Welcome to the Canadian Breakpoint, a Canadian infectious diseases podcast by Canadian infectious
diseases physicians.
I'm Summer Stewart with Dr. Rapina Pirwal to present a special episode.
Dr. Pirwal.
Hi everyone.
Welcome to another episode of our podcast, the Canadian Breakpoint.
Well, thanks for tuning in today.
Today's episode is a bit different.
We will be discussing the upcoming antimicrobial resistance symposium that will be taking place
on November 19th and 20th, 2024 in Toronto.
So this episode is going to talk about an overview of the symposium.
We'll talk about who should attend, how to register for the symposium, and discuss some
of the key features and keynote speakers, an overview of the agenda for the symposium this
year.
So the AMR Symposium, which is a critical event for Canada, like I mentioned, will be
taking place on November 19th and 20th, 2024 in Toronto.
It brings together leading Canadian and international experts to tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial
resistance.
So the Canadian focus of the AMR Symposium is proudly organized by Biomear Canada in
collaboration with Sepsis Canada, the Canadian Critical Care Forum EPIC, AMR One Health Consortium,
McGill AMR Centre, and AMI Canada.
This event is a must attend for healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers
looking to address Canada's role in combating AMR with insights into the upcoming G7 meeting
in 2025 and Canada's pan-Canadian action plan on AMR.
So you're probably wondering who should attend the AMR Symposium.
Symposium is designed for healthcare professionals like myself, including infectious disease
physicians, researchers, microbiologists, epidemiologists, critical care specialists,
antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists, and public health experts.
So whether you're involved in frontline clinical care work, academic research, or policymaking,
this event provides key insights and actionable strategies for combating antimicrobial resistance.
And so another question you're probably asking is why should we attend?
So the AMR focus of this symposium really highlights that antimicrobial resistance is
among the top 10 threats for global health.
AMR threatens the health of humans, animals, and the environment.
It threatens the safety of our food supply, global economy, and equity within our societies.
And Biomir Canada is a global leader in in vitro diagnostics and recognizes that global
multi-sectoral action is needed to fight antimicrobial resistance.
And that's the AMR Symposium that she initiated back in 2022 to educate and bring together
those impacted by AMR.
So AMR experts, researchers, industry, AMR enthusiasts together from all over Canada
to spread awareness and empower collaborations to further the fight.
Biomir Canada is committed to advancing antimicrobial stewardship and fighting antimicrobial resistance
through innovative diagnostic solutions, research support, and education.
And so at the symposium, one of the major sessions will feature Dr. Allison Fox-Robuchel,
a Canadian critical care specialist and the scientific director of Sepsis Canada.
Her keynote, Sepsis and Management of AMR, will delve into the intersection between sepsis
care and antimicrobial stewardship, the critical area for health care providers that are dealing
with life-threatening infections.
Furthermore, a major theme of this symposium this year is going to be harnessing the power
of artificial intelligence to combat AMR.
It will be a session that's co-sponsored by EPIC, T. Caram, and IFP from the University
of Toronto.
And we'll include a keynote by Cesar de la Fuente from the University of Pennsylvania
discussing how AI, so artificial intelligence, is accelerating breakthroughs in drug development.
And this session will also feature a panel discussion that will be moderated by Ivan
Semniak from the Globe and Mail.
And they'll include experts from the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania,
providing practical insights into the future of artificial intelligence in AMR diagnostics
and treatment.
And moving through the symposium agenda, there will be another critical area that will be
discussed and that will be the role of rapid diagnostics in improving sepsis care at the
point of care.
And this session will be led by Kali Barrett from the University of Toronto.
The panel will explore the importance of near-patient testing to prevent adverse outcomes with a
strong emphasis on Canadian healthcare settings.
Furthermore, there will be sessions like Can AMR Net?
Training up the next generation of AMR leaders across Canada.
And this session will be led by Herman Barkema from the University of Calgary, showcasing
Canada's commitment to advancing AMR research and leadership in collaboration with EPIC
and the One Health Consortium.
So there are some Canadian voices for this session, which will include Canadian experts
like Kevin Schwartz and Bradley Langford, who will address practical strategies for
antimicrobial stewardship, including incentivizing AMS antimicrobial stewardship in primary practice
and steering antimicrobial prescribers using nudging.
Something that I think will be very useful for myself as well, but the symposium will
also feature a poster and networking session that will showcase cross-disciplinary research
on AMR.
So this gives us healthcare professionals and other policymakers research to really
come together and provide us an opportunity to exchange ideas on innovative solutions
to the AMR crisis.
And so it looks like there's a jam-packed schedule, lots of great sessions, really bringing
together experts from all over Canada and the US and really providing us some very detailed
information about AMR and really what the focus should be to help fight AMR.
So as we can see, the agenda is going to really encompass a lot of areas that is quite interesting
to many of us.
Like we mentioned, those that will be attending can be experts from all over Canadian healthcare
systems.
And so I would like to encourage all of our listeners today to visit AMRsymposium.com
to register for this symposium, which as I remind you will be taking place on November
19th and 20th, 2024 in Toronto.
So you can register for the symposium on AMRsymposium.com and whether you'll be intending in person or
virtually, you have an option for both or either, but really become part of these critical
conversations that will shape the future of antimicrobial resistance management in Canada.
Environment Canada and the other collaborators have really collaborated with the Canadian
Breakpoint listeners.
And if you register today at AMRsymposium.com, you can use the promo code BREAKPOINT to receive
25% off your registration.
And so hopefully I'll see you guys all there.
We will be doing a AMR launch campaign using the podcast as a live segment, which will
end off this symposium on November 20th.
And so for all of our listeners, please tune in and whether you're attending the symposium
in person or virtually, I hope to see you there.
So remember it's on November 19th and 20th and let's all come together and learn a lot
more about antimicrobial resistance in Canada.
Let's talk to our future colleagues, our current colleagues and other collaborators and let's
further the fight of AMR.
See you guys there.
Thank you to BioMariu for this unique partnership opportunity.
Registration link is in the episode description.
Again, the promo code is BREAKPOINT.
See you again soon at the AMRsymposium.