BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.2.1//EN TZID:America/Toronto X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Toronto BEGIN:VEVENT UID:149@womenshealthresearchcluster.com DTSTART;TZID=America/Vancouver:20230331T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Vancouver:20230331T140000 DTSTAMP:20250106T203603Z URL:https://womenshealthresearchcluster.com/events/mar-3-2023-trainee-rese arch-presentations/ SUMMARY:Trainee Research Presentations DESCRIPTION:\n\nSpeakers\n \n\n\n\n\nSabine Halabi\, MSc Student\, Univ ersity of British Columbia\nSabine is a MSc student in the Women+ and Chil dren’s Health Sciences program in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynec ology at the University of British Columbia. As a graduate researcher in t he Talhouk lab\, Sabine is working on validating epidemiological risk mode ls for endometrial cancer to inform on targeted prevention for at-risk ind ividual in a Canadian population. Sabine's goal is to provide a simple too l that can be used to screen the entire general\, asymptomatic population in order to target those at higher risk for endometrial cancer to appropri ate screening. The hope is to greatly reduce screening burden while also r educing the rising incidence and mortality rates for endometrial cancer. S abine was awarded the Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-M) for 2022-2023 fo r her continued work as a graduate researcher.\nTalk Title: Epidemiologic al risk modelling for endometrial cancer.\nTalk Summary: Endometrial canc er (EC) is the most common gynecological cancer. More than 40% of EC cases are attributed to modifiable risk factors that disrupt hormone levels. Ri sk models can identify and direct screening to high-risk individuals in th e general population based on EC risk factors. Several models have been pr oposed but none have been validated in a Canadian population. Our objectiv e is to reproduce and validate previously developed risk models in a Canad ian cohort and build the first sex/gender and socioeconomic status (SES) i ndices for EC that can be used as predictors in the risk models to address disparities. To validate pre-existing risk models for EC\, the Alberta\, Ontario\, and British Columbia cohorts from the Canadian Partnership for T omorrow’s Health (CanPath) dataset were used. We included anyone with an intact uterus and not presenting EC symptoms. Model performance will be a ssessed through discrimination and calibration measures. The sex/gender in dex will be built in the CanPath dataset with logistic regression coeffici ents computed for variables provided by a previous sex/gender index. Simil arly\, the SES index will be built in the CanPath dataset using principal component analysis loadings computed for variables obtained from a previou sly built SES index. Thus far\, we reproduced the models and computed risk scores for participants in CanPath. We are linking CanPath to provincial data to ascertain the outcome of EC or precursor diagnosis for each partic ipant to validate the model's performance. We have also completed our sex/ gender and SES indices and will be assessing them as predictors for EC ris k in our models. Validating the EC risk models will allow us to identify i ndividuals in a Canadian cohort at higher risk for EC and direct them to a ppropriate screening strategies. Additionally\, including healthcare dispa rity-related indices in future risk models will improve generalizability a nd risk predictions.\n\n \;\n\n\n\n\nKatherine Gray\, Medical Student\ , University of British Columbia\nHello\, I'm Katherine Gray\, a fourth-ye ar medical student at UBC. Throughout my medical training\, I've had the o pportunity to work with a diverse group of women\, including patients and mentors. This experience has ignited my passion for global maternal health \, especially in underserved areas.\n\nDuring my research in Rwanda\, I wa s shocked by the high incidence of advanced cervical cancer and the low ra tes of screening. This inspired me to focus my work on improving access to preventive care for women in low-resource settings.\n\nI'm excited to sta rt my residency in July and currently in the process of applying to Obstet rics &\; Gynecology programs\, where I hope to continue working towards better maternal health outcomes for women worldwide.\nTalk Title: Health care provider perceptions of cervical cancer screening in Rwanda\nTalk Su mmary: Our study engages with healthcare providers to explore their knowl edge and perceptions of cervical cancer screening\, access to resources an d supplies for screening\, and attitudes toward integrated screening and s elf-collection for cervical cancer.\n\n\n\n\nArnima Singh\, Undergraduate Student\, University of British Columbia\nArnima Singh is a third-year st udent at the University of British Columbia in the Faculty of Science. She is pursuing a Combined Major in Science. Her research interests include n euroimmunology\, mental health\, and intervention measures. She hopes to p ursue graduate studies in Clinical Psychology. During her free time\, she can be found at aesthetic cafes studying\, a pretext for justifying an unh ealthy amount of coffee.\nTalk Title: Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic ( EPAC): A Recruitment Trial\nTalk Summary: In Canada\, up to 25% of female s may experience a miscarriage during their lifetime. The Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic (EPAC) at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre offers c are for these patients in the first trimester of pregnancy. The EPAC REDCa p data registry project aims to characterize the patient population within EPAC and improve care for patients not only at BC Women’s Hospital but also at other facilities serving these patients. This project can be used to facilitate future research opportunities and enhance care provided at E PAC by incorporating patient feedback. To determine whether current recrui tment methods result in a biased patient sample\, a recruitment trial was conducted for three months\, tracking the recruitment process.\n\n\n\n\nMa lak Ibrahim\, MSc Student\, University of British Columbia\nMalak complet ed a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at McGill University. She is curre ntly a MSc student in Women and Children’s Health at the University of B ritish Columbia\, at the Uterine Health Lab. Malak is collaborating with c linical and community stakeholders to investigate the knowledge gaps regar ding symptom and risk factor recognition for endometrial cancer and barrie rs to accessing care. Malak was awarded the BC Graduate Award for 2022-202 3.\nTalk Title: Spot the Difference: recognizing risks for cancer in the experiences of normal aging\nTalk Summary: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the few cancers with an increasing incidence\, especially among prem enopausal females. When detected early\, EC patients expect a 5-year sur vival rate of 95%. However\, for 10-20% of patients who experience a r ecurrence\, or are diagnosed at an advanced stage\, a much lower 17% su rvival rate is expected\, emphasizing the need for early detection. Symp toms of EC in pre-menopause are often confused with changes associated with reproductive ageing\, leading to delayed diagnosis. Furthermore\, fe males face several barriers that may delay diagnosis\, such as lack of hea lth literacy\, taboo and embarrassment of symptoms\, and health care provi der bias.\n\nObjective: To evaluate participants ability to distinguish be tween normal aging and causes for concern\, and further probe some of the gaps in knowledge around menstruation\, early signs of cancer\, and delay s in accessing care.\n\nIn this study\, we use qualitative interviews to  capture experiences of a diverse group of females who are undergoing menopausal transition\, are post-menopausal\, or have been diagnosed wit h EC. We want to be especially inclusive of populations at elevated ri sk for EC and learn whether knowledge gaps regarding EC risk factors and symptoms are associated with certain patient socio-ethnic characteris tics. Gaining insight into the experience of various individuals\, from  pre-menopausal females to EC survivors\, and collaborating with these  individuals will allow us to address knowledge gaps and barriers to acce ssing care for EC.\n\n \;\n\n\n\n\nCherise Kwok\, Undergraduate Stude nt\, University of British Columbia\nCherise is an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia currently majoring in Behavioural Ne uroscience. Broadly\, her research interests are focused on exploring how psychosocial factors impact physical and mental health outcomes\, and the sex differences in behavioral and neural consequences of stress.\nTalk Tit le: Sex differences in the effects of chronic unpredictable stress on neg ative cognitive bias and neural activity in the amygdala and nucleus accum bens\nTalk Summary: This study examined whether there were sex difference s in cognitive bias after chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) and measured neural activity in the amygdala and nucleus accumbens. Male and female rat s exposed to CUS displayed a greater negative cognitive bias (NCB) compare d to non-stressed (NS) rats. CUS males had higher neural activity in the a mygdala compared to NS males\, and NCB was associated with the higher neur al activity in the central amygdala of NS males but in the lateral amygdal a of CUS males. Females had higher neural activity in the nucleus accumben s compared to males regardless of CUS. These findings suggest that the amy gdala plays a greater role in how male rats think in regards to NCB after CUS.\n\n\n\n \; ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://womenshealthresearchcluster.com/wp-conte nt/uploads/2024/11/trainee_presentation_website_event_photo_0.jpg CATEGORIES:Trainee Research Presentation END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Vancouver BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20230312T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR