Eight McGill researchers participate in the 26th Entretiens Jacques Cartier in Lyon, France
By Victoria Leenders-Cheng
The 26th Entretiens Jacques Cartier, a colloquium that encourages the exchange of ideas between Canada, Quebec, and France, took place in Lyon from Nov. 22 to Nov. 29. The seminar series, organized and hosted by the Centre Jacques Cartier, comprised 24 seminars on the Centre’s major themes: science, technology, economics, society, culture and politics.
Researchers from McGill participated in five of the seminars, namely: new developments in cancer research and treatment; in vitro molecular analyses; mathematics and climate change; creative economies; and storytelling and visual arts. The seminars included:
New developments in cancer research and treatment
With cancer treatment and research undergoing a fundamental and revolutionary change of approach, fueled by better understandings of cancer pathologies, oncological research is increasingly moving towards the personalization of cancer treatment. Professors Maxime Bouchard and Michel Tremblay (Biochemistry, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center) contributed to this discussion with presentations on the action and inhibition of tyrosine phosphatases in oncology and the transcriptional control of prostatic cancer recurrence.
In vitro molecular analyses
New tools and advances in health and biology have been made in recent years as a result of groundbreaking discoveries in micro and nanotechnology. How do we bridge technology, training, ethics and science?
Maryam Tabrizian (Biomedical Engineering) participated in this seminar with a presentation on microsystems for non-invasive and quantitative monitoring of human pancreatic islets.
Mathematics and climate change
2013 is UNESCO and the International Mathermatical Union’s year of the Mathematics of Planet Earth, and for the occasion, the Entretiens Jacques Cartier brought together researchers working at the nexus of mathematics research and research on climate science. This seminar discussed mathematical tools that shed light on understandings of the earth’s climate, including statistical and stochastic modeling of the climate as well as global and regional climate modeling.
Peter Bartello (Mathematics and Statistics) presented on quasi-geostrophic and stratified turbulence while Bruno Tremblay (Atospheric and Oceanic Sciences) presented on sea-ice models and their impact on the climate system.
Creative economies
Can urban development based on the principles of creative economies propel broader societal changes? This seminar, held in Liège, Belgium, surveyed cities and neighbourhoods for their approaches to sustainable socio-economic development driven by creativity.
Rose Goldstein (Vice-Principal, Research and International Relations) and Isabelle Péan (project director, Quartier de l’innovation) represented McGill and spoke of the University’s involvement in the development of Montreal’s Quartier de l’innovation.
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How contemporary artists render visual tales
Novelists and screenwriters are always looking for a good story, and stories that encompass human nature and daily life have become omnipresent. What new forms of narratives and new methods of storytelling can connect the past, the present and the future, and what stories will stand the test of time?
Christine Ross (Art History) participated in a discussion on continuities and discontinuities of time and history