2023 EPIC Symposium

2023 EPIC Symposium

Join us for the first annual research symposium of the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium!

Date and time

Tue, Oct 17, 2023 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM EDT

Location

Old Mill Toronto

21 Old Mill Road Toronto, ON M8X 1G5 Canada

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 7 days before event
Eventbrite's fee is nonrefundable.

Agenda

8:00 AM - 8:45 AM

Registration

Coffee and light breakfast provided.

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM

Opening remarks

9:00 AM - 9:20 AM

Session #1: Emerging pathogen surveillance and response

Darrell Tan, Unity Health Toronto

Silence = Death: How community engagement was central to research and public health during Ontario’s mpox response

9:20 AM - 9:40 AM

Session #1: Emerging pathogen surveillance and response

Vanessa Allen, Sinai Health

Emerging infectious diseases threats during pregnancy: building systems of surveillance and response

9:40 AM - 9:55 AM

Session #1: Emerging pathogen surveillance and response

Jonathon Kotwa, Sunnybrook Research Institute

Alphacoronaviruses in bats in eastern Ontario, Canada

9:55 AM - 10:15 AM

Session #1: Emerging pathogen surveillance and response

Keith Pardee, University of Toronto

Distributed, low-burden diagnostics: an emerging role for synthetic biology and low-cost hardware

10:15 AM - 10:35 AM

Session #1: Emerging pathogen surveillance and response

Upton Allen, Hospital for Sick Children

Empowering communities: education and outreach in Toronto’s Black community during the COVID-19 pandemic

10:45 AM - 11:00 AM

Coffee break

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Lightning Round: Meet the new PIs

Twelve new faculty members will have five minutes to introduce themselves and their research to the community.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Keynote: Lessons learned from reporting at the pandemic's front lines

Lauren Pelley, CBC

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Panel discussion: Breaking the cycle of panic and neglect

Lauren Pelley, CBC

Leah Cowen, University of Toronto

David Naylor

Join our panelists and moderator Lauren Pelley for a discussion on breaking the cycle of panic and neglect and creating sustained readiness to infectious threats. Panelists to be confirmed.

3:00 PM - 3:15 PM

Coffee break

3:15 PM - 3:35 PM

Session #2: Development and implementation of innovative countermeasures

Christina Guzzo, University of Toronto Scarborough

Flow virometry: a new lens for virus-based therapies & vaccines

3:35 PM - 3:55 PM

Session #2: Development and implementation of innovative countermeasures

Ben Hatton, University of Toronto

Bio-inspired surfaces to prevent microbial attachment

3:55 PM - 4:10 PM

Session #2: Development and implementation of innovative countermeasures

Michael Litvack, Hospital for Sick Children

Using stem cell-derived macrophages to combat pulmonary viral infections

4:10 PM - 4:30 PM

Session #2: Development and implementation of innovative countermeasures

Tania Watts, University of Toronto

Lessons learned from studying T cell responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination

4:30 PM - 4:50 PM

Session #2: Development and implementation of innovative countermeasures

Haibo Zhang, Unity Health Toronto

Understanding COVID-19’s inner workings and new treatment approaches

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Networking reception and poster session

For the poster session, we are strongly encouraging trainees and PIs to work together to present a poster about their lab instead of a traditional poster about a specific project. We hope that these ...

About this event

We are excited to announce that the first annual Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium symposium will take place this fall! Please join us for a day of research, networking and community-building.

The symposium is free to attend for anyone who is affiliated with one of EPIC's partner institutes (the Hospital for Sick Children, Sinai Health/Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre/Sunnybrook Research Institute, Unity Health Toronto, University Health Network, University of Toronto).

If you are not affiliated with an EPIC partner and would like to attend, please send us a message at epic@utoronto.ca.

If you are an industry or government representative and are interested in supporting this event and/or attending, please send us a message at epic@utoronto.ca.

Stay tuned for more details as we finalize the agenda and speakers!

If you have questions, please send us a note at epic@utoronto.ca.

Frequently asked questions

I am not affiliated with an EPIC partner institution. Can I still attend?

Please email us at epic@utoronto.ca for registration details.

I work in industry. Can my company sponsor and attend this event?

Absolutely. Please connect with us by email (epic@utoronto.ca).

What is a lab poster and how does it work?

Rather than focusing on a specific project, a lab poster provides a high level overview of the group's entire research program. It gives others a sense of the different projects being undertaken in the lab and how they are all connected. We suggest making one with your lab mates and having fun!

Can I present a poster that I already have?

While we strongly encourage attendees to present lab posters, we will also allow traditional project-focused posters.

Organized by

Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium

The Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) is a partnership between the University of Toronto and five hospital research partners — The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research Institute, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Unity Health Toronto and the University Health Network.

Building on our momentum in combating pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, EPIC brings together researchers from different disciplines to facilitate an integrated and innovative response to high-risk, high-burden infectious diseases. EPIC is Canada’s leading initiative for transformative infectious diseases research, linking academic researchers with industry and government partners, training the next generation of research leaders and advocating for science-based policies. Together, we will help prevent future pandemics and advance national and global health for decades to come.

To join or learn more about EPIC, visit us online at epic.utoronto.ca or follow us on Twitter @UofTEPIC.

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