2012 Symposium
With 13 informative presentation and discussion sessions over three days, as well as a poster exhibit and networking opportunities, the Symposium attracted 87 participants, including 21 Canadian attendees. More details are available in the 2012 Symposium Program.
Prostate Cancer Canada Collaboration-Exploration-Development Award Recipients
Select delegates from Canada received Prostate Cancer Canada Collaboration-Exploration-Development Awards in recognition of their successful collaborative work. These merit-based awards issued in partnership with the Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance (Aus-CanPCRA), facilitated Canadian Aus-CanPCRA members travel to the 2012 Aus-CanPCRA Symposium on Daydream Island, Queensland with the aim of strengthening collaborations between the two countries.
By way of acknowledgement of the awards, the recipients wrote letters describing the benefits they reaped from the Daydream Island trip. Below are a few excerpts from these letters:
“The annual Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance Symposium held April 13-16 this year on Daydream Island proved to be one of the best international meetings focussed exclusively on prostate cancer. Its mandate to share information and foster collaborations between Australian and Canadian scientists working in the field was successfully met with a format of short talks and extended formal and informal discussions. ... I feel that once again the annual Australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Alliance meeting was a resounding success in providing a somewhat unique venue for sharing progress in prostate cancer research as well as for building collaborative ventures.”
Prof Paul Rennie (Director, Laboratory Research, Vancouver Prostate Centre, Professor, University of British Columbia)
“I would like to start by thanking PCC for funding this award, which enabled me to attend the Aus-CanPCRA Symposium April 13-16 2012. Aside from the specific collaborative opportunities that I will describe below, this was an invaluable opportunity for me to meet key members of the prostate research communities in both countries, especially since I am a relatively new prostate cancer researcher.”
“It also provided an excellent introduction to the breadth of research in the field: I learned a lot!”
Dr. Paul C. Boutros (Principal Investigator, Informatics & Biocomputing Platform, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research)
“This was my first time attending an Australia-Canada Prostate Cancer Research Alliance [Symposium] and I was very impressed with the content of the program, by the diversity of topics addressed and by the obvious interactions between various research groups in both countries that have the potential to accelerate research outcomes. … All-in-all, I believe the meeting was quite successful in meeting the goals and I felt honoured to be invited to this exciting forum.”
Prof. Ralph Buttyan (Senior Scientist, Vancouver Prostate Centre)
“I would like to express my appreciation to the Aus-CanPCRA Symposium organizers, especially Dr. Colleen Nelson, for inviting me to the meeting. Attending this Symposium enabled me to become acquainted with a number of researchers in Canada and Australia.
The atmosphere of the meeting was very friendly and I was able to have different discussions with participants and exchange knowledge regarding aspects in prostate cancer research. ... In general, the meeting was very useful for me as a researcher to expand my knowledge on prostate cancer and establish future partnerships with collaborators from both Canada and Australia.”
Dr Mahvash Zakikhani (Research Associate, Department of Oncology, Lady Davis Institute of Medical Research of the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University)
"It was a great pleasure attending the recent Symposium on Daydream Island, where I had the opportunity to meet with both existing and potential future collaborators from Canada and Australia."
Dr Ladan Fazli (Research Pathologist, Urological Sciences, Vancouver Prostate Centre)
“First I wanted to thank the organizers for a great meeting. It was extremely useful to listen to all the talks as they gave me a good overview of the research happening in prostate cancer research both in Canada and in Australia. Since I am fairly new in this field, this was particularly useful for me. ... Thank you for allowing me to travel to this Symposium.”
Dr Barbara Lelj Garolla Di Bard (Research Associate, Vancouver Prostate Centre)
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Aus-CanPCRA Symposium and very much appreciated the opportunity to share my work with an international community. My talk: ‘Insulin, IGFII and ADT induced Metabolic Syndrome: Pathways to Prostate Cancer Progression,’ gave rise to many interesting conversations and new research questions for myself and for other researchers in overlapping fields. During the conference, I had many opportunities to foster collaborations with other research centres. ... I believe these will be fruitful collaborations to expand our knowledge of prostate cancer and establish potential therapeutics”.
Dr Amy Lubik (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Vancouver Prostate Centre)
Collaborations celebrated and created
At the heart of the Symposium, and a theme throughout all the discussions and presentations was the value of collaboration opportunities offered to researchers from across the globe by the Alliance.
View the Symposium photo gallery of the event
Browse photos of the Symposium in the Photo Gallery for a glimpse of the friendly, interactive atmosphere and informative presentations.
Venue
Daydream Island offers a 4.5 star Resort and Spa nestled in the heart of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Located just 30 minutes from the mainland, the island is surrounded by natural beauty and is the perfect place to motivate and inspire.
