WINNIPEG, MB – Infectious disease experts Dr. Frank Plummer and Dr. John Clement will be offering two free public lectures at The University of Winnipeg on the very topical issue of H1N1 and the impact of infectious diseases on investment and development. Both lectures will be held Monday, June 8, 2009 beginning at 6:00 PM in Convocation Hall, 2nd floor Wesley Hall.
In addition, the Summer Institute in Infectious Diseases III will be hosted by the Global College from June 8 to 12, 2009, in partnership with the University of Manitoba, The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, The International Centre for Infectious Diseases, and Life Science Association of Manitoba, The Global College of the University of Winnipeg. This course may be taken as a second year, fourth year or graduate-level course for credit, and is appropriate for students in disciplines such as Public Health, Infectious Disease Surveillance, Economics, Business, International Development, Sociology, Politics, Law, Social Justice, Urban Planning or Education.
The Summer Institute will provide a forum for dialogue on the place of infectious diseases in dictating investments locally and globally. It will critically explore the impact of a plethora of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, plus the neglected infections, and emerging ones, on the development of communities. It will also address possible policies to ensure that the flow of investment into such communities is not stymied by fear of infections. The Institute will be taught by a diverse group of instructors, who will speak on issues ranging from the scientific, clinical, epidemiological and diagnostic aspects, to the social determinants of the transmission of HIV and other infectious diseases. The Institute will also present historical perspectives of the impact of infectious diseases on economic development, and address the impact of infectious diseases on the emerging market economies. People interested in registering for the Summer Institute in Infectious Diseases III can contact Michael Eze at m.eze@uwinnipeg.ca or 786-9946.
“This Summer Institute is a unique initiative which will bring together infectious disease experts, scholars and practitioners in business, economics and policy, in search of solutions to a global problem,” said Dr. Marilou McPhedran, Principal of Global College.
PUBLIC LECTURES – Monday, June 8, 2009- Convocation Hall, 2nd floor, Wesley Hall
6:00 – 6:45 pm – Lecture by Dr. John G. Clement – “Let there be Hope”
Dr. John Clement (Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, iCO Therapeutics Inc., Vancouver, BC.) will give a lecture entitled “Let there be Hope”. Dr. Clement will speak on the dire need for medications among low-income individuals around the world, and also on possible mechanisms to ensure access to such medications. Dr. Clement has over twenty years of experience in pre-clinical and clinical drug development, project management, and product acquisition. He is pioneer of the AIDS drug 3TC [Lamivudine; a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor]. Dr. Clement holds a Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario, and has published over 60 manuscripts. His company, iCo Therapeutics Inc., has developed an oral reformulation of Amphotericin B, a crucial treatment for sight and life-threatening diseases in developing countries.
7:00 – 7:45 pm – Lecture by Dr. Frank Plummer – “Evolving Swine Influenza H1N1 Outbreak”
Dr. Frank Plummer, a lead figure in the prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks in Canada, will address the recent outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus. As Chief Science Advisor at the Public Health Agency of Canada and Scientific Director General of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Dr. Plummer has dramatically increased Canada’s ability to prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks and potential pandemics. At the beginning of the present H1N1 virus outbreak, Dr. Plummer and his team sequenced the genome and identified the strain of the virus. He became an expert in infectious diseases by studying the spread of HIV in Kenya, where he discovered a small group of individuals who were naturally immune to the disease. His research has led him to discover essential information about the spread of HIV, and the progression of the infection to AIDS, thereby greatly improving our understanding of the disease. Dr. Plummer also played a pivotal role in resolving the SARS crisis of 2003.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
These Plenary sessions have been made possible through generous donations from David Angus, President and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, and Terry Duguid, President and CEO of the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID). We would also like to acknowledge the generous donations in support of SIIDIII from:
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The CIHR International Infectious Disease and Global Health Training Program;
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Merck Frosst Canada;
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iCO Therapeutics Inc., Vancouver, BC.
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Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
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Hospira Inc., Lake Forest, Illinois, USA.
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Campbell Alliance, Raleigh, NC, USA
- Office of the Associate VP (Research) and Dean of Graduate Studies, UWinnipeg
Find out more about UWinnipeg’s complete offering of Summer Institutes here.
