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In his public lecture Dr. Brian Ward explains how new immunologic ideas are helping address HIV, tuberculosis, avian flu and the "second coming" of SARS.

Next week sees the continuation of the MUHC's inaugural public lecture series From Microscope to Stethoscope. On Wednesday, 1 November 2006, Dr. Brian Ward, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the MUHC and Associate Director of the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Centre for Tropical Diseases, will present: Vaccines — from concept to community.

"Infectious diseases have killed millions of people throughout history," says Dr. Ward. "Medical science has done much to eradicate infectious diseases over the past 50 years, but no vaccine is 100 per cent effective." In his lecture Dr. Ward will describe how new immunologic ideas are being incorporated into therapies for problematic infections and explain how these new tools may be the best hope yet for the human race to address ongoing pandemic diseases like HIV and tuberculosis as well as potential pandemics like avian flu and the "second coming" of SARS.

"From Microscope to Stethoscope is a journey of discovery into the world of biomedical research," says Dr. Arthur T. Porter, Director General and CEO of the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Health Centre. "It is an opportunity for MUHC scientists to demystify their research, and for the public to meet the researchers and gain an inside look at some of the most exciting discoveries and innovative breakthroughs taking place right now on the cutting edge of science."

Earlier this month, Dr. David Colman, Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, presented the opening lecture of the series: The Three Princes of Serendip — an introduction to breakthroughs in research. The final lecture of the current series will be held on Wednesday, 6 December 2006. Dr. Mark Ware, Director of Research at the MUHC Pain Clinic and Assistant Professor in Anesthesia and Family Medicine at ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ, will present: Medicinal cannabis — weeding fact from fiction.

All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. in Livingston Hall (room L6-500) of the Montreal General Hospital (1650 Cedar Avenue). All are welcome and admission is free. To reserve your seat, please contact MUHC Public Relations & Communications at 514-843-1560. To learn more about this lecture series visit: (English) or (French). This initiative is sponsored by the MUHC Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

The Research Institute of the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Health Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and health care hospital research centre. Located in Montreal, Quebec, the institute is the research arm of the MUHC, a university health centre affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ. The institute supports over 500 researchers, nearly 1,000 graduate and post-doctoral students, and operates more than 300 laboratories devoted to a broad spectrum of fundamental and clinical research. The Research Institute operates at the forefront of knowledge, innovation and technology and is inextricably linked to the clinical programs of the MUHC, ensuring that patients benefit directly from the latest research-based knowledge. For further details visit: .

The ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Health Centre (MUHC) is a comprehensive academic health institution with an international reputation for excellence in clinical programs, research and teaching. The MUHC is a merger of five teaching hospitals affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ University — the Montreal Children's, Montreal General, Royal Victoria, and Montreal Neurological Hospitals, as well as the Montreal Chest Institute. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of the founding hospitals, the goal of the MUHC is to provide patient care based on the most advanced knowledge in the health care field, and to contribute to the development of new knowledge.

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