Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society 2016 Symposium: From Drug Discovery to Health Outcomes

The CRS Canadian Local Chapter (CC-CRS) had yet another successful meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, bringing in members from across the country. Held jointly with the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences (CSPS), the annual symposium included numerous talks and poster presentations highlighting research associated with controlled release and the pharmaceutical industry, bringing together closely related research fields. The CCCRS organized three of the most popular sessions at the conference, held our annual general meeting, and also recruited numerous new members, including some from outside Canada.

The conference started with a workshop focused on the innovation and management of modern pharmaceuticals. Speakers from GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and other biotech companies were present to discuss new trends in drug discovery and development, novel delivery technologies for therapeutics, and the future direction of the pharmaceutical industry. This was an exciting daylong workshop that provided CC-CRS members with an invaluable learning opportunity and a better understanding of current and future delivery science technologies in Canada. Once the conference officially began, CC-CRS organized three exciting sessions. The first session, “Nanomedicines Become Personal: Opportunities and Challenges,” was co-chaired by Shyh-Dar Li (University of British Columbia) and Amy Lee (Arbutus Pharma). Invited speakers included Kullervo Hynynen (Sunnybrook Research Institute), who discussed imageguided focused ultrasound for targeted drug delivery; Gang Zheng (Ontario Cancer Institute), who discussed porphysome nanotechnology; and Rui Xue Zhang (University of Toronto), who presented

research related to polymer-based nanomedicines for improving chemotherapy. The co-chairs Shyh-Dar Li and Amy Lee also presented their work on multifunctional nanoparticles and nucleic acid based therapeutics, respectively. The theme of the second session was “Responsive Drug Delivery Systems,” co-chaired by Marc Gauthier (Institut National de la Récherche Scientifique) and Todd Hoare (McMaster University). Excellent talks were given by Adah Almutairi (University of California, San Diego), who discussed the development of smart automated release systems; Richard Hoogenboom (Ghent University), who presented his research on poly(2-oxazoline) biomaterials in the context of drug delivery; and Marc Gauthier, who gave a great overview of his research program surrounding bio-hybrid therapeutics. The third session was focused on “Protein and Peptide Delivery” and was co-chaired by Brian Amsden (Queen’s University) and Larry Unsworth (University of Alberta). Invited speakers included Heather Sheardown (McMaster University) on ocular drug delivery, Boris Stoeber (University of British Columbia) on hollow metallic microneedles for intradermal delivery, Xiao Yu (Shirley) Wu (University of Toronto) on the application of bioinspired and nanotechnology-enabled therapeutics for diabetes and diseases in the brain, and co-chair Brian Amsden on new strategies for protein delivery from degradable microspheres. These sessions brought in top academic speakers from not only across Canada but also from around the world, including the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States. There were also two oral presentations by trainees selected based on their highly ranked abstract submissions: Roy van der Meel (Utrecht University/University of British Columbia) on the use

of polymeric micelles for targeted delivery of paclitaxel and Yannick Traore (University of Manitoba) on the development of an intravaginal ring for the combination delivery of therapeutics as a novel strategy for preventing HIV. The other Abstract Award winners included Celine Jimenez (University of Manitoba), Scott Campbell (McMaster University), and Sarandeep Malhi (University of Manitoba).

One of the major highlights of the conference was the poster session. This provided trainees from across Canada an opportunity to discuss and highlight the innovative controlled release-based research happening throughout the country. CC-CRS sponsored three poster awards for the best poster presentation at the conference. The winners of this year’s competition were Hoda Soleymani (University of Alberta), Wei-Lun Tang (University of British

Columbia), and Sidi Yang (University of Manitoba). Congratulations to these outstanding students.

During the annual general meeting, CC-CRS took the opportunity to highlight the current achievements of our organization, our financial situation, and our goals for the upcoming year, namely, the desire to expand our presence in Eastern Canada. Given the immense size of Canada, we hope to hold local regional events to build new local collaborations and to ensure that controlled release science is active and flourishing across the country. With that said, it has been a great year for CC-CRS. Membership within our chapter has increased by over 20% in the past year!

Overall, the three-and-a-half-day symposium was a great success. Not only were we able to fit in great science with networking opportunities, there was also an excellent banquet that allowed CC-CRS members to simply unwind and chat with friends—old and new. We invite everybody to join us at next year’s annual symposium, to be held again in collaboration with CSPS in Montreal, Quebec (May 10–13, 2017). For more information regarding the annual symposium and local events in the upcoming year, please visit our website: http://cc-crs.com.