Parkinson Society Canada attends CPIN Day 2014 at University of Toronto
You are never too old to go back to school. That’s what Parkinson Society Canada discovered when it supported the 2014 Collaborative Program In Neuroscience (CPIN)Research Day and International Symposium on Synaptic Plasticity and Brain Disorders. The event, held at the Medical Sciences Building, University of Toronto as well as the Mount Sinai Hospital Auditorium, was like speed-dating. But instead of mini-dates with prospective partners, the conversations revolved around the more than 80 poster presentations from students in disciplines ranging from biochemistry to cell and system biology to psychology.
Among the presenters was Vincent Lam, pharmacology & toxicology, University of Toronto, whose supervisor is Parkinson Society Canada-funded researcher Ali Salahpour. Lam’s project was titled, “TAAR1 as a new Target for Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease: The Discovery of Novel Chemical Compounds Through the use of in silico Screening and in vivo Testing.” Katherine McDonald, Department of Psychology, York University also presented her work on, “A Dance Intervention for People with Parkinson’s Disease: Investigating Short-term and Long-term Impacts of Dance on Physical Functioning and Quality of Life.” This project is part of Dr. Joseph DeSouza’s Parkinson Society Canada-funded project in partnership with Canada’s National Ballet School.
This year, the Symposium was held in honour of Professor John C. Roder’s contribution to science and education. The evening featured a tribute honouring the achievements of Dr. John Roder, and his career, in which he has devoted more than 25 years to investigating the molecular processes underlying synaptic regulation and mental disorders. He has made major contributions to the field of synaptic plasticity and brain function.
CPIN’s goal of fostering a strong and proactive collaborative neuroscience training program is well aligned with PSC’s National Research Program mandate to build neuroscience research capacity. We look forward to the 2015 event.
Save the date:
The 2015 Donald Calne lecture will take place in conjunction with the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF) annual conference in Toronto on Thursday, June 11, 2015 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Details to follow.
Watch for the National Research Program 2014-2016 funding announcements in the next issue of eParkinsonPost.