Events

Christine Elliott, Board Chair, HRF; Counsel, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Christine Elliott, former Ontario Minister of Health and Deputy Premier, is Counsel with the Fasken Health Law group in our Toronto office. With over 15 years of experience in public service, she is ideally positioned to assist clients with navigating existing and emerging complexities in the healthcare space. 

During her tenure as Ontario’s Minister of Health from 2018 to 2022, Christine played an integral part in overseeing the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this role, she also sponsored The People’s Health Care Act and enacted the Connecting Care Act. The Connecting Care Act gave rise to Ontario Health, a Crown agency that merged the 14 Local Health Integration Network and other agencies including Cancer Care Ontario, Gift of Life Network, eHealth Ontario and HealthForce Ontario in order to facilitate integrated care delivery systems also known as local Ontario Health teams. Christine also served as Ontario’s Deputy Premier (2018 to 2022) and as Ontario’s first Patient Ombudsman (2016 to 2018).

Christine, along with her husband James Flaherty (Jim) was a founding partner of Flaherty, Dow, Elliott & McCarthy. Later, Christine and Jim co-founded Abilities Centre in Whitby, Ontario, which supports and celebrates the abilities of all people and is a place where everyone belongs, regardless of their challenges. In addition, she has held positions on a range of boards in the health care sector since becoming involved as a volunteer with several charities including the Lakeridge Health Whitby Foundation, Durham Mental Health Services, and Grandview Children’s Centre.

Dr. Bettina Hamelin, PharmD, EMBA, is a globally renowned researcher and esteemed life sciences executive, who brings over 30 years of experience in academia, industry, and not-for-profit organizations to her current role as President of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC).

In this role, Dr. Hamelin is dedicated to enhancing access to innovative medicines for Canadians, while advancing Canada’s position as an attractive destination for life sciences investments, high-value jobs, and new clinical trials. Driven by her unwavering commitment to improving the health and well-being of all Canadians, Dr. Hamelin firmly believes collaboration and partnership are essential to the future of healthcare innovation in Canada. Having acquired an Executive MBA in Healthcare from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, she is uniquely positioned to work alongside health system stakeholders to find novel solutions to complex challenges. 

Prior to joining IMC, Dr. Hamelin was the President and CEO of Ontario Genomics for over six transformative years. Here, she not only established the organization as Canada’s preeminent force in engineering biology on the world stage, but also cultivated an ecosystem that was conducive to the development and commercialization of cutting-edge Canadian innovations.

Dr. Hamelin’s illustrious career includes serving as the Vice-President of Research Partnerships at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), where she led a 130-member team to spearhead a robust research and innovation investment strategy. She also held pivotal leadership roles at BioChem Pharma and Pfizer Inc., pioneering novel public-private partnership models that propelled research and innovation forward, and was a tenured professor at Université Laval.

Dr. Hamelin is fluently trilingual and holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kentucky, US.

With her wealth of expertise, purpose-driven leadership, and passion for driving positive change in the pharmaceutical, health, and life sciences sectors, Dr. Hamelin stands as a trusted leader, poised to make enduring contributions to the health of Canadians and the vibrancy of Canada’s research and innovation ecosystems.

Imtiaz Daniel, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer, Ontario Hospital Association 

Over the past three decades, Imtiaz Daniel has dedicated his career to strengthening Ontario’s health system through innovation, financial stewardship and collaboration. As Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer at the Ontario Hospital Association, he leads bold initiatives that help hospitals navigate change and embrace new models of care. His work has shaped major health funding reform, improved financial resilience, and advanced performance measurement, capacity planning, and value-based care across Ontario health providers. 

A passionate educator, Imtiaz teaches and mentors at the University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University, inspiring future leaders in health finance and policy. Serving on the boards of two major hospital systems, Lakeridge Health and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, his governance and financial expertise guide health care delivery in Durham Region, underscoring his commitment to governance, risk, and accountability. Recognized for his ability to combine technical precision with compassion and vision, Imtiaz is using his CPA skill set to help Ontario’s health system meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Jennifer Zelmer, President & CEO, Healthcare Excellence Canada 

Dr. Jennifer Zelmer is the inaugural President and CEO of Healthcare Excellence Canada, which focuses on shaping a future where everyone in Canada has safe, high-quality healthcare. Jennifer is also the President of the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research, a C.D. Howe Research Fellow, and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Victoria, as well as a member of several health-related advisory committees and boards. 

Previously, as President of Azimuth Health Group, Dr. Zelmer was a strategic advisor to leaders who sought to advance health and healthcare at local, national, and international levels. Before that, she held senior leadership positions with Canada Health Infoway, the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization, and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. 

Dr. Zelmer received her PhD and MA in economics from McMaster University and her B.Sc. in health information science from the University of Victoria.

Kathy Malas, Chief Quality, Innovation, Value and Innovation Officer and Director of OROT (Connected Health Innovation Incubator) at the Santé Québec West Central Montreal and the Jewish General Hospital University Centre

Kathy Malas is the Director Quality, Intelligence and Value and Chief AI and Innovation Officer of OROT (Connected Health Innovation Incubator) at the Santé Québec West Central Montreal and the Jewish General Hospital University Centre.  

She is currently leading an innovative and ambitious strategy and roadmap for a responsible AI-First Organization. A visionary health leader, she previously led research, innovation, learning, digital and AI transformation at CISSS Montérégie-Ouest and at the CHUM, where she spearheaded the Responsible AI Strategy that earned the title of Canada’s Smartest Hospital in 2021 for the CHUM.  

She co-created Québec’s first hospital-based innovation and AI teams and has received multiple innovation awards. 

As an adjunct professor at HEC Montréal and a Program Director for Health Research at the Lady Davis Institute, she explores how innovation and AI can be integrated into practices and organizations to create sustainable value. She fosters open, interdisciplinary ecosystems to drive impact for patients, healthcare teams, and society. A speech-language pathologist by training; she also holds a certificate in health management from McGill. Her leadership is rooted in human values, continuous learning, and the creation of meaningful value to transform health and improve people’s lives. 

Muhammad Mamdani, Board Member, HRF, Director, Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM) – University of Toronto, Clinical Lead, AI – Ontario Health, Faculty Affiliate – Vector Institute, Professor – University of Toronto

Dr. Mamdani, PharmD, MA, MPH, is Clinical Lead – Artificial Intelligence at Ontario Health and Director of the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM). Previously, Dr. Mamdani was Vice President of Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto where his team deployed over 50 AI solutions to improve patient outcomes and hospital efficiency. Dr. Mamdani is also Professor in the Department of Medicine of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He is also an Affiliate Scientist at IC/ES and a Faculty Affiliate of the Vector Institute.  

In 2024, Dr. Mamdani’s team received the national Solventum Health Care Innovation Team Award by the Canadian College of Health Leaders. Also in 2024, Dr. Mamdani was named international AI Leader of the Year by AIMed.  Previously, Dr. Mamdani was named among Canada’s Top 40 under 40. He has published over 600 studies in peer-reviewed medical journals. Dr. Mamdani obtained a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and completed a fellowship in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research at the Detroit Medical Center. During his fellowship, Dr. Mamdani obtained a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Wayne State University with a concentration in econometric theory. He then completed a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University with a concentration in quantitative methods. 

Noah Ivers, Family Physician, WCH Academic FHT, Professor, University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair, Implementation of Evidence-based Practice 

Noah Ivers (MD, CCFP, PhD) is a family physician at Women’s College Hospital and scientist at Women’s College Research Institute, where he leads a research program in implementation science, focusing on the use of data to drive evidence-based, patient-centred improvements in healthcare. He is also a Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, where he is also the Scientific Lead for the Office of Health System Partnerships. He also has cross-appointments at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and the Institute for Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto and is an adjunct scientist at ICES. He holds a Canada Research Chair in the Implementation of Evidence Based Practice.  

Fahad Razak is an internist at St Michael’s Hospital, Vice President for Vital Health System and Data Innovation at Unity Health Toronto, Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute, Provincial Clinical Lead at Ontario Health and Canada Research Chair in Data-Informed Health Care Improvement at the University of Toronto.  

He co-founded GEMINI, the largest hospital research network in Canada, and has received over $310 million in funding as Principal Investigator. GEMINI is used by an active community of more than 1000 scientists, and health system leaders. He is co-leading the expansion of GEMINI to become pan-Canadian platform called “VITAL” that will cover >80% of the Canadian population through a landmark $210M investment from federal and provincial sources – the largest investment in Canadian history in health data innovation. 

Dr Razak completed a degree in Engineering Science and Medical Doctorate at the University of Toronto, and was the first physician appointed as the David E. Bell Fellow at Harvard University. He served as Scientific Director for the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table and contributed to over 50 science and policy briefs that shaped Canada’s response to the pandemic. He was a member of the Federal Expert Panel on Science Advisory and Research convened by Health Canada – “the Walport Panel” – the only Federal review of the pandemic. He is Vice President for Research at the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, inaugural Chair of the Advisory Committee for Science at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and on the advisory board of the BMJ. He has received three major mentorship awards, include the inaugural Canadian Society for Internal Medicine National Award for Mentorship, and is a two-time recipient of the Teaching Award for Excellence from the University of Toronto.  

Gary Ryan,Vice President, Operations, CAN Health Network

Gary Ryan is currently the Vice President Operations for the CAN Health Network. The Network is a pan-Canadian health care network focused on finding and scaling Canada’s most promising health care companies. 
 
Prior to this current position Gary was the Chief Innovation Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre and in that role he led Southlake’s Research/Innovation Department in finding and testing new healthcare technologies at CreateItNow, Southlake’s health care incubator. 
 
Prior to that role Gary previously held a range of positions at Southlake including Chief Operating Officer (COO), Vice President of Acute Services and Director of Paramedical Services. Gary also held other positions including Corporate Secretary to the Board of Southlake Residential Care Village and CEO and President of Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston, Ontario. 
 
Gary graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and obtained a Master of Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Toronto. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto.  

Bradly Wouters, Vice President, Operations, CAN Health Network

Dr. Bradly Wouters is an internationally recognized leader and cancer researcher.  He became Executive Vice President of Science and Research at UHN in 2016 and prior to that served as the Interim Director of Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre since 2014. He joined UHN in 2008 as Senior Scientist and Director of the Princess Margaret Hypoxia Program, and has held faculty appointments at the University of Toronto in the Department of Medical Biophysics and the Department of Radiation Oncology since that time. Prior to joining UHN, Dr. Wouters was Professor and Head of Experimental Radiation Oncology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. As EVP of Science and Research, Dr. Wouters is focused on creating an environment that incentivizes, facilitates, and rewards excellence in basic, translational, and clinical research across all elements of UHN.  

Helen Angus, Board Member, HRF, CEO, AMS Healthcare

Helen is a former Ontario Deputy Minister of Health and former co-chair of the Canadian Council of Deputy Ministers of Health. 

Helen is the chair of the board of Public Health Ontario and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.  Helen is a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.  Helen also serves on the Board of Unity Health in Toronto. 

Helen is the CEO at AMS Healthcare, an Ontario-based charity that advances compassionate leadership in healthcare though fellowships and grants.  AMS Healthcare also funds Research Chairs in the History of Medicine at Universities across Canada. 

Helen has a demonstrated ability to lead complex organizations and inspire others to drive systems-level change.  She had a 30-year progressive career in the public sector including 20 years working in the Government of Ontario, ten years working at Cancer Care Ontario as well as four years in management consulting.  From June 2018 to September 2021 Helen served as Ontario’s Deputy Minister of Health and led the initial health response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as an ambitious health sector modernization agenda.  During her time with the Ontario Government, Helen also served as the Deputy Minister of Treasury Board, Citizenship, Immigration and international Trade, Seniors Affairs and Women’s Issues.

Gail Attara, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Gastrointestinal Society 

Gail Attara is the chief executive officer of the Gastrointestinal Society (www.badgut.org). She began in 1996 as Executive Director of the organization’s sister charity, The Canadian Society of Intestinal Research, and led that organization from a small BC charity into a national presence before co-founding the GI Society in 2008. She is also CSIR’s president. The two organizations work together to advocate and disseminate evidence-based information in various formats for individuals living with gastrointestinal, obesity, and liver conditions, including related cancers and rare conditions. She is also enthusiastic about expanding the network of knowledgeable patient advocates working in health. 

Chandi Chandrasena, Chief Medical Officer, OntarioMD

Dr. Chandrasena joined OntarioMD (OMD) as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in 2021. She is a family physician practicing in Ottawa for almost 20 years and a former OMD Physician Peer Leader who has mentored many of her colleagues to use EMRs and digital health tools effectively to enhance patient care. As CMO, she provides clinical advice at provincial and national tables and clinician advisory groups and is instrumental in forging system-level partnerships.

Nicole Mittmann, Chief Scientist and Vice President of Evidence
Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Journal of Health Technologies

Dr. Nicole Mittmann is the Chief Scientist and Vice President of Evidence at Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC). At CDA-AMC, Dr. Mittmann leads the Science and Methods, Health Economics, Research Information Sciences, Data and Analytics, and international teams. In her Chief Scientist role, Dr. Mittmann is responsible for ensuring that CDAAMC actively learns, ensures rigour and quality, mobilizes evidence, and links science to strategy. In her role, Nicole leads CDA-AMC’s shared science groups, including the Science and Methods (including Scientific Advice and Real-World Evidence), Health Economics, Research Information Services and Data and Analytics. Here, she links, leverages and liberates data and evidence into policy. Dr. Mittmann holds a master’s and doctorate degrees in pharmacology from the University of Toronto and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto, with a joint appointment at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. She is also an Associate Scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. She has led and contributed to major research in economic evaluation, outcomes research, drug safety, and patient safety. Her research methodologies include large database analysis, economic methods, and decision analysis.

Bryan Tennant, Scientific Director – Canada, Medical Affairs, GSK Canada 

Bryan Tennant, CD PhD, is Scientific Director at GSK Canada, where he works with academic researchers, biotechnology companies, healthcare leaders, and scientific experts to advance innovation and foster strategic partnerships that improve patient outcomes. Since joining GSK in 2016, he has held leadership roles spanning oncology, vaccines, and corporate scientific affairs, with responsibilities ranging from scientific engagement and medical strategy to healthcare system collaboration and external innovation. 

Bryan holds a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of British Columbia and an MSc in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Simon Fraser University. He is passionate about translating scientific discovery into meaningful healthcare impact through cross-sector collaboration and evidence-based decision-making.

Helen Angus, Board Member, HRF, CEO, AMS Healthcare

Helen is a former Ontario Deputy Minister of Health and former co-chair of the Canadian Council of Deputy Ministers of Health. 

Helen is the chair of the board of Public Health Ontario and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.  Helen is a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.  Helen also serves on the Board of Unity Health in Toronto. 

Helen is the CEO at AMS Healthcare, an Ontario-based charity that advances compassionate leadership in healthcare though fellowships and grants.  AMS Healthcare also funds Research Chairs in the History of Medicine at Universities across Canada. 

Helen has a demonstrated ability to lead complex organizations and inspire others to drive systems-level change.  She had a 30-year progressive career in the public sector including 20 years working in the Government of Ontario, ten years working at Cancer Care Ontario as well as four years in management consulting.  From June 2018 to September 2021 Helen served as Ontario’s Deputy Minister of Health and led the initial health response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as an ambitious health sector modernization agenda.  During her time with the Ontario Government, Helen also served as the Deputy Minister of Treasury Board, Citizenship, Immigration and international Trade, Seniors Affairs and Women’s Issues.