Research Day

Join Us October 31

SBME Research Day is an opportunity for our community of faculty, trainees, and staff to share their research through a poster session, trainee talks, keynotes, and lunch. As this event is hosted on Halloween, we invite you to come in costume. There will be prizes, so don’t miss out!

Key Details

Locations

• Morning talks: LSC 1002
• Poster Session: LSC West Atrium
• Afternoon talks: LSC 1002

Date & Time

October 31st, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm

RSVP by Oct 23, 11:59 pm

Dr. Calvin Kuo

Uncertainty and Ambiguity in Wearable Health Monitoring

Wearable devices have exploded in popularity over the last decade. While they provide consumers with some level of general health monitoring, they have only seen use in specific healthcare applications such as glucose monitoring and atrial fibrillation detection. To enable more widespread use in general healthcare delivery, we need a better understanding of what these devices are measuring when lay users are applying them in uncontrolled real-world environments. In this talk, I will discuss how our lab studies sources of error, their effect on wearable device measurements, and mitigation strategies over a range of clinical applications from fall detection to stroke rehabilitation. Through this work, we want to understand and expand the conditions in which we can trust wearable device measurements for integration into healthcare delivery.

Dr. Dena SHAHRIARI

Optoelectronic devices and smart biomaterials for spinal cord and bladder modulation

Smart biomaterials and bioelectronics are rapidly emerging in different medical applications. In this talk, we will discuss how these fields are being studied at our laboratory of the BioAugmentative Interfaces particularly to benefit those living with spinal cord injury (SCI). Depending on the severity and the level of injury, SCI can result in the loss of sensory and motor function as well as different organ dysfunction with the loss of bladder control remaining as one of the most unmet needs. We will first discuss our latest neuromodulation implant for the long-term goal of better understanding the brain-spinal cord neural circuitry and the goal of improving sensory and motor function after SCI. The devices are developed for the spinal cord modulation of rodents via the use of light and transgenes (termed optogenetics). They are fully implantable, battery-powered and wirelessly rechargeable and enable the months-long optical modulation of one or multiple levels of the spinal cord. Next, we will extend the conversation to the use of smart biomaterials to assist with controlled micturition – one of the most unmet needs of many living with different neurological injuries and conditions. We are developing an on-demand micturition system composed of an elastomeric sensor and actuator secured over the bladder in rodents connected to an implanted control module. The urine amount is continuously detected by the sensor and is communicated to an external Bluetooth module, which can then enable the actuator activation and therefore initiate on-demand micturition.

About Research Day

Keynote Presentations: This year we are highlighting the research of two junior SBME’s faculty members: Drs. Calvin Kuo and Dena Shahriari.

Trainee Talks: Select trainees will present their research in short Trainee Talks. Come support them as they develop their presentation and communication skills!

Poster Session: There is such a diverse range of biomedical research excellence at SBME. Our Poster Session gives BME students the chance to share their findings with the community. Lunch will be served! (Make sure to RSVP to reserve your lunch)

Costume Contest: Inject a bit of fun into the day by participating in our costume contest. Get creative and showcase your spookiest (or non-spooky!) Halloween costume. There will prizes!

Prizes and Awards: Recognizing excellence in research, we will present awards and prizes to outstanding contributors in various categories. Be there to applaud the hard work and dedication of our students!

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of biomedical engineering, engage with cutting-edge research, and celebrate the achievements of our talented researchers. UBC School of Biomedical Engineering Research Day is an event that promises inspiration, knowledge sharing, and the chance to be part of the future of healthcare technology.

FOR POSTER PRESENTERS

KEY DATES

October 3: Deadline to complete poster survey indicating your interest in presenting a poster and/or a trainee talk. This is a very brief survey that only asks for your poster/talk title and abstract. This also counts as your RSVP.
October 4-9: There are 80 poster spots available; if we receive more than 80 submissions, an adjudication team will review abstracts to select the top 80. An adjudication team will review all submissions and select the top 80 posters and top 6 trainee talks.
October 10: You will receive an email with the result of your poster/talk submission.
October 25: Deadline for poster presenters to upload their poster as a PDF to a Qualtrics form (link will be sent with the email on Oct 8).

To streamline the judging process for the poster contest, we now require presenters to upload a PDF of their completed poster one week before the event (Deadline: Oct 25). This allows judges to begin their reviews ahead of time. Final evaluations of the posters will take place in-person on Research Day.

ELIGIBILITY

Poster presentations and trainee talks are open to Undergrads, Master’s Students, PhDs, Postdocs, & anyone working in an SBME lab (including staff).

POSTER RULES

• Poster Size: Max 44” tall; Max 32” wide

• There is a 1 poster per student limit. If you submit multiple posters, your first submission will be kept and the rest deleted.

• There is 1 student per poster.

• Poster location in the atrium is determined by the organizers. We cannot accept requests to have your poster next to your friend’s.

• Instructions for poster presenters will be emailed to you on October 8th.

WHEN TO ARRIVE

• Please arrive at 8:45am in the Life Sciences West Atrium to set up your poster. Push pins will be provided.

• Coffee and light snacks will be available.

• At 9:15am, please head into LSC 1002, where the event will begin at 9:30am.

• You can take down your poster any time after 2:30pm. Any posters left in the atrium after 3:30pm will be disposed of.