Abstract

Recent advances in gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are a direct result of the rapid development in fundamental research using cellular and molecular biology approaches. These approaches have helped define normal physiological processes of the GI tract and the pathogenesis of disease mechanisms. The Canadian GI research communities are world leaders in contributing to these efforts in all disciplines relevant to GI disease. This success has been achieved by fostering an excellent cohort of graduate and postgraduate research trainees involved in GI research at institutions across Canada. Many of these trainees are funded by the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), a number of industry partners and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. In recognition of the value of the Canadian GI trainees outstanding research contributions, and to promote and encourage the continued efforts of the graduate and postgraduate research trainees in basic and clinical sciences, the CAG, in conjunction with AstraZeneca Canada Inc and the CIHR, held the sixth Symposium on Research Topics in Gastrointestinal Disease, October 13 to 15, 2006 (Figure 1). The goal of this meeting was to provide research trainees with an opportunity to informally present their original research, from diverse disciplines, to their peers and to a selection of faculty from across Canada. In this forum, trainees actively participated in the discussions of papers in an open setting. This year’s program consisted of a series of superb presentations describing cutting-edge research with 38 podium scientific presentations of basic and clinical GI-related research, covering mechanisms of gut inflammation, enteric flora and epithelial barrier functions, hormones that modulate gut responses, epithelial and transport mechanisms, pathogens that initiate inflammatory processes and cancer, and gastric ulceration and healing mechanisms. This year’s keynote lecture was given by Dr John Wallace on “Hydrogen sulphide and inflammation: What’s all the stink about?” The emphasis was on the emerging anti-inflammatory role of hydrogen peroxide and how this important information can have potential commercial benefits in the development of therapeutics in inflammatory disorders.

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