2023 Scientific Meeting of the Canadian DOHaD Society

May 22-23, 2023
Fairmont Le Château in Montebello, QC

The 2023 scientific meeting of the Canadian DOHaD Society will be held May 22-23, 2023 at the Fairmont Le Château in Montebello, QC.  The program will focus on environmental effects on parents and offspring, with a particular focus on environmental toxicants, diet/nutrition, and early life environment.

The program will include Keynote address by Dr. Amanda Kentner (Director of the ENRICHED Neurodevelopmental Brain & Behavior Laboratory at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences).
The day will also feature a “DOHaD Advocacy in Canada” workshop, a joint-poster session with CNPRM, and a 3-minute ‘slam your science’ event for trainee presentations.
Early Bird Registration Deadline: APRIL 24, 2023 
Abstract Submission is now closed

Monday May 22

Event 

Room

Registration

PM

Dinner

Aux Chantignoles

Tue May 23

7:15 – 8:30

Buffet Breakfast

Aux Chantignoles

8:30 – 9:30

Welcome and Keynote Address

Heritage

9:30 – 10:45

DOHaD Advocacy/Dissemination in Canada (3-min pitch talks plus speakers)

Heritage

10:45 – 11:15

Coffee / Tea

Heritage

11:15 – 12:30

Talk Session – Diet/Nutrition

Heritage

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch & DOHaD Canada Council meeting

Aux Chantignoles

13:20 – 14:45

Talk Session – Environmental Toxicants

Heritage

14:45 – 15:15

Coffee / Tea

Aux Chantignoles

15:15 – 16:30

Talk Session – Early Life Environment

Heritage

16:30 – 17:00

Additional trainee flash talks

Heritage

17:00 – 19:00

Evening Events – CNPRM joint poster session

The role of environmental complexity in the protection and rehabilitation against early-life inflammation

Dr. Amanda (Mandy) Kentner earned her PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada, focusing on sex differences in depression. Currently, Dr. Kentner is a Full Professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts. In this role, she directs a behavioral neuroscience focused laboratory examining how exposure to infection during early development imparts long-term disruptions in social and cognitive functioning. Her laboratory is also interested in factors that offer protective or rehabilitative potential, for example environmental enrichment, maternal care, and pharmacological agents.

Dr. Kentner serves on the editorial board of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity and is an Executive Board Member for the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society (PNIRS). Dr. Kentner served as an elected USA Councilor representative for the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS) from 2018-2021 and was the inaugural Chair of the IBNS Ethics & Diversity Committee. She is also an elected Council Member of NeuroBoston, the local Society for Neuroscience Boston Chapter.

Dr. Kentner has received multiple MCPHS Excellence in Research Mentorship awards and was honored with the inaugural MCPHS Gail P. and Edward A. Bucher Trustees’ Award for Excellence in Student-Faculty Research Collaboration in 2018. Her laboratory is supported by an R15 AREA grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Dr. Anne TM Konkle is an Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa since 2009. Her research focus is on better understanding the mother/infant dyad. Her work serves to characterize the impact of in utero/pregnancy and neonatal/ postpartum exposure to environmental perturbations (including stress, maternal infection, toxicants, noise, etc) on development of the brain in the offspring but also on plasticity of the maternal brain and related maternal behaviours. Given that offspring brain development and behaviour are uniquely tied in with maternal care – better understanding the plasticity of the maternal brain and how environmental factors may affect this plasticity is key to understanding interactions between direct and indirect environmental effects on offspring brain development. A multidisciplinary approach finds her investigating the social media representation of peripartum mental health in order to better understand the information typically available to the lay person and how this might impact their perceptions and behaviours; her ultimate goal being awareness and advocacy for mental health, toward a de-stigmatization of mental health, and providing better social support to individuals with peripartum mental health issues.

Dr. Kozeta Miliku completed her Medical Doctorate at the Medical University of Tirana, Albania. Following her medical degree, she received a doctoral degree in Clinical Epidemiology, in the Generation R study, at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Dr. Miliku’s postdoctoral research at the University of Manitoba and McMaster University focused on understanding the role of early life nutrition and genetics in the developmental origins of chronic disease, including cardiometabolic health and asthma.

Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Nutritional Science, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Medicine and Chief Clinical Science Officer at the CHILD Cohort Study. Her research interest focuses on the field of developmental origins of health and disease, with a specific focus on cardiometabolic health. With dual expertise in medicine and epidemiology, Dr. Miliku uses a trans-disciplinary approach to bridge the traditional pillars of research. Her current projects are incorporated in birth cohorts and focus on the role of preconception nutrition. The ultimate goal is to prevent chronic disease through evidence-informed interventions during critical periods of development.

Dr. Christine Till is a Professor in Clinical Developmental Psychology at York University in Toronto, adjunct scientist to the Neurosciences and Mental Health Program at SickKids, and a clinical neuropsychologist. She is the 2019 recipient of the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award. Her research interests include children’s environmental health and understanding both protective and risk factors for cognitive decline following insult to the developing brain. She is currently leading multi-disciplinary research teams on studies examining the effects of early-life exposure to fluoride and other neurotoxicants on maternal thyroid functioning and child neurodevelopment. Her team is involved in three different population-based cohorts to understand how environmental chemicals are implicated as underlying risk factors for emerging morbidities in childhood, including ADHD.

Not yet available.

For more information, please contact the 2023 DOHaD Canada conference co-chairs, Dr. Tara Perrot (tara.perrot@dal.ca) or Dr. Jennifer Khoury (jennifer.khoury@msvu.ca).

You can make your accommodation in 2 ways:

Booking link:  https://book.passkey.com/e/50510645

OR

Contact the Reservations department at 819-423-6341 #7688

In both cases, if you are staying on for the CNPRM, let the hotel know so that you do not have to switch rooms!

Transportation from Ottawa or Montreal airport or train station to Chateau Montebello

Flights:  The closest airports to Fairmont Le Château Montebello are Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier Airport (YOW) 95.9 km, and Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), 124 km.

Ground Transportation:  Taxi services are available from YUL and YOW. They can be arranged by the Fairmont concierge team. For current pricing and availability, please contact their team at 819.423.6341 or directly via email.

Montreal – Parking & Transport – https://www.admtl.com/fr/accessOttawa – Parking & Transportation – https://yow.ca/en

Google Maps HERE.

 Airline Discounts

 Air Canada

Go to aircanada.com and enter your promotion code CJT6GQU1 in the Promotion Code Box.

Applicable Rules:

·   The booking is to be made to the following city: Ottawa, YOW (ON)

·   The travel period begins Monday, May 15, 2023 and ends Thursday, June 01, 2023.

·   Travel is valid Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

·   For North America’ 5% applies on standard fares, 10% on flex fares & higher. For International Travel’ 10% on standard fares & higher.

Westjet

Go to www.westjet.com/conventions and enter your coupon code 4U5X5ZS in the Discount Code Box.

Applicable Rules:

·    The booking is to be made to the following city: Ottawa, ON (YOW)

·    The travel period begins Monday, May 15 and ends Thursday, June 6, 2023.

·     5% off Econo* and 10% off EconoFlex and Premium fares for travel within Canada and 2% off Econo* and 5% off EconoFlex and 10% off Premium base fares for guests travelling Trans-border.

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