Department of Human Genetics Weekly Bulletin Issue No. 57~ Oct 22, 2008

This is just a reminder about the Andermann Symposium entitled “Epilepsy at the Cutting Edge”, which will take place Thursday, October 23rd to Saturday, October 25th, at the Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre at the Montreal Neurological Institute, 3801 University Street. The program is attached to this email for more detailed information. This symposium has an important genetic component, and should be of interest to staff, students and researchers involved in Neurogenetics. Registration is free to all staff and students at McGill, and begins on Wednesday, October 22nd at 4pm -6pm in the foyer of the Jeanne Timmins Amphitheatre. Coffee breaks, lunches and a dinner on Thursday evening are included in the registration. If you have not yet registered, it would be important to do so on Wednesday afternoon, since the meeting begins at 8:15am on Thursday. If you have any further questions, please contact Debbie Rashcovsky at 514-398-6047 or deborah.rashcovsky@ mcgill.ca or Marilyn Reed at 514-398-8529.

PLEASE SEE BROCHURE AT THE END OF THE BULLETIN FOR MORE DETAILS

HGSS – DINNER AND MOVIE NIGHT TONIGHT (OCT 22) (See poster at the end of the bulletin for more info.)

External Fellowship Application Deadlines: Fall 2008 Information Sessions: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/fellowships/publications/workshops

Federal Agencies

CHIR APPLICATIONS ARE DUE TODAY; ANYONE INTENDING TO APPLY SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A CONFIRMATION EMAIL FROM ME TODAY. IF YOU DID NOT, PLEASE EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW THAT YOU INTEND TO APPLY.

CIHR Master's (CGS) (McGill) October 22, 2008 Industrial Innovation Scholarship (McGill)Programs provided by FQRNT/FQRSC varies

Other Agencies

Trudeau Foundation Scholarships (McGill) October 22, 2008

SWAAC Graduate Student Award (McGill) (for women)

October 22, 2008

The Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is now calling for nominations for the 2007-2008 Award for Excellence in Service to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. For information about this Award and how to submit a nomination, please go to: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/awards/service/ . Please note that the deadline for nominations is Friday, November 14, 2008.

Neal Cody Ph.D. Oral Defence: "Physical and functional evidence in support of candidate chromosome 3p tumour suppressor genes implicated in

epithelial ovarian cancer"

Friday, October 31st at 2:30pm Stewart Biology Room W4/12

Supervisor: Dr. Patricia Tonin

SMBD-JEWISH GENERAL HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE MONDAY MEDICAL GRAND ROUNDS OCTOBER 2008 12:30 - 1:30 P.M. BLOCK AMPHITHEATRE ***OCTOBER 27 ADULT STEM AND PROGENITOR CELLS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: HOPE OR HYPE? Sven Wassmann, MD Associate Professor of Medicine, McGill University Division of Cardiology, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital Contact Person: Dr. David Langleben, Chief, Division of Cardiology, Tel. 340-7531. *This event is sponsored with an educational grant from Merck Frosst - Schering. **This event is sponsored by the JGH Quality Program. Lunch is provided by Sanofi Aventis. ***This event is sponsored with an educational grant from Bristol Myers-Squibb. The Medical Grand Rounds are an accredited group learning activity as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

 From PGSS… The Health and Wellness Committee is planning a Flu Shot Day!  It will be on Nov. 25, from 09:00‐12:00 and 14:00‐16:00.  No appointments necessary, and for Canadian students we will have on‐the‐spot insurance processing.  Unfortunately, International students will have to front the money ($15).  Please send this information around to the graduate students in your department and email me with the number of students interested in getting a shot.  I will need these numbers no later than Nov. 12.  Thanks for your help!  Kathryn MacKay health.pgss@mail.mcgill.ca 

Laura Pickell Ph.D. Seminar: "MTHFR and dietary folate: developmental impact and gene

regulation."

Wednesday, November 5th at 2:30pm Stewart Biology Room W4/12

Supervisor: Dr. Rima Rosen

Kathleen Oros Klein Ph.D. Oral Defence:

"A genetic analysis of the French Canadian population in search of evidence in favour of novel breast cancer

susceptibility genes"

Monday, November 17th at 2:30pm Location: TBA

Supervisor: Dr. Patricia Tonin

McGill Book Fair Oct 22 & 23

9:00am-9:00pm Redpath Hall

Invigilation The purpose of this quick note is to let you all know that we have posted the application for the December 2008 invigilation positions at the following link: http://www.mcgill.ca/es/exams/invigilation/application/ Therefore, if you would like to be hired for December exams, please complete the application online. The deadline to apply is Monday, October 20th but we strongly urge you to apply ASAP. Please do not send me your availabilities through e-mail, but rather, apply through the application on the above-mentioned link. Kelly Cassidy Project Coordinator | Coordinatrice de projet Université McGill University Enrolment Services | Gestion de l'effectif étudiant Université McGill University 514.398.2207

Graduate Students: You are invited to attend Learning to Teach: A Professional Development Workshop for Graduate Students, taking place all day on November 8th, 2008. This workshop is open to all graduate students, regardless of whether or not you are currently a Teaching Assistant. Upon completion of the workshop, you will receive a certificate of participation to add to your teacher’s portfolio. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.mcgill.ca/tls/resources/gsi/workshops/.   This workshop will provide you with valuable tips, including: developing a grading scheme, building a teacher’s portfolio, and designing a course outline. You will come away with many new approaches for engaging the students in your classroom with activities, questions and discussions.  Following presentations from Teaching and Learning Services, the Library, and an interactive panel on “What I wish I had known about teaching when I started…” participants will be able to choose two of the following break‐out sessions:  

• Building your Teaching Dossier  • Engaging Students through Interactive Strategies  • Grading in the Sciences • Grading Papers and Essays • Leading Effective Discussions • Preparing and Delivering Effective Presentations  • Preparing to Teach Your Own Course: Designing the Course 

Outline • Selecting Effective Technologies for Teaching and Learning • Understanding Multiculturalism and Teaching/Learning Practices 

 The workshop will be held on November 8, 2008 in Leacock Room 132. Presentations will begin at 9:00 a.m. but we invite you to arrive early to enjoy refreshments at 8:30.  Registration is required.  For more information and to register: http://www.mcgill.ca/tls/resources/gsi/workshops/  This workshop is brought to you by Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) and Teaching & Learning Services (TLS).  

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN GENETICS

VISITING SPEAKER

Alexandre Montpetit, PhD Assistant Scientific Director

McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre

Dr. Montpetit did his undergrad at the department of biochemistry of the Universite de Montreal (class of '96). He received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2002, also from the Universite de Montreal, for his work on the genetics of acute lymphoblastic leukemia under Dr. Daniel Sinnett (at Ste-Justine Hospital). From 2002 to 2005, he did post-doctoral work under Dr. Tom Hudson at the Montreal Genome Centre (which became the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre in 2003) where he leaded large-scale genomic projects, mostly association studies for various complex traits and the Canadian portion of the HapMap project. In 2006, he became the Centre's genotyping lab director and also the assistant scientific director.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

3:30 pm

Title "Genomics in the post-HapMap era"

The completion of the Haplotype Map in 2005 has revolutionized the genomics field, in a way similar to what the completion of the Human Genome Sequence had done five years earlier. As an example, the knowledge of the underlying haplotype structure of the human population and the increase in the multiplexing capacity of the genotyping technologies have both changed the way association studies are now performed. The genomics field is now moving forward and new applications are emerging using the knowledge gained by these studies. In my presentation, I will highlight this by describing the genomic approaches used and the results obtained from recent projects on three rare disorders: Mental retardation, MEDNIK (a systemic disease observed in a few families from the Bas-St-Laurent region) and Huntington's disease.

Location

Stewart Biology Building, Room W4/12 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue

SPECIAL SEMINAR

Yojiro Yamanaka, Ph.D.

Program for Stem Cells and Developmental Biology Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

Friday, November 7th, 2008 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm

Goodman Cancer Pavilion, Conference Room 500

“Morphogenesis and lineage specification in the early mouse embryo”

Morphogenesis and lineage specification are two important aspects of vertebrate development. From the zygote to the adult, the embryo progressively forms its unique morphology and establishes various cell lineages. Complex structures of tissues and organs are generated through multiple steps of morphogenesis and lineage specification. They are tightly linked and one often regulates the other. Since morphogenesis is a process orchestrated by dynamic cellular activities such as cell migration, cell division and cell shape change, continuous observation is important to understand the process as behaviors of individual cells. Because the early mouse development takes place inside of the uterus, knowledge of early mouse morphogenesis has been limited. I developed the live imaging system to analyze the early mouse development. Using a combination of live imaging and genetics, I have analyzed morphogenesis and lineage specification at the level of individual cells. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of morphogenesis in vivo and the links between morphogenesis and gene expression provides new insights in development and lineage specification. I will present my work on preimplantation and gastrulation mouse embryo development. 1. Yamanaka, Tamplin et al. (2007) Dev Cell 13, 884-896

2. Chazaud, Yamanaka et al. (2006) Dev Cell 10, 615-624

3. Yamanaka et al. (2006) Dev Dyn 235, 2301-2314

Everyone is welcome • Bienvenue à tous PLEASE POST • S.V.P. AFFICHER