Sciematics 2020 Schedule
Thursday April 30, 2020
6:30 p.m. Registration
7:00 p.m. Welcome
7:30 p.m. Keynote – Dr. Ivar Mendez – Disruptive Technologies in Health Care
8:30 p.m. Q & A
8:45 p.m. Wine and Cheese
Friday May 1, 2020
8:30 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. Session 1
10:15 a.m. Nutrition Break
10:45 a.m. Session 2
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Session 3
2:15 p.m. Nutrition Break
2:45 p.m. Session 4
4:15 p.m. SSTS AGM
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Ivar Mendez
Dr. Ivar Mendez
PhD, MD, FRCSC, FACS, DSc (hon), FCAHS
Dr. Ivar Mendez is the Fred H. Wigmore Professor and Provincial Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Health Authority. Dr. Mendez received his MD and PhD in Anatomy from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario where he also completed his post-graduate training in Neurosurgery. His research Fellowship was done at the Department of Medical Cell Research, University of Lund, Sweden. From 2000 to 2012, Dr. Mendez was the Chairman and Founding Member of the Halifax Brain Repair Centre, the most comprehensive neuroscience research institute in Atlantic Canada. Dr. Mendez was the Head of the Division of Neurosurgery at Dalhousie University and the QEII Health Sciences Centre for more than a decade. As a Clinician/Scientist, Dr. Mendez’ research focus is in functional neurosurgery, brain repair, stem cells, robotic neurosurgery and computerized systems in neurosurgical applications. He is recognized internationally as an expert in his field, having over 200 international and national presentations as well as over 200 scientific publications. For the past decade he has worked in the use of remote-presence robots for medical care in neurosurgery. In 2002, Dr. Mendez and his team performed the first long distance telementoring neurosurgery in the world and in 2013, he reported the first experience in remote programming for neuromodulation devices. In 2010, Dr. Mendez was awarded a Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award and was named one of 10 most Influential Hispanic Canadians for his clinical research and humanitarian contributions. Dr. Mendez also received the Health Canada – 2011 Contribution to the Improvement of the Health of Canadians Award and The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. In 2014, St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia awarded Dr. Mendez a Doctor of Science (honoris causa) degree for his contribution to Neuroscience and was inducted as a fellow into the Canadian Academy of Health Science (CAHS). In 2016, he received the Government of Canada Public Service Award of Excellence for the use of remote presence robotic technology to improve healthcare in the North. The topic for Dr. Mendez’s keynpote address will be “Disruptive Technologies in Healthcare”.
