2025 Equity Symposium in Health Research

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Program, October 30, 2025

8:30 am – Registration

9:00 am – Welcome by Dr. Deanna Santer and Dr. Liam O’Neil, Co-chairs of the WISDOM Equity Symposium Planning Committee

9:05 am – Welcome prayer: Elder from Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, University of Manitoba

9:20 am – Opening address: Dr. Peter Nickerson, Dean and Vice-Provost, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba

Session 1 – Moderators: Dr. Alicia Berard and Riley Greenslade

9:30 am – Invited speaker: Purnima Madhivanan, MBBS, MPH, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Arizona, “Bridging Divides, Building Futures: Advancing Health Equity Through Community-Engaged Research”

10:15 am – Invited speaker: Marissa Becker, MD, FRCPC, MSc, Professor, University of Manitoba, “A Program Science approach for public health: improving equitable population level impact for HIV and STI programs”

11:00 am – Coffee Break

11:20 am – Learner short talk: Bhavya Arora, MA Clinical Psychology student, University of Manitoba, “Perinatal Mental Health Needs of Indian Immigrant Women in Central Canada: Exploring the Accessibility and Acceptability of Mental Health Supports”

11:30 am – Learner short talk: Naomi Gebru, MD Candidate, University of Manitoba, “Barriers and Strategies for Inclusive Reproductive Health Research: A Mixed-Methods Study”

11:40 am – Learner short talk: Adi Keynan, BSc Honours Psychology student, University of Winnipeg, “Trauma, Empowerment, and Resilience: Understanding the Mental Health Concerns of People Living with HIV in Manitoba”

11:50 am – Lunch and Networking Session

Session 2 – Moderators: Dr. Barbara Porto and Chelsea Lukawy

1:10 pm – Invited speaker: Tamara Franklin, PhD, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University, “From male-centric to inclusive: considering sex and gender in brain research”

1:55 pm – Learner short talk: Oluwabunmi Adeyemi, BSc Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Program, University of Manitoba, “Collaboration Station: Exploring Stories for the Co-creation of a Living Lab in Pediatric Rehabilitation and Research”

2:05 pm – Learner short talk: Ruzzell Flores, MSc student, Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba, “Circadian Disruption Exacerbates Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction”

2:15 pm – Learner short talk: Nitesh Sanghai, PhD Candidate, College of Pharmacy, University of Manitoba, “A longitudinal study with a novel molecule reveals sex-specific differences in modifying disease phenotypes in a mouse model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): Introducing BorSanTraZole”

2:25 pm – Coffee Break

2:40 pm – Invited speaker: Jennifer Rabin, PhD, C.Psych, Associate Professor, University of Toronto and Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute, “Sex and enthnoracial disparities in Alzheimer’s disease”

3:25 pm – Invited speaker: Josée G. Lavoie, PhD, Professor, University of Manitoba, “Engaging for better science and outcomes: the Qanuinngitsiarutiksait program of research”

4:10 pm – Closing remarks: Dr. Janilyn Arsenio, WISDOM Chair

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Registration is now open! While the event is at capacity, we are collecting a waitlist.
Link for Registration: https://forms.office.com/r/2wYqsR4y0U

This event is open to everyone, you don’t need to be part of WISDOM or identify as a woman in science to join us. We hope to see you all there for a day of learning and great conversations!

Date

October 30th, 2025
8:30 am – 4:30 pm

Location

Ambassador Banquet & Conference Centre
Second Floor of the Canad Inns Destination Centre Health Sciences Centre
720 William Ave, Winnipeg, MB
The event is located on the second floor of the Canad Inns HSC event centre in the Ambassador room. There is elevator access from the first floor.

Invited Speakers

Dr. Jennifer Rabin
Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Associate Professor, Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto.

Dr. Purnima Madhivanan
MPI/Director of Global Health Emerging Scholars Program; UA Site Director for Fogarty-Fulbright Fellowship, Associate Professor in Health Promotion Sciences at the Mel & Enid College of Public Health at University of Arizona. She is a physician scientist with MPH and PhD in Epidemiology.

Dr. Tamara Franklin
Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University.

Dr. Josée G. Lavoie
Inaugural Dean and Professor in the College of Community and Global Health at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, and past director of Ongomiizwin Research Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing.

Dr. Marissa Becker
Professor at the University of Manitoba, Departments of Community Health Sciences, Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the Director of technical collaborations at the Institute for Global Public Health.

Conference Registration

Link for Registration: https://forms.office.com/r/2wYqsR4y0U

Registration will remain open until capacity is reached; once capacity is reached you can add your name to the waitlist.
Due to the limited space, we kindly ask that if you are unable to attend after registering, you inform us as soon as possible. This will allow us to maximize attendance and ensure that as many people as possible can benefit from this event. Please let us know at wisdommb@umanitoba.ca as soon as possible so we can release your spot to a waitlisted attendee.

Since 2019, WISDOM has aimed to offer a free annual Equity Symposium each Fall. This event features speakers who address the latest issues and opportunities related to equity, access, and participation. It provides a valuable opportunity for learners to gain insights from, engage in discussions with, and network with professionals in the health sciences who are passionate about these crucial topics.

All are welcome!

To read about past Equity Symposiums, visit our Events page.