Celebrating young researchers: A look back at CBR Research Day 2024

Our partnership with the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is helping to train the next generation of researchers in transfusion science. This blog post highlights just some of the achievements in education, training or knowledge mobilization accomplished by CBR trainees.

This is a repost of a blog written by CBR summer students Jackie Hagstrom, Mohammed Al-Seragi and Nastaran Davilu. It was edited by CBR Communications and Programs Coordinator Kaitlyn Chuong, and originally appeared on the CBR blog in September 2024. Each year, CBR’s Research Day provides an opportunity for CBR Summer Studentship Program participants to share their research projects with their peers and other labs while practicing presentation skills through short talks and poster presentations.

A look back at CBR Research Day 2024 

On August 15th, the CBR community gathered in-person and online to celebrate the hard work and research of this year’s summer students. The day kicked off with welcoming remarks, followed by oral presentations from students, where we heard from peers working on diverse projects. Each student had just 3 minutes to present their summer research projects, with the promise of a rubber chicken noise signaling if they exceeded their time limit.  

It was inspiring to learn what these four months looked like for this year’s summer students. The collection of three-minute flash talks was a striking window into the immense breadth of research behind the twenty-one-membered cohort. Everything from cancer glycoimmunology to stem cell differentiation, blood disease pathology and the like were subjects of the two-hour triage of presentations. More impressive than the research itself was how effectively everybody was able to collapse many weeks of work into a mere three minutes — something many students said they struggled with! 

The day provided both a platform to showcase our work and an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations within the CBR community.

Nastaran Davilu, CBR Summer Student 2024

This year’s Neil Mackenzie Mentorship Award was presented to Dr. Michael Sutherland who spoke on what excellent mentorship means to him, as he reflected on his 20+ years of working under Dr. Ed Pryzdial. He emphasized the value of giving students actionable advice when challenges arise, the importance of empathy, comradery and being understanding and even showcased his knowledge of “brat summer”, a term he learned from his students. A particularly memorable moment was Dr. Sutherland humorously mentioning being told he has no “rizz,” and shared his experience of checking if the term was offensive, only to have Reddit users call his question “cringe.” This lighthearted moment, featuring other classic Gen-Z phrases, added humor to the day and highlighted the inclusive and fun spirit of the CBR community. 

To top it off, Dr. Brianne Kent, this year’s keynote speaker, delivered a highly insightful address on the intersection of learning, sleep, and circadian rhythms with dementia and what that means for our aging and vulnerable populations. Dr. Kent began by discussing novel biomarkers that could help predict the onset age of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which may provide patients a better chance at benefiting from treatment. One such biomarker is disturbed sleep, with research suggesting that targeting sleep disturbances could prevent up to 15% of AD cases. She explored various topics, including the potential of the antidepressant Trazodone to slow cognitive decline. Overall, this research points to slow wave sleep as a key area of therapeutic intervention and suggests that cognitive tasks assessing pattern separation are particularly sensitive to sleep disruptions and sleep aids. Maybe a bit more upending was Dr. Kent’s realization that students don’t sleep nearly as much as she thought, something that many students can attest to. 

Following the keynote address, the event transitioned to the poster session in the UBC Life Sciences Centre West Atrium. The CBR community circulated and engaged in in-depth discussions with students eager to delve deeper into their research.  

Ending the day off with poster presentations was an amazing representation of the collaborative atmosphere that permeated the event. It was clear that this year’s Research Day was more than just a platform for sharing results; it was a space for building connections, exchanging ideas, and sparking new collaborations.”

Sajida Chowdhury, CBR Summer Student 2024

Poster judges provided valuable feedback, helping to explore future research directions, critiquing methodologies, and making connections to other related work happening at the CBR. With refreshments in hand, students also took the opportunity to explore their peers' posters, gaining insight into where their research paths might lead after the CBR Summer Studentship Program. The evening ended with a BBQ dinner shared with friends, families, and lab members, a fitting end to a summer filled with connections and opportunities. 

CBR Research Day was a hit in many more ways than the findings we were able to share. It was a time of learning but one of celebration as well. I have high promises for the Research Days to come and hope to be around for them too! 

Mohammed Al-Seragi, CBR Summer Student 2024

Congratulations to all of the award winners at this year’s Research Day: 

• Best Oral Presentation (voted by the students) – Madelyn Tisdale, Mizumoto Lab 
• People’s Choice Award (voted by the audience) – Houria Afshar Moghaddam, Av-Gay Lab 
• Best Poster Presentation (voted by the poster judges) – Simrat Binning, Cote Lab 

Many thanks to our sponsors, without whom the CBR Summer Studentship Program and CBR Research Day would not be possible: the Neil Mackenzie Memorial Fund, the Naiman-Vickars Endowment Fund, Canadian Blood Services, GSK, AstraZeneca, GRIFOLS, Beigene, Stago and Sobi. We’d also like to say thank you to the Life Sciences Institute for partnering with us on this year’s program. Lastly, we are grateful for all the support and kindness of Kaitlyn Chuong, the CBR Communications and Programs Coordinator. 

More about events at the Centre for Blood Research  

• Missed the event? Watch the recording of CBR Research Day 2024, see photos from the event and review the program on the CBR website. 
• Other upcoming CBR events: Registration is now open for the 18th Annual Earl W. Davie Symposium taking place November 13, 2024. The goal of the Earl W. Davie Symposium is to disseminate advances in the field of hemostasis-thrombosis, as applied to innate immunity, infectious diseases, inflammation and cancer. The registration deadline for oral presentations is October 8th with travel awards available for trainees to attend and present at the symposium. 

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.  

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.