The 27th Annual Canadian Connective Tissue Conference
June 14-June 16, 2023
Overview
**New**
The first ever Canadian Connective Tissue Workshop with themes of Industry, Entrepreneurship & Patient Engagement will be held on Wednesday, June 14th for all conference attendees. The objectives of the Workshop are to 1) Provide our members with new ideas concerning career paths outside of academia, and 2) Educate our members on patient perspectives in connective tissue research and set the stage for the inclusion of patients in future research. Interactive components will be used to engage attendees and guide them to think about how their research skill sets can be translated to industry careers and how promising research ideas may be commercialized. The Patient Engagement theme aims to educate attendees on how to incorporate patients into their research and how to effectively communicate scientific information to lay audiences.
“Mentorship Opportunity: Those selected for a pitch presentation will be mentored by Dr. Joseph Ferenbok, Associate Director of the Health Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto, who will help with presentation preparation.”
Breakfasts, lunches and Gala Dinner are included in the registration.
Note: All oral presenters are requested to bring their presentation in a USB key, ready to be uploaded at registration desk on Wednesday, June 14. If unable to provide the presentation by USB key then the presenters should email it directly to jodie.simard@utoronto.ca by June 14.
Poster Judging: All poster presenters are expected to attend poster sessions Wednesday, June 14th from 1pm to 1:45pm and Thursday, June 15th from 1:15pm to 2pm. Poster judging will be during the second half of each poster session on Wednesday, June 14th and Thursday, June 15th. Posters can be viewed at the Friday lunch break as well but there will be no judging on Friday. Individual judging schedule will be posted on Monday, June 13th. Posters can be taken down on Friday, June 16th (before 1:30 pm). Please pick up Velcro to hang your poster during check in on Wednesday, June 14th
Download Program Booklet
| Day 1 | Wednesday, June 14 – Workshop Day Medical Sciences Building University of Toronto 1 King’s College Circle Toronto, ON M5S 1A8 |
| 7:45- 8:30 h | Registration Opens |
| 8:30- 8:40 h | Welcome Remarks Dr. Adele Changoor & Dr. Marc Lavertu (CCTC 2023 Co-Chairs) |
| 8:40-10:15 h | WORKSHOP SESSION I: Careers Outside of Academia Highlight: Experienced industry panelist with a variety of expertise Guest speakers & panel discussion Goal: To provide the audience with an opportunity to learn from those who have pursued careers outside of a traditional academic path |
| 08:40h | Moderator : Joseph Ferenbok, Unversity of Toronto & Health 2 Innovation Hub |
| 08:50h | Martin Garon, Biomomentum Inc. |
| 08:55h | Yasmin Mawani, Red Rock Regeneration |
| 09:00h | Albert Yee, University of Toronto & Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre |
| 09:05h | Abdelahhad Barbour, Ostia Sciences |
| 09:10h | Ryan Siu, MDPI |
| 09:15h | Moderated Panel Discussion |
| 10:15 – 10:30 h | Coffee break |
| 10:30-12:15 h | WORKSHOP SESSION II: Entrepreneurship Highlight: Pitch Presentations selected from online submissions with feedback provided by industry experts Guest speakers & Pitch presentations Goal: To educate the audience about issues related to the commercialization of research |
| 10:30h | Joseph Ferenbok, Unversity of Toronto & Health 2 Innovation Hub – Moderator & Presenter |
| 10:45h | Claude Leduc, RNA Technologies & Therapeutics |
| 11:00h | Lisa Wise-Milestone, Moderna Canada |
| 11:15h | Moderated Panel Discussion |
| 11:35h | Student Pitch Presentations: Abdellatif Elseoudi, Prohibitin as a Potential Biomarker to Predict Osteoarthritis Progression Mohadeseh Sartipi, Genetics and Gums: Personalized Medicine Approach to Oral Health Care Peter Suderman, Electroarthrography: An Accessible Method for Monitoring Joint Health |
| 12:15-13:45 h | Lunch and Poster Judging Session-1 |
| 13:45-15:05 h | WORKSHOP SESSION III: Patient Engagement in Connective Tissue Research Highlight: Perspectives from patients experiencing connective tissue diseases Patient speakers & panelist discussion Goal: To provide an opportunity for attendees to hear from patients living with connective tissue diseases and to provide information about how to include patients at various stages of reserach |
| 13:45h | Morris Manolson, Univeristy of Toronto & Patient Advocate – Moderator |
| 13.55h | Dawn Richardson – CIHR Patient Engagement Representative |
| 14:07h | Anna Samson, CIHR Patient Engagement Representative |
| 14:19h | France Carbonneau, The Arthritis Society |
| 14:31h | Morris Manolson, Canadian Association of Psoriasis Patients |
| 14:43h | Panel Discussion – 15-20 minutes |
| 15:03h | – |
| 15:05– 15:20 h | Coffee break |
| 15:20 – 16:30 h | WORKSHOP SESSION IV: Knowledge Translation-Three Minute Thesis Competition Goal: To highlight the importance of Knowledge Translation skills by having participants condense their research into a clear and concise presentation within three minutes and supported by only a single static slide. |
| Presentations by 13 trainees & winners selected by the audience: Hayley Peters, Impact of obesity on cellular constituents and transcriptomic signature of infrapatellar fat pad in patients with knee osteoarthritis Neha Dinesh, Molecular pathomechanisms of fibronectin mutations leading to Spondylometaphyseal Dysplasia Sirion Aksornthong,Bone resorption markers in patients and mouse models of osteogenesis imperfecta: Systematic review and meta-analysis Misghana Kassa, Characterizing the effect of sub-clinical priming injuries on enhanced fracture healing Chrissane Dsouza, Age associate changes in bone mechanoadaptation Sajjad Asharf, Senescence and inner annulus fibrosus cells Kabriya Thavaratnam, Single nucleus RNA sequencing identifies distinct synovial fibroblast subsets with unique transcriptomic profiles in early and late-stage radiographic knee OA Mohammed Said, Analysis of nuclear scaling properties between multinucleated osteoclasts and mononuclear pre-osteoclasts Tarek Klaylat, Mechanically active culture of patient-derived cruciate ligament cells for ligament tissue engineering Rayan Ben Letaifa, Development of a novel inorganic polyphosphate-releasing thermoresponsive hydrogel aimed towards improving fracture outcomes Nadeen Meshry, Bone regeneration: A new application for DNA hydrogels Anikah Kapur, Cryopreserved Hair Follicles: An Abundant and Accessible Source for Autologous Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Cell Replacement Therapies Vida Maksimoska, A new antimicrobial drug, Ag373K augments keratinocyte migration by inducing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A release | |
| 17:00-18:30 h | Welcome Reception Keynote Speaker : Dr. Dennis Discher Connective Tissue Directed Cell Response – A Pan-Tissue View of Matrix Stiffness Effects Great Hall, Hart House University of Toronto Hart House Circle Toronto ON M5S 3H3 |
| 17:00h | Wine and appetizers |
| 18:00h | Opening remarks & Keynote talk with Dr. Dennis Discher |
| 19:00h | Evening ends |
| Day 2 | Thursday, June 15 – Scientific Program Medical Sciences Building University of Toronto 1 King’s College Circle Toronto, ON M5S 1A8 |
| 7:45-8:30 h | Breakfast |
| 8:30-10:10 h | SESSION I: Cartilage and Intervertebral Disc – I |
| 8:30 – 8:55h | Keynote speaker: Dr. Caroline Hoemann |
| 8:56 – 9:07h | Multiple-omics integrative analyses identified three endotypes of knee osteoarthritis by Jingyi Huang |
| 9:08 – 9:19h | Non-invasive electroarthrography prototype with re-usable carbon fiber fabric electrodes by Peter Suderman |
| 9:20h – 9:31h | Mechanical and histological signs of early cartilage degeneration following non-invasive ACL rupture in a rat model by Colleen Mathieu |
| 9:32h – 9:43h | CD109 differentially regulates ALK5 versus ALK1 signaling to increase protease expression and inhibit extracellular matrix production in articular cartilage by Shikha Chawla |
| 9:44 – 9:56h | Elucidating the effects and mechanisms of action of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on knee osteoarthritis by Anca Maglaviceanu |
| 9:57 – 10:08h | Determination of urinary and synovial fluid C2C levels in total knee arthroplasty patients by Amit Sandhu |
| 10:10-10:25 h | Coffee break |
| 10:25 –11:25 h | SESSION II: Cartilage and Intervertebral Disc- II |
| 10:25 – 10:50 h | Keynote speaker: Dr. Lisbet Haglund |
| 10:51 – 11:02h | Regenerative approaches to treat disc degeneration and back pain by Saber Ghazizadeh Darband |
| 11:03 – 11:14h | Development of an ex vivo disc model of degenerative disc disease for cell therapy by Sajjad Ashraf |
| 11:15 – 11:26 h | Investigating the role of TRPV4 as a mechanoreceptor in the intervertebral disc by Taylor Shelton |
| 11:30 – 12:30 h | SESSION III: Cell Biology of Connective Tissues |
| 11:30 – 11:55 h | Keynote Speaker Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Christopher McCulloch |
| 11:56 – 12:07h | Direct contact with mechanically activated myofibroblasts drives macrophages into distinct transcriptional and functional states by Li Diao |
| 12:08 – 12:19h | Characteristics of the extracellular vesicles from human intervertebral disc cells by Li Li |
| 12:19 – 12:30h | Evaluating the profibrotic role of IL4Rα in monocytes and macrophages in pulmonary fibrosis by Megan Vierhout |
| 12:30 – 14:00 h | Lunch and Poster Judging Session-2 |
| 12:30 – 14:00 h | CCTS Board meeting (only for board members) |
| 14:00 – 15:50 h | SESSION IV: Bone & Developmental Biology |
| 14:00 – 14:25h | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Derek Rosenzweig |
| 14:26 – 14:37h | Molecular pathomechanisms of fibronectin mutations leading to spondylometaphyseal dysplasia by Neha Dinesh |
| 14:38 – 14:49h | Over-expression of PITX1 induces periodontitis-like phenotype in transgenic mice by Mohadeseh Sartipi |
| 14:50 – 15:01h | Heterotopic ossification following spinal cord injury: A novel mouse model by Rachad Aita |
| 15:02 – 15:13h | Bone resorption markers in patients and mouse models of Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Systematic review and meta-analysis by Sirion Aksornthong |
| 15:14 – 15:25h | Assessing the membrane injury and repair dynamics in osteoclasts by Chrisanne Dsouza |
| 15:26 – 15:37h | A 3D, compartmental tumoroid model of patient-derived bone metastasis mimics tumor-stromal microenvironment by Derek Rosenzweig |
| 15:45 – 16:00 h | Coffee Break |
| 16: 00 – 17:05h | SESSION V: Adipose Tissues & Stem Cells and Therapy |
| 16:00 – 16:25h | Keynote: John Walker |
| 16:26 – 16:37h | Impact of obesity on cellular constituents and transcriptomic signature of infrapatellar fat pad in patients with knee osteoarthritis by Hayley Peters |
| 16:38 – 16:49h | Role of fibrillin-1 in adipose tissue development and homeostasis by Iram Fatima Siddiqui |
| 16:50 – 17:01h | Mechanically modified chromatins imprint memory of myofibroblastic transcription profiles in mesenchymal stromal cells by Fereshteh Younesi |
| 18:30 – 21:30 h | Gala dinner Keynote Speaker: Boris Hinz Great Hall, Hart House University of Toronto Hart House Circle Toronto ON M5S 3H3 |
| 18:00h | Live Music from 6pm to 7pm |
| 18:30h | Dinner buffet |
| 19:00h | Opening remarks, Keynote talk Dr. Boris Hinz & award presentations |
| 20:00h | Dessert & Coffee |
| 22:00h | Event ends |
| Day 3 | Friday, June 16 – Scientific Program Medical Sciences Building University of Toronto 1 King’s College Circle Toronto, ON M5S 1A8 |
| 7:45 – 8:30 h | Breakfast |
| 8:30 – 10:05 h | SESSION VI: Connective Tissue Repair, Regeneration, Bioengineering -I Keynote Speaker |
| 8:30 – 8:55h | Robin Poole Award Winner: Mohit Kapoor |
| 8:56 – 9:07h | Myofibroblast activation is induced through intracellular stress in a calcium-dependent process upon acute contact with profibrotic macrophages by Maya Ezzo |
| 9:08 – 9:19h | Mesenchymal stromal cells grown in soft environment produce extracellular vesicles that suppress pro-fibrotic activation of macrophages and fibroblasts by Yan Hei Kelly Choi |
| 9:20 – 9:31h | Mechanically active culture of patient-derived cruciate ligament cells for ligament tissue engineering by Tarek Klaylat |
| 9:32 – 9:43h | Neutrophils mediate kidney fibrosis via extracellular matrix protein 1 by Jonatan Barrera-Chimal |
| 9:44 – 9:56h | Identification of EphB4 as a critical mediator of tissue fibrosis by Brian Wu |
| 9:57 – 10:25 h | Coffee Break |
| 10:25h – 11:30 h | SESSION VII: Connective Tissue Repair, Regeneration, Bioengineering- II |
| 10:25h – 10:50h | Keynote Speaker: May Griffith |
| 10:51 – 11:02h | Effect of glycation on collagen properties for tissue engineering applications by Mina Vaez |
| 11:03 – 11:14h | Doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticle bone cement for the treatment of metastatic spine disease by Ateeque Siddique |
| 11:15 – 11:26h | Bone regeneration: A new application for DNA hydrogels by Nadeen Meshry |
| 11:30 – 12:00 h | CCTS Business Meeting/General Assembly (all CCTC participants) |
| 12:00– 13:30 h | Lunch and Poster Session 3 – No Judging |
| 13:30 – 14:50 h | SESSION VIII: Skin & Matrix Biology |
| 13:30 – 13:55h | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Anie Philip |
| 13:56 – 14:07 | Repeated applications of mesenchymal stem cell-based biological dressings accelerate wound healing in a murine model of diabetes by Meryem Safoine |
| 14:07 – 14:18h | Histological and mechanical characterization of skin in wound healing study with streptozotocin induced diabetic rats and application of chitosan and platelet-rich plasma biomaterial by Laura Ahunon |
| 14:19 – 14:30h | A new antimicrobial drug, Ag373K augments keratinocyte migration by inducing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A) release by Vida Maksimoska |
| 14:31 – 14:42h | Role of N-linked glycans in short fibulins and LTBP-4 mediated matrix assembly and function by Valentin Nelea |
| 14:45 – 15:00 h | Coffee Break |
| 15:00 – 16:05 h | SESSION IX: Machine Learning, AI and Computational Biology |
| 15:00 – 15:25h | Keynote Speaker: Dr. Armstrong Murira |
| 15:26 – 15:37h | Generation of synthetic μCT images of rat lumbar vertebral fracture via deep convolutional generative adversarial networks by Allison Tolgyesi |
| 15:38 – 15:49h | Unravelling PRP mechanisms of action: Integrating proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics using causal inference and deep graph neural network Nardin Nakhla |
| 15:50 – 16:20 h | Awards Presentation and Concluding Remarks |