DOWNLOAD THE 2026 PROGRAM BOOKLET

Day 1 - November 4th

7:30 am

Registration, Breakfast & Exhibition Hall

Join us in the morning to pick up your badge, enjoy some breakfast and explore the Exhibition Hall before the plenary sessions begin.

8:55 am

Welcome Remarks

  • Raphael Hofstein, Chair, Clinical Trials Ontario Board of Directors
  • Susan Marlin, President and CEO, Clinical Trials Ontario

9:00 am

Opening Address

9:10 am

KEYNOTE | Research as Care: Why Canada Needs to be More Competitive

In this opening keynote, Christine Elliott draws on her extensive experience serving Ontarians and steering health systems to explore why Canada must strengthen its global competitiveness in clinical research. In her roles as former Deputy Premier, Minister of Health, and Patient Ombudsman, she brings a notable perspective that connects patient needs, policy priorities, and economic opportunity to advance research as an integral part of care.

9:45 am

The Bridge: Strategies to Connect Research to Care Across Canada

Health research leaders from across Canada will examine how to better connect research to care. This panel discussion will highlight efforts underway across the country and explore opportunities to strengthen integration, access, and system impact.

  • Moderator: Christine Elliott, Former Ontario Minister of Health and Deputy Premier
  • Dr. Geoff Payne, President & CEO, Michael Smith Health Research BC
  • Dr. Braden Manns, Associate Vice-President, Health Research, University of Calgary; Senior Associate Dean, Health Research, Cumming School of Medicine; and Nephrologist and Professor of Medicine
  • Dr. Ryan Zarychanski, Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Critical Care), Pharmacy, and Community Health Sciences, and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Clinical Trials, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba; Hematologist and Senior Scientist, CancerCare Manitoba and Research Institute; Scientific Director, George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Aurora Clinical Research
  • Christine Lennon, President and CEO, CATALIS Quebec
  • Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, Senior Vice President, Research and Science & Chair of the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)

10:30 am

Break, Networking & Exhibition Hall  

Thank you to our Coffee & Snack Sponsor, Sciteline.

11:00 am

How Canada is Modernizing Clinical Trials Regulations to Compete Globally

  • Dr. Supriya Sharma, Chief Medical Advisor to the Deputy Minister and Senior Medical Advisor, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada

11:20 am

ACT 2: Accelerating Trials and Expanding Equitable Access

Building on the foundation established through Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT), ACT 2 will focus on accelerating the delivery of high-quality clinical trials while expanding equitable access to trial participation across Canada. This presentation will highlight lessons learned from ACT, remaining gaps in Canada’s clinical trials ecosystem, and how ACT 2 can strengthen capacity, broaden participation, and make Canada an even more competitive environment for impactful clinical research.

11:40 am

Keep Trials Moving: CanReview Report

  • Susan Marlin, Nominated Principal Applicant, CanReview; President & CEO, Clinical Trials Ontario

Making Canada a more competitive place for clinical trials means making it easier to conduct research across the country. CanReview’s single research ethics review system is an important part of that effort. This session provides a progress report and shares what comes next.

12:00 pm

Lunch, Networking & Exhibition Hall

1:10 pm

Advancing AI to Strengthen Clinical Trials 

1:30 pm

Expanding Access to Clinical Trials: Insights from Nova Scotia Health

  • Dr. Ashley Hilchie, Senior Director of Research, Nova Scotia Health; Adjunct Professor, Acadia University

This presentation will highlight Nova Scotia’s efforts to enhance clinical trial accessibility through building activities in rural Nova Scotia, and development of Nova Scotia’s modernized Research Consent Framework.

1:50 pm

Getting to 45 Days: Lessons from QuickSTART’s First Studies

Featuring perspectives from panelists who helped build and pilot QuickSTART, this session offers an on-the-ground look at what it took to achieve a 45-day study start-up timeline. Panelists will share lessons from the first studies, discuss the value of accelerating start-up, and offer key tips for others thinking of participating in QuickSTART.

  • Moderator: Eleana Rodriguez, Director of Research Legal – Clinical Trial Agreements
  • Erika Basile, Director, Research Ethics and Compliance, Western University
  • Jocelyn Edwards, Director, Grants Development & Research Administration, London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute and Lawson Research Institute
  • Leandro Jankowski, Senior Country Head – Clinical Operations, AstraZeneca Canada
  • Gail Klein, Director of Operations, Centre for Clinical Trial Support, Sunnybrook Research Institute
  • Sarah Best, Manager, Research Operations, Lawson Research Institute

2:25 pm

Break, Networking & Exhibition Hall

2:45 pm

Psilocybin and the Past and Future of Care

Through presentations from leaders in history and culture, psychiatry, and clinical research, this session explores past uses and perceptions of psilocybin, clinical trials underway in Canada today, and the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of psychedelic-assisted care.

  • Justin Jennings, Senior Curator, Archaeology of the Americas, Royal Ontario Museum
  • Dr. Claudio Soares, Professor of Psychiatry, Queen’s University; Director, Centre for Psychedelics Health and Research at Providence Care Hospital & Queen’s University
  • Dr. Ishrat Husain, Department Head, UHN’s Centre for Mental Health and Program Medical Director, UHN-CAMH Partnership

3:30 pm

UNPLUGGED: An Evening with Shawn Hook

  • Shawn Hook, Singer, Songwriter and Cancer Survivor

Canadian recording artist and songwriter, Shawn Hook, shares his experience living with a cancer diagnosis and participating in a clinical trial, navigating uncertainty, resilience, and hope alongside a growing musical career with chart-topping hits and four JUNO nominations. Blending candid conversation with a live concert, this special keynote offers a powerful reminder of the human stories at the heart of research and clinical trials.

4:30 pm

CTO 2026 Reception

Join us in celebrating the achievements of our clinical trials community over the past year. Thank you to our sponsor, Innovative Medicines Canada. 

Day 2 - November 5th

7:30 am

Registration, Breakfast & Exhibition Hall 

Join us in the morning to pick up your badge, enjoy some breakfast and explore the Innovation Showcase before the plenary sessions begin.

9:00 am

Welcome Remarks

  • Susan Marlin, President and CEO, Clinical Trials Ontario

9:05 am

KEYNOTE | Smarter, Better, Faster: Trial Innovations from Denmark and the EU

  • Dr. Tor Biering-Sørensen, Professor and Founding Head of Center for Translational Cardiology and Pragmatic Randomized Trials

9:45 am

Unlocking Trial Potential Through Data and Registries

Canada has world-class researchers and valuable health data. This panel will examine how we can better connect those assets, learn from international models, and overcome the structural and regulatory barriers that prevent us from conducting trials at greater speed and scale.

  • Moderator: Dr. Mina Tadrous, Associate Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Pharmaceutical Policy and Real-world Evidence; Co-Director, Pharmaceutical Policy and Pharmacy Practice, Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN); Adjunct Scientist, ICES
  • Dr. Tor Biering-Sørensen, Professor and Founding Head of Center for Translational Cardiology and Pragmatic Randomized Trials
  • Dr. Beth Potter, Professor, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa
  • Nicole Yada, Director, VITAL
  • Dr. Christopher J Yarnell, Scarborough Health Network, University of Toronto, Intensive Care Physician

10:30 am

Break, Networking & Exhibition Hall

Thank you to our Coffee & Snack Sponsor, Sciteline.

11:00 am

Advance Consent for Acute Stroke Trials: Results of a Feasibility Study

  • Dr. Michel Shamy, Professor, Department of Medicine, and Faculty Research Chair in Clinical Research Ethics, University of Ottawa; Attending Neurologist, The Ottawa Hospital; Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

This presentation will outline the results of a feasibility study of advance consent for participation in acute stroke clinical trials conducted at The Ottawa Hospital. While participants were overwhelmingly in favour of advance consent, translating this practice into trial enrollment would require addressing important challenges, most notably the lack of clarity in the regulation of consent for emergency research in Canada.

11:20 am

Hot Takes on Life Sciences Sovereignty 

In this interactive session, panelists will share hot takes on current policy challenges and opportunities facing the life science sector. From the global race for talent, to Most Favoured Nation, to the promise of new partnerships – let’s get into it!

12:00 pm

Thanks for the Advice – Now Let’s Talk Sovereignty

Indigenous Peoples have long been invited to advise research systems while decision-making authority remains elsewhere; yet advisory roles are not a substitute for sovereignty, self-determination, or shared governance. Drawing on the Grandmothers’ Council, WCHRI’s Indigenous Governing Council, and the proposed CanReview model, this session explores what it means to build research structures in which Indigenous Peoples sit alongside institutional partners, not beneath them, while holding meaningful authority over research that affects our peoples.

12:30 pm

Lunch, Networking & Exhibition Hall

1:30 pm

Building a Safer and More Inclusive Clinical Trials Ecosystem

Clinical trials cannot deliver better outcomes if they fail to reflect the communities they serve. Join a diverse panel of experts and advocates as they discuss opportunities to advance equity, inclusion, safety, and representation across the research ecosystem.

  • Moderator: Dr. Jaris Swidrovich, Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto
  • Dr. Natalie Dayan, Assistant Professor of Medicine, McGill University; Director; McGill University Health Centre Obstetrical Medicine
  • Kim Meeking, Co-Lead / Director, Queering Cancer
  • Kearie Daniel, Executive Director, Founder,The Black Women’s Institute for Health
  • Miranda Miller, Research Project Manager, Canadian Collaboration for Child Health: Efficiency and Excellence in the Ethics Review of Research (CHEER), Queen’s University

2:10 pm

When Less is More: A Participant’s Perspective on De-Escalation

Can less treatment deliver better outcomes? Join investigator Dr. Mark Clemons and trial participant Beth Ciavaglia for a candid conversation about a groundbreaking breast cancer study that challenged convention, reduced treatment burden, and put patient experience at the centre of research.

  • Beth Ciavaglia, Patient Advocate and Advisor
  • Dr. Mark Clemons, Clinician Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; Staff Medical Oncologist, Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre; Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa

3:00 pm

Closing Remarks & Conference Concludes

Agenda subject to change as sessions are finalized

Attendance at our conference may be eligible for SOCRA continuing education credits. All conference delegates may request a certificate of attendance.