Clockwise from top left: Trainee flash talk presenters, Sarah Haines, Dylan Kain, trainees discussing a poster and Susan Kutz delivering her keynote presentation.

12 June 2026

By Aideen Teeling 

On May 27th and 28th, the Emerging & Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) hosted the 2026 University of Toronto Microbiology & Infectious Disease (MID) Research Days. The event was organized by EPIC in collaboration with the division of infectious diseases at U of T’s department of medicine, division of infectious diseases at The Hospital for Sick Children, Institute for Health Emergencies and Pandemics and U of T’s postgraduate medical and clinical microbiology programs. 

The two-day event brought together over 550 trainees, faculty and staff from across Toronto to share their research, connect in-person and learn from each other.  

The first day of MID Research Days, fondly known as “Trainee Day”, focuses on undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral and professional trainees presenting their research. Ninety-four abstracts were submitted by trainees, with 10 selected for oral presentations and eight selected for five-minute flash talks. 

The trainee oral presentations covered topics ranging from pathogen evolution studies and point-of-care diagnostics to the development of new therapeutic targets and bacterial systems. In addition, three recipients of the 2026 EPIC Future Leaders Prize — Krithika Muthuraman, Salma Sheikh-Mohamed and Maxine Ty — shared their outstanding doctoral research on antibody-based therapies, infection- and vaccine-induced immunity and the impact of probiotics on the chicken gut microbiome, respectively.  

For the rapid-fire flash talks, trainees, including undergraduate student Will Zhang, had five minutes and one slide to present their research. In one eye-opening talk, Amanda Hempel, a clinical fellow at the University Health Network, shared the case of a Canadian man who acquired leprosy during seasonal travel to Florida, indicating the disease may be endemic in the region. 

New investigators from the EPIC community took centre stage on the second day. 

Alison Hill, an assistant professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology, kicked off the morning session with a presentation on the dynamics of HIV rebound after single and combination immunotherapy. Following her, Matthew McCallum, an assistant professor of laboratory medicine and pathobiology, shared his research using structural biology, immunology and virology to better understand and design vaccine immunogens. Tiffany Fitzpatrick from U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Public Health Ontario rounded off the early morning session with an insightful talk into how epidemiological studies provide evidence for RSV prevention strategies.  

Veterinary parasitologist Susan Kutz from the University of Calgary delivered an exceptional keynote presentation on her federally funded research projects on emerging pathogen surveillance in Nunavut. Through the story of a mass muskoxen die-off in the Arctic, Kutz highlighted the logistical challenges of conducting disease monitoring in some of the most remote parts of Canada and some practical solutions her team co-developed with local Inuit communities. Throughout the talk, she emphasized the importance of a “Two-Eyed Seeing” approach which combines western science with Indigenous ways of knowing to ensure that their efforts address the needs and concerns of the community and contribute to a stronger disease surveillance network.  

Dylan Kain, a new clinician-scientist at the University Health Network, shared his research on single-cell sequencing and human clinical trials to gain new insights into vaccine development for tuberculosis. In the last presentation of the day, Sarah Haines, an assistant professor of civil and mineral engineering, talked about her group’s efforts to study the indoor air microbiome by sampling air filters. 

Engaging discussions from the morning presentations carried on through the lunch break and afternoon poster session. Sixty-eight posters were displayed, representing nearly every faculty and the U of T Mississauga and Scarborough campuses. Congratulations to the winners of the oral and poster presentations and to everyone who shared their research! 

The 2026 U of T Microbiology & Infectious Disease Research Days are generously supported by bioMérieux Canada. We would like to thank all our organizers and collaborators, as well as the abstract selection committee and volunteer judges. We also thank the EPIC Trainee Advisory Committee for their help with event preparation, abstract selection, and for putting together the abstract booklet. 

Oral presentation winners:

Poster presentation winners: