Fall 2023: Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada (CITAC).

This has been a great first half of the year for CITAC-ACCFC (Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada/Association des cliniciens-chercheurs en formation du Canada)! We are looking forward to our new members joining us in the fall and welcoming back our previous members after the summer.

Overview of The the Clinician Investigator Trainees' Research Presented at The 2022 CSCI-CITAC Joint Meeting.

The 2022 Annual Joint Meeting (AJM) and Young Investigators' Forum of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation / Société Canadienne de recherches clinique (CSCI/SCRC) and Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada/Association des cliniciens-chercheurs en formation du Canada (CITAC/ACCFC) was held in Montréal, November 13-14, 2022. The theme of this year's AJM was "Strength in Perseverance" and focused on highlighting clinician-investigator trainee achievements and resilience in research engagement through recent challenging and unprecedented times. The opening remarks were given by Nicola Jones (president of CSCI/SCRC) and Heather Whittaker (past president of CITAC/ACCFC).

Fall 2021: Clinician Investigator Trainee Association Of Canada (CITAC).

I hope you’re taking care and found some time to relax this summer. A new semester may mean a big transition—some folks are starting their graduate studies, re-entering clerkship, starting residency or entering a fellowship. For some, there will be little or no change at all; but just a continuation of one of the many phases of the physician-scientist training pathway.

Impairment in inflammasome signaling by the chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients results in an increase in inflammatory response.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common respiratory pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients which undergoes adaptations during chronic infection towards reduced virulence, which can facilitate bacterial evasion of killing by host cells. However, inflammatory cytokines are often found to be elevated in CF patients, and it is unknown how chronic P. aeruginosa infection can be paradoxically associated with both diminished virulence in vitro and increased inflammation and disease progression.

Coating M-CSF on plastic surface results in the generation of increased numbers of macrophages in vitro.

Macrophages are one of the important cell types in the innate immune system that are present in various anatomical regions of the body and promote early control of pathogens. The relative proportion of macrophages in various lymphoid and non-lymphoid regions is small, and as such it is tedious to purify these cells to homogeneity. Culture of bone marrow precursors with macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) results in their differentiation to macrophages, however this procedure results in low numbers of differentiated macrophages.

Treatment of soil-transmitted helminth infections in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of maternal outcomes.

Background: Gestational helminth infections are correlated to adverse outcomes including maternal anaemia; as such, treatment is recommended. However, little published high-quality data exist around the efficacy, safety and tolerability of anti-helminthics in pregnancy. We therefore conducted a systematic review and synthesized the available data on maternal outcomes following gestational treatment of intestinal nematodes to help guide clinical decision-making.

Parasitological correlates of Plasmodium ovale curtisi and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri infection.

Background: Malaria, due to Plasmodium ovale, can be challenging to diagnose due to clinically mild disease and low parasite burden. Two genetically distinct sub-species of P. ovale exist: Plasmodium ovale curtisi (classic) and Plasmodium ovale wallikeri (variant).