Let’s Talk Science 2016

Let’s Talk Science Outreach Day

On June 11, Host Parasite Interactions had the opportunity to work with Let’s Talk Science for their annual Discovery Day presentation.  Along with a number of other great science groups, we presented our work to some of Calgary’s brightest high school students.

The students were all eager to see a demonstration of how veterinarian checks dogs for fleas presented by myself (Nic). This was especially interesting to those who had dogs at home. Additionally, Murilo and I talked about Alberta’s ticks and the potential diseases they can carry including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Some students surprised us with some specific knowledge of parasitic infections as well. One high schooler even mentioned a tapeworm carried by fish. Neither of us was even aware of this but with a little research we found that the worm was Diphyllobothrium spp. and has been associated with incorrectly prepared sushi. So, it was a learning experience for us as well as the high school students!

Conversely, Tim Jayme discussed the less appreciated potential benefits of parasitic infections. Along with myself, Tim does his research in the McKay lab where we work with a parasitic worm capable of improving the symptoms and disease progression of gut inflammation.  Most of the students were as surprised, excited and grossed out as I was when I first heard about this as a potential treatment for Crohn’s Disease!

All told, it was a very successful morning of work as we were able to improve awareness of the HPI program and why it is such a great group to be a member of.  A special thanks to Tim Jayme for organizing the event- it was a lot of fun!

Thanks to all the HPI members who participated: Teresa Emmett (HPI program manager), Dr. Derek McKay (HPI faculty member), Tim Jayme (HPI TOC Community Engagement Co-lead), Shruti Srivastava and Edina Szabo (photos).