MIREx conference puts a spotlight on interdisciplinary learning
Andrew King, a McMaster PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, is one of this year's guest speakers at MIREx. King has been working alongside McMaster researcher Gerry Wright to disarm antibiotic-resistant superbugs such as New Delhi Metallo-beta-Lactamase-1, described by Wright as 'public enemy number one.'
The third-annual McMaster Interdisciplinary Research Exposition (MIREx) is taking place all-day Wednesday in CIBC Hall.
Organized by the McMaster Life Science Society, the event is designed to introduce the McMaster community to the interesting, inspiring and innovative scientific work being done on campus, while highlighting some of the University’s researchers making international headlines.
More than 200 registered guests are expected to attend the diverse and engaging conference, and McMaster President Patrick Deane will once again deliver the opening address.
This year’s event includes presentations from a trio of outstanding and innovative speakers from diverse backgrounds:
Andrew King, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology working with McMaster researcher Gerry Wright to disarm antibiotic-resistant superbugs; Dr. Salim Yusuf, director of Population Health Research Institute, Marion W. Burke Chair in Cardiovascular Disease and a recent inductee into Canada’s Medical Hall of Fame; and Dr. Mick Bhatia, director of McMaster’s Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute and renowned for his innovative skin to blood research.
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Milica Radisic, a McMaster alumna from the Class of 1999 and a professor in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at University of Toronto. Radisic is also principal investigator at U of T’s Laboratory for Functional Tissue Engineering, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s new Interdisciplinary College.
In addition to the guest speakers, there will also be an interactive panel composed of undergraduate thesis, graduate, PhD and MD/PhD McMaster students that will answer audience questions during a segment called “A Day in the Life of a Researcher.”
Between 2013 and 2014, a total of 123 interdisciplinary research projects were selected to receive Forward with Integrity funding, with more than $533,000 in funding awarded to the recipients.
Do you have an interdisciplinary project that needs a financial boost? There is currently an open call for new FWI proposals. The deadline to apply for funding is Friday, Jan. 30. Click hear to learn more and submit an application.
