Abstracts are welcome from national and international applicants from all disciplines and may be submitted in English or French and presented at the Congress in either language.

Each abstract should be a maximum of 300 words and consist of four paragraphs:

1. Background: briefly describing the problem or issue being addressed
2. Methods: describing how the study was performed
3. Results: describing the salient results or findings
4. Conclusions: describing what the authors conclude from these results.

Authors may submit multiple abstracts. Platform and poster presenters must register for the Congress and are required to pay the registration fee.

The Congress program committee, chaired by Dr. Michael Hill and Dr. Mark Bayley, will review the abstracts. Abstracts will be judged on scientific merit, originality, and interest for Congress members and clarity.

For more information on abstract submission, click here.

Kevin Willis

The Canadian Stroke Congress provides a unique opportunity to showcase products and services of interest to the professional community working in the field of stroke.  At the CSN office, we are working hard to identify organizations — both commercial and non-commercial — that could benefit from participating in the Congress.  There are many ways for participating organizations to meet their educational or marketing objectives, ranging from advertisements, through exhibits to sponsorship packages. Broad and extensive involvement of companies and other groups contributes to the financial success of the Congress and enriches the experience for delegates.  You can help us strengthen the Congress by sending suggestions for potential exhibitors and sponsors to kevin@canadainstokenetwork.ca. Names of specific contacts would be particularly welcome.

Abstracts are welcome from national and international applicants from all disciplines and may be submitted in English or French and presented at the Congress in either language.

Each abstract should be a maximum of 300 words and consist of four paragraphs:

1. Background: briefly describing the problem or issue being addressed
2. Methods: describing how the study was performed
3. Results: describing the salient results or findings
4. Conclusions: describing what the authors conclude from these results.

Authors may submit multiple abstracts. Platform and poster presenters must register for the Congress and are required to pay the registration fee.

The Congress program committee, chaired by Dr. Michael Hill and Dr. Mark Bayley, will review the abstracts. Abstracts will be judged on scientific merit, originality, and interest for Congress members and clarity.

For more information on abstract submission, click here.

Michael Tymianski, Canada Research Chair in Translational Stroke Research, will deliver the 2012 Hnatyshyn Lecture at the Canadian Stroke Congress in Calgary. The lecture is the featured plenary presentation at the Congress.

Dr. Tymianski, a respected Toronto neurosurgeon and researcher, was selected by the Congress Program Committee.

“Mike has made a tremendous contribution towards advancing new therapies for stroke patients in Canada,” said CSN Executive Director Katie Lafferty. “His work in taking discoveries from the bench to clinical trials is really quite remarkable. He bridges the gap between research and clinical care.

“Mike has an excellent story to tell – and one that should be shared with the entire stroke community.”

The lecture is named in honour of Ray Hnatyshyn, who served as Governor General of Canada from 1990 to 1995 and was a founding member of the CSN’s Board of Directors.

The lecture is scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 30 at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary.

Members of the Program Committee include:

• Pam Aikman,
 Provincial Director, Stroke Services,
 British Columbia
• Louise Clement,
 Medical Adviser, Academic Directorate,
 Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux
• Dale Corbett (past co-chair), Scientific Director and CEO,
 HSF Centre for Stroke Recovery
• Robert Côté,
 Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Medicine
McGill University Health Centre
• Andrew Demchuk (past co-Chair),
 Director,
 Calgary Stroke Program
• Sean Dukelow, 
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine,
 University of Calgary and member, Hotchkiss Brain Institute
• Janice Eng,
 Professor, Dept of Physical Therapy,
 University of BC
• Gail Eskes, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology,
 Dalhousie University
• Mayank Goyal,
 Director of Research, Department of Radiology,
University of Calgary
• Teri Green,
 Co-Chair,
 National Stroke Nursing Council
• Gord Gubitz,
 Assistant Professor of Neurology,
 Dalhousie University and Director Outpatient Neurovascular Clinic, QEII Hospital
• Antoine Hakim,
 CEO & Scientific Director,
 Canadian Stroke Network
• Thomas Harrison,
 Vancouver Costal Health Research Institute,
Brain Research Centre
• Sandra Ireland,
 Chief of Nursing Practice, Hamilton General Site,
Hamilton Health Sciences
• Tom Jeerakathil, 
Assistant Professor, Division of Neurology,
University of Alberta
• Janusz Kaczorowski,
 Professor, Department of Family and Emergency Medicine,
Université de Montréal
• Linda Kelloway,
 Best Practice Leader,
Ontario Stroke Network
• Nicol Korner-Bitensky,
 Associate Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy,
McGill University
• Brenda Kwiatkowski,
 Clinical Coordinator, Stroke Prevention Clinic,
Saskatoon
• David Mikulis, 
Professor and Co-Director, Dept. of Medical Imaging,
University of Toronto
• Frank Nieboer, 
Consultant, Calgary, Alberta
• Marc Poulin,
 Professor, Departments of Physiology & Biophysics and Clinical Neurosciences,
University of Calgary
• Gustavo Saposnik,
 Director of the Stroke Outcomes Research Unit,
St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto
• Ashfaq Shuaib,
 Professor, Department of Medicine and Director, Neurology Program,
University of Alberta
• Michael Suddes,
 Manager, Calgary Stroke Program,
Alberta Health Services
• Robert Teasell,
 Medical Director, Stroke Rehabilitation Program,
Parkwood Hospital, London
• Andy Wielgosz,
 Public Health Agency of Canada CVD Expert and Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Community Medicine,
University of Ottawa.

The Canadian Stroke Congress website (www.strokecongress.ca) was recently relaunched with a new design for Calgary 2012. It includes:

An information package for exhibitors and sponsors.

A program outline and information about registration fees.

A downloadable slide on the homepage for use in presentations and talks.

A Communications Subcommittee has been established to develop plans to increase awareness about the Congress, reach out to local and national partners, highlight stroke research efforts and engage news media. If you would like to get involved, contact Cathy Campbell at cathy@canadianstrokenetwork.ca. A teleconference will be organized in the New Year to begin discussions.

The Canadian Stroke Congress is a joint initiative of the Canadian Stroke Network, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Canadian Stroke Consortium.

“They have been such great leaders within the stroke community and we are thrilled they are going to bring that energy and sense of purpose to the 2012 Congress,” says CSN Executive Director Katie Lafferty.

“Based on feedback from the 2011 Congress, we are going to be designing a program that continues to be focused on new innovations and clinical practice.”

Members of the 2012 Congress program committee will be announced in the December issue of Brainwaves.

Calgary is an ideal site for the upcoming Congress because it is a strong centre for stroke research and care — and Alberta is one of the leaders in implementing a provincial stroke strategy. The 2012 Congress will be able to showcase what Alberta has done.

Click here to view the abstracts.

The decision was announced on the last day of this year’s Congress to loud cheers from the delegates, many from Western provinces.

Congress dates are set for September 29-October 2, 2012.