The 10th edition of the RQR Symposium was held on November 14thand 15th 2017 at the Pavillon La Coop in St-Hyacinthe, and was preceded by a pre-Symposium workshop titled “Mitigating gender bias in science”.
Gender equality in science is a key issue that has received considerable recent attention, and many interesting points were raised that generated much discussion at the workshop. Thirty-six RQR scientists and trainees were in attendance.
At the Symposium, RQR director Dr. Derek Boerboom introduced the “new” RQR, mentioning aspects that will remain the same while presenting new initiatives that are being undertaken. During the Symposium, we also thanked Julie Blouin for her 7 years of service to the RQR. Julie received an honorary plaque from former RQR director Bruce D. Murphy
In addition to the conferences from our three guest speakers, participants attended 17 platform presentations and 59 posters. Here are the students who particularly distinguished themselves:
Winners, best platform presentations:
- Mayra Tsoi, Université de Montréal (1st prize – $300)
- Yining Li, McGill University (tied 2nd prize – $150)
- Virginie Bertand-Lehouillier, Université de Montréal (tied 2nd prize – $150)
Gagnants meilleures présentations d’affiches
- Roxane Assaf, Université de Montréal (1st prize – $300)
- Tatiana Cardinal, McGill University (2nd prize – $200)
- Anne-Sophie Pépin, McGill University (3rd prize – $100)
As for all RQR Symposia, two RQR members were honored for their knowledge translation efforts, highlighting the links they have built with reproductive research end-users. Here are the recipients of the 2017 RQR KT Awards:
- Researcher Award: Dr. Vardit Ravitsky, Université de Montréal (absent at the award ceremony)
- Student Award: Océane Albert, PhD student, McGill University
The RQR wishes to congratulate all these winners and would also like to thank all the participants.