The 3rd International Trainee Symposium in Agri-Food, Nutrition and Health was hosted by the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine (CCARM) on October 15 – 17, 2025, at the St. Boniface Hospital Albretchsen Research Centre.
Continuing the success of CCARM’s previous International Trainee Symposiums held in 2023 and 2024, CCARM Team Leader Dr. Thomas Netticadan organized the event again in partnership with Dr. Cristina Rosell, Head, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba. The members of the organizing committee were Dr. Jude Aweya, Dr. Sijo Joseph, Dr. Nicola Gasparre, Dr. Ruchira Nandasiri, Dr. Ali Sabra, Dr. Mariela Rodriguez, Dr. Daniel Zogona, Dr. Cristina Chairez Jimenez, Jenny Bouchard, Mayuri Bane, Breanne Semenko, Drupat Sharma, Shanella Senadhiraja, Shiqi Huang, Chamali Kodikara, Sunita Karki, and Julie Schoffner. The event was held at no cost to the participants.
“Our goal was to invite trainees from around the world to join us, to expand our shared body of knowledge in Agri-food, Nutrition and Health and provide them with the opportunity to present their research findings on an international stage and network with colleagues, mentors and other researchers in the field,” said Dr. Thomas Netticadan.
“Furthermore, we also wanted to welcome anyone globally who was interested in learning about the latest advances in this Symposium to join the event.”
There was a significant turnout for the event, with 156 online attendees from 28 countries. There were also a total of 110 in-person attendees,
With 132 trainees answering this invitation, the symposium featured presentations from brilliant trainees (MSc and PhD students, as well as Postdoctoral Fellows) from 23 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, China, Columbia, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Madagascar, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sri Lanka.
The event also featured world-renowned speakers, Dr. Alfredo Franco-Obregon, Professor, Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, and Dr. Charles Brennan, Chief Scientific Director, Food & Nutrition Innovation Hub, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. They delivered lectures on cutting-edge research topics such as Cellular Agriculture-Based Alternative Foods and Valorization of Food Waste. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Thomas Netticadan, Dr. Tony Savard, Director, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and Karen Fowler, President and CEO, St. Boniface Hospital Foundation.
Using the rapid-fire presentation format, the trainee speakers were challenged to explain their research problem, findings and implications for Agri-foods and health in only seven minutes. Those from overseas presented virtually over Zoom, a cost-effective way to allow students with limited travel budgets to participate and benefit from the symposium experience.
The three-day event was a great success, held exclusively onsite at the St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, and a banquet was held in the I.H. Asper Clinical Research Institute mezzanine overlooking the Red River and the Winnipeg skyline.
Closing remarks were graciously provided by Dr. Eric Liu, Director, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Dr. Michael Czubryt, Executive Director of Research, St. Boniface Hospital, and Dr. Cristina Rosell, Professor and Head of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba.
“We are very pleased that the Symposium was a great success with 134 high-quality presentations. It was also satisfying to note that the event was well attended by audiences from all over the world,” added Netticadan. “I deeply appreciate the huge amount of time and effort invested by the members of the organizing committee, as well as the volunteers, communication and audiovisual support services, and housekeeping services, for their valuable assistance.”
CCARM’s next big event is the 4th International Trainee Symposium to be held in June 2026. Please stay tuned for more details.
