All students admitted into the NCRTP-HepC are expected to take part in the following activities:
- Transdisciplinary Studies in Infectious Disease
- Webconference Seminar Series
- Online Journal Club
- Knowledge Translation
- Student Electives
- Liver Clinic Observations
- Annual PAC Meeting
- National and International Conferences
MCB 6355 - Transdisciplinary Studies in Infectious Disease (using hepatitis C as a model)
MCB 6355 - Transdisciplinary Studies in Infectious Disease is a 26 lecture web-conferenced graduate course designed by the NCRTP-HepC and run out of the University of Montreal. It introduces and exposes interested researchers and students to various areas of infectious disease research (specifically hepatitis C).
Evaluation takes place in the form of homework assignments (60%), participation in group discussions (10%) and a team grant project (30%).
Webconference Seminar Series
The webconference seminar series is a set of mentor-lead discussions and guest lectures designed to address key issues in the conduct of research, not necessarily specific to hepatitis C. The seminar series runs weekly on alternate years from the MCB 6355 course.
Sample topics include:
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Knowledge Translation
Trainees within the training program are requested to collaborate with Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) chapters and reviewers for Health Canada "health care models". Trainees are also placed in contact with their local CLF chapters to convey the contents and relevance of their research to the interested public. Trainees are particularly encouraged to participate in the Living with Liver Disease program and World Hepatitis Day.
Online Journal Club
The online journal club is a series of trainee presentations of articles relevant to hepatitis C research. The journal club meets via teleconference every 2 weeks. Every meeting, a trainee selects an article to discuss and writes a critique. They explain how the paper reflects changes in hepatitis C research and the class discusses the article.
Throughout the trainee's presentation, a mentor listens in and grades the trainee on their presentation skills, ability to respond to questions, and so on.
Student Electives
Each student within the program must spend two months of their membership performing research and training in a complementary area of research under the supervision of an NCRTP-HepC mentor at another centre. You can also seek approval to work with an industry for your elective. Some students have also chosen to work with the Public Health Agency of Canada. After the elective, the trainee submits a 1 page report on their experience, so that other members can learn from their experience.
The student electives enhance collaborative research experience with other mentors bridging the geographical and methodology gap between researchers and promoting the acquisition of new expertise, techniques and collaborative ventures between institutions.
Liver Clinic Observations
The NCRTP-HepC exposes trainees from a non-medical background to clinical aspects of Hepatitis C through attendance and observation of liver clinics. Non-medical trainees are assigned to spend at least 15 hours in liver clinics to observe interactions between physicians and patients. The enriching experience allows trainees to meet patients with Hepatitis C and get a first hand look at the true trials of living with Hepatitis C on a daily basis. Trainees must submit a 1 page report on their experience after they are done.
Annual PAC Meeting
The annual NCRTP-HepC Program Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting provides mentors, trainees, and stakeholders with the opportunity to meet and discuss issues regarding the National Canadian Research Training Program in Hepatitis C.
Members and affiliates from various organizations and backgrounds meet to develop the annual strategy for the NCRTP-HepC, review current NCRTP-HepC trainees and their research, select new trainees from NCRTP-HepC applicants, and engage in trainee workshops. In addition, the program invites a guest speaker to provide unique insight on the disease outside of the program. It also invites a guest ethicist to spur discussion on ethical issues in research and medicine.
Trainees are also expected to take part in the annual Trainee Retreat. It takes place 1 day before the PAC Meeting. Designed and run by the trainees, it allows them to liaise and discuss topics of importance amongst themselves.
National and International Conferences
The NCRTP-HepC encourages all its trainees to submit abstracts to and attend Hepatitis C related conferences. After a trainee attends a conference, they must submit a short 1 to 2 paragraph writeup detailing what's new and exciting in the field of Hepatitis C research. This allows the other trainees to benefit from their experience.
In addition, because the annual PAC meeting is held just prior to the annual Canadian Association for the Study of Liver Disease (CASL) meeting, our trainees are required to submit abstracts to the meeting.
For students who have an abstract accepted at an International Hepatitis C conference, the NCRTP-HepC provides financial support (flight and conference registration fees) for them to attend one meeting per year.