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PEI Health Research Institute holds Café Scientifique November 20

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Remember when you and your friends spent hours debating the “big questions” of the day? Well, here’s your chance to take part in an interactive discussion about a topic that affects many people.

The PEI Health Research Institute (PEI HRI) will host its second Café Scientifique on Thursday, November 20, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Confederation Centre’s Studio Theatre.

Entitled “Battling Brain Disease,” the café will explore the question of whether medical research should take a more integrated approach to understanding and battling brain disease.

The speakers will be Dr. Andy Tasker, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, and Director of the Atlantic Centre for Comparative Biomedical Research, and Dr. Cai Song, Canada Research Chair in Psychoneuroimmunology, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), and Visiting Worker, National Research Council. The moderator for this event is Dr. Tracy Doucette, Assistant Professor of Biology, UPEI.

Tasker will give a presentation called “Searching for the Philosopher’s Stone: a new approach to understanding neurological disorders,” and Song will speak about “How the Brain and Body communicate in health and disease.”

“The human brain is extremely complex, and there are many diseases of the brain or impairments of brain function that have traditionally been seen as different,” says Tasker. “With increasing knowledge, however, we are starting to see similarities, common elements and relationships between the mechanisms underlying different conditions.”

Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Café Scientifique events bring together researchers and members of the public in an informal environment to exchange ideas and opinions. The goal is to engage the public and heighten awareness of the significant role that science and research play in improving the health of Canadians.

Refreshments will be available. There is no cost to attend this event, but you must register in advance. Please contact Susan Hornby at the PEI HRI to register at (902) 894-2812 or peihri@upei.ca.

Located at UPEI, the PEI HRI supports, promotes and enhances quality research related to human health on Prince Edward Island, contributing to the health of Islanders and Canadians, and to the economy of P.E.I.

Contact

Anna MacDonald
Media Relations and Communications, Integrated Communications

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