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BC Children's Hospital Research Institute is coming to BC's Southern Interior! 

Join us at Mini Science Night as we explore the newest discoveries and innovations in health research | Event Poster.

When & Where

Date: Thursday, May 2, 2024
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Location: SASCU Recreation Center (Auditorium), 2600 - 10th Avenue NE, Salmon Arm

Curriculum

> > > > Meet the Mini Science Night Faculty

5:30 pm - Registration & Refreshments

A light meal will be available free for all participants. 

Mini Science Night is not a nut-free event. We cannot guarantee that there will be no cross-contamination by catering. Participants with any food allergies or dietary restrictions are asked to bring a snack. We apologize for any inconvenience.

6:00 pm - BC's Vaccine Evaluation Center: Pre-Clinical Design to Post-Approval Monitoring of Canada's Vaccinations

Vaccines are simple in their idea, but can be complicated to make! Explore the 'life cycle' of vaccine development from early design to monitoring adverse effects of vaccination, all through projects spearheaded by the Vaccine Evaluation Center at BC Children's Hospital. Presented by Emily Mason

6:15 pm - Digital Health Approaches to Improve Care for Sick Children Globally

Risk scores can help nurses and doctors identify the most vulnerable children and make decisions about the order children are seen and how much care they need. This is especially important in low-resource settings where there are many sick children and few nurses. In Uganda, Africa, the Institute for Global Health at BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals has been working on 'Smart Quality Improvement (QI)' programs that use risk scores integrated into digital health platforms to improve the quality of care for children. Learn more about how these platforms use mobile apps with custom vital signs measurement for high-quality patient assessment. Presented by Dustin Dunsmuir

6:30 pm - Silent Genomes Project: Indigenous DNA Reference Data Under Indigenous Governance

While each disease is rare, collectively the thousands of rare diseases impact many people (1 in 12). Most rare diseases are caused by genetics - DNA sequences that cause the problems.  Until recently it was often impossible to determine the specific disease for many kids - long odysseys involving great uncertainty for families.  New DNA analysis technologies allow diagnosis for many children impacted by rare diseases - providing answers and often hope to children and their families.  The process involves comparing the DNA sequence (A, C, G or T) at each spot in a patient's genes  (all 3 billion spots) to the letters that have been observed in others without disease.  Comparing against the reference data is important, because most DNA changes do not cause any harm. Unfortunately, the available reference data is not ideal for everyone - people have been left out.  The Silent Genomes Project is an effort to create DNA reference data for Indigenous people across Canada (and throughout Turtle Island). Establishing such reference data requires us to confront challenges built up over generations of history.  The presentation will describe the intersecting efforts to create Indigenous governance models for the reference data and to technically implement the resource called the Indigenous Background Variant Library (IBVL). Presented by Dr. Wyeth Wasserman

7:00 pm - Question & Answer Period

Participant questions for our Mini Science Night faculty

7:30 pm - Closing Remarks

Do you have questions about a career in health sciences? Are you looking to discover the latest in research advancements? 

Participants will at dismissed at 7:30 pm. After dismissal, the Mini Science Night Faculty will be available to network one-on-one with interested participants. Bring your questions! 

Interested in Participating? 

Registration for Mini Science Night is open to everyone in the community. This includes students, teachers, parents, seniors and local healthcare professionals.

Registration will be open on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 and close when the program is full. Admission is free but space is limited to 50 participants. 
 

Learn how you can participate in Mini Science Night


Mini Med Science Night is a BC Children's Hospital outreach program that takes a unique approach and has the reputation of being “anything but mini”. This popular series uses big ideas, big discoveries and big names to engage high school students, teachers and the general public in learning and discussing health research topics. Click here to learn more about this travelling program. 

Do you have additional questions? Contact researchevents@phsa.ca.