CNS Research Day 2019

The Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences hosted its 2019 Departmental Research Day on May 14th, 2019 at Kings University College. This annual event features platform and poster presentations by residents, graduate students, PhD candidates, and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Derek Debicki, Dr. Michael Mayich, and special guest Dr. Sheila Singh judged the 16 platform presentations and 44 poster presentations.

The 2019 CNS Research Day Award Winners were the following:

Best Platform – Neurology: Michael Krawczyk on Atrial fibrillation diagnosed after stroke and increased risk of dementia: a multicenter cohort study.

Best Platform – Neurosurgery: Jonathan Lau on Direct visualization of the human zona incerta region using ultra-high field imaging: implications for stereotactic neurosurgery.
 
Best Platform – Graduate Student: Andrew Deweyert on Intratumoral modulation therapy enhances multi-modality treatment platforms for pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
 
Best Poster – Neurology: Mimma Anello on Dopaminergic modulation of a fast visuomoter pathway in healthand in Parkinson’s Disease (PD).
 
Best Poster – Neurosurgery: Michael Staudt on Durable long-term outcomes after percutaneous glycerol rhizotomy in the management of trigeminal neuralgia in patients with multiple sclerosis.
 
Best Poster – Graduate Student: Juweiriya Ahmed on Identifying neuroimaging and genetic correlates of delusions and hallucinations in Alzheimer’s disease.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their research as well as the faculty members who have provided guidance and encouragement to these up and coming researchers.  

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Sheila Singh

Title: Therapeutic targeting of brain cancer stem cells: A personalized medicine approach to treatment-resistant brain cancer

Dr. Si143-sheila-singh-2017_small.jpgngh is a Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry, Chief Pediatric Neurosurgeon at McMaster Children’s Hospital and the Division Head of Neurosurgery at Hamilton Health Sciences and Scientist appointed to the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute at McMaster University. She holds a Tier One Senior Canada Research Chair in Human Brain Cancer Stem Cell Biology and is Director of the McMaster Surgeon Scientist Program.

Her PhD thesis described the novel identification of a population of cancer stem cells that exclusively drive the formation of brain tumours. Since 2007, Dr. Singh's lab applies a developmental neurobiology framework to the study of brain tumorigenesis. Building upon previous cell culture techniques developed for the isolation of normal neural stem cells (NSC) and applying them to brain tumours, and through development of a xenograft model to efficiently study brain tumour initiating cell (BTIC) activity, Dr. Singh's lab aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that govern BTIC selfrenewal. 

Dr. Singh is currently studying the regulation of BTIC signaling pathways in glioblastoma, brain metastases and childhood medulloblastoma, with an ultimate goal of selectively targeting the BTIC with appropriately tailored drug and molecular therapies. Her laboratory is funded by CCSRI, CIHR, TFRI, CRS, the Stem Cell Network, McMaster Surgical Associates, Brain Canada and the Boris Family Fund.