2025 Alberta Innovative Trials and Health Research Methods Symposium
October 15, 2025 | Red & White Club
Symposium sessions to be held in person at the Red & White Club with a poster competition and cocktail reception following the formal program. The cocktail reception is a cash bar with snacks provided.
About the Symposium
Innovative clinical trials are key to improving health outcomes—but are often complex to design, implement and analyze. To meet these challenges, researchers are turning to novel methods that generate real-world evidence on scalable treatments, programs, and interventions. To maximize impact, these trials must be embedded in strong implementation science and knowledge mobilization frameworks—ensuring research findings translate into policy, practice, and equitable decision-making.
The Alberta Innovative Trials and Health Research Methods Symposium brings together the health research community to share experiences and strategies for designing, conducting and analyzing deliver innovative trials that improve health and health systems in Canada and beyond.
2025 Theme: Bringing Evidence Into Practice
Join us for dynamic presentations, shared strategies, and community-driven solutions that turn data into action.
Agenda
| Time | Description |
|---|---|
| 8:15 am – 9:00 am | Registration & Breakfast |
| 9:00 am – 9:15 am | Welcome and Opening Prayer Elder Jackie Bromley, Kainai Nation |
| 9:15 am – 9:35 am | Dr. Maoliosa Donald, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Calgary |
| 9:35 am – 10:50 am | Implementation Science Panel Dr. Amity Quinn, Health Economist and Health Services Researcher & Co-Director, Health Policy Trials Unit Dr. Tyrone Harrison, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine Maria Dalton, Clinical Research Coordinator, APPROACH Sarina Aryal, Research Associate, Departments of Medicine and Surgery |
| 10:50 am – 11:05 am | Break |
| 11:05 am – 11:50 am | Keynote – Dr. Justin Presseau, Associate Professor, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute |
| 11:50 am – 1:00 pm | Lunch |
| 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm | Keynote – Dr. Khara Sauro, Associate Professor, University of Calgary |
| 1:45 pm – 2:45 pm | Workshop: Engaging with Self Prior to Indigenous Health Research: Heart Knowledge Translation Dr. Richard Oster, Scientific Director, Indigenous Wellness Core, Primary Care Alberta Kienan Williams, Indigenous Wellness Core, Primary Care Alberta |
| 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm | Break |
| 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm | Patient Participants Experience - Panel |
| 3:45 pm – 4:05 pm | Mark Leduc, Senior Director, Acute Care Alberta |
| 4:05 pm – 4:20 pm | Wrap Up and Closing Prayer Elder Jackie Bromley, Kainai Nation |
| 4:20 pm – 5:30 pm | Poster Session & Cocktail Reception |
Keynote Speakers
Justin Presseau
Justin Presseau, PhD, is Director of the Methodological and Implementation Research program and Centre for Implementation Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and Associate Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. He also co-leads knowledge mobilization and implementation science committees within Accelerating Clinical Trials (ACT) Canada, the IMAGINE SPOR network and the Chronic Pain Network (CPN). His research program draws from behavioural and implementation science to support the health and well-being of patients, the public, and supporting health providers in the health care system to provide high quality care.
Khara Sauro
Dr. Khara Sauro is an Associate Professor and Ohlson Professor of Head & Neck Health Services Research in the Departments of Surgery, Community Health Sciences and Oncology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Sauro’s research focuses on improving the quality and safety of care for patients, especially those who undergo major surgical treatment. She is interested in using routinely collected administrative data to assess healthcare quality and in applying knowledge translation and quality improvement methods to enhance health care delivery.
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