Speakers

Dr. Sabine Gilch is a leading expert in prion biology and neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Calgary. She serves as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Prion Disease Research. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Cumming School of Medicine.

Dr. Gilch earned her PhD in Molecular Biotechnology from the Technical University of Munich in 2009. Her research focuses on understanding how prion infections impact neuronal cholesterol metabolism and vesicle trafficking, aiming to identify new therapeutic targets for fatal prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and chronic wasting disease (CWD).

Her laboratory employs cell culture systems and transgenic animal models to study prion replication and strain diversity, with a particular emphasis on the potential transmission of CWD to humans and livestock. Dr. Gilch has also introduced peptide aptamers as a novel class of anti-prion agents, which are currently being evaluated for their effects on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Beyond her research, Dr. Gilch is actively involved in teaching courses on molecular biology, genetics, and virology, and she supervises graduate students in Veterinary Medical Sciences and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 

For more information about her work, visit the Gilch Lab website.

TBA

Dr. Rosa obtained her DVM from Cornell University (New York, USA) in 2004 and then completed an internship in Ambulatory and Production Medicine. She went on to work in New Zealand at the Massey University Equine Clinic and then obtained her PhD from Massey University in 2014. Her current work in veterinary pharmacology began with sessional instructing and progressed to completing a postdoc in pharmacology before accepting a position as Assistant Professor of Veterinary Pharmacology. As part of her academic appointment, Dr. Rosa also continues to practice part-time as an equine-focused general practice veterinarian in rural Alberta.

Delores Peters manages the Animal Health Surveillance Unit for the Government of Alberta, overseeing animal health and food safety surveillance, as well as responding to reportable diseases at the provincial and federal levels. She holds a DVM (1984), MSc in animal biochemistry (1994), and a MVPHMgt (2007) specializing in Veterinary Public Health Management. Delores has a rich career history, from mixed animal private practice to field studies for animal health, and has been with the Government of Alberta in veterinary epidemiology and regulatory medicine since 2006.

Dr. Jeff Weissmann obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2015. Jeff grew up with a love of science and animals, and always enjoyed the challenge of solving a good puzzle. While veterinary medicine wasn’t always his career aspiration from the start, these loves eventually drew him to the profession. If you had asked Jeff where he would end up after graduating from vet school, working in the field of nutrition probably wouldn’t have been on his radar, but after practicing small animal medicine for a handful of years in the Calgary area, Jeff learned where his true passions in veterinary medicine lie: nutrition, dermatology, veterinary communication, and sharing knowledge through education. In his role as a Scientific Communications Veterinarian, Jeff has the pleasure of consulting with other veterinarians and veterinary professionals to work through their challenging cases and find the best nutritional solution for their patients. Since joining Royal Canin in 2019, Jeff has been able to help find an appropriate nutritional solution for nearly 7000 patients across Canada. He also currently serves as a Sessional Instructor at UCVM, helping to educate the future of veterinary medicine in the areas of nutrition and communication. Jeff currently enjoys life with his partner Amanda, their two orange tabbies named Waffle and Pancake, and Berry, a crazy Golden with allergies (of course!).