On March 31, 2026, researchers, clinicians, trainees, public health officials and community partners gathered in Halifax for the 31st Annual Infectious Diseases Research Day & 18th Annual CCfV Symposium.
The day served as a meaningful demonstration that strong research communities are built through connection, interdisciplinary thinking, and collective learning across career stages.
Co-developed by Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health, and the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCfV), the day featured over 40 poster presentations, 10 oral presentations, and four invited speakers that explored work spanning basic science, clinical investigation, public health, policy, and community impact. Together, these sessions highlighted not only the wide range of research being done, but also its real‑world relevance.
From high school and undergraduate trainees to early‑career and established researchers, the program created a welcoming space to share ideas and learn from one another while building meaningful connections in the process.
Presentation Winners
From left to right: Autumn Sweeney, Bailey Selig, Bakary Sanyang, Nicole Paterson, Briley Hillyard. Missing: Gustavo Martinez
Best Poster Presentation – Research Associate
Bailey Selig, Canadian Center for Vaccinology
Adapting an Immunization Assessment Tool for Adults in a Canadian Jurisdiction: An Implementation Pilot
Best Poster Presentation – Undergraduate
Nicole Paterson, Dalhousie University
Real-time Multiplexed PCR Followed by Amplicon Tiling and Next Generation Sequencing for Accurate Resolution of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Serotypes
Best Poster Presentation – Resident/Masters
Autumn Sweeney, Dalhousie University
Non-invasive Physiological Profiling of Colostrum Deprivation in Neonatal Sepsis
Best Poster Presentation – PhD
Bakary Sanyang, Dalhousie University
The Neonatal Gut Microbiome Functional Trajectory in the First Week of Life: Divergence in Health and Sepsis
Best Oral Presentation – Audience Choice
Briley Hillyard, Dalhousie University
Compartment-specific Alterations In T-cell Costimulatory Phenotypes in Cystic Fibrosis
Best Oral Presentation – Judges’ Choice
Gustavo Martinez, Dalhousie University
High Burden of Pediatric Mpox Hospitalizations During a Mpox Virus Subclade Ib Outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Hounourable Mention
Eric Shillinger, Dartmouth High School
Socioeconomic indicators and school-based HPV and HBV vaccination coverage across nova scotia health zones: a correlational analysis
Read abstracts from all poster and oral presentations by downloading the event program.
Invited Speakers
This year invited speakers shared expertise that strengthened the event’s emphasis on collaboration and the bringing diverse research topics together.
This year’s event featured:
TJ Marrie Lecture
“Testing is easy – relationship building is the hard part: Dried Blood Spot testing in Canada.”
Dr. John Kim, Chief of the NML’s National HIV/AIDS Laboratories, JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Center, Winnipeg, MB.
Keynote Speaker
“Precision Host Defense: Inborn Errors of Immunity in Invasive Pneumococcal Disease”
Dr. Kyla Hildebrand, Pediatric Clinical Immunology and Allergy specialist, Clinical Associate Professor and clinician educator, BC Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia
Local Speakers
“Investigating immune responses in infectious disease and vaccination using next-generation humanized mouse models”
Dr. Amy Gillgrass, Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University
“The Vaginal Microbiome in Health & Disease”
Dr. Karen Lithgow, Assistant Professor in the Dept of Microbiology & Immunology at Dalhousie University
Thank you to our speakers, presenters, planning committee members, and attendees for making this year’s event such a success. The save-the-date and registration notices for next year’s event will go out in January. We always recommend that you register early. We look forward to welcoming you back (or having you for the first time!) in 2027.
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