Upstream Lab

06/24/2026

SAVE THE DATE for our conference: Moving Upstream: Advancing the science of structural determinants of health: NOVEMBER 20, 2026 in Toronto

The conference will be hosted by Upstream Lab in collaboration with partners including Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH). This event comes at a critical moment as we seek to deepen our understanding of the structural determinants of health, identify key knowledge gaps, and chart a path forward for research, policy, and practice. We will convene academics, research funders, policymakers, health system leaders, and trainees who are committed to advancing work in this area.

⭐ Sign up for email updates (like our upcoming call for abstracts): https://bit.ly/movingupstream2026

⭐ More info about the conference: https://upstreamlab.org/movingupstream2026/

Unity Health Toronto

06/17/2026

📢 Participants recherchés : partagez votre expérience des soins primaires !

L’accès aux soins primaires est essentiel pour une communauté en bonne santé, mais de nombreux Canadiens, en particulier ceux issus de groupes marginalisés, ont du mal à trouver un médecin de famille ou à obtenir les soins dont ils ont besoin. Les obstacles économiques, les inégalités sociales et les défis du système de santé rendent la situation encore plus difficile pour les populations vulnérables, telles que les personnes à faible revenu, les minorités raciales, les nouveaux arrivants, les résidents ruraux et les personnes handicapées.

Votre avis nous intéresse ! Notre étude de explore les moyens d’améliorer l’accès aux soins primaires pour tous. Si vous avez une expérience vécue des obstacles à l’accès aux soins primaires, nous vous invitons à participer à un entretien ou à un groupe de discussion pour nous faire part de votre point de vue. Votre voix peut contribuer à façonner les politiques futures et à rendre les soins de santé plus équitables.

🔹 Qui peut participer ? Les personnes qui ont rencontré des difficultés pour accéder aux soins primaires au Canada.
🔹 Qu'est-ce que cela implique ? Un entretien unique pour partager votre expérience vos perspectives.
🔹 Pourquoi participer ? Vos idées permettront d'identifier des solutions pour améliorer l'accès aux soins de santé pour tous.

Intéressé(e)? Vous avez des questions ? Envoyez un courriel à : [email protected] pour en savoir plus !

06/17/2026

📢 Participants Needed: Share Your Experience with Primary Care!

Access to primary care is essential for a healthy community, yet many Canadians — especially those from marginalized groups — struggle to find a family doctor or get the care they need. Economic barriers, social inequalities, and health system challenges make it even harder for populations made vulnerable, such as low-income individuals, racial minorities, newcomers, rural residents, and people with disabilities.

We want to hear from you! Our research study is exploring ways to improve access to primary care for everyone. If you have lived experience facing barriers to accessing primary care, we invite you to participate in an interview or focus group to share your insights. Your voice can help shape future policies and make healthcare more equitable.

🔹 Who can participate? Individuals who have faced challenges accessing primary care in Canada.
🔹 What’s involved? A one-time interview to share your experience and perspectives.
🔹 Why participate? Your insights will help identify solutions to improve healthcare access for all.

Interested? Have questions? Send an email to: [email protected] to learn more!

Please note that email is not secure. Emails can be intercepted, viewed, changed or saved by others. Only send information to this address that you do not feel is sensitive.

05/27/2026

🆕 Job Opportunity: Upstream Lab is hiring TWO full-time, permanent Research Coordinator IIs. Please apply through the Unity Health Toronto job portal by June 8: https://gen-ezjf9k52wb5ac52e-prd.tam.ca1.inforcloudsuite.com/hcm/xmlhttp/shorturl.do?key=3O3

The Research Coordinator IIs will support several exciting projects within the lab:

🔵 Data Science: The Research Coordinator will play a key role in the day-to-day coordination of multiple data science initiatives. These include sub-studies within the PREPARED project (https://preparedcanada.org) focused on using AI to extract information on social needs from electronic medical records, analyzing access to primary care through geographic and distance-based measures, and advancing primary care data infrastructure.

🔵 Social Determinants of Health and Cancer Outcomes: The Research Coordinator will support a project examining how individual-level social determinants of health influence cancer outcomes and contribute to inequities in care within a health systems organization.

Unity Health Toronto

05/26/2026

We welcome Dr. Anna Dare, who has joined Upstream Lab's team of scientists. Pictured here from left to right: Drs. Benita Hosseini, Andrew Pinto, Archna Gupta, Anna Dare, and Saadia Sediqzadah.

Dr. Dare is a General Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist at St Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and the fifth Scientist to join Upstream Lab.

"My work spans population-based epidemiology, health economics, and health systems research, with a focus on improving equitable access to surgical and cancer care, locally and globally. I’m particularly interested in connecting patient experiences, research, and health system change to help build learning health systems that improve care at both individual and population levels," she says.

➕ Read more about Dr. Dare in Upstream Lab's May newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/5d38a082bfd3/may-2026-newsletter-14770141

➕ Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the June edition: http://eepurl.com/dcgbLH

05/19/2026

Happy ! Upstream Lab Director Dr. Andrew Pinto and Scientist Dr. Archna Gupta are featured in the Ontario College of Family Physicians - OCFP's videos celebrating World Family Doctor Day (May 19): https://ontariofamilyphysicians.ca/world-family-doctor-day/

This year’s theme, “Family Doctors: Driving Innovation in Health Care,” highlights how family doctors like Dr. Pinto and Dr. Gupta are leading efforts to solve health system challenges and shaping the future of healthcare for patients across Ontario.

Watch the videos:

📺 Driving Innovative Solutions to System Challenges: https://vimeo.com/1192678791?fl=pl&fe=sh
Featuring Dr. Pinto, Dr. Gupta, and Upstream Lab team members Facundo Lodol, Parsa Balalaie, Roxana Rabet, and Laura Romero Orchez. "We are trying to address the root causes of poor health, to promote health equity, and to ensure that the way that we resolve issues is evidence-based and leads to healthier populations," says Dr. Gupta. Dr. Pinto highlights Upstream Lab research on AI and healthcare and pandemic preparedness, such as our PREPARED research study: https://preparedcanada.org

📺 Family Doctors: Driving Innovation in Health Care: https://vimeo.com/1192051129?fl=pl&fe=sh
Featuring Dr. Gupta, Dr. Pinto, and fellow family physicians. They speak about how family physicians and patients build long-term relationships and work together to find solutions to issues in healthcare at both the personal and system levels.

Unity Health Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation U of T Medicine

05/19/2026

Happy !

Join us in celebrating the impact of family doctors across Ontario.

Hear directly from family physicians about how they’re bringing innovation into practice, today and in the future: https://ontariofamilyphysicians.ca/world-family-doctor-day/

World Organization of Family Doctors - WONCA Ontario Medical Association

05/14/2026

Upstream Lab Scientist Dr. Benita Hosseini, PhD is developing a new tool that uses machine learning to predict the risk of asthma attacks in children.

She is designing a trial to test how the tool performs in real-world clinical settings, through her participation in the HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program.

Watch this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSuGYXAJUHg

While most existing prediction models rely primarily on clinical information, such as medical history and medication use, Dr. Hosseini's model also incorporates factors like air quality, weather changes, pollen levels, and other environmental triggers.

She will evaluate whether the tool can reduce severe asthma attacks, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations compared to standard care. The aim is to provide clinicians and families with an early warning so they can intervene before symptoms escalate.

The HDRN Canada Pragmatic Trials Training Program is coordinated and hosted by the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry - Western University and is an initiative of Health Data Research Network (HDRN) Canada.

Learn more:
🔵 Benita Hosseini: Stopping Asthma Before It Strikes: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/pragmatictrialstraining/news_events/stories/dr_benita_hosseini_stopping_asthma_before_it_strikes.html
🔵 Prediction of Exacerbation of Asthma in Children using Machine Learning models (PEACH-ML: https://upstreamlab.org/project/peach-ml/

This video features the work of Dr. Benita Hosseini, who is developing a protocol to test how a new asthma prediction tool performs in real-world clinical se...

05/13/2026

JOB OPPORTUNITY: The Department of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital in conjunction with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine (U of T Medicine) is seeking a qualified full-time Family Physician clinician-scientist: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4410815975/

The St. Michael’s Hospital Department of Family and Community Medicine has the largest primary care research program among Ontario family medicine teaching sites. It is seeking a candidate whose research program aims to improve patient care and health outcomes in primary care.

Unity Health Toronto is an academic health network of University of Toronto-affiliated teaching hospitals, including St. Michael’s Hospital – a leading research hospital recognized for its growing impact on health innovation and patient care. Research at Unity Health includes more than 264 exceptional investigators, including Upstream Lab scientists Dr. Andrew Pinto and Dr. Archna Gupta, who are clinician-scientists with St. Michael’s Hospital Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Applications will be accepted until May 29, 2026

05/08/2026

📢 Participants recherchés : partagez votre expérience des soins primaires !

L’accès aux soins primaires est essentiel pour une communauté en bonne santé, mais de nombreux Canadiens, en particulier ceux issus de groupes marginalisés, ont du mal à trouver un médecin de famille ou à obtenir les soins dont ils ont besoin. Les obstacles économiques, les inégalités sociales et les défis du système de santé rendent la situation encore plus difficile pour les populations vulnérables, telles que les personnes à faible revenu, les minorités raciales, les nouveaux arrivants, les résidents ruraux et les personnes handicapées.

Votre avis nous intéresse ! Notre étude de explore les moyens d’améliorer l’accès aux soins primaires pour tous. Si vous avez une expérience vécue des obstacles à l’accès aux soins primaires, nous vous invitons à participer à un entretien ou à un groupe de discussion pour nous faire part de votre point de vue. Votre voix peut contribuer à façonner les politiques futures et à rendre les soins de santé plus équitables.

🔹 Qui peut participer ? Les personnes qui ont rencontré des difficultés pour accéder aux soins primaires au Canada.
🔹 Qu'est-ce que cela implique ? Un entretien unique pour partager votre expérience vos perspectives.
🔹 Pourquoi participer ? Vos idées permettront d'identifier des solutions pour améliorer l'accès aux soins de santé pour tous.

Intéressé(e)? Vous avez des questions ? Envoyez un courriel à : [email protected] pour en savoir plus !