Okanagan Cardiovascular & Respiratory Symposium

Okanagan Cardiovascular & Respiratory Symposium will be held in March 2026 at the beautiful Silver Star Mountain Resort, British Columbia, Canada.

The Okanagan Cardiovascular and Respiratory Symposium is a biennial International research meeting run by the Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan.

Since inception in 2014, the symposium has been held at the Silver Star Mountain Resort in British Columbia with the specific agenda to promote excellence in integrative human cardiovascular, respiratory and vascular physiology but with dedicated time for skiing, socializing and networking.

The Okanagan Cardiovascular and Respiratory Symposium invites internationally and nationally leading scientist to give keynote lectures and as symposium speakers at the start of each scientific session. Sessions have a focus on either heart, lung and/or vascular physiology with additional foci on environmental, comparative and exercise physiology.

The symposium was designed with a key focus on student research, training and development through supplying opportunity for students to disseminate and discuss their research but also to listen, learn and interact with established researchers in an intimate and supportive environment.

2026 Symposium

OCRS2026 will be held in March 2026.

Please visit our symposium website:  https://okcrs.org/

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

Abstract deadline: TBD
Registration deadline: TBD
Presenting author notified by: TBD

ABSTRACT CONTENT:

Each abstract should contain the following elements:

– a sentence stating the study objective
– a brief statement of methods
– a summary of the results obtained
– please add some data
– a statement of the conclusions
– acknowledgements of funding source(s)

It is not satisfactory to say “the results will be discussed”

Limit your abstract body to 250 words

Fonts and symbols:
Use the Times New Roman font for the entire abstract.

  • Title:
    Use a short, specific and declarative title (<15 words).
  • The abstract title should be prepared in UPPERCASE.

Authors:
Please list authors as initials then last name.

Tables and figures:
No tables or figures are allowed.

Abbreviations:
Use standard abbreviations for units of measure. Other abbreviations should be spelled out in full at first mention, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.

Graduate award competition:
All graduate speakers will be considered for the Dr. Chris Willie Graduate Prize for Excellence in Research. This will be judged throughout the conference and will be announced at the end of the conference.

Upload Abstract

The Symposium will be held at the beautiful Silver Star Mountain Resort, British Columbia, Canada (www.skisilverstar.com). The resort is located at the north end of the Okanagan Valley, approximately 20 minutes by car from the city of Vernon.

The nearest airport is Kelowna International Airport (https://ylw.kelowna.ca). The airport is approximately a one-hour drive from Silver Star.  By air, Kelowna airport (YLW) is approximately one hour west of Calgary and one hour east of Vancouver.

Silver Star is in the Pacific Time Zone (Coordinated Universal Time minus 8 hours).

Accommodation options
Two main accommodation options are offered:  standard hotel rooms with various bedding configurations, or apartment style suites equipped with full kitchens.  All accommodation is centrally located in the village.  The options for accommodation are laid out on the following pages at a variety of different prices. All prices are in Canadian dollars, include the conference discount and subject to tax.

You may arrange to increase the length of stay at Silver Star Mountain Resort by contacting the Silver Star Mountain Resort Groups Department. For Vance Creek & Chilcoot Lodge please contact the Hotel directly.

Accommodation booking
To book rooms in any of the resort accommodations please call the Central Reservations office at: 250-558-6083 or toll free at: 1-800-663-4431.

Silver Star have kindly given us a 15% discount at the Silver Creek Lodge and a 15% discount at the Snowbird Lodge, Lord Aberdeen, Firelight Lodge, Vance Creek Hotel and Chilcoot Lodge on a two-night stay or more. To obtain this discounts please use the booking code “YC” when placing your reservation.

There is no deadline this year for hotel booking and receiving the discount.  However, as the conference is being held during the BC Schools spring break the resort is expected to be busy so please book early to ensure you get the room you want.

Discount for lift tickets and rentals
Alpine Rentals (Valid for Alpine Rentals).
Discount Code: OKSYMR5149
https://shop.skisilverstar.com/s/rentals?discountcoupon=OKSYMR5149
Guests would simply click on the URL above and it would automatically populate the discount in the shopping cart.
Guests can also just navigate to the Rentals page,
https://shop.skisilverstar.com/s/rentals/
load their cart and then enter the code in the APPLY DISCOUNT CODE field.
Each guest will need to create an account and sign SilverStar’s One waiver. Please note the discount code is only valid online, guests are not able to redeem the discount at the Tickets Office.
Tickets need to be purchased before midnight, the night before the date of arrival in order for the discount to work. Once guests complete their transaction online, they will be emailed an Order Confirmation with a barcode. They can scan that barcode at one of our kiosks located in the Tickets Office to get the tickets.

Airport transfers
Transportation from Kelowna International Airport to Silver Star Mountain Resort with Kelowna Concierge

Email: info@kelownaconcierge.ca

Local Phone: 250-863-4213

Shuttle Rates and shuttle times
Schedule-and-Pricing-Oct-2023.pdf (kelownaconcierge.ca)

Travel time from the airport to Silver Star by road is approximately one hour.

Keynote: Cardiovascular Physiology
Dr. Markus Amann
University of Utah, USA
Title: Influence of group III/IV muscle afferents on neurocirculatory and pulmonary control: rest and exercise

Keynote: Vascular Physiology
Dr. Ylva Hellsten
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Title: Sex hormones, cardiovascular health and adaptation to exercise training?

Keynote: Cardiovascular Physiology
Andre La Gerche
St. Vincent’s Institute, Australia
Title: Limits of human cardiac physiology

Vascular Physiology Symposium
Chair – Dr. Lacy Alexander
Pennsylvania State University, USA
Title: TBD

Respiratory Physiology Symposium
Chair – Dr. Najib Ayas
University of British Columbia, Canada
Title: Exploring the Heterogeneity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: First Steps Towards a Precision Medicine Approach

Environmental Physiology Symposium
Chair – Dr. Abigail Bigham 
University of California Los Angeles, USA
Title: Genomic Approaches to Understanding Adaptation and Plasticity at High Altitude

Cardiovascular Physiology Symposium
Chair – Dr. Teresa Lui-Ambrose
University of British Columbia, Canada
Title: TBD

Autonomic Physiology Symposium
Chair – Dr. Charlotte Usselman
McGill University, Canada
Title: Let’s talk about sex (and gender too): Clarity and confusion on neuro-vascular control of blood pressure in men and women?

Comparative Physiology Symposium
Chair – Dr. Kate Wilsterman
Colorado State University, USA
Title: If you put a pregnant mouse on the mountaintops: Evolution and gestation at high altitude