Sepsis: The Global Scourge You Probably Don't Know About
with Dr. Stephane Bourque and Dr. Forough Jahandideh
Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm via Zoom
A recent Lancet report1 revealed that sepsis is thought to be responsible for nearly a fifth of all deaths worldwide, with a disproportionate burden shouldered by low and middle income countries. Addressing this global health burden requires a coordinated multinational and multidisciplinary approach. In this seminar, we provide an overview of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of sepsis, and discuss current ongoing studies to understand and treat this deadly syndrome. ¹(Lancet. 2020 Jan 18;395(10219):200-211.)
Dr. Stephane Bourque is Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Alberta, and a Canada Research Chair in developmental and integrative pharmacology. His research program focuses on two areas: (i) the mechanisms underlying the development of vasoplegia and its progression to septic shock, and (ii) the mechanism by which fetal stressors (namely iron deficiency) impact fetal growth and development of the cardiovascular and metabolic systems.
His research program is currently funded by the generous support of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute at the University of Alberta, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.
Dr. Forough Jahandideh is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Alberta. She got her Ph.D. in 2017 from the University of Alberta on the physiological effects of bioactive peptides on the cardiovascular system. Dr. Jahandideh joined the laboratory of Dr. Stephane Bourque in 2018 as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. In her fellowship, she has focused on developing and characterizing a murine model of sepsis to study changes in the cardiovascular system as sepsis progresses to septic shock.