Issue 13 - February 26th, 2018
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| | | Dundas Central Public School Children Learn More About Microbes
Tuesday marked another exciting day for grades 4 to 6 students from Dundas Central Public School, Hamilton. Hosted by the Let’s Talk Science outreach program in collaboration with McMaster Children & Youth University (MCYU) and the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR), over 100 students took an eventful field trip to McMaster’s Burke Science Building to learn about the human immune system, pathogens, and disease.
Learn More > |
| Wright lab publishes Rox gene's unprecedented mechanism of rifamycin resistance in Cell Chemical Biology
Rox genes - or, rifamycin monooxygenases - are found in a variety of environmental bacteria, and are associated with the decomposition of the clinically important antibiotic rifampin. In a recent study in Cell Chemical Biology led by Dr. Kalinka Koteva and Dr. Georgina Cox of the Wright lab, the team takes a closer look at the structure and mechanism of resistance of Rox isolated from Streptomyces venezualae to uncover a novel method of antibiotic detoxification.
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| Is the flu shot 10% effective? Or 55%? Dr. Mark Loeb cuts through the confusion on CBC’s The Morning Edition
Every year, scientists must make a prediction as to which strains to put into the influenza vaccine. However, a perfect match is difficult to estimate, resulting in much confusion regarding just how effective the seasonal vaccine is. In an interview on CBC's The Morning Edition, IIDR’s Dr. Mark Loeb explains why this year's flu shot is resulting in especially conflicting efficacy numbers.
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| "Rise of superbugs could make chemo impossible” - Dr. Lori Burrow's comments on CBC Radio's The Current
It is estimated that drug-resistant infections (DRIs) are responsible for more than 700,000 annual deaths worldwide, and that by 2050 they may kill more people than cancer. On CBC’s The Current, IIDR’s Dr. Lori Burrows comments on the many challenges that researchers face when trying to find viable solutions to DRIs, and discusses potential solutions that could help mitigate this devastating global health threat.
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| ! Ms. Elizabeth Polvi, PhD candidate from the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, will be coming to McMaster University on Wednesday, March 14th from 12:30pm to 2:00pm to give a talk to IIDR trainees. Her presentation, entitled "Dissecting Mechanisms of Echinocandin Drug Resistance and Filamentation in the Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans", will be followed by a pizza networking lunch. Open to all IIDR and MIRC members and trainees. Room to be announced. |
| | ! Trainee Day Ambassadors are looking for suggestions for a Keynote Speaker for November's IIDR Trainee Day 2018. If you have a favourite female scientist that you would like to see present this year (from anywhere in the world!), please send your nominations to grovec3@mcmaster.ca before Friday, March 2nd. |
| | | ! Wednesday, March 7th: ID / IIDR Combined Joint Rounds Dr. Zain Chagla & Dr. Hendrik Poinar 8:00am - 9:00am HSC 4E20 |
| Wednesday, February 28th: Work In Progress (WIP) Seminar Series Jessica Breznik “Examining immunological effects of diet-induced obesity in female mice” Hemisha Patel “The role of Dectin-1 in pulmonary fibrosis” 9:00am - 10:00am MDCL 3023 |
| Wednesday, March 7th: Immunology & Infection Program (IIP) Seminar Series David Perrin, Professor from the Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia “Meeting the challenge of kit 18F-labeling of complex molecules for PET imaging: Rapid, Wet, One-Step, HPLC-free Radiosynthesis"
9:00am - 10:00am MDCL 3023 |
| Wednesday, March 14th: IIDR Trainee Seminar & Networking Lunch Elizabeth Polvi, PhD Candidate Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto
“Dissecting Mechanisms of Echinocandin Drug Resistance and Filamentation in the Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans"
12:30pm - 2:00pm *Room TBA
*Lecture followed by a pizza networking lunch. |
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| Have Something Exciting to Share?
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| | Send me your story at grovec3@mcmaster.ca.
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