Tuesday, September 26 at 7:30 PM, online
Dr. Guy Rouleau
Open Science in Practice: The Neuro’s Virtual Integrated Patient Platform
The Neuro’s Virtual Integrated Patient Platform expands the Open Science ecosystem at the Neuro and links these five established cores at the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital: clinical research, biorepository management, drug discovery, microscopy and bioinformatics. This open science platform also expands links with our patient partners, as well as helping them understand how their contributions advance meaningful neuroscience research.
DR. GUY ROULEAU is the Director of The Neuro, chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery of McGill University, Director of the Department of Neuroscience at the MUHC and co-founder of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute. In 2022, he was elected First Vice-President of the World Federation of Neurology.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Rouleau and his team have focussed on identifying the genes causing several neurological and psychiatric diseases such as autism, ALS, epilepsy and schizophrenia.
As co-founder of the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute, Dr. Rouleau is pioneering a new way of doing research by transforming the Neuro into the first academic institution to adopt Open Science principles in an effort to accelerate discovery and to benefit patients and society.
Tuesday, October 10 at 7:30 PM, online
Kathleen Finlay
Making Compassion the New Normal in a Post-Pandemic World
A number of areas of avoidable harm will be discussed such as medical
errors in the hospital setting and sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Learn how a heightened commitment and a better structure for delivering it in public sector institutions and private corporations can make all the difference.
KATHLEEN FINLAY speaks the universal language of compassion for those struggling to heal from life’s challenging obstacles, especially the most vulnerable.
Whether advocating to combat gender violence and sexual harassment before
committees of parliament, working with patients, families and providers to improve health care outcomes or championing innovations in mental health delivery and suicide prevention in op-eds and media interviews, she is an unwavering voice for making compassion the new normal. In 2022, she launched the consulting firm Compassion Innovation Advisors to bring that goal into reality for universities, municipalities, healthcare providers and leading organizations.
Her work has seen a number of policy and legislative firsts in mental health support,
in creating safer healthcare and in combatting gender and sexual harassment. The common thread in the advocacy, research and writing has been the prevention of trauma and its avoidable outcomes that too often alter lives in tragic ways.
Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 PM, online
Dr. Caroline Ménard
Stress and Depression
Major depression will affect 20% of the population and chronic stress is the main risk factor to becoming depressed. For decades, the brain was thought to be the sole actor mediating stress responses. However, increasing evidence supports that chronic stress exposure is also associated with changes in the immune system, vascular system and the gut microbiome. This is in line with higher rate of depression in individuals with conditions such as arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, irritable bowel disease or Crohn’s disease.
Dr. Menard’s research program is investigating how stress impacts the body along with the brain by combining studies performed on animal models of depression with analysis of human brain and blood samples. The ultimate goal is to identify biomarkers of depression to help with diagnosis and choice of treatment as well as new biological mechanisms associated with stress resilience that could lead to innovative therapies.
DR. CAROLINE MÉNARD was recruited by the CERVO Brain Research Center and Laval University Faculty of Medicine. Her research program aims at deciphering the role of the blood-brain barrier and the cells that form it in stress responses. Her lab combines behavioral experiments and imaging with molecular, cellular, pharmacological and viral-mediated approaches.
Dr. Menard has won several prizes and awards and her work has been published in
such prestigious journals as Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Trends in Neuroscience and Biological Psychiatry.
Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 PM, online
Jay Ingram
Reducing Your Risk of Dementia
There is a well-defined list of risks for dementia, many of which can be reduced, even late in life. Taken together, these risks may amount to 30-40% of an individual’s susceptibility to dementia.
JAY INGRAM has hosted two national science programs in Canada, Quirks and Quarks on CBC radio and Daily Planet on Discovery Channel Canada. His 19 books have been translated into 15 languages. Jay has six honorary degrees and is a member of the Order of Canada. From 2005-2015, he chaired the Science Communications Program at the Banff Centre and he is co-founder of the arts and engineering smashup called
Beakerhead in Calgary.
Previous board experience: The Aphasia Centre, Ontario Science Centre Canadian Bacterial, Diseases Network, Prionet, Genome Canada, Beakerhead (Chair)
Tuesday, November 28 at 5:00 PM, online
Jennifer Carruthers
Bubble Bath – A Deep Dive in the World of Sparkling Wine
A bubbly world rich in history, full of complexity and something pétillant for every palate. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between Prosecco, Cava and Champagne? She’s got you covered.
Do you ever wonder when the right time is to pop the bubbly? She’ll cover that too. The best way to open sparkling? That’s on the list!
This is meant to be interactive so please bring any and all questions that have been burning in your glass and we’ll put out the flames with some
sparkling knowledge…
No purchase required but if you’d like to fill your glass with something bubbly for our discussion, try a Prosecco, Cava, Crémant or Champagne of quality, and feel free to reach out for assistance and recommendation at
jennifer@jcselectwines.com.
Once a Civil Engineer, JENNIFER CARRUTHERS stumbled into the wine industry during her move from Canada to California.
She started out on the broker/distributor side of the business over ten years ago, always passionate about the lesser-known, fantastic wineries and their stories.
In 2019, she launched her dream business, JC Select Wines®, to bring her favourite wines directly into the hands of those in search of the great gems out there.
JC Select Wines: “Curated Wine Selections, Wine Club, Events & Concierge Services for the Modern Wine Enthusiast”.
St. James Literary Society 