Antimicrobial Resistance Symposium

In this talk, Dr. Susan Poutanen speaks about multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs), and in particular about the challenges labs face when interpreting antibiograms. She explains the impact of MDROs from a lab perspective and discusses the solutions available to fight MDROs, from drugs to phage therapy.

Dr. Bradley Langford explains how COVID-19 impacts AMR and highlights the overuse of antibiotics through inappropriate antibiotic prescription.  

Dr. Cora Constantinescu outlines the behavioral and social factors that play a role in antimicrobial prescribing decisions. She also explains the importance of having a structured communication framework in clinical interactions. 

Dr. Charles Frenette gives a hospital point of view of the AMR situation and presents the main trends on MRSA, VRE, CPE and BSI.

Dr. Jane Parmley talks about AMR through the One Health approach. She goes from the correlation between AMR in food-producing animals and AMR in humans, to the actions required to combat AMR.

In this talk, Dr. Tony Mazzulli provides a definition of breakpoints, explains the concept of MIC and discusses the limitations of breakpoints when applied to clinical decision-making.

Dr. John Conly highlights the importance of the One Health approach to fight AMR. He speaks about antimicrobial consumption, the impact of COVID-19 and the latest WHO recommendations.

Dr. Kevin Schwartz talks about the implementation of AMS in primary care settings, focusing on antibiotic consumption and treatment duration.

Dr. Susan Poutanen talks about Antimicrobial Stewardship and how research can help fight AMR. 

Dr. Karen Maxwell defines the mechanisms involved in phage therapy. She speaks about phages as a treatment to fight infection diseases and describes the latest research advances in terms of phage therapy. 

In this talk, Dr. George Zhanel reviews the new antimicrobials available in Canada and discusses the pathogens for which new antibiotics are needed.

Dr. Nikki Weckman talks about CRISPR technique as an early diagnostic development. She covers infection prevention and control, and AMS surveillance with a specific focus on Candida auris infections. 

In this talk, Dr. Katherine Perez focuses on sepsis. She explains the changes in the definition of sepsis and gives an update on the sepsis situation worldwide. She reviews the gaps in current microbiology diagnostics and the rapid diagnostics landscape to address sepsis.