Program Details
All times listed in Mountain Time. Program subject to change.
One Health 2026 has been approved for up to 14 hours of continuing professional development for ABVMA members (Veterinarians and Veterinary Technologists).
Monday, March 9
Starting from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Tuesday, March 10
Starting from 09:00 AM
Starting from 10:00 AM
with Conference Co-Chairs, Dr Herman Barkema, Dr Jane Parmley and other special guests
Starting from 11:00 AM
JA (Jaap) Wagenaar, DVM, PhD, Dipl ECVM, Chair in Clinical Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Global organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the Codex Alimentarius Commission have developed guidelines, standards, and tools to support antimicrobial stewardship in food producing animals. The implementation of national and supranational policies based on these frameworks has led to reductions in antimicrobial use in certain parts of the world. However, in regions where the animal population is projected to grow most rapidly in the coming decades- particularly Asia and Africa - governance systems (including regulations and their enforcement) remain comparatively weak. The over the counter availability of antimicrobials, combined with limited involvement of veterinary professionals, increases the risk of misuse and overuse of antimicrobials. What is the way forward, who are the actors, and what can we realistically expect over the next decade regarding restricted use of antimicrobials?
Starting from 12:00 PM
Starting from 1:00 PM
Emerging zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance highlight then need for collaborative, cross-sectoral approaches that bridge human, animal, and environmental health. Surveillance systems are vital for detecting and preventing these threats, but they often depend on complex data streams that can feel distant from the public.
This session explores how citizen science and community engagement can operationalize One Health by directly involving the public in data collection, monitoring, and knowledge exchange. Panelists will discuss how effective science communication and participatory methods can bridge gaps between researchers and communities, enhancing surveillance capacity, building trust, and fostering mutual learning.
Focusing on examples such as ticks and tick-borne diseases, the panel will highlight how inclusive, transparent, and locally grounded engagement can strengthen preparedness and resilience against AMR and zoonotic threats. Participants will gain practical strategies for integrating communication and participation into One Health initiatives to promote more sustainable and collaborative health action across species and sectors.
Speakers:
Citizen science for One Health: Opportunities, contexts, and cautions
Gwendolyn Blue, Professor, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary
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Boots on the Ground: Citizen Science as a Cornerstone of CWHC Wildlife Health Surveillance
Dayna Goldsmith, Associate Instructor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
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Tracking Ticks Together with Community Science
Jeremie Bouffard, etick Project Manager, Bishop's University
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A Pilot Mosquito Surveillance Initiative Investigating a Cluster of Pediatric Encephalitis Cases Caused by California Serogroup Viruses
Anya Smith, Senior Scientist, Communicable Disease Prevention and Response, BC Centre for Disease Control
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Dairy Farmer Engagement in Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs
Tunmise Ehigbor, Phd Student, University Of Prince Edward Island
Starting from 3:00 PM
Starting from 3:30 PM
Genetic Cluster-Based Genotyping Systems are Phylogenetically Incongruent for H5Nx Avian Influenza Virus - Angela McLaughlin, Dalhousie University
Scoping and Prioritizing Emerging One Health Risks in Canada - Sarah Robinson, Simon Fraser University
From Global Expectations to Federal Action: An Examination of Antimicrobial Stewardship Governance in Canada - Shauna Thomas, University of Ottawa
Avian Influenza H5N1 in Ontario: Landscape Epidemiology of Wildlife-to-Poultry Transmission - Amélie Boutin, Carleton University
Prévalence des résidus d'antibiotiques dans les produits avicoles importés à Lubumbashi et implications pour la résistance aux antimicrobiens - Nancy Nswal, Institut Multisectoriel pour l’Amélioration du Bien-Être (IMABE)
Starting from 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Wednesday, March 11
Starting from 07:30 AM
Starting from 08:30 AM
This session will highlight recent progress on implementing the Pan-Canadian Action Plan on AMR, introduce PHAC’s new Environmental Surveillance Strategic Framework for AMR, and present opportunities for moving forward.
Speakers:
Sigrun Kullik, PhD, AMR Task Force, Public Health Agency of Canada
Starting from 09:00 AM
Grounded in a One Health approach, this session brings a fresh perspective on AMR by providing a platform to hear from those who work directly with the Canadian Beef, Dairy and Poultry producers. They will share firsthand insights into how AMR shapes daily decision-making on the farm and directly affects animal health, welfare, and operational sustainability.
Speakers will explore the growing challenges of managing disease as treatment options become increasingly limited, highlighting both the animal-welfare implications and the economic realities faced by producers. Importantly, the session will also showcase success stories - demonstrating how improved stewardship practices, evolving policies, and advances in research are translating into practical, on-farm solutions with benefits across human, animal, and environmental health.
As scientific knowledge and policy frameworks continue to advance, this session emphasizes the critical role producers play in translating these efforts into action. By centering producer voices, the discussion underscores that meaningful progress in addressing AMR depends on collaborative, cross-sector solutions that work in real-world agricultural settings.
Speakers:
Impact of Chicken Farmers of Canada's Responsible Antibiotic Use Strategy on AMR and Production Practices
Rob Renema, PhD, FICN, Farms Programs & Research Manager, Alberta Chicken Producers
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Beef Cattle Industry in Canada and How AMR affects producers
Roy Lewis, Professor, University of Calgary, Lewis Farms
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AMU on dairy farms
Cheryl Schroeder, Senior Advisor, Animal Health, Dairy Farmers of Canada
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Antimicrobial use and resistance in the swine industry in Canada
Riensky Mortier, Veterinarian, Prairie Livestock Veterinarians
Starting from 11:30 AM
Starting from 1:00 PM
As climate change drives intense environmental changes and shifts in biodiversity, very few regions are affected as much as the Canadian Arctic. This presents a great challenge for the indigenous people as their lives, both practically and traditionally, are intertwined with the ecosystem that surrounds them. The combination of high levels of human-wildlife interactions and the technological limitations that impede comprehensive surveillance efforts create an environment that is suitable for a variety of zoonotic diseases to emerge. This session explores these challenges and the work currently being done in Canada to identify emerging zoonoses throughout the Arctic.
Speakers:
When a Muskox Dies on the Tundra, Does Anybody Hear?
Susan Kutz, Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
-----
Surveillance of wildlife zoonoses in the Arctic: challenges and community-based solutions
Patrick Leighton, Professor, Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal
-----
Integrating Pathology and One Health for Wildlife Zoonotic Disease Surveillance in the Canadian Context
Jamie Rothenburger, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
-----
Screening and Analysis of Antibiotic Production by Canadian High Arctic Bacteria
Eszter Farkas, PhD Candidate, Mcgill University
Starting from 2:45 PM
Development of the Theme 1 training competencies for the Canadian AMR Network. These focus on a One Health approach to tackle AMR and represent a set of training competencies for CAN-AMR-Net trainees as well as experienced researchers and other professionals working in the One Health AMR field. This represents the current draft competencies that will be circulated for feedback.
Speaker: Dr Simon Otto, University of Alberta
Starting from 3:00 PM
Starting from 3:30 PM
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an increasingly common tool in research, education, and scientific communication. It offers significant advantages in expanding the accessibility, speed, and scope of knowledge transfer; however, it also presents ethical concerns surrounding reliability, transparency, authorship, and bias. This session will provide an overview of both the opportunities and risks of using AI, specifically in knowledge transfer and communication. Speakers will present emerging practices and recommendations to support the ethical adoption of AI across the AMR-EZ research and training community.
Speakers:
Participatory Governance and Automated Knowledge Translation: Ethical Tensions in AI-Enabled One Health
Kalina Kamenova, Founder & Research Director, Canadian Institute of Genomics and Society
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We’re All First-Generation AI Users: Navigating Ethical AI Use as a Trainee
Jessalyn Holodinsky, Director, Artificial Intelligence & Data Education and Ethics, Cummings School of Medicine
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Lab Validation and Benchmarking of AI Model Predictions for Host-Virus Interactions in SARS-CoV-2
Anjana Puliyanda, Machine Learning Scientist, Drug Discovery, Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute
Starting from 6:30 PM
Starting from 7:00 PM
Join old friends and new for an evening of connection, celebration, and fun. The night begins with a lively reception among the poster displays, followed by a delicious three-course dinner and a special presentation. After dessert, the celebration continues on the dance floor with all your favorite hits.
This event is included in all full registration conference tickets and the Wednesday single day ticket. No extra ticket is required. Dress code is casual.
Thursday, March 12
Starting from 08:00 AM
Starting from 09:00 AM
As the crisis of antimicrobial resistance intensifies, at the same time the pipeline for new antibiotics continues to shrink. It is no longer enough to rely solely on the discovery of novel antibiotics, we need to diversify our strategies. This session will highlight promising alternatives that are advancing through research, development, and adoption. With the added threat of emerging zoonoses that blur the boundaries between human, animal, and environmental health, the urgency for alternatives has never been greater. Drawing on insights from both academia and industry, the discussion will provide a comprehensive view of how these solutions can complement traditional antibiotics in the urgent battle against resistance.
Speakers:
Biological Alternatives to Antibiotics in Animal Health: Phages, Peptides, and Probiotics for Precision Disease Control
Jeroen De Buck, Professor, University of Calgary
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Phage Therapy in Poultry: A Scalable One Health Response to Antibiotic Resistance
Dongyan Xu Niu, Associate Professor, Faculty if Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary
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A Novel Bacteriocin Active Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Jenna Buragina, MSc Student, University of Calgary
-----
Disarming Orthopedic Biofilms through the Design of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides for the Treatment and Prevention of Periprosthetic Joint Infection
Md Ramim Tanver Rahman, Postdoctoral Student, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
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Diversifying Our Arsenal: From Novel Discoveries to Market Reality
Bryan Tennant, Scientific Director, GSK
Starting from 11:30 AM
This presentation will provide an update on the development of Canada’s National One Health AMR Research Strategy, led by CIHR and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. It will summarize the approach used to synthesize evidence across human, animal, and environmental health sectors; highlight the emergent short list of research priorities informed by national consultations; and also outline cross-cutting themes.
Starting from 12:00 PM
Starting from 1:00 PM
Advances in genomic sequencing and data handling and processing technologies have revolutionized our ability to detect and characterize antimicrobial resistance. This session will showcase how these technologies are being implemented from the benchtop to clinical practice and surveillance to inform antimicrobial stewardship. The session will demonstrate how genomics can guide best practices in provincial diagnostic laboratories and enhance national initiatives such as CIPARS, Canada’s integrated program for antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
Speakers:
Carbapenemase-producing organisms: scourges among us
Matthew Croxen, Associate Professor, University of Alberta
-----
Integrating Clinical and Wastewater Genomics: Early Insights into MRSA Antimicrobial Resistance
Jennifer Guthrie, Canada Research Chair in Pathogen Genomics and Bioinformatics, Western University
-----
Metagenomic Insights for Antimicrobial Management in Beef Production: Timing, Targets, and Predictive Value
Cheryl Waldner, Professor/Research Chair. University of Saskatchewan-----
Optimizing Culture-Enriched Metagenomics and Hybrid Metagenomics Protocols for Evaluating the AMR Footprint of Livestock Manure
Nahidur Rahman, Phd Student, University of Manitoba
-----
Poultry barn dust as a population level diagnostic tool to routinely monitor pathogens and antimicrobial resistance
Lahiru Wenaida Waduge, Masters Student, University of Calgary
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Rapid Prediction of Antimicrobial Resistance with Direct Sequencing Combined with Neighbour Typing Algorithms
Andrew Purssell, Transplant Infectious Disease Specialist, The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa
Starting from 4:00 PM