Upstream Lab

02/24/2026

Are you a healthcare provider who is interested in using the SPARK Tool (https://upstreamlab.org/project/spark/) to collect demographic and social needs data from patients in primary care? Our study reports on the barriers and facilitators to implementing the SPARK Tool in Canadian primary care clinics. Read our new article by Upstream Lab scientists Dr. Archna Gupta, Dr. Andrew Pinto, and staff and colleagues:

Primary care provider and clinic staff perspectives on the collection of demographic and social needs data in primary care clinics across five Canadian provinces ➡️ https://doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2025-003686

Published in Family Medicine and Community Health, February 20, 2026

Learn more & download the SPARK Tool➡️ https://upstreamlab.org/project/spark/

Unity Health Toronto

02/18/2026

Are you feeling sick with a respiratory illness like COVID or the flu? Do you live in , ON; or , AB; or Greater , BC?

See if you’re eligible to receive a free at-home test kit and get rapid test results for COVID (in Ontario) or COVID and Influenza A and B (in Alberta and BC):
ON: https://preparedcanada.org/locations/ontario/
AB: https://preparedcanada.org/locations/alberta/
BC: https://preparedcanada.org/locations/british-columbia/

This test is offered as part of our PREPARED research study, which is expanding free at-home testing for COVID and Influenza A and B to new locations.

The lead researchers for this study in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are: Andrew Pinto, MD and Benita Hosseini, PhD (Upstream Lab, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto); Kerry McBrien, MD (University of Calgary); and Rubee Dev, PhD (University of British Columbia).

02/09/2026

Coming up today at 12 p.m. ET: Governance of demographic and social needs data: Lessons from the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team ➡️ REGISTER: https://ca01web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MAF3DcaVSziTG6L-oFzzDg #/registration

Join us on Monday February 9 at 12 p.m. ET, on Zoom, for Governance of demographic and social needs data: Lessons from the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team ➡️ https://ca01web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MAF3DcaVSziTG6L-oFzzDg #/registration

In our second Deep End Canada learning series event, we will hear from a panel of family physicians and members of the Health Equity Questionnaire Data Working Group at the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team in Toronto. The panel, moderated by Dr. Archna Gupta, will include Dr. Noor Ramji, Nassim Vahidi-Williams, and Talia Levitt, speaking about their work collecting and using sociodemographic data in primary care and researching data governance in primary care settings, followed by a Q&A.

Learn more:
https://upstreamlab.org/deep-end-canada-learning-series-feb-9-2026/
About Deep End Canada: https://www.deependcanada.org

Unity Health Toronto

02/06/2026

Join us on Monday February 9 at 12 p.m. ET, on Zoom, for Governance of demographic and social needs data: Lessons from the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team ➡️ https://ca01web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MAF3DcaVSziTG6L-oFzzDg #/registration

In our second Deep End Canada learning series event, we will hear from a panel of family physicians and members of the Health Equity Questionnaire Data Working Group at the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team in Toronto. The panel, moderated by Dr. Archna Gupta, will include Dr. Noor Ramji, Nassim Vahidi-Williams, and Talia Levitt, speaking about their work collecting and using sociodemographic data in primary care and researching data governance in primary care settings, followed by a Q&A.

Learn more:
https://upstreamlab.org/deep-end-canada-learning-series-feb-9-2026/
About Deep End Canada: https://www.deependcanada.org

Unity Health Toronto

01/30/2026

Check out our January newsletter for a recap of the start of the year at Upstream Lab and a look ahead to February: https://mailchi.mp/6cdcf2a6d114/january-2026-newsletter-14768227

🔵 PREPARED – our national research study to help prepare Canada for a future pandemic – is now offering free at-home tests for respiratory viruses like COVID

🔵 Join us on February 9 for a virtual event: Deep End Canada Learning Series: Governance of demographic and social needs data: Lessons from the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team

🔵 New publications on health literacy, long COVID, public health financing & more

Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dcgbLH

01/30/2026

Are you feeling sick with a respiratory illness? 🤒 Do you live in and have a postal code beginning with M3J, M3K, M3N, M3L, M3M, or M6L? See if you’re eligible to receive a free at-home COVID test kit and get rapid test results ➡️https://preparedcanada.org/locations/ontario/

This is a research study called PREPARED, led by Dr. Andrew Pinto of the Upstream Lab, based at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto

01/28/2026

You're invited to attend our second Deep End Canada learning series event:

Governance of demographic and social needs data: Lessons from the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team

February 9
12 p.m. ET
Zoom

🔗 REGISTER: https://ca01web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MAF3DcaVSziTG6L-oFzzDg

We will hear from a panel of family physicians and members of the Health Equity Questionnaire Data Working Group at the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team in Toronto. The panel, moderated by Dr. Archna Gupta, will include Dr. Noor Ramji, Nassim Vahidi-Williams, and Talia Levitt, speaking about their work collecting and using sociodemographic data in primary care and researching data governance in primary care settings, followed by a Q&A.

Learn more:
About this event:https://upstreamlab.org/deep-end-canada-learning-series-feb-9-2026/
About Deep End Canada: https://www.deependcanada.org

Unity Health Toronto

01/27/2026

Upstream Lab Scientist Dr. Archna Gupta and colleagues examined how the distance between patients and their family doctor affected access to primary care, emergency department use and cancer screening. Explore the findings of this study in the infographic below, and read more: https://www.ices.on.ca/publications/journal-articles/distance-to-primary-care-and-its-association-with-health-care-use-and-quality-of-care-in-ontario/

Authors: Archna Gupta, Tara Kiran, Lesley Anne Pablo, Andrew Pinto, Eliot Frymire, Peter Gozdyra, Shahriar Khan, Michael E. Green and Rick Glazier

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) CMAJ Unity Health Toronto

NEW STUDY: Distance to primary care and its association with health care use and quality of care in Ontario: a cross-sectional study

🔗 Explore the research: https://www.ices.on.ca/publications/journal-articles/distance-to-primary-care-and-its-association-with-health-care-use-and-quality-of-care-in-ontario/

01/23/2026

Are you feeling sick with a respiratory illness?

Do you live in and have a postal code beginning with M3J, M3K, M3N, M3L, M3M, or M6L?

See if you’re eligible to receive a free at-home COVID test kit and get rapid test results: https://preparedcanada.org/locations/ontario/

This is a research study called PREPARED, led by Dr. Andrew Pinto of the Upstream Lab, based at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto.

01/14/2026

Summer student opportunity with Upstream Lab Scientist Benita Hosseini:

The Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) is strongly committed to building a diverse and inclusive infectious disease research community.

The EPIC Inspire Summer Studentships will foster inclusive excellence by providing third-year Black and Indigenous undergraduate students with opportunities to engage in infectious disease research with and receive mentorship from EPIC’s faculty members, including Dr. Hosseini.

EPIC welcomes applications from eligible students who are interested in infectious disease research. The research project with Dr. Hosseini is entitled: Community-based surveillance systems for acute respiratory infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Learn more and apply: https://epic.utoronto.ca/opportunities/inspire-summer-studentships/

Important dates:
Application Deadline: January 30, 2026
Selection of Applicants: February 2026
Studentship Begins: May 2026

For more information, or if you have any questions, reach out to Yasman at epic@utoronto.ca

University of Toronto Unity Health Toronto

01/13/2026

Coming up today (Tuesday Jan. 13) at noon ET: Upstream Lab Director Dr. Andrew Pinto and Dr. Shaun Morris from The Hospital for Sick Children will be speaking virtually in the Catalyst Seminar Series, showcasing their research funded by the Institute of Health Emergencies and Pandemics' Catalyst and Research Development Grants.

Dr. Pinto will speak about understanding the impact of COVID-19 on communities made vulnerable by social and economic conditions and the subsequent policy response in Canada. Dr. Morris will speak about leveraging data science to improve vaccine equity and pandemic preparedness among children who are newcomers to Canada.

Join us: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/catalyst-seminar-series-january-2026-tickets-1661372452729

12/19/2025

Before the next pandemic hits, Canada needs a way to rapidly test the effectiveness of medications for respiratory infections in our communities, such as in primary care and emergency departments.

In a new article for Healthy Debate, Upstream Lab scientists Dr. Benita Hosseini and Dr. Andrew Pinto explain how a type of clinical trial, called an adaptive platform trial, can achieve this.

"A ready-to-run adaptive platform trial that stays in place to evaluate multiple treatments as soon as a threat emerges could ensure that Canada is no longer caught unprepared or dependent on evidence from elsewhere. This type of platform trial would be permanent, 'always on' infrastructure to rapidly assess multiple treatments in real-world settings," they write.

Dr. Pinto and Dr. Hosseini are launching a new adaptive platform trial called TreatResp (http://treatresp.org), to test treatments for respiratory infections in community settings. It is adapted from their previous trial called CanTreatCOVID (https://cantreatcovid.org), which was one of the largest outpatient trials conducted in Canada with 800 participants.

"A standing platform would give decision-makers early signals about which drugs are effective, which groups benefit most and rapid data to support or revise guidelines. In other words: better data, fewer costly mistakes."

Read more in Healthy Debate: Why Canada needs a ready-to-run adaptive platform trial before the next pandemic hits: https://healthydebate.ca/2025/12/topic/canada-needs-adaptive-platform-trial-next-pandemic/

Unity Health Toronto