2023 CNS Research Day

Please see the 2023 CNS Research Day event program here.

King's University College

266 Epworth Avenue, London, ON N6A 2M3

CNS Research Day will be held at the Kings Centre (Main level map, Lower level map).

Free parking is available. The closest parking lot is P3 (map).

Please note: This is a draft schedule of events and the timings may change slightly.

Registration is now closed.

Registration Deadline: Friday, May 5th

Dr. Christopher Honey is a Professor and Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of British Columbia. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto and his doctoral degree from Oxford University as a Canadian Rhodes Scholar. He completed his Royal College training in neurosurgery in Vancouver in 1995 and became a diplomat of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons in 2000. He has completed an additional year of training at Harvard Medical School and is a Scholar in Surgical Leadership.

His research is focused on the treatment of movement disorders and pain. He headed the world’s first trial of DBS for spasmodic dysphonia and published the results in 2021. He was the first physician to recognize and successfully treat hemi-laryngopharyngeal spasm (HELPS syndrome) in 2014. He discovered and successfully treated the first person in the world with VANCOUVER syndrome in 2019. He has made fundamental changes to the understanding of human pain pathways.

In 2016, Dr. Honey was elected the President of the Canadian Neuromodulation Society (2016-2019) and elected President of the British Columbia Section of Neurosurgeons (2016-2019). In 2018, Dr. Honey was elected President of the World Neurosurgical Federation for Cranial Nerve Disorders. This group studies conditions such as Trigemnial Neuralgia, Hemifacial Spasm, Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia and the newly described Hemi-Laryngopharyngeal Spasm (HeLPS) and has a major interest in Microvascular Decompression (MVD) neurosurgery.

Dr. Honey continues to work with the Canadian Football League Players Association and is their Neurological Director.

Dr. Honey has been invited to lecture at Universities and Meetings around the world (over 200 presentations on 6 continents). He has a strong commitment to teaching and has had the pleasure to train 25 neurosurgeons from around the world during their one-year fellowship with him in Vancouver. He has provided pro bono, humanitarian surgical care in Liberia (performing the first successful brain tumor removal, the first spine operation, and the first pediatric shunt) and in Ghana. He has been invited to operate in China, Indonesia, and performed the first DBS in Kuwait.

Dr. Honey’s book, The Tenth Nerve, published by Penguin Random House Canada, is now available at Indigo, local bookstores and drchrishoney.com. It is an homage to seven patients who taught him more about medicine than a lecture or textbook.

In addition to having our esteemed Keynote Dr. Christopher Honey we are thrilled to announce our 2023 judges;

DEEPA DASH, MBBS, MD, DM (NEUROLOGY)

Dr. Deepa Dash completed her neurology residency at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and was an academic faculty in the same institute up till 2019. She subsequently completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Ottawa. She has expertise in diagnosis and clinical management of patients with complex movement disorders and also in implementation of advanced therapies like deep brain stimulation and continuous infusion of levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel. During her fellowship, she was awarded grant from Parkinson’s Society of Canada to pursue research in understanding the impact of an integrated care program on people with Parkinson’s disease. She has also gained training in clinical epidemiology and completed Graduate Diploma in Clinical Epidemiology from McMaster’s University. She has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and is a reviewer in many reputed journals.

JENNIFER MANDZIA, MD, PHD, FRCPC

Dr. Jennifer Mandzia completed her PhD training in Neuroscience with Dr. Sandra Black at the University of Toronto. Her doctoral thesis was on functional MRI (fMRI) in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and structural neuroimaging correlates. She then received her MD from the University of Ottawa and completed her Neurology training at Western University. After residency, Dr. Mandzia undertook a year of fellowship in Cerebrovascular Disease, at the University of Calgary Stroke Program, before returning to London to join the Department as a staff neurologist specializing in Stroke in 2013.

JOSEPH MEGYESI, MD, PHD, FRSCS

Dr. Joseph Megyesi received his MD from Western University in 1985. He then completed a comprehensive surgical internship and a Master's degree in Biochemistry, also at Western University.  He did his neurosurgical residency at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he also received his PhD degree in Experimental Surgery.  As part of his training, Dr. Megyesi completed a fellowship at Harvard University. Dr. Megyesi joined the Clinical Neurological Sciences Department at Western University in 1998 and specializes in neurosurgical oncology. He is chairman of the Scientific Program Committee at the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation, sits on the Continuing Professional Development Committee at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and is past-chairman of the board of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.  He is currently Professor in the Division of Neurosurgery at Western University.

January 24th Abstract submissions open
March 30th Abstract submissions close
Early May Notification to presenters of oral/poster acceptance
May 16th Research Day!

Eligibility Requirements
Must have an author or contributor who holds a membership in CNS.
Abstracts should be no longer than 350 words and utilize the headings described below.
The presenter of all abstracts must be a trainee (for example, a undergraduate, graduate or medical student, resident, fellow).

Basic Information
Abstract Title, First Author, Additional Author(s) and Research Supervisor

Abstract Submission Criteria/Format
*based on the JAMA Structure for Abstract Submission

Click here to download this information as a PDF.

Poster Printing Services:

• Pathology Department
• M&T Printing Group
• Mercury Blueprinting
• Western Graphic Services

Abstract Writing Tips & Tricks:

• Preparing a Medical Research Abstract for Publication
• How to write a scientific abstract: a guide for medical students

Thank you to our 2023 CNS Research Day event sponsors!

Hoffmann-La Roche Limited

Surgi-One Medical Technologies Inc

1st Place Resident (Platform)

The Primate Lateral Prefrontal Cortex as a Brain Machine Interface Target - Dr. Mohamad Abbass

2nd Place Resident (Platform)

Exploring the utility of the Western Aphasia Battery in distinguishing clinical phenotypes of primary progressive aphasia - Dr. Stanley Li

1st Postgraduate / Undergraduate (Platform)

Establishing a neuro-oncology animal model: patient-derived primary breast cancer brain metastasis cells in an immunodeficient rat - Dr. Niveen Fulcher

1st Graduate Students (Platform) - TIE

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of Parkinson’s disease and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder - Dr. Erind Alushaj

Deep brain stimulation targeting using anatomical landmarks and machine learning - Dr. Alaa Taha

1st Place Resident (Poster)

Conceptual Development of an Implantable Transvenous Vagal Nerve Stimulator - Dr. R. Burnett Johnston

2nd Place Resident (Poster)

Surgical Management of Temporal Long-Term Epilepsy Associated Tumors (LEATs) - Dr. Alan Chalil

1st Postgraduate / Undergraduate (Poster)

In-vitro Validation of Spatiotemporally Dynamic Electric Fields for Brain Cancer Treatment - Dr. Abdulla Elsaleh

1st Graduate Students (Poster)

Seinfeld in the scanner: Examining the effects of aging and Parkinson’s disease on humor processing with fMRI - Dr. Margaret Prenger