In the Fall of 2015, Drs. Inés Colmegna, Steven Paraskevas, Michel Tremblay, Pierre Laneuville and Linda Peltier recognized the need for McGill University and its affiliated research centers to build a collaborative research network, focused on stem cells and regenerative medicine. At the time, more than 75 McGill faculty members agreed, leading to the creation of the McGill Regenerative Medicine network. Positioning regenerative medicine research at McGill nationally and internationally became critical to translate the science into clinical practice and improve health outcomes; to enhance educational and economic outputs, building for the future of medicine.
To achieve these goals, the MRM Executive Committee created 8 different committees, each with specific objectives:
• Scientific Programming Committee
• Peer Review Committee
• Outreach Committee
• Clinical Translation Committee
• Education Committee
• Prizes and Awards Committee
• Trainee Committee
• ELSI Committee
Executive Committee
Chair: Terry Hébert
Mandate:
The MRM Executive Committee is a governance body, chaired by the MRM Director, whose primary responsibility is to ensure the success of the MRM Network initiative.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Ensure appropriate governance and management of the MRM Network and its funds
- Set MRM priorities and strategic directions and oversee their implementation
- Provide financial oversight, generate and support fundraising opportunities, grant applications and strategic efforts
See Terms of Reference
Scientific Programming Committee
Chair: TBD
Mandate:
The MRM is committed to promoting the impact of our network. The Scientific Programming Committee has a mission to promote knowledge exchange within the MRM Community.
The role of this committee includes the organization of the MRM Annual Symposium, the MRM Talks webinar series and seminars related to the field of regenerative medicine, as well as the development of training workshops.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Planning, organizing and raising funds for the MRM Annual Symposium
- Planning and organizing the MRM Talks
- Developing training workshops in collaboration with the MRM Education Committee
- Collaborating with McGill Departments to host seminar speakers of common interest
See Terms of Reference
Peer Review Committee
Chair: Terry Hébert
Mandate:
One of the main goals of the MRM Network is to encourage and support research into a basic understanding of the biology of stem cells, which could then be translated into new technologies and approaches in regenerative medicine. It is crucial that MRM supports its researchers as well as the numerous core platforms built across the McGill University network. We established the MRM Internal Funding competition to provide seed funding for research projects using MRM-accredited core facilities.
The Peer Review Committee is responsible for scientific assessment of projects submitted to these competitions. This committee may also be convened to review applications for other relevant funding opportunities as they appear.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Review applications submitted to the MRM Internal Funding Competition
- Review applications for other relevant funding opportunities as they appear
See Terms of Reference
Outreach Committee
Chair: Marine Christin
Mandate:
The primary mission of the MRM Network Outreach Committee is to promote our work and increase research collaborations within the MRM and with external groups.
To this end, this committee helps generate, collect and disseminate content for the MRM website and social media platforms to inform members of the latest news, events or funding opportunities relevant to our work at McGill and beyond. It also works to publicize our successes and that of our members and their trainees.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Review literature and monitor news/events related to the field at McGill and beyond to feed the website with latest news and events
- Contribute to the Network’s communication strategies, aligned on the Network’s mission to promote the MRM activities (within McGill and beyond)
- Help preparing documentation representing the Network
See Terms of Reference
Clinical Translation Committee
Chair: Nicoletta Eliopoulos
Mandate:
This committee is responsible for identifying clinical research opportunities related to regenerative medicine currently happening or in development at McGill University and affiliated hospitals. It will support researchers in structuring future clinical research projects and help build compliance with regulatory agencies. This committee is mainly composed of MRM clinical researchers. This clinical pipeline will promote translational research involving stem cells and/or regenerative medicine. This committee could also help set up monthly clinical seminars and clinics.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Identify and track clinical research related to regenerative medicine currently happening at McGill
- Support and advise MRM researchers willing to move their research toward clinical application
See Terms of Reference
Education Committee
Chair: Terry Hébert
Mandate:
The MRM Education Committee works on the identification and development of an educational platform for the MRM. These include courses and programs to prepare students to work or do research in the domains of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, as well as development of links within the regenerative medicine community at McGill and its affiliated hospitals to facilitate such educational programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Education Committee created a 15-credit graduate certificate within the Division of Experimental Medicine, which is now being transitioned into an MSc option. This will allow graduate students at McGill University to focus on topics relevant to stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Develop the educational mission of the MRM
- Ensure implementation of the educational mission
- Identify and/or develop courses offered at McGill relevant to regenerative medicine
- Serve as liaison with the Departments running programs created by the MRM
See Terms of Reference
Prizes & Awards Committee
Chair: Jo Anne Stratton
Mandate:
The Prizes and Award Committee is in charge of evaluating the applications to the competitions the MRM Network organizes for its trainees. This includes our yearly Photo Contest, as well as the Lucie Besner Travel Awards competition.
This committee is composed of researchers at different career stages as well as trainees, all from a wide variety of disciplines to ensure the fairest possible assessment of each application.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Review and evaluate applications submitted to the MRM Lucie Besner Travel Awards Competition, organized bi-annually (in January and June)
- Evaluate submissions to the annual MRM Photo Contest (in November)
- Can be called upon to contribute to the MRM Annual Symposium to serve as poster judge or oral presentation judge
See Terms of Reference
Trainee Committee
Chair: Molly Shen
Mandate:
The MRM Trainee Committee was formed with the objective of supporting emerging generations of regenerative medicine researchers.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Support and represent trainees within the MRM Network
- Facilitate scientific and personal communication and networking between trainees.
- Host social and academic events tailored to trainee interests and needs.
See Terms of Reference
Ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) Committee
Chair: Ma’n Zawati
Mandate:
The MRM Network is committed to develop and sustain impactful actions in ELSI related to regenerative medicine research and its clinical application. The main objectives of the ELSI Committee are to build bridges between basic/clinical research and ELSI research; to maintain and expand McGill’s international footprint in the bioethics of regenerative medicine; to simplify the understanding of the Health Canada ethics guidelines for regenerative medicine clinical trials; as well as to engage the public in the social issues of regenerative medicine.
Specific areas of responsibility:
- Inform the MRM community about the latest developments in ELSI relating to regenerative medicine
- Advise MRM members regarding the current ethics guidelines for regenerative medicine research
See Terms of Reference