Chronic kidney disease (CKD) of unknown etiology (CKDu) is an emerging global health problem and one of the most enigmatic diseases in nephrology. CKDu mainly affects active farmers and their families in (sub)tropical agricultural environments in middle and low income countries. 

CKDu only affects the kidneys and is not attributed to any known risk factors for CKD. The epidemiological consensus suggests environmental factors as (one) likely disease cause, however, the exact cause and mechanism of CKDu remain elusive. Another major challenge is its diagnosis, which primarily depends on clinical exclusion criteria and non-specific histopathological features. Recently, we discovered an aberrant lysosomal phenotype in proximal tubular cells of these patients that might be a step forward in diagnosis and pathomechanistic insight. Moreover, a Sri Lankan study on drinking water management demonstrated there might be more hope on the horizon.

Dr. Benjamin Vervaet is an Assistant Professor at University of Antwerp, Belgium where he teaches at the Cell Death Signaling Lab in the Department of Biomedicine.  He is also a Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Pathology at RWTH Uniklinik Aachen (Aachen University Hospital), Germany.  His research focuses on kidney disease in farmers in LMIC, which is one of the most enigmatic kidney diseases, potentially associated with pesticide use, and a relevant global health issue regarding kidney health.  

Professor Vervaet received his BSc in Biology and MSc in Biotechnology from Ghent University, Belgium.  He did his PhD and Post Doc at University of Antwerp and has been an Assistant Professor there since 2020.  He has been a post-doctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Nephropathology, Uniklinik Aachen since 2022.

Date: Tuesday, December 17th at 12:00 pm

Location: Zoom - https://www.ualberta.ca/en/medicine/about/social-accountability/globalhealth/rounds/vervaet.html

Contact: ghfomd@ualberta.ca 

Send abstracts (250 words max) to ghfomd@ualberta.ca by noon on Jan. 13, 2025.  Open to all students, postdocs, clinicians, research staff and faculty involved in global health research. 

Four abstracts will be chosen for a 15-minute oral presentation at the Global Health Fair, Feb. 6, 2025, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. MST. 

The Fair, which is organized by the Global Health Program, FoMD, will be a hybrid event occurring in person at ECHA 4-036 and online via Zoom.

Date: January 13th, 2025 at 12:00pm

Contact: ghfomd@ualberta.ca 

Interested in rural medicine? The RhPAP Rural Medical Student Award provides a one-time contribution of $5,000 to assist with tuition, accommodation, living, and/or professional development expenses. 

Please visit the RhPAP website (https://rhpap.ca/health-professionals/continuing-professional-development/post-secondary-health-professions-students/rhpap-rural-medical-student-award/) for more details on eligibility requirements and to apply. 

The application deadline is February 1, 2025.

Contact: info@rhpap.ca 

This annual fundraiser (formerly known as the Rich Man Poor Man dinner) raises funds to sponsor residents and faculty from our international partner sites to come to the University of Alberta for further training.  

The fundraiser also helps provide funding for the activities of the Medical Students Association (MSA) along with providing an excellent opportunity for learners, faculty and others with an interest in Global Health to interact and mingle during a fun evening. There is a silent auction which includes student artwork and sport event tickets.  This year we are hosting an evening mixer in the Bernard Snell Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, 5:00 - 9:00 pm.  Attendees will enjoy hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, refreshments, silent auction, entertainment from the MSA's Syncope Band and a keynote address.

This event will also be a kick off to the Global Health Fair, Feb. 6, 2025, 9 am - 4 pm.  We hope you will join us for this event as well!

Register here: uab.ca/RMPM

Date: February 5th, 2025 at 5:00pm

Location: Bernard Snell hall

Contact: ghfomd@ualberta.ca 

The annual Global Health Fair provides an opportunity for researchers, clinicians and educators to share their medical knowledge and scholarship on various topics related to global health, as well as provide an opportunity for networking and bridge-building across disciplines.

As with previous Fairs, the 9th Annual Global Health Fair will be held in conjunction and in collaboration with the Biomedical Global Health Research Network (BGHRN) and University of Alberta International (UAI) International Week events Feb. 3 - 7, 2025. 

We encourage our participants to join us in person in ECHA 4-036 to connect with others as well as our speakers.  We will have coffee breaks, snacks and lunch provided; posters available for viewing in the hallway outside the conference room throughout the day followed by a poster contest from 4 - 5 pm. Some of our speakers will be joining us over Zoom since they live in international locations.  Others will be attending in person and available to connect with during the breaks. Hope to see you there in person but if this is not possible, join us by Zoom.  All those who register will receive a Zoom link. Elevators will be opened on the day of the Fair so all should have easy access without a ONEcard.  

Submit an abstract of 250 words or less to ghfomd@ualberta.ca to be one of the 4 research projects chosen for a 15 minute presentation at the Fair.  Abstracts should contain unpublished research/data.  Those not selected will be invited to present a poster for our poster contest from 4 - 5 pm the day of the Fair.   Open to all students, postdocs, clinicians, research staff and faculty involved in global health research. 

Come to our FoMD Global Health Fundraiser and Fair Kick-off event on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, 5 - 9 pm in Bernard Snell Hall.  This event raises funds to sponsor residents and faculty from our partner sites in LMIC.  More info at uab.ca/RMPM

Register here: uab.ca/GHF

Date: February 6th, 2025 at 9:00am

Location: Hybrid (ECHA 4-036 and Zoom)

Contact: ghfomd@ualberta.ca 

Are you doing a third-year clerkship in 2025 through the University of Alberta or the University of Calgary? Do you have a particular interest in pursuing studies and career development in Rural Medicine? If so, stay tuned! Applications for the 2025 Dr. Michael Tarrant Scholarship are coming soon!

Learn more about the Dr. Michael Tarrant Scholarship and if you’re eligible to apply by visiting our website.

Chronic Pain Interview Study (Dalhousie Department of Anesthesiology)

Are you a medical student studying in Canada? You may be eligible to participate in our research study, where we are interested in students’ experiences with chronic pain while in medical school. If you choose to participate, you will complete a phone interview up to 1 hour. To thank you for your time, you will receive a $50 gift card. Medical faculties will not have access to your responses. 

To express interest in participating or for more information, please click here: https://redcap.its.dal.ca/surveys/?s=H7MAFC748AWADY34

Contact: alex.oprea@dal.ca

Mentor Intake for the BIPOC Mentorship Program 

The BIPOC and Allies Students' Association are proud to announce the inaugural year of our Mentorship Program. Please sign up to be a Mentor and share news of the program with your team and constituents. The goal of this initiative is to foster BIPOC mentor-mentee collaborative relationships to support BIPOC network building, excellence, and comradery between BIPOC early undergraduate & highschool students and established BIPOC academics. You will be part of the professional, personal, and scholarly growth of your mentee: be the mentor you wish you had when you started out in the academy and sign up today!

Sign-up Form: https://forms.gle/U9soEDeaVFcy6BvP8

Website: https://www.uofabipoc.com/about-us

Contact: bipoc@ualberta.ca

Poetry Competition for Medical Students and Physicians Now Accepting Submissions 

Northeast Ohio Medical University invites submissions to its annual medical student and physician poetry competition. Submission deadline Dec. 31, 2024. 

Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in the United States is now accepting submissions for the 43rd annual William Carlos Williams poetry competition through December 31, 2024. New this year, we will be awarding prizes in two categories: a medical student category, open to students enrolled in MD and DO programs in the US, Puerto Rico, or Canada, and a physician category, open to any rank of physician (MD or DO) at any career stage, from residency to retirement, in the US, Puerto Rico, or Canada. Each year, the William Carlos Williams competition receives hundreds of entries, which are judged by the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University. Submissions will be judged on the merits of craft, originality, and content. First-, second-, and third-place winners in each category will receive a cash prize and will be considered for publication in the Journal of Medical Humanities. Winning poets will be notified by March 1, 2025.

For submission details, eligibility criteria, and to submit online, please visit NEOMED's William Carlos Williams poetry competition webpage. https://www.neomed.edu/wcw-poetry-competition/

Contact: wcw@neomed.edu

Planetary Health Elective

New Pre-Clerkship Elective: Come learn about Planetary Health!

This 12-hour pre-clerkship elective will allow students to further explore and expand their understanding of how changes to the natural environment impact health.

Learn more and sign up here: https://forms.gle/G1En9Ck5efK5yQcE7

Planetary Health is defined as the intersection between human health and the planet’s state of ecological well-being, with a recognition that environmental degradation and the depletion of natural systems causes harm to both human and planetary health. This past summer in Alberta, for example, patients and communities have faced the health impacts of extreme heat, air pollution, and devastating wildfires. Now more than ever, medical students need to be prepared to practice medicine in a changing climate and advocate for a healthy and sustainable future.

This 12-hour pre-clerkship elective will allow students to further explore and expand their understanding of how changes to the natural environment impact health, with a focus on how those impacts disproportionately harm structurally marginalized communities. Moreover, students will learn and put into practice a core toolkit of skills that will allow them to take part in planetary health solutions: applying a climate justice to patient care, practicing environmentally sustainable healthcare, and advocating for healthy public policy in our communities and beyond.

Contact: julia7@ualberta.ca

The Canadian Association of Physicians with Disabilities (CAPD) Mentorship Program is designed to connect Canadian medical students with medical trainees (medical students or residents) who have shared experiences of disability, chronic illness (physical or mental), neurodivergence, and/or requiring

academic accommodations. If you identify as a trainee with a disability and would like to provide or receive confidential support through this program, sign up using the link below! 

Mentor Registration Form (2nd year medical students and above, residents): https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_804lrhRnCioSuBE?Q_Language=EN

Mentee Registration Form (medical students of all years welcome to apply!): https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2s4uyGTDam0E7gG

Contact: shira.gertsman@medportal.ca or wasermanjordana@gmail.com