Welcome to the human side of zoonotic disease research.

Kossi Adandjesso is a member of the 2026 planning committee.

Manon Boiteux is a PhD student in One Health at the Université de Montréal. She holds a master’s degree in environmental science and previously worked as a research advisor at the UdeM’s Vice-Rectorate for Research. She is actively involved in the One Health Student Club and the development of new training programs at UdeM. Her doctoral research, conducted within the Chaire d’Excellence de Recherche en Une Seule Santé Urbaine and the PARCS en Santé project, focuses on evaluating citizen science as a participatory tool to prevent tick-borne diseases and help conserve peri-urban ecosystems.

Dr. Bouchard manages the Ticks and Tick-borne diseases unit within the Public Health Risk Sciences division and she is a professor adjunct at Université de Montréal. Since completing her PhD at Université de Montréal (2014), Dr. Bouchard has worked in the field of vector-borne zoonoses and has created a comprehensive and creative research program in the field of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) that are emerging in response to changes in the climate and the environment. Her research is dedicated to improving the prevention and response toward emerging, re-emerging and/or endemic TBDs. Her research program is organized into four research axis: (1) Integrated risk assessment, (2) Understanding infection dynamics in natural hosts and the environment, (3) Optimizing integrated/One Health surveillance approaches, and (4) Innovation in risk reduction and health promotion.

Natasha Bowser is the program manager for the Canadian One Heath Training Program on Emerging Zoonoses. She is also a veterinarian and PhD candidate in veterinary sciences (epidemiology option) at l’Université de Montréal. Natasha has contributed to the organisation of previous TickNet symposia and co-led the Trainee Advancement Committee of CLyDRN. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London (UK), and a Master’s degree in One Health from the University of Edinburgh.

Stephanie Cooper has been the Regional Administrator for eTick in British Columbia for the past 3 years maintaining the tick passive surveillance submissions for the province. She also completes yearly active tick surveillance in the lower mainland and Gulf Islands for the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network’s CaLSeN project. She has an MSc in Health Science and a BSc in Biological Sciences both from Simon Fraser University.

Veronica is the Network Manager for CLyDRN.

Stefan Iwasawa

Stefan Iwasawa is the vector specialist at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and a project coordinator at the Centre for Coastal Health (CCH). At the CCH he’s spent the last 16 years working in the field of Veterinary epidemiology that has seen him work on a wide variety of topics.

Tiff-Annie Kenny

Tiff-Annie Kenny is a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montréal. Her research in public and planetary health takes a transdisciplinary and participatory approach, focusing on climate-sensitive health risks, food systems, and post-infectious conditions in partnership with Indigenous communities and patient partners. Living with a chronic neuro-immune condition, her current work also explores epistemic justice and the integration of lived experience in health research.

Manisha Kulkarni

Manisha Kulkarni is a Professor at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa with expertise in medical entomology, disease ecology and spatial epidemiology. She is the Scientific Director of the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (CLyDRN) / TickNet Canada and holds a University Research Chair in Climate Change and Emerging Diseases. Her research investigates the socio-ecological determinants of vector-borne disease emergence and risk in global settings, including tick-bone diseases in Canada and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, and the evaluation of interventions to improve disease prevention and control.

Patrick Leighton

Patrick Leighton is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montréal, and Director of the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (CLyDRN). His research focuses on the ecology and epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, with an emphasis on vector-borne diseases and the use of epidemiological models to predict future disease risk. Over the past decade he has used surveillance and modelling to better understand the geographic spread of Lyme disease risk, and the impact of climate warming on the emergence of tick-borne diseases in Canada.

Courtney Loomer

Courtney Loomer is a Senior Biologist at the National Microbiology Laboratory, a branch of the Public Health Agency of Canada and has worked in the Field Studies section for the past 13 years. She works primarily with vector-borne diseases in both research and diagnostic capacities having experience in both the Field and the lab. She has a BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Victoria.

Roman Mckay

Dr. Roman McKay is the Senior Lab Coordinator at the INSIGHT Lab at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He is also the Field Coordinator of the Canadian Lyme Disease Research Network (CaLSeN). His research focuses on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, the geographic distribution of disease vectors, arthropod-host interactions, and the assessment of vector potential and capacity. Dr. McKay contributes to several initiatives, including the CLYDRN-CaLSeN network, the eTick public identification platform, and various local laboratory projects. He also coordinates field research efforts related to Lyme disease.

Muhammad Morshed

Muhammad Morshed is a clinical microbiologist and the program head of zoonotic diseases, emerging pathogens and parasitology at the BCCDC Laboratory. He is also a clinical professor in the UBC Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

Kirsten Noltie

Kirsten Noltie is a PhD candidate in Geography at Queen’s University. She has worked on a variety of applications in geographic information science (GIS) including geology, mining, forestry, and environmental sustainability. Her research examines climate change driven shifts to blacklegged tick phenology using surveillance and spatiotemporal modeling.

Michala Norman completed her Masters of Public Health at the University of Ottawa in June 2024. She is currently involved in tick-borne disease research and surveillance projects aimed at assessing the environmental risks for disease transmission in Ottawa.

Dena Palamedes, BA CPA CIA CFE CCSA CRMA is a CLyDRN Patient Partner. She retired as Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive from Canada Border Services Agency in 2016, after over thirty-six years working in various federal departments. She is active in the Institute of Internal Auditors, teaches and consults part-time in the areas of Internal Audit, Risk Management, Governance, Control & Change Management.

Quinn Stewart

Quinn Stewart is an Epidemiologist on the Enteric, Zoonotic, and Vector-Borne Diseases team at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). She has a BSc in Biology and Human Geography and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of British Columbia.

Cindy Thorburn

Cindy Caron Thorburn is Chair of Caron Thorburn Institute, a family foundation focused on education and healthcare research.  With a professional background in financial services, she has decades of experience serving on charitable boards, and she is presently a Director and Chair of Audit and Risk for The King’s Trust Canada.  Living with the aftermath of Lyme Disease herself, she is committed to research and awareness around the disease, including as a Member of the Advisory Board of the University of Guelph’s College of Biological Sciences. 

Terrie Wainwright

Terrie Wainwright is a CLyDRN Patient Partner and member of the CLyDRN Executive Committee, CLyDRN Network Leads Committee, CLyDRN Patient & Community Advisory Committee, and involved in various CLyDRN pillar activities.