The 30th Annual Canadian Connective Tissue Conference
Montreal, QC, May 25-27, 2026
Program Overview
Event Site
Canadian Connective Tissue Conference 2026
Polytechnique Montréal
Montréal, Québec, Canada
May 25–27, 2026
(Please see footnote for talk format information)
Download the complete program booklet here : Program Booklet
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DATE / TIME |
EVENT DETAILS |
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DAY 1 |
Monday, May 25, 2026| Pre-Conference Workshop Venue: Polytechnique Montreal From Research and Innovation to Commercialization and Impact |
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09:00 – 09:15 |
Welcome & Opening |
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09:15 – 09:45 |
Jérôme Feige (Nestlé Research / EPFL, Switzerland) “Publishing and Careers at the Academia Industry Interface” |
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09:45 – 10:15 |
Patrice Leclerc (TransferTech Sherbrooke) “Why Intellectual Property Matters: From Research to Value Creation |
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10:15 – 10:30 |
REFRESHMENT BREAK |
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10:30 – 11:00 |
Amir Hooshiar (SuPER Centre, McGill University, Vitruvius Venture Studio) “Translational Research from Bench to Bedside – with a “Start-up” in the middle” |
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11:00 – 11:30 |
Marie Lyne Nault (CHU Sainte-Justine) “Clinical Innovation and Career Paths: Industry vs Academia” |
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11:30 – 12:00 |
Panel-style Open Discussion |
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12:00 – 13:00 |
Lunch & Networking |
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13:00 – 13:15 |
Afternoon – Interactive Sessions |
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13:00 – 13:15 |
Instructions & Group Setup |
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13:15 – 14:15 |
Group rotations (4 x 15 min) |
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14:15 – 15:00 |
Workshop Closing |
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DAY 2 |
Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 | Scientific Meeting
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07:30 – 08:30 |
REGISTRATION ● BREAKFAST ● POSTER SETUP |
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08:30 – 08:45 |
Welcome Remarks – Adele Changoor (President, CCTS; University of Toronto), Maud Cohen (President, Polytechnique Montréal) & Conference Chairs |
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08:45 – 09:15 |
SESSION 1 : Bone Biology and Tissue Mineralization KEYNOTE LECTURE – Maryam Tabrizian (McGill University) “Subchondral Bone Matters: A Disease-Modifying Approach for Osteoarthritis Using Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Nanoghosts” |
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09:15 – 09:30 |
Kimberly Seaman (University of Toronto) “Examining mechanical regulation of disseminated prostate cancer cells using an in vitro model of the bone marrow perivascular niche” |
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09:30 – 09:45 |
Laura Bouret (Polytechnique Montréal) “Localized Cold Atmospheric Plasma Treatment Following Tumor Resection Improves Outcomes in a Rat Model of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis” |
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09:45 – 10:00 |
Derek Rosenzweig (McGill University) “A Novel Rat Caudal Vertebra Metastasis Model Demonstrates Suppression of Tumor Recurrence and Preservation of Bone by Doxorubicin-Releasing PMMA Cement” |
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10:00 – 10:15 |
Shazah Waqar (University of Ottawa) “Evaluation of eggshell-based constructs for bone regeneration in rat calvaria critical-size defect model” |
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10:15 – 10:30 |
REFRESHMENT BREAK |
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10:30 – 11:00 |
SESSION 2 : Bioprinting and Additive Manufacturing in Connective Tissue Biology KEYNOTE LECTURE – Matt Kinsella (McGill University) “Biomaterials from Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Molecules” |
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11:00 – 11:15 |
Arman Jafari (University of Montréal) “3D Printed Tissue-Engineered Heart Valves Using Light-based Printing Technology” |
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11:15 – 11:30 |
Seong Yeon Kim (McGill University) “Bioengineering a 3D Intestinal Co-Culture Model for In Vitro Therapeutic Screening in Inflammatory Bowel Disease” |
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11:30 – 11:45 |
Moatter Syed (University of Ottawa) “Characterization of 3D bioprinted eggshell membrane-loaded alginate biomaterials for wound healing applications” |
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11:45 – 12:00 |
Aidee Arizpe-Tafoya (McMaster University) “Multiplexed Multi-Material 3D Bioprinted Platform to Model Mechanical Heterogeneity for Disease Microenvironments” |
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11:10 – 12:10 |
Short Talks (Selected from Abstracts) |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
LUNCH ● POSTER SESSION 1 ● CCTS Board Meeting (Board members only) |
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13:30 – 14:00 |
SESSION 3 : Cell Biology of Connective Tissues KEYNOTE LECTURE – Jean-François Beaulieu (Université de Sherbrooke) “Extracellular matrix molecules and their receptors in the human intestinal epithelium. From the bench to the clinical lab |
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14:00 – 14:15 |
Li Diao (St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto)“Contact with myofibroblasts activates macrophages into profibrotic states that depend on the proto-cadherins Dchs1 and FAT1/4” |
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14:15 – 14:30 |
Simon Dumontier (Université de Sherbrooke)“Laminin receptor Integrin β1 and Dystroglycan signaling regulates Muscle Stem Cell Fate and Enhances Repair” |
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14:30 – 14:45 |
Elham Karimizadeh (St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto) “Endothelial Cells Drive Local Pericyte Activation in Response to Injury |
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14:45 – 15:00 |
Avesta Gheysari (McGill University)“Thrombin-Induced Dose-dependent Effects of Aspirin on Endothelial Cell Function” |
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15:00 – 15:15 |
REFRESHMENT BREAK |
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15:15 – 15:45 |
SESSION 4 : Functional Biomaterials for Connective Tissue Repair KEYNOTE LECTURE – May Griffith (Université de Montréal) ” Nature Knows Best: Biomimetic Materials from Bench to Bedside” |
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15:45 – 16:00 |
Fanny Brunard (Université Laval)“A Histological assessment of irradiated murine skin: effects of bioactive dressings engineered from adipose-derived mesenchymal cells” |
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16:00 – 16:15 |
Fahad Ehsan (University of Toronto) “Injury-Induced LTBP2 Promotes Adverse Remote Myocardial Remodeling After Myocardial Infarction” |
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16:15 – 16:30 |
Jannik Herold (University of Reutlingen) “B-type natriuretic peptide acts as an anti-fibrotic agent in the dermal environment” |
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16:30 – 16:45 |
Tarek Klaylat (McGill University) “Physioxic Preconditioning Improves Functional Maturation of hBM-MSC-Seeded Dense Aligned Collagen Gel Ligament Constructs” |
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16:45 – 18:00 |
Free time / Break |
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18:00 – 22:30 |
GALA DINNER & AWARD LECTURES Marc D. McKee (McGill University) “Some reflections on biomineralization science that quite naturally I am very familiar with” Julie Fradette (Université Laval) “Beyond Skin Deep: Growing a Career in Tissue Engineering” |
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18:00 – 22:30 |
Welcome Reception and Gala Dinner of the 30th Canadian Connective Tissue Conference (CCTC)
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DAY 3 |
Wednesday, May 27th, 2026 | Scientific Sessions
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07:30-08:30 |
Breakfast |
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08:30-08:45 |
Opening remarks: Dr. Florian Bentzinger & Dr. Houman Savoji (CCTC 2026 Co-Chairs) |
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08:45 – 10:15 |
SESSION 5:Matrix Biology in Connective Tissue Research KEYNOTE LECTURE – Darcy Wagner (McGill University) “The role of the extracellular niche in regulating lung epithelium” |
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09:15 – 09:30 |
Adel Batal (McGill University) “CD109 Restrains Fibroblast–Immune Crosstalk by Limiting NF-κB–Driven Skin Inflammation” |
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09:30 – 09:45 |
Elias Cuartas-Gómez (Université Laval)“Differential effects of extracellular matrix-derived fragments on adipocyte differentiation using a human biomimetic adipose tissue model” |
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09:45 – 10:00 |
Neha Dinesh (St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto)“Uncoupling Matrix Production from Contraction During Fibroblast Activation” |
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10:00 – 10:15 |
Iram Fatima S. Siddiqui (McGill University) “A novel dual role of fibrillin-1 in adipose tissue early development and late maintenance” |
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10:15 – 10:30 |
REFRESHMENT BREAK |
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10:30 – 11:00 |
SESSION 6: Repair and Regeneration of Biomechanically Loaded Tissues KEYNOTE LECTURE – François Bordeleau (Université Laval) “Understanding cell adaptation to the evolving tumor stroma: from mechanism to engineered models” |
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11:00 – 11:15 |
Nabangshu Das (University Health Network)“Uncovering the role of progesterone receptor in synovial pathology during osteoarthritis” |
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11:15 – 11:30 |
Xinying Guo (Unity Health Toronto)“The ‘Soft Skills’ of Sall1-Engineered Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Prevent Hypertrophic Scarring” |
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11:30 – 11:45 |
Arsal Khan (Western University)“Transcriptomic Profiling and Histopathological Assessment of Testosterone-Mediated Changes in Appendicular and Axial Tendons” |
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11:45 – 12:00 |
Quan Zhou (McMaster University)“Lung stiffness disrupts gremlin mediated fibroblast-AT2 interactions in pulmonary fibrosis” |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
LUNCH ● POSTER SESSION 2 |
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13:30 – 14:00 |
SESSION 7 : Clinical Perspectives in Connective Tissue Pathobiology KEYNOTE LECTURE – Michelle Bendeck (University of Toronto) “The role of discoidin domain collagen receptors in fibrotic vascular disease” |
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14:00 – 14:15 |
Lucie Germain (Université Laval)“First-in-Human Clinical Trial of Bilamellar Gene-Corrected Skin Substitutes for the Treatment of Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa” |
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14:15 – 14:30 |
Qinli Guo (Western University) “Effects of Diet-induced Metabolic Disease on Synovial Microvasculature in Knee Osteoarthritis” |
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14:30 – 14:45 |
Kai Sheng (McGill University) “Chondrocyte senescence in facet joint cartilage of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and the therapeutic potential of senolytic drugs” |
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14:45 – 15:00 |
Brandon Vaz (University Health Network) “Generating a high-resolution spatial transcriptomic atlas of the synovium during osteoarthritis” |
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15:00 – 15:15 |
REFRESHMENT BREAK |
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15:15 – 15:45 |
SESSION 8: Cartilage Biology and Pathobiology KEYNOTE LECTURE – Rahul Gawri (University Health Network) “The Role of Physioxia in Bioengineering of Musculoskeletal Tissues” |
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15:45-16:15 |
Lauren Banh (University of Toronto) “Knee osteoarthritis patient-derived cartilage-on-a-chip model can evaluate mechanical and inflammatory clinical phenotypes” |
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16:00 – 16:15 |
Emily White (Western University) “TGFα drives metabolic reprogramming and mitochondrial membrane depolarization in primary articular chondrocytes” |
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16:15 – 16:30 |
Fajer Yousef (McGill University)“Nanodiamond-Conjugated Link N Peptide for Sustained Intra-Articular Delivery in Osteoarthritis” |
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16:30 – 17:30 |
CCTS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ● AWARDS CEREMONY ● CLOSING REMARKS AND CONFERENCE CONCLUSION |
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Presentation Format |
Keynote and award lectures: 25 minutes + 5 minutes for Q&A Short talks: 12 minutes + 3 minutes for Q&A Poster presentations: 5-minute presentation at the poster, followed by 2 minutes Q&A with assigned experts |