Invited Speakers
BacPath10 will have four invited speakers:
Prof. Bob Hancock
(University of British Columbia) |
Bob Hancock, OC, has made seminal contributions to three major fields of study: the characterization of natural host defence (antimicrobial) peptides and their development as novel therapies for infections, antibiotic uptake and resistance, and the outer membranes/genomics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He is a highly cited author in Microbiology with more than 19,000 citations for his 470 papers to date. For his achievements he has received numerous awards including the 2001 Aventis Pharmaceuticals award, the world’s leading prize in antimicrobial research. He is active in biotechnology as a co-Founder of Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc, Migenix Inc, and the BC Centre for Drug Research and Development. |
Prof. Laura Frost
(University of Alberta) |
Dr. Laura Frost is Professor and past Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences (2002-2008) and is an authority on the mechanism of bacterial conjugation as mediated by the F plasmid. This process is a key factor in horizontal gene transfer that promotes the dissemination of important traits in bacteria such as antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity determinants. She is the past President of the Canadian Society for Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology and chairs the CIHR Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (MI) grant selection panel. She was the Aigner-Rollett Professor in Gender and Womens' Studies in Graz, Austria, Spring session, 2009. |
Prof. Miguel Valvano
(University of Western Ontario) |
Dr. Valvano's is an MD and Pediatrician, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, and Medicine, and holds a Canada Research Chair in Infectious Diseases and Microbial Pathogensis. His research projects focus on: (i) the lipopolysaccharide molecule, which is a major component of the bacterial cell envelope that prevents entry of antimicrobials and host defense molecules, and (ii) the interactions of opportunistic bacteria with phagocytic cells from the immune system. His research combines structural biology, biochemistry, genetics and cellular biology and will provide novel strategies to deal with infections in immunocompromised patient suffering from chronic infections, such as those with cystic fibrosis. |
Prof. James Paton
(University of Adelaide) |
James Paton obtained his PhD from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Adelaide in 1979, and spent 20 years at the Women's and Children's Hospital, where he was Head of the Molecular Microbiology Unit. He was made a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology in 1989. He took up the Chair of Microbiology at the University of Adelaide in 2000, and was Head of the Discipline of Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science from 2003-7. In 2007, he was awarded one of the inaugural NHMRC Australia Fellowships, and he is currently Director of the University of Adelaide's Research Centre for Infectious Diseases. He leads a large research team, studying the fundamental molecular events involved in the interactions between pathogenic bacteria and their hosts. The results of this research are being applied to development of more effective vaccines and novel therapeutic strategies for fighting infectious diseases in humans. One of his major research interests is pathogenesis and prevention of pneumococcal disease, and he has been a leading proponent of protein-based pneumococcal vaccines, which are now entering clinical trials. |
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