Research Day 2020
November 20, 2020
Climate Change and Sustainable Health Systems
Climate change threatens to undermine the foundations of health and well-being around the world. The pressing issue of environmental sustainability in health care challenges existing conceptions of quality, economic efficiency, equity, and patient empowerment. As the health care industry is a major source of harmful emissions, it’s important to minimize the environmental footprint of health care activities while building new synergies between patient and planetary health. At this year’s IHPME Research Day, we welcome an expert panel and keynote to discuss challenges and opportunities for moving towards environmentally sustainable health care systems
IHPME Research Day is an annual student-led conference that showcases the hard work and ingenuity of our graduate students from both our research and professional degree program streams. Co-led by IHPME graduate students, the event illustrates the Institute’s commitment to fostering intellectual exchange and provides a collaborative environment for all students to come together around a shared goal: making a real change in our health care system.
Over 300 guests attend Research Day each year, including faculty, alumni, and health system leaders from our city.
Register here
Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Jodi Sherman: associate professor, anesthesiology and epidemiology in environmental health sciences; director, Program for Healthcare Environmental Sustainability (PHES), Yale University
Expert Panel – Climate Change and Sustainable Health Systems
Moderator: Dr. Fiona Miller
Dr. Quinn Grundy: assistant professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto

Dr. Kimberly Wintemute: family physician, North York Family Health Team; assistant professor, University of Toronto; Primary Care Lead, Choosing Wisely Canada

Kent Waddington, DBA, MA, CLC: co-founder & communications director, Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care

Dr. Edward Xie: assistant professor, department of family and community medicine, University of Toronto; emergency physician & clinician-investigator, University Health Network
Confirmed Schedule
Opening remarks from IHPME and expert panel discussion (moderated by Dr. Fiona Miller) | 9 – 10 a.m. | |
Virtual poster presentations | all day | |
Morning oral presentations | 11 – 12:30 p.m. | |
LUNCH BREAK (multiple options): | 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. | |
i. 30 – 45 minute yoga session | ||
ii. ELESH workshop: participants will get an overview of the links between health and climate change, how health care contributes to emissions and the role that health care and future leaders play in transforming health systems to be more environmentally sustainable. We will workshop ideas with participants on how the health services and policy research community can respond to the climate crisis in the ways we conduct research, in what research we conduct, and through what we teach and learn. | ||
iii. Small group lunch time socials via Zoom | ||
iv. Take a break from the conference | ||
Afternoon oral presentations | 1:45 – 3:15 p.m. | |
Keynote speaker and awards | 3:30 – 5 p.m. |