Program Details

Saturday. July 2, 2016 –Day 1
 

08:00– 08:30: Breakfast, Networking and Registration
 

08:30– 09:00: Introduction and Welcome remarks

 

Prof. Bala Maheswaran, PhD, Northeastern University, MA, USA, "Welcome"

Prof. Nades Palaniyar, PhD, SickKids/University of Toronto, Canada, "TASME2016 Programs and Events Format"

 

09:00– 10:30: Session 1 – New treatments – challenges and opportunities
Moderators

Prof. Jeevendra Martyn, MD, FRCA, FRCM, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, Boston, USA

Prof. Vathany Kulasingam, PhD, FCACB, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Canada

 

(1) 9:00 – 9:35 Prof. Jeevendra Martyn, MD, FRCA, FRCM, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, Boston, USA “Toxins to Typecast Trauma–induced Tolerance to Therapeutics"

(2) 9:35 – 9:55 Prof. Savithiri Ratnapalan, MBBS, MEd, MRCP, FRCPC, FAAP, The Hospital for Sick Children and The University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada “Organizational Learning and System Changes: A Tale of Two Cities”

(3) 9:55 – 10:15 Prof. Vathany Kulasingam, PhD, FCACB, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Canada “Translational Omics: Over–Testing and Over–Treating”

(4) 10:15 – 10:30 Rishikesan Kamaleswaran, M.Sc., PhD student, The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and Division of Neonatology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada “PhysioEx: Visual Analysis of Physiological Event Streams”

 

10:30– 10:45:  Break/Refreshments

 

10:45– 12:15: Session 2 – Cancer, Chemotherapy and Brain
Moderators

Prof. Sam Thiagalingam, PhD, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA

Prof. Vishnu Suppiramaniam, DVM, PhD, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, USA

 

(1) 10:45 – 11:05 Prof. Shyamala Maheswaran, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, Boston, USA “Circulating Tumor Cells in Cancer”

(2) 11:05 – 11:25 Prof. Sam Thiagalingam, PhD, Boston University School of Medicine, USA “Mapping Drivers of Breast Cancer Metastasis”

(3) 11:25 – 11:30 Kathryn G. Chan, MD student, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada “Clinical experience using an automated MRI–guided robotic platform for breast biopsy”

(4) 11:30 – 12:00 Prof. Vishnu Suppiramaniam, DVM, PhD, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, USA “Chemotherapy Induced Cognitive Decline: Unsolved Mysteries of Chemobrain” 

(5) 12:00 – 12:15 Kirusanthy Kaneshwaran, BSc., MSc Student, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada “Probing the underlying mechanisms of postanesthetic memory deficits”

 

12:15– 13:00: Networking Lunch

 

13:00– 14:00: Session 3 – Poster viewing
Moderators

Prof. Nades Palaniyar, PhD, SickKids/University of Toronto, Canada

Dr Arunthi Thiagalingam, PhD, IPSEN Bioscience, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA

 

 1.  Abirami Kirubarajan, BHSc student, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada “The immunomodulatory role of regulatory B cells in allergic asthma”

2.  Andrew Rajkumar, BSc student, The Hospital for Sick Children and The University of Toronto “Surfactant Protein D Deficiency Leads to Increased Reactive Oxygen Species–Dependent Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NET) formation”

3. Annoj Thavalingam, BSc., Halil Aydin and Jeffrey Lee, PhD, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto “Functional Characterization of an ancient retroviral fusion protein, Syncytin–1”

4. Armin Farahvash, BSc Student, The Hospital for Sick Children and The University of Toronto “Mitogen–Activated Protein Kinase JNK is Essential for LPS– and Gram –Negative Bacteria–Mediated NADPH Oxidase–Dependent NETosis”

5. Dhia Azzouz, BSc student, The University of Toronto “TRPV1 agonist induces Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation”

6. George L. Perkins, Matthew Balmer, Lorrie Hill, Gary Campbell and Ben Jeyaretnam, Sanofi Pasteur Inc, Analytical Process and Technology, 1 Discovery Drive, Swiftwater PA 18370 USA “Differentiating Between Leachables and Process Related Compounds in Drug Substance Using Accurate Mass LC–MS and LC–MS/MS”

7. Lijy Philip, M.Sc., The Hospital for Sick Children “Effect of pH on Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation”

8. Pascal Djiadeu, M.Sc. Eng, PhD student in Pharmacology, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto. “Regulation of Lung Inflammation: SP–D Enhances Apoptotic Microparticle Release and Efferocytosis”

9. Shivahamy Maheswaran, LHS, Lexington, MA, USA “Hypoxia as a Drug Resistance Mechanism”

10. Umayangga Yogalingam, Zaamilah Balasubramaniam and Veerpal Bambrah, South Asian Autism Awareness Centre, Tamil Health Association & Ninety9Thirty, Toronto, Canada “Investigating barriers to early Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and intervention in South Asian communities”

 

14:00– 15:30: Session 4 – Infection and Immunity
Moderators

Prof. Gnani Gnaneshan, PhD, Public Health Ontario/Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Prof. Nanda Nanthakumar, PhD, Virginia Tech, Virginia, USA

 

(1) 14:00 – 14:20 Prof. Gnani Gnaneshan, PhD, Public Health Ontario and Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada “Microbiome in health and wealth”

(2) 14:20 – 14:40 Prof. Subra Kugathasan, MD., Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA “Genome–wide Association Identifies African–Specific Susceptibility Loci in African Americans with Inflammatory Bowel Disease”

(3) 14:40 – 15:00 Prof. Nanda Nanthakumar, PhD, Virginia Tech, Virginia, USA “The role of gut microbiota and fermented microbial metabolites in the central and enteric neurogenesis and vasculogenesis during prenatal and postnatal development”

(4) 15:00 – 15:15 Prof Nades Palaniyar, MSc., PhD., The Hospital for Sick Children and The University of Toronto, Canada “Novel Drugs to Target NETosis and Treat Inflammatory and Autoimmune Diseases

(5) 15:15 – 15:30 Dr. Gnana Gnanakaran, PhD, New Mexico Consortium & Los Alamos National Labs, New Mexico, USA “Intrinsically Disordered Regions of Proteins in Signaling and Diseases”

 

15:30– 15:45 Break/Refreshments 

 

15:45– 17:15: Session 5 (parallel session) – Environmental and engineering
Moderators

Prof. C. Vipulanandan (Vipu), PhD, P.E., University of Houston, Texas, USA

Prof. Xavier Fernando, PhD, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

 

(1) 15:45 – 16:05 Prof. C. Vipulanandan (Vipu), PhD, P.E., University of Houston, Texas, USA “Smart Cement Development and Characterization for Real Time Monitoring of Ultra Deepwater Oil Well Cementing Applications”

(2) 16:05–16:25 Prof. Xavier Fernando, PhD, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada “Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks”

(3) 16:25 – 16:45 Prof. Ramanitharan Kandiah, PhD, PE, Central State University, Ohio, USA “Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Releases from major highways in Ohio”

(4) 16:45 – 17:00 Prof. T. Kirubarajan and Ratnasingham Tharmarasa, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada “Object Tracking and Sensor Fusion for Self–Driving Vehicles”

(5) 17:00 – 17:15 Ageesan Sri, Blockcoin Research, Development & Innovation, Toronto, “Blockchain Technology: Developing decentralized universally accessible applications to improve current methods of operation”

 

15:45– 17:15: Session 6 – Health Sciences and Education (parallel session)
Moderators

Dr Prem Kumarathasan, PhD, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada

Dr. Kathir Brabakaran, PhD,, Toronto, Canada / China.

 

(1) 15:45 – 16:05 Dr Prem Kumarathasan, PhD, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada “Could maternal metal burden be associated with birth weight outcomes? Maternal plasma biomarker analyses in the MIREC Study”

(2) 16:05 – 16:25 Dr. Subashini Sivakumar, PhD, London, Ontario, Canada “In silico bioprospecting for value added products in nature”

(3) 16:25 – 16:40 Sanjiv Kandiah, BSc, MSc, MD candidate, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Michigan, USA “Correlation between features in a complete blood count, peripheral smear and bone marrow biopsy result”

(4) 16:40 – 16:55 Dr Meraj Khan, MSc., PhD., The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto “A Novel Function for Neutrophil Transcription: Transcriptional Firing Drives NETosis to trap microbial pathogens”

(5) 16:55 – 17:15 Dr. Kathir Brabakaran, PhD, STEM Education, Toronto, Canada / China. “Education Trends across Internationals Borders (or Education without Borders).

 

17:15– 18:00:  Break

 

18:00– 21:00: Social hour, carrier discussion, networking, Gala Dinner and Awards

 

Panel Discussion:  Path to a Sustainable Career in Science / Women in STEM
Moderator

Dr. Nirusha Thavarajah, PhD, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Panelist

Medicine:

Prof. Vathany Kulasingam, PhD, FCACB, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Canada

Prof. Savithiri Ratnapalan, MBBS, MEd, MRCP, FRCPC, FAAP, The Hospital for Sick Children and The University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Prof. Jeevendra Martyn, MD, FRCA, FRCM, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, Boston, USA

Prof. Vishnu Suppiramaniam, DVM, PhD, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, USA

Prof. Subra Kugathasan, MD., Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA

 

Engineering:

Prof. C. Vipulanandan (Vipu), PhD, P.E., University of Houston, Texas, USA

Prof. Xavier Fernando, PhD, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

Prof. Ramanitharan Kandiah, PhD, PE, Central State University, Ohio, USA

 

Science:

Prof. Nanda Nanthakumar, PhD, Virginia Tech, Virginia, USA

Prof. Umashanger Thayasivam, Rowan University, NJ, USA

Dr Prem Kumarathasan, PhD, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada

Dr. Kathir Brabakaran, PhD,, Toronto, Canada / China.

 

Industry:

Dr Arunthi Thiagalingam, PhD, IPSEN Bioscience, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA

Dr Nathan Yoganathan, PhD, Med BioGene Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada

Dr Ben Jeyaretnam, MBA, PhD, Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, USA

Dr. Edumnd Anton, PhD, RRMAE Engineering LLC, Boxborough, MA, USA

Bala Ambihavaran , Oldcastle Building Envelope, Mississauga, Canada

 

19:00 – 20:00: Dinner

20:00– 20:30: Dignitaries and highlights
Moderator

Prof Nades Palaniyar,

 

1. TEDxYouth North Toronto Collegiate Institute (TEDxYouthNTCI), Ms Ajantha Nadesalingam, YLP graduate

2. Center for Leadership and Innovation/Youth Leadership Program (CFLI/YLP), Mr Sivan Ilangko, co-founder and director of CFLI/YLP.

3. Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre (CanTYD), Mr Vathanan Jegatheesan, BA, IPMP, Operations Manager

4. Canadian Tamil Professional Association (CTPA), Sujani Ganeshanantham, HBSc, MSc., Director of Network Engagement.

5. Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), Mrs Raveena Rajasingam, BSc, PhD student, Board of Director

6. A community leader, Mr Piragal Thiru, DipSSW., BA, MPPAL

7. Jaffna University Alumni Association Canada (JUAA Canada), Prof Kanagasabai Theivendirarajah, PhD., Jaffna University Alumnus.

8. South Asian Autism Awareness Centre (SAAAC), Arrani Senthinathan, BSc., MSc., PMP, Senior Member.

9. Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), Mr Neethan Shan, HBSc., BEd., MEd., Executive Director

10. International Medical Health Organization (IMHO) Mr Murali Visvalingam, BAcAc., MBA, Board of Director

11. Canadian Tamil Medical Association/Medical Institute for Tamils (CTMA/MIFT), Dr. V. Santhakumar, MBBS, Board of Director, and Dr Shan Shanmugavadivel, BDS, President

 

20:30– 21:00: Awards

 

Sunday, July 3, 2016 – Day 2
                                                                             

08:30 – 09:30: Breakfast, Networking and Registration
 

09:00– 10:30:  Session 7: Techniques and Commercialization
Moderators

Prof. Umashanger Thayasivam, Rowan University, NJ, USA

Dr Nathan Yoganathan, PhD, Med BioGene Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada

 

(1) 9:00 – 9:20 Prof. Umashanger Thayasivam, Rowan University, NJ, USA “Data Mining for Biomarker Discovery using Random Forest”

 

(2) 9:20 – 9:40 Dr. Nithianandan Selliah, Covance Central Laboratory Services, Inc., Indianapolis, IN, USA “Multicolor Flow Cytometry: Selection of Fluorochromes to Assay Validation”

 

(3) 9:40 – 9:55 Arrani Senthinathan, MSc, Department of Exercise Science, University of Toronto, Canada “An Exploration of Stress Measures in Concussion Recovery Assessment”

 

(4) 9:55 – 10:15 Dr. Ben Jeyaretnam, MBA, PhD, Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, USA “Strategy to qualify single use components used in manufacturing and packaging of Biologics”

 

(5) 10:15 – 10:30 Dr. Nathan Yoganathan, PhD, CEO, KalGene Pharmaceuticals Inc., Ontario, Canada “Unraveling the Science of Alzheimer’s Disease”

 

10:30– 10:45:  Break/Refreshments

 

10:45– 12:30: Session 8: New Ideas in Health
Moderators

Prof. Subramaniam (Sri) Srikumaran, BVSc, MS, PhD, Washington State University, WA, USA

Dr. Renuka Subramaniam, DVM, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

 

(1) 10:45 – 11:30 Prof. Subramaniam (Sri) Srikumaran, BVSc, MS, PhD, Washington State University, WA, USA “Novel strategies to prevent pneumonia in ruminants:  genetic engineering and herpesvirus–vectored vaccines”.

(2) 11:30 – 11:50 Dr. Renuka Subramaniam, DVM, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA “Reversing deleterious effects of second hand cigarette smoke (SHS) and influenza infection on lung homeostasis”

(3) 11:50-12:10 Farhan Soomro, MSc student, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Ontario, Canada “Use of Educational Gaming and Simulation as Teaching Tools in Health Sciences”

(4) 12:10 – 12:30 Amandeep Sawana, BHSc., MD Candidate, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Michigan, USA “Evaluating the efficacy of open versus robotic retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for the treatment of testicular cancer”

 

12:30– 13:30: Networking Lunch and TASME2016 General Meeting
 

13:30 pm:  Summary and Thanks
Prof. Nades Palaniyar, PhD, SickKids/University of Toronto, Canada

Prof. Bala Maheswaran, PhD, Northeastern University, MA, USA.