Date: June 17 & 18, 2026
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: Delta Hotels Toronto Mississauga | 3670 Hurontario St, Mississauga, ON
The Network for Healthy Populations is pleased to host the NHP Discovery Summit 2026, a two-day gathering focused on community-based approaches to improving population health and advancing health equity across Peel Region.
This year’s summit will bring together community leaders, policymakers, researchers, public health professionals, healthcare partners, and local organizations to share insights, highlight emerging initiatives, and explore practical strategies for strengthening health and well-being in communities.
Program highlights include keynote presentations on diabetes prevention, population health, and community learning, as well as panel discussions on sustainability, scaling, AI, data, and the future of health planning. The summit will also feature Catalyst Grants symposia, research presentations, poster sessions, workshops, and opportunities for continued conversation and cross-sector learning.
Summit Objectives
The NHP Discovery Summit aims to:
- Showcase innovative community-based health initiatives that are improving health and well-being across Peel Region.
- Explore how partnerships among communities, researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers can strengthen the impact, sustainability, and scalability of local health programs.
- Share emerging research, promising practices, and current and future initiatives supported by the Network.
- Foster collaboration, networking, and cross-sector learning to advance community health and health equity.
Agenda
Day 1: Wednesday, June 17
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Time |
Item |
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8:30am - 9:00am |
Registration and Breakfast |
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9:00am - 9:15am |
Traditional Opening Stephanie Hashie |
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9:15am – 9:30am |
Welcome and NHP Overview Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe |
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9:30am - 10:30am |
Keynote: The Evolving Science and Epidemiology of Diabetes: Implications for Prevention Dr. Mohammed K. Ali |
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10:30am - 11:15am |
Catalyst Grants Symposium 1: Advancing Diabetes Prevention in Peel: Community-Driven and Culturally Tailored Strategies |
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11:15am - 11:30am |
Break & Posters |
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11:30am - 12:00pm |
Presentation: MOSAIC-T2D: A Precision Participatory and Multi-Level Approach for Understanding and Preventing Type 2 Diabetes Inequities Dr. Laura C. Rosella |
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12:00pm - 12:45pm |
Lunch |
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12:45pm – 1:45pm |
Panel: Health Beyond the Pilot: A Conversation about Sustainability, Measurement and Scaling Dr. Mohammed K. Ali, Jo Jewell, Dr. Aisha K. Lofters and Amanda O’Rourke |
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1:45pm – 2:00pm |
Break & Posters |
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2:00pm – 2:45pm |
Catalyst Grants Symposium 2: Growing Equity: Nutrition Education Projects and Community Garden Projects as Tools for Health Impact |
Workshop A: Shaping the Future of the NHP Catalyst Grant Program |
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2:45pm – 3:00pm |
Break & Posters |
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3:00pm – 3:45pm |
Catalyst Grants Symposium 3: Equity in Action: Tailoring Health Education for Aging and Underserved Populations |
Workshop A: Shaping the Future of the NHP Catalyst Grant Program (Continued) |
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3:45pm - 4:00pm |
Closing Remarks, Evaluation |
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Day 2: Thursday, June 18
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Time |
Item |
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8:45am - 9:15am |
Registration and Breakfast |
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9:15am - 9:30am |
Welcoming Remarks Her Worship Carolyn Parrish, Mayor of the City of Mississauga |
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9:30am - 10:30am |
Keynote: The Promise of Learning Together: Mississauga’s Journey Jo Jewell, Rob Trewartha and Karen Gomez |
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10:30am - 11:05am |
Presentation: Ontario Health’s Diabetes Strategic Initiatives: Current State and Future Opportunities Ryan Emond and Amy Mayer |
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11:05am - 11:15am |
Break & Posters |
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11:15am - 11:45am |
Presentation: Prevention Across the Life Course: Building Healthier Futures in Peel Region Paul Sharma and Greg Kujbida |
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11:45am – 12:15pm |
Catalyst Grants Symposium 4: Navigating Better Care: Innovation in Diabetes Screening, Pathways, and Community Support |
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12:15pm – 1:00pm |
Lunch |
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1:00pm – 1:45pm |
Panel: Evidence at Scale: AI, Data and the Future of Health Planning Dr. Astrid Guttmann, Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, Dr. Laura C. Rosella and Mehdi Somji |
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1:45pm – 2:00pm |
Break & Posters |
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2:00pm – 2:45pm |
Presentation: Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga – Why Schools are the Foundation for Belonging, Well-Being, and Community Health Tammy Shubat |
Workshop B: Shaping the Future of the NHP Catalyst Grant Program |
Catalyst Grants Symposium 5: Co-Creating Knowledge: Innovative Tools for Community-Led Health Impact |
Continued Conversations: Student/Early Career Researchers |
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2:45pm – 3:00pm |
Break |
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3:00pm – 3:45pm |
Presentation: Relational Ethics and Community-based Participatory Health Research: Partnerships, Tensions and Lessons Learned from The Family and Child Health Initiative (FCHI) Dr. Dianne Fierheller, Dr. Ian Zenlea, Gabrielle Griffith, Jamaul Taylor and Angela Carter |
Workshop B: Shaping the Future of the NHP Catalyst Grant Program (Continued) |
Presentations: Shaping Healthier Futures: Student Research and Innovation Showcase
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Continued Conversations: Community Partners |
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3:45pm - 4:00pm |
Closing Remarks, Evaluation |
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If you have any questions about this event, please contact the Network's assistant, Lydia Henderson, at director.novonordiskhp@utoronto.ca.