Sharifullah Wahdati is a global health and nutrition professional with extensive experience in development and humanitarian contexts, particularly in low-resource and conflict-affected settings. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, focusing on community-based nutrition interventions in conflict-affected countries like Afghanistan. His research also explores the impacts of climate change on healthcare delivery in South Asia.
Sharif is the co-founder and Senior Advisor at the Afghanistan Institute of Nutrition and Home Economics (AINHE), where he leads innovative programs to strengthen health and nutrition systems. His work includes implementing capacity-building initiatives, generating evidence on social and behavior change (SBC), and promoting sustainable practices across Afghanistan's 34 provinces. He has consulting services to global health and development organizations, including UNDP, FAO, DAI, Acasus and others.
A passionate advocate for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sharif's efforts focus on reducing malnutrition, promoting equitable access to healthcare, and enhancing resilience in vulnerable communities. With a strong background in policy development, program implementation, and capacity building, he actively collaborates with international agencies and academia to drive impactful and sustainable change in health and nutrition.
Dr. Kristina Kokorelias works as the Program Manager and Associate Scientist for the Department of Medicine’s Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics Program at Sinai Health and the University Health Network. Kristina also has status appointments as Assistant Professor, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Kristina is also an Associate Fellow of the National Institute on Ageing. Her program of research aims to understand the evolving experiences and needs of family caregivers and older adults with complex care needs with the aim of using this information to develop, evaluate, and implement timely family-centered care programs and services. Kristina received her PhD from the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto and completed post-doctoral fellowships in Implementation Science and Alzheimer’s Diseases with St. John’s Rehab within the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. Laura Chiavaroli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and Affiliate Scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital. Dr. Chiavaroli’s research program addresses the important implementation gap between guidelines-based nutrition therapy for cardiometabolic diseases and effective strategies to mobilize them, while also addressing the equity gap. She leads large interdisciplinary teams in the co-design and testing of innovative implementation strategies leveraging the use of digital tools and randomized trials to drive effective policies and programs related to dietary patterns for cardiometabolic disease across diverse communities. She also tests new policy enhancements to support adherence and demonstrates novel applications of methods to improve assessments of social and gender determinants of health, to identify communities to target and provide evidence to drive inclusivity in guidelines and advance health equity.
Dr. Alison Mildon is a postdoctoral fellow in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, supported by a SMART Healthy Cities Fellowship. Her research investigates the experiences and determinants of inequities in perinatal health and infant nutrition security, and opportunities to address these through community based interventions. Dr. Mildon received her Masters and PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto, and is a Registered Dietitian with extensive experience in public health nutrition. Her work as both a researcher and practitioner aims to improve maternal, infant and child nutrition and food security among diverse populations in Canada and globally.
Vasanti Malik, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Chronic Disease Prevention. Dr. Malik’s research uses a combination of epidemiological studies, clinical trials and evidence synthesis to evaluate dietary and modifiable risk factors for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases in different populations locally and globally, and on studying the intersection of diet, health and environmental sustainability. The goal of Dr. Malik’s work is to generate evidence that can inform dietary guidance, public policies and programs to prevent chronic diseases and promote more sustainable food systems.
Emily graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science in health studies (population health) and psychology; she has since pursued her interest in basic sciences and knowledge advancement by working as a research technician studying multiple sclerosis, cognitive decline, focusing on women’s health. She also recognizes the importance of knowledge translation in academia and works to create accessible materials translating epidemiolocal and population health research from an Indigenous population health lab. The intersection between her passions, basic science and knowledge translation, is also met with a passion for sustainability. Sustainability encourages eco-friendly choices and climate awareness and directly affects people’s daily lifestyles, physical and mental health and well-being, and population and communities’ ability to thrive. It is essential that within the health sciences, researchers consider the sustainable effects of their research on populations and what gaps in knowledge the public has on leading a sustainable, healthy, and happy life.
Dr. Siqi Xue is an assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and psychiatrist at the General and Health Systems Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addictions and Mental Health. Her academic interests include social and structural determinants of health, transcultural psychiatry, global health equity, and women’s mental health. Her current research explores the intersecting space of mental health, social medicine, and planetary health. She is an Advisory Member of the Global Mental Health Program and a Faculty Member of the Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care, University of Toronto. She is a Rostered Consultant at the Brain Health Unit, Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, World Health Organization.
Dr. Xue is the recipient of the 2022 Margaret Owen-Waite Memorial Fund from the Federation of Medical Women of Canada and Detweiler Travelling Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She completed her medical and psychiatry residency training at the University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Science degree in Global Mental Health jointly from King's College London and The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where she graduated with the Chesmal Siriwardhana Prize for best academic performance of her program.
Angela Colantonio, PhD, OT Reg.(Ont.), FCAHS, FACRM is the Director of the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto and a Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. She held a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Chair in Gender, Work and Health with a focus on brain injury. She is a Senior Research Scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, where she leads the Acquired Brain Injury and Society team. Dr. Colantonio leads an internationally recognized program of research on acquired brain injury with diverse foci on women, sex and gender, work-related traumatic brain injury, and under-served populations.