L-SETAC Conference & AGM 2026 recap

Carolyn Martinko
4 hours ago
2 min read

Thank you for attending the 2026 Conference and AGM hosted at Ontario Tech University. Our event theme was "Empowered Environments: Integrating Toxicology, Energy, & Policy."

View all submitted abstracts and the program here:

Thank you to our short course instructors, Sana Gavarikar & George Alipanopoulos (Egis Canada), Dr. Lara Alves Beese (Dillon Consulting), and Dr. Denina Simmons (Ontario Tech University) for providing a full day of engaged learning on Career Development & Mentoring and Fish Mucus Proteomics! Afterwards, Dr. Rebecca Peters (Canada North Environmental Services) provided an engaging and fascinating talk on accounting for radiological parameters in risk assessment during our pub night at 2200 North.

Dr. Ken Wilson, Dean of Science at Ontario Tech University, provided inspiring opening remarks to start off our conference. Dr. Denina Simmons (Ontario Tech University) then delivered an important and timely plenary on assessing the environmental impacts of clean energy, including hydroelectric and nuclear power generation, which highlighted the Learning from Lake Sturgeon collaborative project with Moose Cree First Nation as well as the work of her Aquatic Omics Lab.

We had 24 platform presentations and 31 poster presentations at the conference, followed by a networking bingo event and awards social, providing a jam-packed day. Congratulations to our student award winners and a massive thank you to our judges who put in a tremendous amount of work throughout the conference.

Student Award Winners:

Undergraduate Overall First Place sponsored by Ontario Tech Faculty of Science

Madison MacLean (McMaster University)

Undergraduate Overall Runner Up sponsored by Wellington Laboratories

Gurvir Kaur Sidhu (McMaster University)

Masters-level Poster First Place sponsored by MTE Consultants

Daniel Stein (University of Guelph)

Masters-level Poster Runner up sponsored by MTE Consultants

Elli Hung (McGill University)

Masters-level Platform First Place sponsored by Egis Canada

Maxwell Hendershot (McMaster University)

Masters-level Platform Runner up sponsored by Egis Canada

Luke Cammalleri (McMaster University)

Doctoral-level Poster First Place sponsored by Syngenta

Tyler Dow (Ontario Tech University)

Doctoral-level Poster Runner up sponsored by Syngenta

Olivia Coffield (University of Guelph)

Doctoral-level Platform First Place sponsored by Nautilus Environmental

Flavia Breje (Ontario Tech University)

Doctoral-level Platform Runner up sponsored by Nautilus Environmental

Cristina Henriques (Ontario Tech University)

A huge thank you to our sponsors - without your generous support, this conference would not be possible.

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Congratulations to Tyler Black, this year's recipient of the Laurentian SETAC Chapter Award. We appreciate your leadership as a past President and your continued dedication to our organization. Thank you for your service!

Finally, a huge thank you to the volunteers on our Board of Directors, AGM Organizing Committee, Diversity in Science Committee, and Pub Night Committees for all their work on organizing Laurentian SETAC events this year! We couldn't do it without you. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us at info@laurentiansetac.ca