MMB 2009 Conference - April 1-3, 2009



	Program Keynote Speakers Preliminary Program << Back		Michel G. Bergeron, MD, FRCPC Director Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie Université Laval www.cri.ulaval.ca/?535 Dr. Michel G. Bergeron is Professor and Chairman of the Division of Microbiology and of the Centre de recherche en infectiologie of Université Laval in Québec City. One of the largest infectious diseases research centres in North America (250 researchers). One of Dr. Bergeron's main research interests is the development of innovative DNA-based tests which allow the specific identification, directly from a clinical sample, of pathogens and their antibiotic resistance genes in less than one hour instead of 2 to 3 days. These tests are commercialized by Infectio Diagnostic (IDI) Inc. (now BD Diagnostics-GeneOhm) a company he has founded. Dr. Bergeron is now developing, with his multidisciplinary team, compact discs (CDs) that read DNA in a few minutes and which will allow the detection of microbes in less than 60 minutes, in the doctor's office. Dr. Bergeron is the author or co-author of almost 400 scientific publications and has given more than 550 presentations on his work at different universities and international meetings. He has trained more than 80 graduate and postgraduate students and fellows. Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, he has received many honours, the most recent being named Officer of the National Order of Québec in June 2008 and the Henry Friesen Award for the year 2008 of the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Bergeron is now developing an international consortium called Diagnostics for Life, which role is to develop point-of-care testing (POCT) devices. This consortium involves 116 researchers from 16 countries divided in three research platforms, Psycho /Socio-Economics, Technologies & Devices Development and Evaluation.