Award Recipient: Nicole Rhoads, Research Technician III, Bloodworks Research Institute
Supervisor: Dr. Reheman Adili
Conference: Earl W. Davie Symposium on November 16, 2023
Location: Vancouver, BC
Nicole presenting during her oral talk.
I attended the Earl W. Davie Symposium on November 16, 2023 with support from the generous External Travel Award offered by the Centre for Blood Research. This was my second year attending the EWD Symposium and I was excited for the opportunity to visit the University of British Columbia again after learning about platelets and bleeding disorders at the meeting in 2022. This year I presented a poster and an oral talk about my work on high density lipoprotein (HDL) and the effect on microvascular thrombosis. This is an ongoing project in our lab using intravital microscopy and mouse models of thrombosis to study the potential therapeutic effects of HDL to treat thrombosis. It was my first time giving an oral presentation and I learned a lot throughout the process. While presenting my poster I spoke with many leaders in the field about our ongoing study. The discussions about our data inspired new research questions and potential new directions to investigate the effect of HDL on microvascular thrombosis.
This was a great learning opportunity for me because I was able to hear talks from leaders in platelet and thrombosis research. I was very grateful to the patients who attended the meeting and shared their personal stories about living with platelet disorders. Working in research, one does not often hear from patients about their experiences. It was inspirational to learn how research has improved clinical outcomes for real people.
Nicole presenting her poster to Dr. Ed Pryzdial.
In addition to attending the meeting I was able to explore downtown Vancouver, try new restaurants, and see the beautiful scenery of British Columbia. The Earl W. Davie Symposium is a great learning and networking opportunity, and I am glad I was able to attend thanks to the travel award.
*With funding from the Sheldon Naiman and Linda Vickars Endowment Fund and Canadian Blood Services (CBS), the CBR supports travel and accommodation expenses for trainees to attend and present at the EWD symposium.