Catalyst Seminar Series - February 2026

Join us for Catalyst Series, a dynamic seminar series showcasing groundbreaking research funded by the Institute of Health Emergencies and Pandemics' (IHEP) Catalyst and Research Development Grants. Since 2023, IHEP has provided over $1 million to research teams at the University of Toronto, to support collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects. These presentations spotlight the innovative work of interdisciplinary teams tackling urgent challenges in pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery.

From data-driven public health strategies to community-based interventions and novel biomedical approaches, each session will feature compelling insights from researchers whose projects are shaping the future of public health resilience.

What to Expect

• Engaging presentations from Phase 1 and Phase 2 Catalyst Grant recipients
• Opportunities to connect with leading experts across disciplines
• Discussions on real-world impact and future directions

Projects Highlighted

Evaluating Equity-focused Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Childhood and Youth Mental Health in Canada

• Presenter: Kuan Liu (Dalla Lana School of Public Health)
• It is widely understood that the pandemic precipitated an unprecedented mental health crisis among children and youth both in Canada and around the world. However, there is little evidence on the long-term impact that pandemic containment measures have had on childhood and youth mental health. Our study evaluates changes in the mental health of children and youth in Canada pre- and post-pandemic, the potential causal role that education disruption played, and identifies who were most affected. To that end, we analyzed Ontario electronic health records data linked with administrative population data on demographic and socioeconomic variables, to characterize changes in mental health outcomes among school-aged children and youth during and after the pandemic and to estimate the role that education disruption played on mental health outcomes.

Shedding Light on the “Shadow Pandemic”: Developing a research agenda on gender-based violence during and after COVID-19

• Presenter: Beverley Essue (Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation)
• Co-leads: Beverley Essue (Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation) and Sarah Kaplan (Rotman School of Management)
• Background: Before COVID-19, violence against cis and trans women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people was already a crisis. Globally, the pandemic intensified this crisis through job loss, financial insecurity, and quarantining measures. The United Nations deemed this pandemic-fueled rise in violence as a “shadow pandemic,” with marginalized communities, including low-income, Indigenous, racialized, and LGBT+ people, facing increased risks and worse outcomes from gender-based violence (GBV).
• Objectives: This project aimed to address the IfP theme of pandemic recovery by convening a research roundtable to foster research collaborations on GBV and pandemic recovery. The research roundtable brought together interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners from the university and community to explore and define health, economic and social drivers and impacts of GBV, especially those that were heightened during the pandemic-fueled rise in GBV among communities facing marginalization. This engagement identified policy opportunities to support recovery from GBV and prevent rising GBV in future pandemics and more generally.