|
...........................
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|
This award was established to provide national
recognition to outstanding Canadian
Microbiologists and to provide a historical
record of them and their achievements. The award
is presented annually at the Annual General
Meeting and consists of a plaque and $1,500.00
honorarium. This award is sponsored by Norgen
Biotek Corp. and Canadian Society of Microbiologists
(CSM). We are now accepting nominations for the 2010
Norgen Biotek Corp. / CSM Award.
The nominations deadline is April 9, 2010. A
nomination form is available below.
This award is given
to stimulate and recognize new researchers in
the microbiological sciences. The award
comprises $1,500.00 and an inscribed scroll.
More information about the award and the
nominations process is available in the attached
document. We are now accepting nominations for
the 2010 Fisher Scientific award - the deadline
for nominations April 9, 2010.
Canadian Graduate Student Microbiologist of the Year
 |
 |
University nominations are reviewed and ranked
by a 5-member International Scientific
Committee. The award consists of a quality gold
coin from the Royal Canadian Mint, travel,
accommodation, and registration to the annual
meeting and a banquet ticket. Further details
are published in the CSM Newsletter. The Gold
Medal competition is made possible by the
generous financial support of Cangene
Corporation. We are now accepting nominations
for the 2010 Canadian Graduate Student
Microbiologist of the Year award. The
nominations deadline is April 9, 2010.
Information about the award and a nomination
form (in PDF and Word format) is available at
the link below.
| CSM Student Award, Cedarlane Student Award, ISME 8
and the CCM Student Award |
|
These awards are presented to the three top
students presenting papers at the Annual General
Meeting. Each award consists of a plaque and a
$500.00 cash prize. As well, a small travel
bursary is available to assist students
competing for this award. These awards are
sponsored by the Canadian Society of
Microbiologists, Cedarlane Laboratories, the
Canadian College of Microbiologists and the ISME
8 Award is sponsored by Atlantic Canada Society
for Microbial Ecology , and. The CCM award also
includes a 1 year free membership in the CCM.
|
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...........................
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|
2009 Cangene Gold Medal Award: Canadian Graduate Student Microbiologist of the Year Award
|
|
Dr. Philippe Constant |
Philippe Constant has completed a B.Sc. in
Biological Sciences at the Université de Montréal. As an
undergraduate, he undertook different research projects with Dr.
Patrick Hallenbeck and his Ph.D. supervisors in the field of
environmental microbiology. He conducted his Ph.D. research in the
laboratories of Dr. Richard Villemur at the INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier
and Dr. Laurier Poissant at Environment Canada on the biogeochemical
cycle of molecular hydrogen and mercury. Having an interdisciplinary
formation at the interface between environmental microbiology and
Earth sciences, he has developed a unique expertise to measure trace
elements fluxes and to identify the microorganisms involved in these
exchanges. During his research, Philippe has contributed to 12
peer-reviewed publications and has given 5 conferences talks and 8
poster presentations. He was recognized by national and provincial
scholarships, has obtained several conference travel awards and is
currently reviewer for 4 different scientific journals. Philippe has
been funded by the FQRNT to undertake a postdoctoral fellow in the
research group of Dr. Ralf Conrad at the Max Planck Institute for
Terrestrial Microbiology in Germany.
Study of the
biogeochemical cycle of molecular hydrogen and mercury by using an
integrated approach
An original approach, combining
microbial ecology with atmospheric sciences, has been elaborated to
study molecular hydrogen (H2) and mercury (Hg) microbiogeochemistry. The
research has been initiated by a characterization of H2 soil uptake, a
process responsible for 80% of the global atmospheric H2 losses. So
far, H2 soil uptake is attributed to hypothetical free soil
hydrogenases and atmospheric H2 distribution models are derived by
assuming a homogenous activity at the global scale. We have
demonstrated that both assumptions should be mistaken. H2 fluxes
measured in wetlands, grassland and subarctic ecosystems were
characterized by considerable spatial and temporal variations
explained by environmental factors such as soil temperature, carbon
and water content. A new approach combining H2 fluxes measurement with
microbial diversity monitoring has been developed to find the origin
of the observed H2 soil uptake. Streptomyces sp. PCB7 has been
identified as the first microorganism having the capacity to consume
atmospheric H2. Strain PCB7 consumed H2 only during its sporulation
phase, which is activated in response of nutrients depletion. A
putative [NiFe]-hydrogenase has been identified, providing a first
target for the development of a molecular tool to study H2 soil uptake
ecophysiology.
Polar ecosystems are exposed to anthropogenic
Hg, especially in springtime due to atmospheric mercury depletion
events (AMDE). During AMDE, reactive halogens are oxidizing Hg species
having a long atmospheric residence time to reactive forms that are
rapidly deposited onto the snow cover. The fate of newly deposited Hg
needs to be investigated since important discharges of methylmercury (MeHg;
the most readily bioaccumulated Hg species) are observed in snowmelt
water. Biological and chemical Hg methylation reactions have been
observed in soil, sediments and aquatic ecosystems, but their
occurrence has never been reported in snow. We have performed several
field campaigns in subarctic ecosystems to identify the origin of the
MeHg detected in the snow cover. Two main processes have been
identified. Before the snowmelt, marine aerosols were a source of
unstable MeHg which was rapidly demethylated following its atmospheric
deposition. The situation was more intricate at the snow melting
period, when a dramatic increase of MeHg concentrations was observed
in shrub tundra, presumably due to in situ biological and chemical Hg
methylation reactions. Our results provided evidences that reactive Hg
species deposited in the snow cover during AMDE can be transformed in
MeHg, representing an exposure risk to the arctic biota, especially in
coastal aquatic ecosystems.
In conclusion, an integrative
interpretation of our results has showed that global change could
increase annual MeHg discharges in polar aquatic ecosystems and alter
soil’s atmospheric H2 uptake activity. |
2009 Roche Diagnostics-CSM Award
|
|
Dr. B. Brett Finlay |
Dr. B. Brett Finlay is a Professor in the
Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Departments of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University
of British Columbia. He obtained a B.Sc. (Honors) in Biochemistry at
the University of Alberta, where he also did his Ph.D. (1986) in
Biochemistry under Dr. William Paranchych, studying F-like plasmid
conjugation. His post-doctoral studies were performed with Dr. Stanley
Falkow at the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at
Stanford University School of Medicine, where he studied Salmonella
invasion into host cells. In 1989, he joined UBC as an Assistant
Professor in the Biotechnology Laboratory. Dr. Finlay’s research
interests are focussed on host-pathogen interactions, at the molecular
level. By combining cell biology with microbiology, he has been at the
forefront of the emerging field called Cellular Microbiology, making
several fundamental discoveries in this field, and publishing over 300
papers. His laboratory studies several pathogenic bacteria, with
Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli interactions with host cells being
the primary focus. He is well recognized internationally for his work,
and has won several prestigious awards including the E.W.R. Steacie
Prize, the CSM Fisher Scientific Award, a MRC Scientist, five Howard
Hughes International Research Scholar Awards, a CIHR Distinguished
Investigator, BC Biotech Innovation Award, the Michael Smith Health
Research Prize, the IDSA Squibb award, the Jacob Biely Prize, the
prestigious Canadian Killam Health Sciences Prize, the Flavelle Medal
of the Royal Society, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and
the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and is the UBC Peter Wall
Distinguished Professor. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and
Order of British Columbia. He is a cofounder of Inimex
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Director of the SARS Accelerated Vaccine
Initiative. He also serves on several editorial and advisory boards,
and is a strong supporter of communicating science to the public.
Bugs R Us: The role of the microbiota in infectious
enteric diseases
The number of microbes in and on us
outnumber our human cells by a factor of 10, and one gram of feces
contains more bacteria than all humans in the world. Despite this, we
have only recently begun to explore the human microbiome and its effects on us. There is
strong preliminary evidence that the normal flora impacts on obesity,
metabolism, inflammatory bowel diseases, asthma, and infectious
diseases. We have been studying the role of the microbiota in enteric
infectious diseases using pathogenic E. coli and Salmonella murine
models. It is becoming apparent that the microbiota plays a critical
role in immune development and responses, and the establishment and
outcome of infectious enteric diseases. Results probing these aspects
will be discussed in the context of these infectious agents. |
2009 Fisher Scientific Award
|
|
Dr. John Hunter Brumell |
John Brumell, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at the
Hospital for Sick Children and an Associate Professor at the
University of Toronto in the departments of Molecular Genetics and the
Institute of Medical Science. He received his undergraduate education
from the University of Western Ontario and his graduate education from
the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Sergio
Grinstein. Dr. Brumell received postdoctoral training in the
laboratories of Dr. Mike Tyers (Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto) and Dr.
Brett Finlay (University of British Columbia). He started his
independent research career at the Hospital for Sick
Children/University of Toronto in 2002. Dr. Brumell’s research
examines how bacteria interact with cells of their host to cause
disease. A major focus of this work is on Salmonella typhimurium, a
common cause of food poisoning in North America and a model pathogen.
The focus of his work is on toxins called ‘effectors’ that are
delivered by the bacteria into host cells using a needle-like delivery
system. The objective of his studies is to determine the molecular
mechanisms by which the effectors alter host cell machinery during
infection. Another focus of his research is autophagy, a cellular
defence to infection by pathogenic microorganisms. His research
examines how autophagy can target bacterial pathogens like Salmonella
during infection, restricting their growth in host cells. By utilizing
infection models Dr. Brumell is examining the mechanisms that regulate
autophagy.
Autophagy of bacterial pathogens: its roles
and its regulation
Autophagy plays an important role in
immunity to microbial pathogens. In my laboratory we have
characterized the interaction of two intracellular bacterial pathogens
with the autophagy system in cells that they infect, and have begun to
characterize autophagy regulation.
Salmonella typhimurium can
grow in modified phagosomes (Salmonella-containing vacuoles) in cells
of its host. However, a small population of these bacteria can damage
the vacuole and escape into the cytosol during in vitro infection.
Using GFP-LC3 as a marker of autophagosomes, we found that ≈ 20% of
intracellular S. typhimurium colocalized with GFP-LC3 at 1 h post
infection. LC3+ bacteria colocalized with vacuole markers. Autophagy-deficient
(atg5-/-) cells were more permissive for intracellular growth by S.
typhimurium than normal cells. We propose a model in which the host
autophagy system targets S. typhimurium in damaged vacuoles early
after infection to protect the cytosol from bacterial colonization.
After entry into host cells, Listeria monocytogenes escapes
the phagosome using several virulence factors, including Listeriolysin
O (LLO), a cholesterol-dependent cytolysin. LLO has two functions: 1)
create small pores in the phagosome to block its fusion with lysosomes
and 2) to disrupt the phagosomes, allowing bacterial escape into the
cytosol. Phagosome lysis is enhanced by two phospholipases (PI-PLC and
PC-PLC). In the cytosol, the Listeria protein ActA recruits host actin
regulatory proteins to drive actin polymerization at one bacterial
pole and movement (actin-based motility) in the cytosol, facilitating
intercellular spread. In our studies, L. monocytogenes was targeted by
the autophagy system during initial escape from phagosomes. However,
these bacteria evaded autophagy targeting during subsequent stages of
infection. Actin-based motility and the expression of PI-PLC and
PC-PLC were found to promote autophagy evasion by the bacteria. As
well, a population of L. monocytogenes was found to replicate, albeit
slowly, within large vacuoles we termed Spacious Listeria-containing
Phagosomes (SLAPs), the formation of which was dependent on LLO
expression and the host autophagy system. Importantly, SLAPs were also
observed during in vivo persistent infection of SCID mice. We conclude
that L. monocytogenes uses multiple mechanisms to evade autophagy
killing and colonize the cytosol of host cells. We suggest that SLAPs
may represent an intracellular niche for L. monocytogenes during
persistent infection.
What regulates autophagy of bacteria?
Many potential factors have been identified. The production of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the mitochondria has been linked to
starvation-induced autophagy and ROS from other cellular sources may
also regulate autophagy. Of particular interest is the NADPH oxidase
(NOX) family of enzymes, which generate ROS for the purposes of
signaling, development, growth control and immunity. In phagocytes,
the NOX2 NADPH oxidase plays a central role in microbial killing
through the generation of ROS and subsequent initiation of many
phagocyte effector functions. We recently showed that NOX2-generated
ROS are necessary for autophagy targeting bacteria in phagocytes.
Anti-bacterial autophagy in human epithelial cells, which do not
express NOX2, was also dependent on ROS generationby other NOX family
members. Our results suggest an important role for members of the NOX
family in regulating autophagy targeting of microbial invaders |
|
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|
The Roche Diagnostic CSM Award
|
Year |
|
First
Name |
|
Surname |
|
1963 |
|
Dr. R.G.E. |
|
Murray |
|
1965 |
|
Dr. J.H. |
|
Quastel |
|
1966 |
|
Dr. J.J.R. |
|
Campbell |
|
1967 |
|
Dr. C.F. |
|
Robinow |
|
1968 |
|
Dr. B.D. |
|
Sanwal |
|
1969 |
|
Dr. J. |
|
de Repentigny |
|
1970 |
|
Dr. N.E. |
|
Gibbons |
|
1971 |
|
Dr. J.F. |
|
Morgan |
|
1972 |
|
Dr. A. |
|
Frappier |
|
1973 |
|
Dr. R.A. |
|
MacLeod |
|
1975 |
|
Dr. A.J. |
|
Rhodes |
|
1976 |
|
Dr. L.C. |
|
Vining |
|
1977 |
|
Dr. P.C. |
|
Fitzjames |
|
1978 |
|
Dr. S. |
|
Sonea |
|
1979 |
|
Dr. J. |
|
Child |
|
1979 |
|
Dr. T. |
|
LaRue |
|
1979 |
|
Dr. W. |
|
Kurz |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1980 |
|
Dr. J. |
|
Costerton |
|
1981 |
|
Dr. R. |
|
Knowles |
|
1983 |
|
Dr. K.-J. |
|
Cheng |
|
1984 |
|
Dr. V. |
|
Pavilanis |
|
1985 |
|
Dr. D.W. |
|
Westlake |
|
1986 |
|
Dr. A. |
|
Hurst |
|
1987 |
|
Dr. R.E.W. |
|
Hancock |
|
1988 |
|
Dr. L. |
|
Bryan |
|
1989 |
|
Dr. G.D. |
|
Sprott |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1990 |
|
Dr. Lorne Allan |
|
Babiuk |
|
1991 |
|
Dr. Malcolm B. |
|
Perry |
|
1992 |
|
Dr. D.J. |
|
Kushner |
|
1993 |
|
Dr. Trevor J. |
|
Trust |
|
1994 |
|
Dr. Terrence |
|
Beveridge |
|
1995 |
|
Dr. Diane |
|
Taylor |
|
1996 |
|
Dr. Ken |
|
Sanderson |
|
1997 |
|
Dr. Julian |
|
Davies |
|
1998 |
|
Dr. Dieter |
|
Kluepfel |
|
1999 |
|
Dr. Donald E. |
|
Woods |
|
2000 |
|
Dr. Cecil |
|
Forsberg |
|
2001 |
|
Dr. Peter C. |
|
Loewen |
|
2002 |
|
Dr. Pierre |
|
Talbot |
|
2003 |
|
Dr. Chris |
|
Whitfield |
|
2004 |
|
Dr. Gerrit |
|
Voordouw |
|
2005 |
|
Dr. Carlton |
|
Gyles |
|
2006 |
|
Dr. Joseph |
|
Lam |
|
2007 |
|
Dr. Jo-Anne |
|
Dillon |
|
2008 |
|
Dr. Miguel |
|
Valvano |
|
2009 |
|
Dr. Brett |
|
Finlay |
The Fisher Award
|
Year |
|
First
Name |
|
Surname |
|
1990 |
|
Dr. Reggie Y.C. |
|
Lo |
|
1991 |
|
Dr. B.
Brett |
|
Finlay |
|
1992 |
|
no
award |
|
|
|
1993 |
|
Dr.
Mario |
|
Jacques |
|
1994 |
|
Dr. Michael
F. |
|
Hynes |
|
1995 |
|
Dr. J.R. |
|
Lawrence |
|
1996 |
|
Dr.
Keith |
|
Poole |
|
1997 |
|
Dr.
Richard |
|
Belanger |
|
1998 |
|
no
award |
|
|
|
1999 |
|
no
award |
|
|
|
2000 |
|
Dr. Michael
G. |
|
Surette |
|
2001 |
|
Dr.
Marcelo |
|
Gottschalk |
|
2002 |
|
Dr. Roberta |
|
Fulthorpe |
|
2003 |
|
Dr. Francois |
|
Jean |
|
2004 |
|
Dr. Lyle |
|
Whyte |
|
2005 |
|
Dr. Charles M. |
|
Dozois |
|
2006 |
|
Dr. David |
|
Heinrichs |
|
2007 |
|
Dr. Fiona |
|
Brinkman |
|
2008 |
|
Dr. John |
|
McCormick |
|
2009 |
|
Dr. John Hunter |
|
Brumell |
Canadian Graduate Student Microbiologist of the Year
The Gold Award
|
Year
|
|
First
Name
|
|
Surname
|
|
University
|
|
1997
|
|
Dana J.
|
|
Philpott
|
|
University of Toronto
|
|
1998
|
|
Janine
|
|
Bossé
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
1999
|
|
Lisa D.
|
|
Collins
|
|
University of Ottawa
|
|
2000
|
|
Jolyne
|
|
Drummelsmith
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
2001
|
|
Jeremy A.
|
|
Yethon
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
2002
|
|
Danika
|
|
Goosney
|
|
University of British Columbia
|
|
2003
|
|
Sean |
|
Connell |
|
University of Alberta |
|
2004
|
|
Trevor |
|
Lawley |
|
Acadia University |
|
2005
|
|
Matthew |
|
Gilmour |
|
University of Alberta |
|
2006
|
|
Dawn |
|
Bowdish |
|
University of British Columbia |
|
2007 |
|
Catherine |
|
Paradis-Bleau |
|
Université Laval |
|
2008 |
|
Joe |
|
Harrison |
|
University of Calgary |
|
2009 |
|
Philippe |
|
Constant |
|
Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Germany |
Cedarlane Student Award
|
Year
|
|
First
Name
|
|
Surname
|
|
University
|
|
1996
|
|
David
|
|
Chow
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
1997
|
|
Benoit
|
|
Barbeau
|
|
Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie
|
|
1998
|
|
Paul Antony
|
|
Amor
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
1999
|
|
Vincent
|
|
Martin
|
|
University of British Columbia
|
|
2000
|
|
Kelly
|
|
Rice
|
|
University of Toronto
|
|
2002
|
|
David
|
|
Allen
|
|
Dalhousie University
|
|
2003
|
|
Sonia |
|
Bary |
|
Queen's University |
|
2004
|
|
Casey |
|
Hubert |
|
University of Calgary |
|
2005
|
|
Valerio |
|
Matias |
|
University of Guelph |
|
2008
|
|
Karon |
|
James |
|
McGill University |
|
2009 |
|
Justin |
|
Deme |
|
McGill University |
CCM Student Symposium Award
|
Year
|
|
First
Name
|
|
Surname
|
|
University
|
|
1995
|
|
Joanna
|
|
Brooke
|
|
University of Western
Ontario
|
|
1996
|
|
Carl
|
|
Gagnon
|
|
Institut Armand-Frappier
|
|
1997
|
|
Kate
|
|
Billingsley
|
|
University of Waterloo
|
|
1998
|
|
Ian C.
|
|
Schoenhofen
|
|
University of Regina
|
|
1999
|
|
David
|
|
Alexander
|
|
McGill University
|
|
2000
|
|
Margot Faye
|
|
Hiltz
|
|
Dalhousie University
|
|
2002
|
|
Ahmed
|
|
El Zoeiby
|
|
Université Laval
|
|
2003
|
|
Stacy |
|
Tom-Yew |
|
University of British Columbia |
|
2004
|
|
Joel |
|
Wedge |
|
University of Guelph |
|
2005
|
|
Anne |
|
Eisenhower |
|
McGill University |
|
2009 |
|
Gheyath |
|
Nasrallah |
|
Dalhousie University |
CSM/CBDN Student Award
|
Year
|
|
First
Name
|
|
Surname
|
|
University
|
|
1995
|
|
Michael
|
|
Mitsch
|
|
University of Calgary
|
|
1995
|
|
Tim
|
|
Karnaucho
|
|
University of Ottawa
|
|
1996
|
|
Lesia
|
|
Harachuc
|
|
The University of
Manitoba
|
|
1996
|
|
Lateef
|
|
O. Adewoye
|
|
University of Manitoba
|
|
1997
|
|
Isabelle
|
|
Turcot
|
|
Queen's University
|
|
1998
|
|
Kerrn
|
|
Yat-Fai Yau
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
1999
|
|
Jason
|
|
Correia
|
|
Queen's University
|
|
2000
|
|
Gregory
James
|
|
Newton
|
|
University of Guelph
|
|
2002
|
|
Maria
|
|
Dowdeswell
|
|
University of Saskatchewan
|
|
2003
|
|
Jean-Nicolas |
|
Gagnon |
|
McGill University |
|
2004
|
|
Wayne |
|
Miller |
|
University of Guelph |
|
2005
|
|
Wook |
|
Kim |
|
University of Calgary |
ASM Student Symposium Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2008 |
|
Katherine |
|
Yam |
|
University of British Columbia |
| 2009 |
|
Valerie |
|
Janelle |
|
INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier |
ISME 8 Student Symposium Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2009 |
|
Sandra |
|
Wilson |
|
Queens University |
CSM Student Symposium Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2009 |
|
Patrick |
|
Moynihan |
|
University of Guelph |
CSM Poster Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2009 |
|
Salim |
|
Islam |
|
University of Guelph |
CCM Poster Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2009 |
|
Christine |
|
Ritlop |
|
McGill University |
ISME 8 Poster Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2009 |
|
Christine |
|
Martineau |
|
NRC (BRI) and McGill University |
ASM Poster Award
Year |
|
First Name |
|
Surname |
|
University |
| 2008 |
|
Jenna |
|
Capyk |
|
University of British Columbia |
| 2009 |
|
Felix |
|
Hugentobler |
|
McGill University |
|
|
|
|
|
