2023 Event Recap
Event Recording
Event Photos
Photo Credit: Niki Akbarian
Moderator
Dr. Denis Collier
Registered Dietician and Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Denis Collier attended Memorial University of Newfoundland where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a specialty in dietetics. He has been registered with the College of Dietitians of Ontario since 2002. In 2003 he obtained a Master’s degree in Kinesiology from Lakehead University where he earned the designation a Certified Exercise Physiologist. In his private practice, he has offered nutrition consulting services to organizations such as Hockey Canada’s national women’s developmental program and the Athlete’s Village 20 of the Toronto Pan Am Games. He has since taught dozens of courses at Humber College, the University of Guelph-Humber and the University of Toronto.
Speakers
Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy
Professor and Associate Chair of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto
Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy is a Professor and Associate Chair of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and held a Canada Research Chair in Nutrigenomics. He is also the founder of Nutrigenomix Inc. and serves as the company’s Chief Science Officer. Dr. El-Sohemy obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and has given more than 300 invited talks around the world. His research has garnered considerable media attention over the past 20 years and he is the recipient of several awards for excellence in research by the American College of Nutrition, the Canadian Nutrition Society, and the American Nutrition Association.
Dr. Karen Davison
Researcher, Institute for Life Course & Aging at the University of Toronto
Dr. Karen Davison is a researcher and works in clinical dietetics practice with individuals diagnosed with mental and cognitive health conditions including traumatic brain injuries. As a health educator, practitioner, and researcher, Karen has been involved with several initiatives that have advanced health practice among diverse populations. She is an alumna of two Canadian Institutes for Health Research fellowship programs and recipient of Popular Science’s Magazine Clinical Leader Recognition Award. She also received a Dietitians of Canada Peer Recognition Award for her work in nutrition and mental health. Karen is currently an Academic Editor for PLoS One, an inductee in the College of New Scholars, Scientists, and Artists of the Royal Society of Canada, and an elected member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. Her research interests include nutrition and its relationships with physical, mental, and cognitive health including interventions that may be used to improve chronic disease prevention and management.
Dr. P. Ravi Selvaganapathy
Distinguished Engineering Professor in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University
Dr. P. Ravi Selvaganapathy is a Distinguished Engineering Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University. Previously, he was the Canada Research Chair in Biomicrofluidics. His research interests are in microfluidic devices for environmental and medical diagnostics, drug discovery, artificial organs, and tissue engineering. He has more than 20 years of extensive experience in micromanufacturing, microfluidics, and materials development which has resulted in ~170 journal publications, 70 conference publications, 35 invited talks, and 8 patents. Over the past decade, his research group has developed several biofabrication technologies, some of which have been applied to produce cultured meat composed of skeletal muscle and fat cells. He has received the first tri-agency funding in the field of cultured meat in Canada through the New Frontiers program.
Dr. Sarah Elton
Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Toronto Metropolitan University
Dr. Sarah Elton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Toronto Metropolitan University and is the founding director of the Food Health Ecosystems Lab. She also holds an appointment at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, where she completed her Ph.D. in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (2019). Dr. Elton and her team research the human-ecosystems-health nexus in three contexts: produce supply chains, urban gardens, and the human gut microbiome. In 2021, Dr. Elton won an inaugural Gairdner Foundation Early Career Investigator Award. She is the author of several award-winning books including Consumed: Food for a Finite Planet.
UofT Talks 