We take pride in nurturing the talent of early-career researchers, giving them the opportunity to grow not only as researchers, but as communicators and collaborators. This is why we offer the RENASCENT (Respiratory National Scientist Core EducatioNTraining) program. The program is part of our National Respiratory Research Strategy; its intent is to increase mentorship opportunities and to support the careers development of graduate students and early career investigators. The program has two components: the PRactical Education Program (PREP) and the annual training workshops.
We host the annual training workshop in partnership with the Canadian Respiratory Research Network (CRRN), the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) and the Canadian Institute of Health Research Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH), who joined as a partner and financial supporter of the workshop in 2017. Except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to COVID-19, the workshop has been held annually since 2015. Past workshops have included: Knowledge Translation, Communicating Research to the Media, Grant Writing and Communicating Research to Health Policy Makers.
RENASCENT 2024
RENASCENT 2024 was held April 10th and 11th at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, ahead of the Canadian Thoracic Society’s Canadian Respiratory Congress.
2024 topics included:
Gaining an edge in today’s job market
Creating academic/industry partnerships
Bringing your research to light: Advanced KT skills for sharing your research with the public
RENASCENT 2023
RENASCENT 2023 was held April 19 and 20 in Montreal.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada was invited for joint sessions on mental health and resiliency, specifically on creating a healthy workplace and recognizing mental health challenges in academic setting.
Our invited speaker was Dr Manoj Lalu, Associate Professor/Scientist from the University of Ottawa, who presented “Knowledge Synthesis in Preclinical Respiratory Research: What You Need to Know”.
Members of the planning committee formed a panel to discuss “Finding Your First Academic Appointment”, Drs Halayko and Bacon spoke of their experiences as search committee chairs, and Drs Svenningsen, Thornton, and Dr Kate Johnson (invited) spoke of their experience as recently recruited associate professors.
Planning Committee
Dr Simon Bacon, Concordia University
Dr Andrew Halayko, University of Manitoba
Dr Miranda Kirby, Ryerson University
Dr Larry Lands, McGill University
Dr Geoffrey Maksym, Dalhousie University
Dr Eilean McKenzie-Matwiy, Canadian Lung Association
Andrea Murru, PhD student, CHU de Québec-Université Laval
Dr Christopher Pascoe, University of Manitoba
Dr Ryan Perry,University of Alberta, CIHR-ICRH
Dr Sarah Svenningsen, McMaster University
Dr Christina Thornton, University of Calgary
Dr Teresa To, SickKids Hospital
"I really enjoyed the panel discussion held on the second day. It was tremendously valuable to have different perspectives on the interview process and all steps involved in finding an academic appointment!"
