Greetings from the President!

Preparations for the 2012 Post-Graduate Course and Annual Meeting are well underway and if you have not registered for the meeting, I would encourage you to do so now, by clicking here.  Below is a highlight of some of the components that will take place during the upcoming meeting, March 7-10, 2012. 

• Post Graduate Course on March 7th entitled, Stretching the Limits: Plasticity and Neural Control of Swallowing
  
• Panel and plenary sessions on the theme of neuroplasticity during the Annual Meeting
• Dodds-Donner Lecture on the past, present and future of the DRS
• Technical Session on High Resolution Manometry and Technical Symposium by Sierra Scientific Instruments – A Given Imaging Company and Mui Scientific (limit 15 attendees)

I would like to welcome all of the faculty to the upcoming meeting, with a special welcome to the faculty that are not members of the Society, namely:

• Dr. Dale Corbet, a Canada Research Chair in Stroke and Neuroplasticity and Scientific Director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery whose work has identified critical issues regarding the timing, intensity and complexity of rehabilitation and stroke recovery.
• Dr. Andrew Hope, a radiation oncologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital establishing predictive models for fibrosis secondary to radiation treatment for head and neck cancer.
• Dr. Theresa Jones, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin with expertise in using cortical stimulation to enhance experience-dependent plasticity after stroke.
• Dr. Sandeep Kumar, a neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston researching noninvasive brain stimulation therapies to aid recovery of stroke-related dysphagia.
• Dr. Louis Lui, a gastroenterologist from the University Health Network in Toronto with a dual degree in engineering who will lead a symposium on high-resolution manometry and impedance.
• Dr. Connie Marras, a neurologist and epidemiologist from the Toronto Western Hospital in Toronto whose research focuses on prognostic factors in Parkinson's disease.
• Dr. Mary Pat McAndrews, a senior scientist from the University of Toronto in the division of Brain Imaging and Behavior studying the functional organization of memory utilizing fMRI technology.
• Dr. Alvarao Pascual-Leone, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston whose ground breaking research explores brain-behaviour relations, brain plasticity and its modulation including stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation.

It is my hope that this meeting will provide educational and professional enrichment, as we learn from one another and explore the possibility of potential collaborations across disciplines, and even across borders.

Whether you have registered for the meeting or not, you have an opportunity to win a complimentary registration to the 2012 Post-Graduate Course. As you may recall from the prior President's Message, the Society has implemented an online case study entitled, Post-Chemoradiation Dysphagia, which was developed by Dr. Bonnie Martin-Harris.  This case is now accessible by all (regardless of DRS membership) via the homepage of the DRS website. Once you have viewed the case, we do ask that you participate in the online forum. All postings that are received by December 31, 2011, will be entered into a drawing for complementary registration to the 2012 Post-Graduate Course. The winner will be announced during the beginning of the 2012 year. Please remember to post only comments and questions that are relevant and appropriate to the case.

In your preparation for your travels to Toronto, be sure to make time to discover all that the city has to offer, including the St. Lawrence Market.

As you know, this is our society and the contribution that we provide through our annual membership dues is invaluable. Please note that you will be receiving your 2012 annual membership dues via e-mail this week, and not only do I encourage you to pay, but I also encourage you to recruit your colleagues to join. To share more information on how to become a member of the Society, please click here.

As the year 2011 comes to a close, I would like to thank you for your support and dedication to our Society this past year. I look forward to an exciting and successful 2012.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Rosemary

Rosemary Martino, MA, MSc, PhD
2011-2012 DRS President