Harnessing the Immune System to Treat Infection, Autoimmune Disorders and Cancer

Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by the Vancouver Public Library and UBC Life Sciences Institute. Our ability to harness the power of the immune system to treat a vast variety of diseases is rapidly advancing. Join the Life Sciences Institute’s Infection, Inflammation & Immunity – I3 – research group leaders for short talks and discussion about the use of the immune system in treating infection, autoimmune disorders and cancer. This talk is an informal and open forum that aims to bring the latest and greatest ideas in the area of the Life Sciences to the public. Each event is free to attend and will include a talk, networking opportunities and reception. This series focuses on Personalized Medicine and how the Life Sciences Institute faculty, staff and students are working to change clinical practice, improve health outcomes, and reduce health costs. In partnership with the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre’s Health Information Series, an ongoing public lecture series that take place in the Lower Mainland community, this talk will also be recorded for webcast viewing at a later date. Panel Topics: Dr. Georgia Perona-Wright – “Using the immune system to combat infection” Dr. Ken Harder – “Treating cancer with immunology” Dr. Marc Horwitz – “Immunotherapies in autoimmunity” Dr. Ninan Abraham as moderator. Speakers: Dr. Georgia Perona-Wright – Dr Perona Wright’s research is on immune responses that can be both protective and pathological. Her aim is to understand how the balance between these two outcomes is achieved, concentrating on the role of cytokines during infection. She is particularly interested in the interaction between coincident, opposing cytokines. Dr. Ken Harder – The long-term goal of the Harder Lab is to identify the key genes and cellular pathways that guide dendritic cell lineage choice and dendritic cell function. We are particularly interested in the role of tyrosine kinase/phosphatase-regulated signalling pathways that control signalling thresholds ...