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Day 1 – November 6th

7:30 am

Registration, Breakfast & Innovation Showcase

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

8:45 am

Welcome Remarks

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

8:50 am

Opening Remarks

9:00 am

KEYNOTE: The Precision Patient: My Experience with Rare Cancer and Clinical Trials

  • Allen Chankowsky, Acclaimed Author, International Speaker, and resilient 33-year survivor of a rare form of stage-4 Androgen Receptor positive cancer

9:35 am

Charting a Path Forward: Strategies to Advance Clinical Trials and Life Sciences

In this session, we’ll hear presentations from leaders in Canada’s clinical trials and life sciences community sharing important updates and visionary strategies to improve the environment for trials and research in Canada.

Advancing Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Ontario and Canada

  • Dr. PJ Devereaux, Director, Division of Perioperative Care, and Professor, Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact and Medicine, McMaster University; Associate Deputy Director and Senior Scientist, Population Health Research Institutes

The Ambitious Vision of Ontario’s Clinical Trials Leadership Table

  • Dr. Bradly Wouters, Executive Vice President, Science and Research, University Health Network

Ontario’s Hard Pivot to Life Sciences

10:30 am

Break, Networking & Innovation Showcase

11:15 am

Community Hospitals: Essential Contributors to Ontario’s Evolving Clinical Trials Network

11:45 am

Clinical Trials at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

  • Dr. Megan Bettle, Executive Director, Clinical Trials, Canadian Institutes of Health Research

12:00 pm

Better Prepared, Better Care: Clinical Trials Training Programs

Jasmine Grant, National Director, CAN-TAP-TALENT; Clinical Research Manager, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network 

12:15 pm

Lunch, Networking & Innovation Showcase

1:35 pm

Fecal Transplants: Groundbreaking Clinical Trials

Dr. Michael Silverman, Lawson Scientist, Chair of Infectious Diseases at Schulich Medicine and Medical Director of the Infectious Disease Care Program at St. Joseph’s Health Care London

2:00 pm

Promoting Equity and Diversity in Clinical Trials

In this session, hear four presentations that highlight current barriers and innovative strategies to advance equity and diversity within Canada’s clinical trials ecosystem. Presentations to be followed by a moderated discussion.

Reducing Barriers: Equity and Diversity in Clinical Trials

  • Moderator: Michelle Audoin, Patient and Family Advisory Council, Ontario Institute of Cancer Research

Trust Matters: Partnering with the New Immigrant Community in Clinical Research

Remuneration and Recognition of Patient Partners in Clinical Trials

  • Dr. Stuart Nicholls, Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research Program Facilitator, Office for Patient Engagement in Research Activities (OPERA), The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute’s Methods Centre

Improving Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Pediatric Research by Assessing and Addressing Language Barriers

  • Dr. Quynh Doan, Senior Executive Director, Associate Dean, Research, Congdon Family Hospital Chair in Research at BC Children’s Hospital, Clinician Scientist, Pediatric Emergency Medicine

3:10 pm

Break, Networking & Innovation Showcase

3:45 pm

KEYNOTE: Live Sickboy Podcast! Groundbreaking Trials, Life Changing Therapies

  • Sickboy, North America’s Revolutionary Voice in Health and Wellness
  • Dr. Nir Lipsman, Neurosurgeon and Senior Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
  • Rima Youssef, Trial Participant and Mental Health Advocate

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

CTO 2024 Reception

Join us in celebrating the achievements of our clinical trials community over the past year.

Thank you to our 2024 Reception Sponsor GNMI Medical Imaging.

Day 2 – November 7th

7:30 am

Registration, Breakfast & Innovation Showcase

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

8:55 am

Welcome Remarks

  • Susan Marlin, President and CEO, Clinical Trials Ontario

9:00 am

Health Data, AI and the Changing Landscape of Clinical Trials

  • Dr. Fahad Razak, Internist, St Michael’s Hospital; Provincial Clinical Lead, Ontario Health; Co-Lead, GEMINI; Canada Research Chair in Data-Informed Healthcare Improvement, University of Toronto

Leveraging AI and Health Data for Clinical Trials

  • Mani Kang, Senior Director, Research Operations and Chief Operating Officer at Unity Health Toronto
  • Chris O’Connor, Critical Care Physician; Former Director of Medical Informatics, Trillium Health Partners (THP); Founder and Former President, Think Research
  • Alison Mitro, Head of Clinical Trial Solutions, Altis Labs
  • Shrikant Bangdiwala, Professor, Dept of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University; Director of Statistics, Population Health Research Institute

10:15 am

Break, Networking & Innovation Showcase

10:45 am

Privacy, Policy and Health Data

  • Dr. Khaled El Emana, IPC Scholar in Residence, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
  • Andrew Drummond, Director of Health Policy, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Solving Sticky Issues with PHIPA Interpretation

  • Dr. Khaled El Emana, IPC Scholar in Residence, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
  • Andrew Drummond, Director of Health Policy, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
  • Jennifer Cox, Legal Counsel & Manager, Research Contracts, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
  • Sarah Power, Lead, Health Data Strategy, Takeda
  • John Clarkson, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Ontario Brain Institute

11:45 am

What Keeps REBs Up At Night?

  • Sharon Freitag, Senior Director, Research Ethics, Unity Health Toronto
  • Natascha Kozlowski, Executive Director, Ontario Cancer Research Ethics Board (OCREB)
  • Meera Sidhu, Research Ethics Manager, Vice Principal Research, Research Ethics Compliance, Queen’s University
  • Elizabeth Lylyk, Director of the Research Improvements Through Harmonization in Manitoba (RITHIM) initiative at Research Manitoba

12:15 pm

Lunch, Networking & Innovation Showcase

1:30 pm

KEYNOTE: What Does Indigenous Cultural Safety Have to Do With ME?

  • Dr. Janet Smylie, Family Physician and Research Scientist, Unity Health Toronto; Professor, University of Toronto (Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Family and Community Medicine); Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Advancing Generative Health Services for Indigenous Populations in Canada

2:00 pm

Canadians Want More Options for Decentralized and Hybridized Clinical Trials

2:25 pm

One Year Later: Progress Report on Advanced Consent in Stroke Trials

  • Michel Shamy MD MA FRCPC, Attending Neurologist, The Ottawa Hospital; Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine & Epidemiology, University of Ottawa; Lead, Ethics & Humanities in Medicine, University of Ottawa

2:50 pm

Conference Closing Remarks

3:00 pm

Conference Concludes

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