Universal Congenital CMV Screening in Canada: Early Lessons and Key Takeaways
A CFID/CMV Canada Webinar – April 29, 2025 – 8:30 – 1200
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
Room 104-105, 136 8 Ave SE
or virtually via Zoom
Speakers:
- Dr. David Goldfarb, Moderator
- Dr. Jessica Dunn
- Dr. Jeffrey Pernica
- Dr. Rupeena Purewal
- Alanna Webster, NP
Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Infants in Nunavut and Alaska: Where we have been and where are we going? – March 13 – 3-4:30pm EST
Agenda:
- Welcome and opening remarks
- Introduction of organizations and groups present
- Hospital Admissions for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections Among Infants from Nunavut and the Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus: A 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study (Dr David Goldfarb)
- Nirsevimab Effectiveness Against Medically Attended Respiratory Syncytial Virus Illness and Hospitalization Among Alaska Native Children — Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region, Alaska, October 2023–June 2024 (Dr Rosalyn Singleton)
- Current state of RSV in Nunavut (Dr Ekua Agyemang, Sarah MacRury and Jessica Barrett-Ives)
Speakers:
- Dr. David Goldfarb is a Medical Microbiologist, Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist and Interim Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at BCChildren’s Hospital. Dr Goldfarb has been engaged in infectious diseases research in Nunavut for over a decade.
- Dr. Rosalyn Singleton is a Pediatrician, CDC researcher and a member of the Alaskan Native Tribal Health Consortium. Dr Singleton has helped lead respiratory tract infection research in Alaska for over 30 years.
- Dr. Ekua Agyemang FRCPC MPH is a physician specialist in public health and prevention medicine. She works as the acting Chief Public Health Officer for the Government of Nunavut Department of Health based in Iqaluit. She is the Territorial public health lead.
- Sarah MacRury is a Public Health Nurse and Communicable Disease specialist with the Government of Nunavut Department of Health, based in Iqaluit, Nunavut. MacRury currently serves as the Communicable Disease Lead.
- Jessica Barrett-Ives is a Nurse Clinician and Communicable Disease specialist with the Government of Nunavut Department of Health, based in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Barrett-Ives currently serves as the Immunization Lead.
Click HERE to watch the recording of the webinar.
CFID Webinar: Pneumococcal Infections in Immunocompromised Hosts – February 20, 2024 – 6:30-8:15pm EST
Agenda:
- Dr. Shariq Haider: Burden pneumococcal disease in HIV
- Dr. Sasan Hosseini: Burden pneumococcal disease in cancer and transplant patients
- Dr. David Goldfarb: Burden pneumococcal disease in congenital and acquired immune deficiency syndromes
- Dr. Coleman Rotstein: Prevention of pneumococcal infections in immunocompromised hosts — new vaccines and role in antibiotic prophylaxis
Click HERE to watch the recording of the webinar.
Professional Development Workshop for Mid-Career Viral Researchers – Kelowna – October 25-27, 2023
While training and mentorship activities in all disciplines are often viewed as a necessity for young investigators, the reality is that such opportunities to learn from leaders in the field are just as beneficial for mid-career researchers. This workshop offered mid-career researchers the chance to learn from those with a wealth of experience in such domains as academic leadership, taking sabbaticals, career change, finding alternative funding sources, and communicating effectively with decision-makers. The event was co-hosted by CFID and the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR), with support from CIHR, AbbVie and Merck.
Understanding and Utilizing COVID Antibodies – December 5, 2022
Moderated by:
Dr. Curtis Cooper, CFID Board Member, University of Ottawa
Panelists:
Interpretation Issues with COVID Serology
Dr. Marc-Andre Langlois, PhD
Professor, University of Ottawa and Executive Director of CoVaRR-Net
Prophylactic and Therapeutic Use of Antibody Products
Dr. Michaeline McGuinty
Infectious Disease Specialist and Clinical Scientist, University of Ottawa
Click HERE to watch the recording of the webinar.
Roderick Ross Research Day – October 24, 2022
Roderick Ross Research Day will highlight the advances in tailoring clinical microbiology practices to meet evolving infectious diseases clinical needs in Canada. This hybrid (virtual and in person) symposium is aimed to engage a wide audience from across the country and is geared towards, laboratory personnel, clinicians, clinical laboratory scientists and physicians, infectious diseases specialists, and trainees at all levels of clinical training. Local and invited international experts will provide their insights into a variety of innovations applied to the clinical microbiology laboratory, including, metagenomics, phage therapy, COVID-19 diagnostics and antimicrobial stewardship.
After attending this symposium, participants will be able to:
- Describe the application of phage therapy to infectious diseases management.
- Discuss the application of metagenomics to infectious diseases diagnostics.
- Explain alternatives for COVID-19 specimen collection and molecular diagnostic platforms.
- Discuss the application of antimicrobial stewardship strategies in microbiology susceptibility testing reports.
This event will be held in person as well as an option to join virtual.
CFID/NCCID Vaccine Webinar
This webinar took place on June 15, 2022 and included the following learning objectives:
- Overview of Landscape of COVID Vaccinations (present and future).
- mRNA Vaccine Platforms (distribution, access, and broad applications).
- Adverse reactions to COVID vaccine and Indications for Exclusions for COVID vaccines.
Click HERE to watch the recording of the webinar.
CFID Webinar – A Liver Disease Workshop For Infectious Disease Specialists and Trainees
This webinar was held on February 22, 2022, and covered the following topics:
- Dr. Marco Puglia | Topic: Primer on Non-Infectious Liver Disease
- Dr. Carla Coffin | Topic: Viral Hepatitis
- Dr. Philippe Lagace-Wiens | Topic: Parasites and Liver Disease
- Dr. Arianne Buchan | Topic: Liver Transplant ID
Click HERE to watch the recording of the webinar.
2021 New Investigator Workshop
Held in conjunction with the 2021 CAHR Conference (May 4th), this New Investigator Workshop brought together over 50 aspiring infectious disease researchers – ranging from Masters Students, PhD students, Post Graduates, Interns/Residents and New Researchers. Co-chairs Dr. Curtis Cooper (Ottawa Hospital) and Dr. Keith Fowke (University of Manitoba) led mentorship sessions and presentations from leading Canadian researchers on topics such as getting your grant-funded, publishing and working with the media as part of the one-day event. CFID thanks its partner on this event (the Canadian Association for HIV Research) and event sponsor Abbvie. Session recordings of the event can be found HERE.
Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada
CFID hosted an educational webinar on COVID-19 featuring a panel of infectious disease clinicians on March 29th, 2021. The panel session highlighted case discussion, clinical considerations, therapeutic/vaccine updates, and offered insights through an open discussion. The speakers included: Daniel Kuritzkes, MD (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston), Curtis Cooper, MD (University of Ottawa) and Shariq Haider, MD (McMaster University). Click HERE to view the webinar (password is: CFID2021).
Panel Discussion on COVID-19 PCR Testing
CFID hosted a panel discussion on COVID-19 PCR Testing on March 22nd, 2021. The webinar included a review of some of the most frequently performed assays in Canada. Panelists included: Dr. Todd Hatchette (Nova Scotia Health Authority), Dr. Marthe Charles (Vancouver Coastal Health), Dr. Ramzi Fattouh (St. Michael’s Hospital), and Dr. Aaron Campigotto (The Hospital for Sick Children). Click HERE to view the webinar (password is: CFID2021).
CFID Clinical COVID-19 Webinar
This webinar was held on December 8, 2020, and provided an update on the clinical management of COVID-19 infection and explored lessons learned from clinical COVID-19 cases. Click HERE to download the slides from the webinar.
Workshop: Professional Development for Mid-Career ID Researchers
This virtual Professional Development Workshop for Infectious Disease researchers – October 22-23, 2020 — was made possible through an innovative partnership between the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases (CFID), the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) and CIHR’s Institute of Infection and Immunity (III) and HIV/AIDS Research Initiative. Over the course of two days, over twenty mid-career researchers had the opportunity to network and learn from those with a wealth of experience in such domains as academic leadership, career progression, effective partnerships, global engagement, and communicating effectively with decision-makers. Co-chaired by Dr. Curtis Cooper (University of Ottawa) and Dr. Keith Fowke (University of Manitoba), the meeting included presentations from Dr. David Evans (University of Alberta); Dr. Charu Kaushic (McMaster University, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity); and Dr. Guido van Marle (University of Calgary). Special thanks are extended to sponsors Merck, Gilead, Innovative Medicines and the Canadian Society for International Health. Click HERE to view the suite of presentations.