lab Med, University of Alberta

Dr. West holds an international reputation as a scholar and leader in the field of pediatric heart transplantation and the science of immunobiology. Infants around the world now benefit from a change in clinical practice brought about by scientific knowledge applied to transplant policy. Today, 80% of infants waiting for a heart transplant will receive an organ; this improvement is largely due to the use of incompatible donor organs based on Dr. West’s research. Moreover, wastage of donor organs that would have been discarded due to lack of acceptable recipients has been minimized. She has ...

Professor at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

Dr. Weiss' ground breaking discoveries in neuroscience have led to new approaches for brain cell replacement and repair as well as pharmaceutical research for neurological disease therapies. Dr. Weiss is also the inaugural Director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary, which has rapidly gained national recognition as a centre of excellence, focused on translating innovative research and education into advances in neurological and mental healthcare. For his leadership, creativity, commitment to education, and the advancement of research and innovation, Dr. Weiss has ...

Professor, Western University

Charles Weijer is a leading expert on the ethics of randomized controlled trials. Publications on the duty of care in clinical research, the ethical analysis of study benefits and harms, and empowering communities in research have been broadly influential.From 2008 to 2013 Charles co-led a collaboration that produced the first international ethics guidelines for cluster randomized trials. From 2014 to 2018 he collaborated with Dr. Adrian M. Owen on a project exploring the ethics of functional neuroimaging after severe brain injury. Charles’ current work explores ethical issues in pragmatic ...

Professor of Physiology and Medicine, University of Toronto

Mladen pioneered tracer methods providing a corner stone for quantifying hormonal interactions in glucoregulation and pathogenesis diabetes. His hypothesis about beneficial or deleterious glucoregulatory effects of exercise in diabetes is universally accepted and is the basis of the concept that exercise not only ameliorates, but also prevents diabetes. He was the first to outline molecular mechanisms of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal dysfunction in diabetes, hypoglycemia and stress. He discovered new mechanisms how muscle, liver and pancreatic ?-cells adapt to hyperglycemia; a critical ...

Professor, University of Alberta

Lorne Tyrrell is a Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta and served for 10 years as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry until 2004. He currently holds the ClHR/GSK Chair in Virology at the University of Alberta. In 1986, with Dr. Morris Robins, he began working on a system to identify potent antivirals against hepatitis B virus (HBV) which infects about 400 million people worldwide. Through their work they discovered several potent antivirals against HBV and this resulted in a major collaboration with Glaxo Canada (now GlaxoSmithKline). The ...