TOPHC’s 2026 Virtual Convention
Session Links
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
We are pleased to share TOPHC’s 2026 Virtual Convention Session Links. Please click on each session title below to reveal the Zoom link and connect with us at the scheduled time.
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Webinar ID: _____
Passcode:______
Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Featuring:
Dr. Kieran Moore, Chief Medical Officer of Health
Michael Sherar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Public Health Ontario
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Webinar ID: _____
Passcode:______
Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Explore the transformative role of AI in shaping the future of public health and beyond.
This plenary session brings together leading voices in Canada’s AI and health innovation landscape to explore the transformative role of AI in shaping the future of public health and beyond. This session will offer a forward looking conversation leveraging the panelists’ experiences in AI deployment in complex health environments, advancing predictive analytics and AI enabled public health tools. The discussion will also explore the intersection of clinical AI, health equity, and the ethical implications of AI systems.
By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to:
Describe the current and potential uses of AI in the public health context.
Reflect on the public health landscape and ethical implications of AI systems.
Discuss strategies to leverage AI tools responsibly to improve health outcomes with their communities.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Kyle Wilson, M.Sc., Ph.D., MBA, VP, Information Systems & Digital Innovation, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health
Dr. Damian Jankowicz, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Artificial Intelligence Officer, Unity Health & Adjunct Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Dr. Rawan Abulibdeh, Ph.D., Post-doc Fellow, University of Toronto
Moderator
Dr. Jessica Hopkins, MD, MHSc., CCFP, FRCPC, FCFP Vice President and Chief, Communicable Disease Control, Public Health Ontario
Learn more about our speakers on the Virtual Speaker Spotlight page.
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Please use this time to take a break and log into the next session using the link provided in your welcome email.
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Webinar ID: _____
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Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Move beyond definitions to explore strategies for addressing mis- and disinformation and its impacts on communities. This session will also examine the role of AI in public health communication.
This featured panel moves beyond definitions to explore practical, real-world strategies for responding to false and misleading information, understanding its impacts on communities, and strengthening public trust. This session offers actionable insights that can be applied across practice, policy work, and community engagement efforts.
By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to:
Describe the specific impacts of mis and disinformation on the populations served by public health programs.
Discuss evidence-informed strategies for addressing false and misleading information in their public health practice.
Featured Speakers
Jennifer McWhirter, Hons. B.Sc., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph & Director, Health by Design Lab
Dr. Blair Bigham, MD, M.Sc., Assistant Professor, University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Neil Seeman, JD, MPH, Senior Fellow & Associate Professor, University of Toronto
Moderator
Dr. Alex Summers, MD, MPH, CCFP, FRCPC, Medical Officer of Health, Middlesex-London Health Unit
Learn more about our speakers on the Virtual Speaker Spotlight page.
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Please use this time to take a break and log into the next session using the link provided in your welcome email.
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ZOOM CONNECTION DETAILS BELOW:
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Webinar ID: _____
Passcode:______
Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Discover approaches to measuring progress, maximizing impact, and collaborating across sectors. This panel will cover metrics, storytelling, ROI, and priority setting in alignment with the new Ontario public health standards.
This panel provides a focused look at how quality improvement is accelerating across Ontario’s public health landscape. The session will introduce and define key QI concepts, outline Public Health Ontario’s framework and roadmap for ongoing QI work with Public Health Units (PHUs) and highlight current work underway to support all PHUs in building QI capacity and consistency. This will include sharing results from the Fall 2025 QI maturity survey, highlighting system-level insights and opportunities for collective growth.
By the end of the session, participants will be equipped to:
Describe the culture and background context of Quality Improvement in public health in Ontario
Compare the different tools and QI strategies shown by the presenters and interpret how they can used for their public health practice
Explain how program planning, evaulation and resource allocation can be impacted when applying quality improvement framework in public health.
Featured Speakers
Rob Haile, M.Sc., Public Health Planner, Foundational Standards, Southwestern Public Health
Dr. Kelly A. Pilato, PhD., M.Sc., Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Brock University
Jessica Brett, RN, BScN, CCHN(C), Nurse Project Officer, Ottawa Public Health
Nastassia McNair, MPH, Manager, Effective Public Health Practice, Public Health Sudbury & Districts
Moderator
Marnie MacKinnon, Director, Quality Improvement, Public Health Ontario
Learn more about our speakers on the Virtual Speaker Spotlight page.
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Please use this time to take a break and log into the next session using the link provided in your welcome email.
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ZOOM CONNECTION DETAILS BELOW:
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Webinar ID: _____
Passcode:______
Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Explore an evidence-based framework and key indicators for emergency preparedness, with a focus on how these tools can inform preparedness measurement, action, and quality improvement across public health systems.
After large-scale emergencies with significant population health impacts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we are challenged to reflect on how prepared our public health system is for the next emergency. Our Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded team has led research to address two key questions: Are we prepared? and How do we measure preparedness?. This session will present recently completed research and describe how an evidence-based framework and indicators for public health emergency preparedness has been used to inform preparedness measurement, action and quality improvement in public health agencies across Canada.
By the end of this session, attendees will be equipped to:
Discuss preparedness priorities across Canada following the COVID-19 pandemic using a framework and indicators for defining and measuring public health emergency preparedness.
Describe how the framework and indicators can be used to advance preparedness priorities within the public health system
Explain how a quality improvement lens can be used to support progress toward enhanced emergency preparedness.
Featured Speakers
Dr. Yasmin Khan, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Emergency Preparedness Physician, Population Health, Public Health Ontario
Dr. Madelyn Law, Director, Quality, Patient Safety and Risk, Niagara Health
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health
Jessica Deming, M.Sc., MSW, Advisor, Public Health Intelligence, Peel Public Health
Learn more about our speakers on the Virtual Speaker Spotlight page.
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Webinar ID: _____
Passcode:______
Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Wrap-up and preview of upcoming networking opportunities.
Featuring:
Helen Doyle, Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA)
Loretta Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa)
Michael Sherar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Public Health Ontario
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Meeting ID: _____
Passcode:______
Telephone:______
ABOUT THE SESSION:
Students will have the opportunity to connect with public health professionals in an engaging networking environment. This session will help students explore career pathways, gain insights, and ask questions about working in public health that can inform and inspire their next steps.
Featured Panelists
Rohit Garg, MBBS, MPH, CIC, LSSGB, Infection Prevention and Control Specialist, Public Health Ontario
Tania Toffner, MLT, BSc., Director, Operations, Public Health Ontario
Elisabeth Marks, MPH, Manager, Evaluation & Knowledge Mobilization, Public Health Ontario
Moderator
Dr. Karl Kabasele, TITLE, Public Health Ontario
We express our gratitude to all those who offered programming advice that takes into account the wider educational and training requirements of public health professionals.
Disclaimer: The information presented at TOPHC 2026 Virtual Convention is created by their authors. TOPHC is not the owner of the content. Any application or use of the information in the presentation is the responsibility of the user. TOPHC assumes no liability resulting from any such application or use.
TOPHC’s 2026 Virtual Convention
TOPHC’s 2026 Virtual Convention
Session Links
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
We are pleased to share TOPHC’s 2026 Virtual Convention Session Links. Please click on the connection button for each session below to connect to the Zoom link at the scheduled time.
8:45 AM - 9:45 AM
This plenary session brings together leading voices in Canada’s AI and health innovation landscape to explore the transformative role of AI in shaping the future of public health and beyond. This session will offer a forward looking conversation leveraging the panelists’ experiences in AI deployment in complex health environments, advancing predictive analytics and AI enabled public health tools. The discussion will also explore the intersection of clinical AI, health equity, and the ethical implications of AI systems.
Break: 9:45 AM - 10:00 AM
10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Webinar ID: __________
Passcode: ___________
This featured panel moves beyond definitions to explore practical, real-world strategies for responding to false and misleading information, understanding its impacts on communities, and strengthening public trust. This session offers actionable insights that can be applied across practice, policy work, and community engagement efforts.
Panel Discussion 1
Truth in a turbulent world: Public health strategies to cut through the mis- and disinformation noise
Break: 10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Webinar ID: __________
Passcode: ___________
This panel provides a focused look at how quality improvement is accelerating across Ontario’s public health landscape. The session will introduce and define key QI concepts, outline Public Health Ontario’s framework and roadmap for ongoing QI work with Public Health Units (PHUs) and highlight current work underway to support all PHUs in building QI capacity and consistency. This will include sharing results from the Fall 2025 QI maturity survey, highlighting system-level insights and opportunities for collective growth.
Break: 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Panel Discussion 2
Quality Improvement in Action: Building Capacity, Consistency, and System-Level Insight
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Webinar ID: __________
Passcode: ___________
After large-scale emergencies with significant population health impacts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we are challenged to reflect on how prepared our public health system is for the next emergency. Our Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded team has led research to address two key questions: Are we prepared? and How do we measure preparedness?. This session will present recently completed research and describe how an evidence-based framework and indicators for public health emergency preparedness has been used to inform preparedness measurement, action and quality improvement in public health agencies across Canada.
TOPHC 2026 Virtual Convention Concludes
We are pleased to share TOPHC’s 2026 Virtual Convention Student Networking Link.
Please click on the Zoom link and connect with us at the scheduled time.
Public Health Presentation & Closing Ceremonies
Are We Prepared? Implementing a Public Health Emergency Preparedness Framework and Indicators with a Quality Improvement Lens
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Meeting ID: __________
Passcode: ___________
Students will have the opportunity to connect with public health professionals in an engaging networking environment. This session will help students explore career pathways, gain insights, and ask questions about working in public health that can inform and inspire their next steps.
Please note: Limited space is available and on a first-come-first-serve basis
Opening Remarks & Plenary Session
Modern Tools, Healthier Communities: AI Insights Shaping Public Health Transformation
Student Networking Event
