The Quebec Extracellular Vesicle Workshop: A Growing Research Community

The Quebec Extracellular Vesicle Workshop has become an important gathering point for researchers working in extracellular vesicle biology and nanoparticle science. Hosted annually at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), the one-day event attracts approximately 140 to 150 participants each year.

The symposium is organized by researchers involved in the Center for Applied Nanomedicine (CAN), a newly established research hub dedicated to extracellular vesicle research and nanoparticle science. The center operates at the intersection of core facilities and collaborative research infrastructure, providing access to specialized instrumentation used by scientists across the field.

The workshop itself reflects that collaborative spirit. Researchers from Montreal and across Quebec make up the majority of participants, with additional attendees from Ontario and occasional international speakers. Each edition features keynote presentations from leading scientists alongside a program of oral presentations and poster sessions showcasing emerging research.

Drive connections with industry partners

The event also maintains strong connections with industry partners. Typically, four to six sponsors participate each year, creating opportunities for meaningful interactions between academic researchers and companies working in related biomedical technologies.

In addition to the scientific program, the workshop offers valuable networking opportunities through poster sessions, coffee breaks, and shared meals, allowing researchers at different career stages to connect.

The challenge: managing abstract submissions and scientific program logistics

Like many academic symposia, the Quebec Extracellular Vesicle Workshop must coordinate multiple aspects of event management within a relatively short timeline.

Each year, organizers manage approximately 30 to 50 abstract submissions, with researchers indicating whether they wish to be considered for oral presentations, poster presentations, or both. From these submissions, the organizing committee typically selects three to five talks for oral presentation, while the remaining accepted abstracts are presented as posters.

Participants come from a wide range of academic backgrounds and career stages, including:

• Principal investigators
• Postdoctoral fellows
• Research staff
• PhD students
• MSc students
• Medical students

Managing submissions, communicating with presenters, handling registrations, and coordinating payments all require reliable infrastructure.

The organizing team had already seen Fourwaves used across several departments at the research institute. As the platform gained recognition internally, it became the natural choice for managing the workshop as well.

Fourwaves is quite well known at the Research Institute. Many different departments use it for meetings. We knew it would be helpful for us.

Nadim Tawil, Ph.D

Manager - Research & Operations, Center for Applied Nanomedicine, RI-MUHC

Fourwaves: a flexible platform for managing scientific events

The workshop organizers use the Fourwaves event management software for research institutes to coordinate several critical aspects of the event, including abstract submissions, registration, email communications, and payment collection.

For organizers, one of the most valuable aspects of the platform is its flexibility. Each symposium has slightly different requirements, and the ability to customize the event website and abstract submission process allows the team to tailor the experience to their needs.

Fourwaves also simplifies the administrative side of scientific meetings. Abstracts can be easily exported to spreadsheets for review by committee members, enabling organizers to circulate submissions and manage revisions efficiently.

“Being able to export all the submissions is very important for us. We can quickly generate an Excel file and circulate the abstracts for revision.”

The platform also provides a clean, professional scientific event web page where participants can find information about the program, speakers, and registration details. This helps centralize communication and reduce confusion for attendees.

Behind the scenes, Fourwaves enables multiple organizers and administrative staff to collaborate on event setup, ensuring the program runs smoothly even when responsibilities are shared among research teams and institutional support staff.

Responsive support when organizers need it

Organizing an academic symposium often means working within tight schedules. For this reason, responsive technical support can make a significant difference.

Workshop organizers highlight Fourwaves’ support team as a major advantage. When questions arise, the team typically receives responses quickly, allowing them to resolve issues without delaying event preparations.

The support is fantastic. The Fourwaves team is very responsive and usually gets back to us within the hour.

Nadim Tawil, Ph.D

Manager - Research & Operations, Center for Applied Nanomedicine, RI-MUHC

This level of responsiveness helped the event organizers address occasional administrative complexities, including coordination with institutional finance managers handling event payments.

Looking ahead: continuing to build the event

Since its introduction to the workshop in 2019, Fourwaves has become a trusted part of the event's organizational process. With each new edition, the organizing team continues refining the symposium experience for attendees.

As the extracellular vesicle research community continues to grow, the workshop aims to remain a central meeting point for researchers in Quebec and beyond.

Word of mouth within the research institute has already helped spread adoption of the platform.

We regularly recommend Fourwaves to other peers. It is a definite must for event planners of scientific symposia.

Nadim Tawil, Ph.D

Manager - Research & Operations, Center for Applied Nanomedicine, RI-MUHC