Juwairiya Ahmad

2^nd Year MPH Student, Co-Chair

Public Health Interests: Healthcare Equity & Accessibility, Mental Health.

Syrine Gamra

 2^nd Year MPH Student, Co-Chair

Public Health Interests: Health policy and implementation science.

Peter Yassa

2^nd Year MPH Student, Finance Coordinator

Public Health Interests: Epidemiology and biostatistics.

Harveen Saini

2^nd Year MPH Student, Outreach Coordinator

Public Health Interests: Knowledge mobilization, healthcare accessibility, equity for all!

Demarah Downie

2^nd Year MPH Student, Outreach Coordinator

Public Health Interests: Health Promotion and knowledge translation.

Jeanna Pillainayagam

2^nd Year MPH Student, Speaker Coordinator

Public Health Interests: Health policy, promotion, and programming!

Hibah Syed

2^nd Year MPH Student, Social Media Coordinator

Public Health Interests: Making healthcare accessible to everyone!

Manasvi Vanama

2^nd Year MPH Student, Logistics Coordinator

Public Health Interests: Epidemiology and chronic disease prevention.

Tharumatha Thillainadarajah

1^st Year MPH Student, First-Year Representative

Public Health Interests: Epidemiology, Health policy and equity.

Katrina Shen

1^st Year MPH Student, First-Year Representative

Public Health Interests: Health equity, mental health, and improving the health of people experiencing homelessness.

Mays Alhellawi

1^st Year MPH Student, First-Year Representative

Public Health Interests: Working with drug users to create effective harm reduction programs and advocating for maintenance of these spaces within our communities.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM

OPENING REMARKS &
LAND AWKNOWLEDGEMENT

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM

SPEAKER #1 Research:
Dr. Sujane Kandasamy

9:45 AM – 10:15 AM

SPEAKER #2 Practice:
Dr. Sonia Anand

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM

COFFEE BREAK

10:45 AM – 11:00 AM

SPEAKER #3 Lived Experience:
Lindsay Jennings

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Dr. Thomas Piggott

11:30 AM – 11:55 AM

LUNCH

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

POSTER PRESENTATION
& NETWORKING

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

WORKSHOP SESSION #1:
Jared Kunar

2:00 PM – 2:40 PM

WORKSHOP SESSION #2:
Renata Hall

2:45 PM – 3:25 PM

CLOSING REMARKS
& AWARDS CEREMONY

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Thomas Piggott

Dr. Thomas Piggott (pronouns he/him) started with Peterborough Public Health in December 2021. In his position as MOH/CEO, Dr. Piggott brings experience working at various levels of public health in Canada and internationally. Prior to Peterborough, Dr. Piggott worked as MOH and VP lead for Population/Rural & Remote Health in the northern region of Labrador and as a field doctor with Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dr. Piggott completed medical training, residency in Public Health and Preventive Medicine and his PhD in Health Research Methods at McMaster University. He is involved in research, teaching, clinical work and a father of young children.

Speaker 1: Research

Dr. Sujane Kandasamy

Dr. Sujane Kandasamy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University. She is a health research methodologist and intersectional environmentalist with expertise in mixed method research designs, community-engaged practices, knowledge mobilization, and planetary health/environmental stewardship within health care.

She studies early origins and prevention of chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes) and chronic disease risk factors across the life-course, with a special attention on the health of underserved communities. She is committed to the implementation of collaborative community-based partnerships to collect and deliver evidence-informed knowledge that improves the health of people and the planet.

She holds a HBSc (Biology), BA (Anthropology), MSc (Health Research Methodology) and a PhD (Health Research Methodology).

Speaker 2: Practice

Dr. Sonia Anand

Dr. Sonia Anand is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at McMaster University, is the Director of the Chanchlani Research Centre focused on Health Equity Research, and is a Senior Scientist at the Population Health Research Institute. Dr. Anand received a Doctor of Medicine from McMaster in 1992, Internal Medicine Training at McMaster and a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1996. After additional clinical training in thrombosis and in vascular medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Anand works as a vascular medicine specialist at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University. Dr. Anand further received her Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster in 1996 and Ph.D. in Health Research Methodology at McMaster in 2002. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Ethnic Diversity and Cardiovascular Disease and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Population Health Research. Her present research focuses upon the environmental and genetic determinants of vascular disease in populations of varying ancestral origin, women and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Anand’s work is widely published amongst academic journals with over 475 scientific publications, and in 2019 she was inducted as a Fellow to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2020 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Diabetes from the South Asian Health Foundation, UK. In 2021, Dr. Anand joined the National Heart and Stroke Foundation as a Board member. In 2022, Dr. Anand received the Margolese National Heart Disorders Prize and was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2023, she was awarded the YWCA Women of Distinction award. As of July 2023, Dr. Anand has taken on the role of Associate Vice-President, Global Health.

Speaker 3: Lived Experience

Lindsay Jennings

Lindsay Jennings is a person who survived incarceration, homelessness, substance use and intimate partner violence. Lindsay worked frontline for years at organizations such as John Howard Toronto, PASAN, and most recently Rittenhouse: A New Vision. She is also a Research Associate with Carleton University: Tracking IN Justice Project and a Community Investigator at McMaster: Family Department of Medicine. Lindsay is a passionate and professional advocate for the Human and Health Care Rights of currently incarcerated individuals, and over the past years has been dedicated to addressing the preventable deaths in custody, and more ethical and supportive processes for the families and those impacted by death in prisons/jails.

Workshop 1: Lead by Jared Kunar

We will explore a model for career discovery and discuss strategies to remain adaptable during uncertain and turbulent times in the labor market. Understanding that a career is something you develop over time, not just something you find, we will review ways to explore, reflect, develop, and connect to build your career. Additionally, we will examine the interview process and develop pre-prepared answers to make your next interview experience less stressful and more impactful.

Jared is known for his out-of-the-box job search strategies, and he holds over 650 one-on-one meetings with students each year, helping them secure internships, co-ops and full-time employment. His specialty includes resumes, interview coaching, and networking strategies.

With a blend of expertise, professionalism, optimism, and approachability, Jared makes students feel right at home. He’s all about providing personalized support to help them achieve their career goals—and he’s not afraid to bend the rules to make it happen.

Workshop 2: Lead by Renata Hall

In this workshop, we will begin to orient our discussion towards the principles, best practices, and experiences of EDIA and Anti-Oppression specific to engaging in community work and to team dynamics and culture. This workshop is grounded in unpacking the interpersonal and systemic behaviors, attitudes, and exclusionary practices that proliferate harm, inequities, and create barriers to psychologically safe and inclusive spaces for staff and community members in social service structures and organizations. With a focus on unpacking how systemic and interpersonal biases, stereotypes and microaggressions affect a myriad of equity deserving and marginalized groups, it is hoped the audience will develop knowledge on the impact of interpersonal and systemic harms and develop knowledge on countering biases, stereotypes and microaggressions to develop a culture grounded in belonginess and inclusion.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Become familiar with definitions of bias, stereotypes, microaggressions, and belongingness; develop the ability to identify clear examples of microaggressions, and bias, understand these definitions within the “scale of harm”
2. Become familiar with the top oppressions that occur in organizations as a result of microaggressions, bias and stereotypes, understand behaviours and ideologies that stall the ability to unpack bias or explore intention and impact
3. Develop baseline knowledge on the “scope of influence” of bias, stereotypes and microaggressions behaviourally, verbally, written in teamwork and community work
4. Identify tangible examples of fostering belongingness your environment