New national initiative to instruct and mentor 91 highly qualified trainees in equitable, data-driven, public health decision-making

91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor is spearheading a national initiative to ensure Canada remains a world leader in using artificial intelligence (AI) and mathematical modelling to advance health equity nationally and globally, and protect vulnerable communities.

Supported by a recent $1.65 million grant聽and bolstered by about $3.65 million in partner contributions,聽the Mathematical Innovations for Precision Public Health (CREATE-MIPPH) program will train 91 undergraduates, master鈥檚 and doctoral trainees over six years to transform massive volumes of complex data into actionable, life-saving public health strategies.

The program responds to a growing challenge in public health: a critical shortage of professionals trained to integrate an increasingly huge amount of health, behavioural, environmental and pathogen data into actionable strategies for disease prevention, health-care planning and emergency preparedness.

鈥淐anada has extraordinary data resources and strong public health institutions, but data alone do not improve outcomes,鈥� says Wu. 鈥淲e need highly trained experts who can integrate AI, mathematical modelling and established decision-making systems to help governments, healthcare systems and industry respond more effectively to emerging health challenges.鈥�

Supported by a network of researchers from six Canadian universities and partnerships with government agencies, hospitals, health technology companies and pharmaceutical organizations, trainees will gain hands-on experience through research placements, interdisciplinary collaborations and real-world projects. The program will equip trainees with expertise in data science, mathematical modelling, AI-driven data analytics and health economics. Professional and leadership development will focus on science communication, policy engagement and knowledge mobilization.

Grounded in team-based science and equity-focused practice, research will focus on quantifying emerging diseases, the influence of behavioural responses and socioeconomic factors on outbreaks and optimizing clinical trials. Going beyond technical modelling, trainees will examine how environmental factors, systemic barriers, individual and collective behaviours and public health interventions shape health outcomes. 

鈥淭his program is about building a new generation of highly skilled scientists and professionals who can bridge advanced analytics with public health needs. Our trainees will not only develop technical expertise, but also learn how to work across disciplines and sectors to translate complex data into evidence-based decisions that improve health outcomes and strengthen preparedness,鈥� says , a co-applicant and professor of computational epidemiology and vaccine science at 91亚色.

CREATE-MIPPH will strengthen Canada鈥檚 emergency preparedness capacity by combining behavioural science, modelling and simulation-based training. The program will equip graduates with the crisis communication skills required to lead multi-agency coordination and advise decision-makers during an outbreak, while fostering inclusive, equitable environments. As the trainees enter the workforce, they will serve as a valuable national resource linking academic innovation directly to the front lines of public health.

Other co-applicants from 91亚色 include , professor of disaster and emergency management, director of CIFAL 91亚色 and executive director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM); Shayna Rosenbaum, distinguished research professor, psychology and principal investigator of the Rosenbaum Memory Lab; and Woldegebriel Assefa Woldegerima, assistant professor of mathematical biology. Co-applicant institutions include University of Guelph, University of Toronto, Western University, University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina.

About Jianhong Wu

A 91亚色 Research Chair in industrial and applied mathematics, Jianhong Wu is recognized for his fundamental and applied research in disease modelling, with leading roles in high-impact interdisciplinary projects, including the National COVID-19 Modelling Rapid Response Task Force, the NSERC-EIDM network of MfPH and the ADERSIM facility. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. His efforts in building collaborative capacity across industry, government and academia have been recognized by the CAIMS-Fields Industrial Mathematics Prize (2019) and the NSERC Synergy Award (2024).

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The new Centre of Excellence will bring together multiple disciplines across the University to develop and deploy artificial intelligence systems to improve health care

TORONTO, April 9, 2026 鈥� As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly important, especially in the health-care field, 91亚色 continues to play an outsized role. Today, the University announced the launch of a new Centre of Excellence 鈥� Artificial Intelligence for Public Health Advancement (AIPHA) funded through an Ontario Research Fund 鈥� Research Excellence program.

Director General, Applied Public Health Sciences Pamela Ponic of the Science and Policy Integration Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the Ontario Ministry of Health Kieran Moore, and MPP for Whitby Lorne Coe, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security all spoke at the lunch-time event.

As a key player in supporting health-care decision making, AIPHA will strengthen external partnerships and accelerate the transfer of knowledge from research to policy and practice, where hospitals, medical practitioners, policymakers and leaders can use it. It will also help bridge the gap between health analytics and real-world socioeconomic conditions further positioning 91亚色 as a national and global leader in AI-integrated public health solutions through research and innovation.

"The launch of AIPHA marks a defining moment for 91亚色 and for the future of public health in Canada. By bringing together expertise across disciplines, from mathematical modelling and AI to health policy and social equity, we are creating something truly transformative: a hub where research doesn't just advance knowledge but directly shapes the decisions that protect and improve people's lives,鈥� says 91亚色 Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lisa Philipps. 鈥�91亚色 has long been committed to addressing society's most pressing challenges, and AIPHA reflects that mission at its fullest. We are proud to be building the next generation of AI-adept public health leaders right here, and to be positioning Canada as a global force in equitable, evidence-informed health innovation."

As a dedicated, multi-disciplinary and national hub, AIPHA will bring together expertise from across faculties, including in advanced mathematical and computational modelling, precision analytics and multi-source databases. The goal is to integrate epidemiological, clinical, environmental, climate and socioeconomic indicators in newly created AI models, while training the next generation.

鈥淎rtificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used in health-care settings but a coordinated, ethical and equitable approach to ensure the tools use integrated data sources, and that they are being properly tested and deployed for patient good is lacking. The current speed of newly developed AI models is at times outpacing governance,鈥� says Faculty of Science Dean Maydianne Andrade. 鈥淎s a new Centre of Excellence in the Faculty of Science, AIPHA will lead the way toward better integration of these new technologies in a cohesive manner that will help advance public health care.鈥�

Two projects already underway include: Integrating AI with disease transmission dynamics models for informed prevention and control of outbreaks in indoor and mass gathering settings (2025 to 2031) and Advanced mathematical technologies for respiratory infection risk assessment and pharmaceutical intervention scenario analysis (2024 to 2028), both led by AIPHA鈥檚 inaugural director Jianhong Wu.

鈥淭he AI for Public Health Research Centre is a coordinated innovation hub that will help improve health-care efficiency and outcomes, as well as ensure coordinated, ethical and equitable transformation of public health systems,鈥� says AIPHA Director and University Distinguished Research Professor Jianhong Wu of the Faculty of Science. 鈥淭his kind of central hub is much needed in the health-care sector today to ensure emerging AI tools are properly integrated and decision and policy makers are provided with robust information toward developing a more cohesive, ethical and equitable public health-care system.鈥�

AIPHA will integrate epidemiological, clinical, environmental and socioeconomic data into the AI-enabled decision-support systems it develops and deploys to guide equitable and evidence-informed public health action. In ensuring the development of fair and equitable AI systems, the hub will combine not only advanced mathematical and computational modelling and AI and predictive analytics, but also health systems and policy research with social determinants of health and equity frameworks.

AIPHA will act as a research accelerator for large collaborative grants, train the next generation of AI-adept public health leaders and develop pilot AI-integrated protypes for infectious disease modelling, health system resource allocation and climate health risk forecasting.

It will also strengthen Canadian pandemic and emergency preparedness, enhance evidence-based policymaking, support climate-health adaptation strategies, improve health equity outcomes, and increase 91亚色鈥檚 national visibility in AI governance and public health innovation.

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The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) more than $3.5 million dollars combined, money that will go towards research that aims to help parents and neonatal infants, addresses equity and political barriers to global public health concerns and helps further our understanding of the role of an important hormone in heart health. 

Helping preterm babies and parents have better outcomes

Faculty of Health Professor , who heads up the Ouch Lab, and is also the 91亚色 Research Chair in Pain and Mental Health, received nearly $1.4 million for work that will look at very preterm infants and how medical interventions and maternal stressors may impact the ability of skin-to-skin contact to help regulate pain in the infant. The project, , will be carried out at the neonatal intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital. 

"Preterm infants are one of the most vulnerable populations on this planet and are exposed to numerous painful procedures everyday of their young lives. Their parental context is a critical factor to better understand and improve their quality of life. Our lab is so grateful to CIHR for their funding to better understand how maternal factors impact their child's pain responses during skin-to-skin care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,鈥� says Pillai Riddell.聽

Making international health agreements more equitable

Professor was awarded more than $1.13 million that will go towards work being done by himself and other investigators at the 91亚色-based Global Strategy Lab, including Faculty of Health Assistant Professor , for . 

鈥淭he Global Strategy Lab is pleased to have been awarded CIHR funding to continue our research on designing more impactful and equitable international agreements for health.

"Through a world-leading global legal epidemiology approach, we are advancing global health law, tobacco control, and planetary health in support of 91亚色鈥檚 contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,鈥� says Poirier, also co-director of the Global Strategy Lab and 91亚色 Research Chair in Global Health Equity.聽

Understanding heart failure better, especially for those with diabetes

Faculty of Science Professor Gary Sweeney will be looking at a hormone that is often compromised in people with diabetes and obesity and is involved in the body cleaning up bad cells in the heart. has received close to a million dollars in funding from CIHR.

About 91亚色

91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91亚色鈥檚 fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario鈥檚 Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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As the world鈥檚 refugee crisis intensifies and climate change linked natural disasters become more frequent, unique machine-learning enabled tool helps aid workers deliver safe water in displaced-population settlements

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2022 鈥� A team of researchers from 91亚色鈥檚 Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and  have revamped their Safe Water Optimization Tool (SWOT) with multiple innovations that will help aid workers unlock potentially life-saving information from water-quality data regularly collected in humanitarian settings. 

Created in partnership with Doctors Without Borders/M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res (MSF), the free-to-use, open-source online platform has been shown to dramatically increase water safety for people living in refugee camps and has corrected major inaccuracies about proper chlorination levels that went on for decades.

SWOT version 2, , builds on earlier research with advancements in the tool鈥檚 machine-learning and numerical-modelling engines. A reimagined and redesigned user experience, and new functionalities, promise to give humanitarian responders much-needed assistance in situations where waterborne diseases are among the leading health threats. 

鈥淥ur first version of the tool was a prototype. What we've done in the past two years with user feedback and field learning is build a state-of-the-art web product,鈥� says team lead Syed Imran Ali, who is a research fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute and an adjunct professor at the Lassonde School of Engineering. 鈥淭his is one of the first operational deployments of artificial-intelligence technology in humanitarian response.鈥�

Ali and the rest of the team, who include machine learning lead   from Lassonde鈥檚 Department of Civil Engineering, modelling graduate researcher Mike De Santi, Dahdaleh Institute director Dr. James Orbinski and field advisor James Brown, say these improvements are informed by real-life lessons gleaned from the field.

Humanitarian aid workers face huge challenges supplying safe water to people affected by conflict or natural disasters, explains Brown, who has previously worked in camps managing the water supply of upwards of 40,000 people. This updated version is being developed to respond to these pressures. 

鈥淲orking as a water engineer in crisis, you鈥檙e providing water to people who are often extremely vulnerable, and it鈥檚 your job to help protect them from all the health risks that exist in that kind of environment,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so frustrating not having the information you need to be confident that the water you鈥檙e delivering isn鈥檛 yet another health risk. The motivation for all the work we鈥檝e been doing to release the SWOT v2 is to help people make the best decisions and provide confidence that quality standards are being maintained 鈥� both for the aid workers and those relying on the water supply.鈥�  

The tool was born out of Ali鈥檚 experience working with MSF as a water and sanitation specialist in refugee settlements in South Sudan. Despite following industry-standard guidelines for water chlorination, Ali and his colleagues were seeing that water was still unsafe in people鈥檚 households during a large outbreak of Hepatitis E, a serious waterborne illness that can have up to a 25 per cent mortality rate among pregnant women.

鈥淭here was a huge crisis 鈥� end of the rainy season, flooding everywhere,鈥� Ali recalled. 鈥淪o all these waterborne diseases were tearing through the camp.鈥� 

Through field research looking at how water quality behaves in refugee camps, Ali and his team discovered the chlorination guidelines used widely in the humanitarian sector were built on faulty assumptions.

鈥淣o one had ever looked at the problem of what happens after the tap,鈥� Ali explains, noting that unlike most urban settings in the developed world, people in refugee camps must collect water from public faucets in containers and then bring it back to their homes where it is stored and used for many hours, introducing many opportunities for recontamination during this 鈥榣ast mile鈥� of the safe-water chain.

Building on the work initiated in South Sudan, the research team studied chlorination levels at distribution and in households in refugee camps around the world, and realized they could use this data 鈥� which is routinely collected for monitoring purposes 鈥� to model post-distribution chlorine decay and generate site-specific and evidence-based water-chlorination targets. They put these modelling tools on the cloud to create the SWOT v1 prototype and carried out a proof-of-concept study in a large refugee camp in Bangladesh.

鈥淲e found that using the SWOT recommendations effectively doubled the proportion of households with safe water at around 15 hours compared to the status-quo practice,鈥� Ali says.

While these results were very impressive, they did not account for all the various conditions water and sanitation workers could experience, Brown adds, which v2 factors in. They also did not account for taste. SWOT v2 not only promises to make water safer, but also find the optimal level where chlorine levels are high enough to protect people, but not so high that people will reject it. This is particularly important in parts of the world where people were previously used to sources such as high-quality spring water and are not accustomed to chlorine.

鈥淚f people don't like the taste, they don't like the way it looks and smells, they're not going to use that source and they鈥檒l then go to a river or somewhere else that could be dangerous,鈥� Brown says.

In future SWOT versions, the team hopes to include other water quality and health outcomes and look at how they could integrate more participation from displaced people themselves. While Ali says the tool cannot deal with the political roots of the refugee crisis, the practical need for SWOT is greater than ever. 

鈥淭he unfortunate fact of it is there's more people displaced now than there ever has been in human history,鈥� Ali says. 鈥淲e see climate-linked disasters increasing in frequency and scale 鈥� in particular, flooding crises, which are linked to a lot of waterborne illness. It is a very clear and present danger. People need solutions that work in the current context.鈥� 

For backgrounder, click here.

To watch a demo, .

To sign up for the virtual event launch on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m., click here.

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91亚色 is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91亚色's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91亚色鈥檚 campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact:

Emina Gamulin, 91亚色 Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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When Ontario lifted public health protective measures in March, the expectation was that we might see a small but manageable bump in COVID-19 cases. At the same time, Canadians were being told that it was time to learn to 鈥渓ive with COVID.鈥�

The decision to lift the public health protective measures happened while many countries in Africa, Europe and South Asia were going through another Omicron-like surge, caused by one of its subvariants, BA.2. Many of these countries also removed their public health protective measures. In Hong Kong, while the restrictions were being removed, BA.2 hit like a tsunami with massive casualties among people age 60 years and over. China was also dealing with an Omicron BA.2 surge.

In Ontario, authorities had hoped the BA.2 wave would somehow pass by. However, instead of the expected small bump in cases, current predictions are at 100,000 cases per day, which is likely an underestimation due to lack of wider testing. COVID-19 hospitalizations have surpassed 1,000 in Ontario.

Although Ontario is now better prepared to handle higher cases of hospitalization and intensive care admissions, its challenge may now be to handle large absenteeism in health care and other sectors. The recent chaos in British airports and at other borders illustrates the potential impact of BA.2.

The surge of BA.2 cases in Ontario is related not only to the subvariant鈥檚 characteristics, but also to the waning of vaccine-induced immune protection against the infection (including in those that had a booster late last year) and, above all, the removal of public health protective measures, such as the mask requirement.

What do we know about the BA.2 subvariant?

BA.2 is believed to have emerged around the same time as the other Omicron variants. The significance of BA.2 became clear with the release of a report from Denmark in late January, indicating that this subvariant is 30 per cent more transmissible than Omicron, but with the same virulence (the potential to cause severe disease).

By early April, the World Health Organization reported that BA.2 was the dominant variant worldwide. A few more Omicron subvariants have already made their debuts, such as BA.1.1, BA.3 BA.5 and BA2+. Cases of recombination among Omicron subvariants and Delta, such as Omicron XE,BA.4 XD and XF, have emerged.

Omicron XE is getting a lot of attention, as its transmissibility is 10 per cent greater than that of BA.2 (or approximately 50 per cent more transmissible than the original Omicron variant, BA.1). It was first detected on Jan. 19 in the United Kingdom.
Research awaiting peer review indicates that re-infection by BA.2 is low. However, in those who are re-infected with BA.2, one in four had a prior BA.1 infection. The emergence of variants such as Omicron XE, which results from recombination of the genomes of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 in addition to new mutations, suggests that wide circulation of BA.2 among BA.1 impacted populations can significantly contribute to the evolution of SARS-CoV-2. The BA.4 subvariant is the result of recombination between Omicron BA.1 and BA.3.

Reports that have not yet been peer-reviewed indicate that BA.2 has a slightly higher (30 per cent) immune evasion capability (ability to bypass immunity from vaccines or previous infections) and higher viral shedding (release of virus particles by an infected person) than Omicron. These factors could explain its higher transmissibility than Omicron, while the severity and symptoms remain similar to Omicron.

What does it mean to 鈥榣ive with COVID-19?鈥�

Two years into the pandemic, there鈥檚 a lot that experts have learned about SARS-CoV-2. However, humans keep enabling its circulation, giving the virus the chance to evolve. We are not in a position to predict the future of this pandemic, just yet.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the public was asked to listen to the advice of experts and public health officials. Now the public is being told to learn to live with COVID-19. At the same time, testing has become limited and little to no information on daily COVID-19 cases is now provided in some parts of Canada. So, any chance for the public to check the COVID 鈥渨eather,鈥� get a forecast and prepare for it is diminished. We are now living in a COVID fog.

In the summer of 2020, as Ontario was contemplating lifting lockdowns, public health experts looked for key indicators to sustain such measures. A three per cent positivity rate was considered to be a sufficiently safe community transmission rate to remove the public health protective measures. We are in a better position now with around 86 per cent vaccine coverage among those over five years old, and many people have grown accustomed to face masks, so it鈥檚 likely that we can handle a higher positivity rate. The question is, how much higher?

The answer would be a useful indicator for the public to make COVID-19 protection choices. This is not about living with a zero-COVID policy. It is about empowering the public with up-to-date information and providing the right tools to weather a COVID-19 storm. Individuals cannot protect themselves on their own, nor should they have to.

We do have vaccines, but their protection against infection wanes with time. In addition, it does not seem like we can boost our way out of this pandemic. We have the antiviral medications, such as Paxlovid, but they need to be administered in the early days of an infection. But without testing, how would one know when to take it?

In addition, distribution and administration of this medication has hit a wall in Canada. We have the masks that work very well, but the empty phrase 鈥渓iving with the virus鈥� has muddled the significance of this simple, and yet protective, measure.
Instead of minimizing or dismissing this new wave of COVID-19, as well as future waves, we need for strategies to deal with new COVID-19 waves in an efficient way. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently held a meeting to brainstorm new ways to provide sustainable immune protection in the face of an ever-changing SARS-CoV-2 virus. Canada should follow suit.

Governments should follow the science and provide the means to live with virus: information about the emergence of new variants, number of daily cases, access to testing and solutions for longer-lasting immune protection with different vaccine technologies. Then we can all live a healthy life with COVID-19.

Dasantila Golemi-Kotra, Professor, Biology, 91亚色, Canada
From

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