The 28th Annual Canadian Connective Tissue Conference
London, ON, May 13-15, 2024
Overview
| Day/Time | Event Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Monday, May 13th – Workshop Day Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium (Registration and Poster Presentation) University College, Room 3110 (Workshops and Oral Presentations) University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street London, ON N6A 5C1 | |
| 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Registration Opens (Continental Breakfast) Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium | |
| 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Welcome Remarks Dr. Matthew W. Grol (CCTC 2024 Chair) University College, Room 3110 | |
| 9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | WORKSHOP SESSION I: Establishing and Maintaining a Diverse and Representative Research Team Dr. Imogen Coe, Toronto Metropolitan University | |
| 10:45 a.m. –11:00a.m. | Coffee break | |
| 11:00 a.m. – 12:15p.m | WORKSHOP SESSION IIA: Meaningful Implementation of EDI Principles in Research Design and Execution Dr. Alex Levine and Mariam Hayward, Western University | |
| 12:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Lunch and Poster Judging Session-1 Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium | |
| 2:15 p.m. – 3:30p.m. | WORKSHOP SESSION IIB: Discussion Period Dr. Alex Levine and Mariam Hayward, Western University | |
| 4:30 p.m. – 7:00p.m. | Suzanne Bernier Memorial Lecture & Welcome Reception Delaware Hall, Dining Room/Patio University of Western Ontario | |
| 5:00 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. | Welcome & Introduction to the Bernier Memorial Lecture – Dr. Cheryle Seguin | |
| 5:10 p.m. – 5:20 p.m. | Bernier Memorial Award in Skeletal Biology –Garth Blackler (Appleton Lab) | |
| 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Introduction to Guest Speaker by Dr. Cheryle Seguin Lecture – Dr. Alayna E. Loiselle, University of Rochester Medical Center | |
| Day 2 | Tuesday, May 14th- Scientific Program Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium (Registration and Poster Presentation) University College, Room 3110 (Workshops and Oral Presentations) University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street London, ON N6A 5C1 | |
| 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium | |
| 8:30 a.m. – 10:00a.m. | SESSION 1: Cell Biology of Connective Tissues Session Chairs: Peter Suderman & Garth Blackler | |
| 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Roshni Rainbow, Queens University | |
| 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Local activation of perivascular stromal cells by vascular endothelial cells – Elham Karimizadeh (Hinz Lab) | |
| 9:15 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | How do fibronectin mutations cause spondylometaphyseal dysplasia? – Neha Dinesh (Reinhardt Lab) | |
| 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. | Sall1: a novel mechanosensitive nuclear factor regulating myofibroblast activation? – Xinying Guo (Hinz Lab) | |
| 9:45 a.m. – 10:00a.m. | Searching for a “slice” of fresh air: using precision-cut lung slices to combat profibrotic macrophages – Megan Vierhout (Ask Lab) | |
| 10:00a.m. –10:15a.m. | Coffee break | |
| 10:15a.m– 11:45a.m. | SESSION 2: Western’s Bone and Joint Institute Special Session Session Chairs: Tarek Klaylat & Jeffrey Hutchinson | |
| 10:15a.m. – 10:40a.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Assaf Kadar, Western University | |
| 10:40a.m. – 11:05a.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Geoffrey Ng, Western University | |
| 11:05a.m. – 11:20a.m. | Pain and synovial fibroblast subsets in osteoarthritis – Garth Blackler (Appleton Lab) | |
| 11:20a.m. – 11:35a.m. | Autoimmune responses correlate with synovial joint pathology in collagen-induced arthritis – Jaspreet Kaur (Barra Lab) | |
| 11:35a.m. – 11:50a.m. | Harnessing the extracellular matrix to design cell-instructive pro-angiogenic cell delivery platforms – Connor Gillis (Flynn Lab) | |
| 11:50p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch and Poster Judging – Session 2 | |
| 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | SESSION 3: Muscle and Tendon Biology Session Chairs: Elham Karimizadeh & Jaspreet Kaur | |
| 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. R. Wilder Scott, Sunnybrook Research Institute | |
| 2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | Differentiating human bone marrow and adipose-derived stem cells towards ligamentogenic lineage using physiological oxygen tensions for tissue engineering applications – Tarek Klaylat (Gawri Lab) | |
| 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Freeze-dried chitosan-thrombin-platelet-rich plasma (CS-FIIa-PRP) implants improve supraspinatus tendon repair in a transosseous rotator cuff repair model in the rabbit – Fiona Milano (Lavertu Lab) | |
| 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | P2 receptors mediate nucleotide-induced calcium signalling and gene expression changes in tenocytes: implications for tendon mechano-transduction – Ryan Armstrong (Grol Lab) | |
| 2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Coffee Break | |
| 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | SESSION 4: Adipose Tissue and Inflammation Session Chairs: Ermina Hadzic & Dr. Eli Sone | |
| 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lauren Flynn, Western University | |
| 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | Investigating the crosstalk between osteoarthritis synovial fibroblasts and monocyte/macrophages – Mozhgan Rasti (Viswanathan Lab) | |
| 3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Investigating oxidative stress in human chronic wounds – Dylan Tinney (Hamilton Lab) | |
| 4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. | Lack of fibrilin-1 in maturing adipocytes leads to reduced body weight and perturbs metabolic homeostasis – Iram Fatima Siddiqui (Reinhardt Lab) | |
| 4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Human decellularized adipose tissue hydrogels as a novel culture and delivery platform for endothelial colony forming cell-mediated limb revascularization – Agnes Terek (Hess Lab) | |
| 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | SESSION 5: Mechanobiology in Skeletal Development and Disease Session Chairs: Megan Vierhout & Fiona Milano | |
| 4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Bettina Willie, McGill University | |
| 5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. | Mechanical loading of osteocytes via oscillatory fluid flow regulates prostate cancer cell extravasation to bone in vitro – Kimberly Seaman (You Lab) | |
| 5:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. | Mechanically activated myofibroblasts drives macrophages into profibrotic phenotype through direct cell contact – Maya Ezzo (Hinz Lab) | |
| 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Mechanical memory of myofibroblast features in mesenchymal stromal cells via GATA-Sall regulatory networks – Fereshteh Younesi (Hinz Lab) | |
| 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Effects of low-magnitude high-frequency vibration on prostate cancer progression and bone metastasis – Amel Sassi (You Lab) | |
| 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. | GALA DINNER Delaware Hall, Dining Room/Patio University of Western Ontario | |
| Day 3 | Wednesday, May 15th – Scientific Program Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium (Registration and Poster Presentation) University College, Room 3110 (Workshops and Oral Presentations) University of Western Ontario 1151 Richmond Street London, ON N6A 5C1 | |
| 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast Physics & Astronomy Building – Atrium | |
| 8:30 a.m. –10:15a.m. | SESSION 6: Synovial Joint Development and Disease Session Chairs: Anca Maglaviceanu & Ryan Armstrong | |
| 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Florian Bentzinger, Sherbrooke University | |
| 9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Matrix production or contraction: the myofibroblast eternal decision – Raquel Benitez (Hinz Lab) | |
| 9:15 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Delivery of adipose-derived stromal cells within bioengineered granulation tissue substitutes to enhance skin regeneration – Baasil Afzal (Flynn Lab) | |
| 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. | Interplay of matrix and solution moleculaes in biomimetic collagen minerlaization- Dr. Eli Sone | |
| 9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Exploring the long-term effects of a novel media formulation on chondrocyte viability and cartilage quality in stored osteochondral allografts – Sarah Aloi (Changoor Lab) | |
| 10:00 a.m. – 10:15a.m. | Coffee Break | |
| 10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | SESSION 7: Intervertebral Disc Development and Disease Session Chairs: Fereshteh Younesi & Neha Dinesh Keynote Speaker: Dr. Chan Gao, McGill University | |
| 10:45 a.m. – 11:00a.m. | Regulation of precursor osteoclast proliferation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: insights into chondrocyte-osteoclast crosstalk via the TLR-M-CSF axis – Kai Sheng (Haglund Lab) | |
| 11:00 a.m. – 11:15a.m. | Investigating the role of sex hormones in the intervertebral disc – Jeffrey Hutchinson (Séguin Lab) | |
| 11:15 a.m. – 11:30a.m. | Regenerative approaches to treat disc degeneration and low back pain – Saber Ghazizadeh Darband (Hagland Lab) | |
| 11:30 a.m. – 11:45a.m. | Developing a mineralized collagen-containing hydrogel for repairing bone – Zi Xuan Zhang (Sone Lab) | |
| 11:30 a.m. – 1:00p.m. | Lunch and Poster Judging – Session 3 | |
| 11:30a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | CCTS Board Meeting (CCTS Board Members only) | |
| 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | SESSION 8: Unraveling Musculoskeletal Development and Disease through Multi-Omics Approaches Session Chairs: Kimberly Seaman and Saber Ghazizadeh Darband | |
| 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Tom Appleton, Western University | |
| 1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. | Cell and transcriptomic diversity of infrapatellar fat pad during knee osteoarthritis – Hayley Peters (Kapoor Lab) | |
| 1:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Sequencing identifies microRNAs that distinguish early osteoarthritis and early rheumatoid arthritis – Madhu Baghel (Ali Lab) | |
| 2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | Spatial transcriptomics of joint space-interfacing tissues using a pre-clinical mouse model of osteoarthritis – Teodora Tockovska (Kapoor Lab) | |
| 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Single cell RNA sequencing analysis of human osteoarthritis synovial tissue in response to PPAR delta agonist- Margaret Man-Ger Sun (Appleton Lab) | |
| 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | Coffee Break | |
| 2:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | SESSION 9: Synovial Joint Development and Disease Session Chairs: Raquel Benitez & Teodora Tockovska | |
| 2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan, University Health Network | |
| 3:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Oral delivery of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol provides symptom and disease modification in mouse models of knee osteoarthritis – Anca Maglaviceanu (Kapoor Lab) | |
| 3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | An atlas of the synovium in knee osteoarthritis: fibroblast activation defines disease progression – Kabriya Thavaratnam (Kapoor Lab) | |
| 3:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Investigating the use of intra-articular injections of GSK3787 for osteoarthritis – Ermina Hadzic (Beier Lab) | |
| 4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. | Characterizing PANX mutants and identifying their implications in erosive osteoarthritis – Justin Tang (Penuela Lab) | |
| 4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Non-invasive electroarthrography to monitor cartilage in an equine model of early osteoarthritis – Peter Suderman (Changoor Lab) | |
| 4:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | Lysophosphatidylcholine and microvascular dysfunction in knee osteoarthritis – Hanyu Jiang (Appleton Lab) | |
| 4:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Chitosan/platelet-rich plasma implants in an ovine arthroscopic model of meniscus repair – Margaux Delvaux | |
| 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | General Assembly and Awards Presentation |