2026 EPIC Symposium

Join us at the 2026 EPIC Symposium! 🌎

The Emerging Pathogens & Infectious Diseases Consortium (EPIC) is an institutional strategic initiative within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Each year, the EPIC Symposium convenes knowledge leaders, researchers, public health professionals, trainees and industry partners to exchange ideas, showcase innovative research and advance the conversations shaping the future of infectious disease preparedness and response.

The theme for this year's symposium is "Outbreak readiness and response beyond borders."

We have all heard it before: "infectious diseases do not see borders." While pathogens move freely, the teams and institutions responsible for responding to outbreaks must navigate complex jurisdictional, political and organizational boundaries. Strengthening outbreak readiness requires coordinated leadership across governments, academic institutions, health-care systems, aid organizations, researchers, clinicians and communities.

The 2026 EPIC Symposium will explore how cross-sector and cross-border collaboration can strengthen preparedness and response in an increasingly interconnected world. By bringing together diverse experts and decision-makers, EPIC aims to foster forward-looking dialogue, share leading practices and inspire the partnerships needed to improve global outbreak readiness.

The event features inspiring keynote presentations, spotlight talks from EPIC-supported researchers, trainee flash talks and an expert panel discussion. The symposium highlights innovative research, interdisciplinary collaboration and the perspectives needed to address today's most pressing global health challenges. Attendees and speakers will have the chance to cross-connect during the networking reception which will round off the day.

The EPIC Symposium is generously supported by bioMérieux Canada, Moderna and Pfizer Canada.

Date: October 16, 2026

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Location: Toronto Reference Library, Appel Salon, 789 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4W 2G8

Cost: The event is free for anyone with a primary affiliation at one of EPIC’s partner institutes (The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Unity Health Toronto, University Health Network and University of Toronto). Ticket fees apply to external trainees, researchers and industry representatives.

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements of keynote speakers and the full agenda!

Keynote Speakers 🎤

Keynote presentations from international speakers will highlight real-world examples of outbreak readiness and response.

Roger Paredes, MD, PhD

Roger Paredes is Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol and Principal Investigator of the Microbial Genomics Group at the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute, Badalona, Catalonia, Spain. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Paredes has been the Spanish National Coordinator of seminal NIH/NIAID-funded randomized clinical trials, including ACTT-1 and 2 and the ACTIV-3/TICO and STRIVE platforms, which have defined the current standard of care for in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients as well as in outpatients. Additionally, Paredes coordinates the 10 million-euro H2020 EU grant MISTRAL (GA- 847943) and is co-PI in 3 grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research aimed at disentangling the role of the human microbiome on HIV pathogenesis, transmission and associated cancers. He is also a member of the WHO HIV Drug Resistance Strategy (ResNet) Steering Committee, the WHO HIV treatment guidelines group, and the WHO Clinical Network on COVID-19.

Additional keynotes and panel chair to be announced.

Spotlight Talks💡

Spotlight Talks will present new research from members of the EPIC community.

Presenters to be announced.

Trainee Flash Talks 💥

EPIC trainees will present their research in rapid-fire flash talks (five minutes maximum).

Call for trainee presenters!

During the symposium, there will be time for trainees across the University of Toronto and EPIC's partner hospitals to present their work as flash talks. These rapid-fire presentations ask trainees to present their projects and results in five minutes or less. Trainees from any division or department are invited to present their outbreak-related work. This may include, but is not limited to, outbreak surveillance, detection, modelling, crisis communications and policy making, as well as pathogen evolution, clinical diagnostics, therapeutics and prophylaxis. Abstracts can be submitted until September 15, 2026. There are eight positions available, and selected flash talk presenters will be notified by the first week of October.

To submit a flash talk abstract for consideration, please complete the form linked below.

Trainee Connection Lunch 🥗

We are happy to announce that, like last year, trainees will have the opportunity to register to have lunch with one of our keynote speakers, panel chair, or industry representatives during the symposium. Trainees can sign up for a networking lunch table by completing the form below! Tables will be assigned in a first come, first served basis.

Registration for the trainee connection lunch will open on September 16, 2026.