National Advisory Committee on Infection Prevention and Control (NAC-IPC)

Medical Director IPAC, Sinai Health
Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Johnstone obtained her medical degree from Dalhousie University. She then moved to Edmonton, Alberta where she completed her Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease training at the University of Alberta. Following her residency, she completed a clinical research fellowship in Edmonton. She moved to Hamilton in July 2008 where she practiced Infectious Diseases at McMaster University and completed her PhD in Health Research Methodology (Epidemiology). Following her PhD, she joined Public Health Ontario as an Infection Prevention and Control physician where she continues to lead research focused on preventing healthcare associated infections. She worked at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto for 5 years, where she practiced Infectious Diseases and led the Infection Prevention and Control program. In 2018 she left St. Joseph's and joined Sinai Health in Toronto as the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control. She is the Infectious Diseases Division Director at the University of Toronto, where she is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology.

Executive Medical Director, Medical and Academic Affairs
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) | Medical Staff Safety | Medical Staff Wellbeing | Antimicrobial Stewardship | MAiD & ACP
Provincial Medical Director
Provincial Infection Prevention and Control Network, British Columbia (PICNet)
Provincial Health Services Authority
Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC), and Community Health
BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)

A collaborator at heart, Dr. Titus Wong is an experienced medical leader who has a passion for improving safety and wellness for British Columbians. Titus has a clinical background in medical microbiology, infection prevention control, and clinical epidemiology. He currently serves as the Executive Medical Director in Medical Affairs at Provincial Health Services Authority, overseeing a portfolio that includes Infection Prevention and Control, Medical Staff Safety and Wellbeing, Antimicrobial Stewardship, as well as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and Advanced Care Planning (ACP). Titus works at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) Public Health Laboratory as a Medical microbiologist, and also serves as the Medical Director for IPAC and Community Health. Titus is also the Medical Director for the Provincial infection control network of British Columbia (PICNet). Titus is the co-creator and medical director of the BC/Vancouver Coastal Health Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)-Testing Laboratory, Canada's first ISO-accredited, healthcare-based personal protective equipment testing laboratory, supporting Canadian healthcare and industry to provide safe PPE for Canadians during the pandemic and beyond. Titus is a dedicated educator and a strong believer in investing in tomorrow's healthcare leaders. Through the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Titus is a UBC Medical School lecturer, sits on the UBC Medical Microbiology residency training committee as the fellowship advisor, and serves as the course director for the UBC Infection Prevention and Control Certificate. Titus has a longstanding interest in improving environmental infection control for patients and staff in healthcare settings through an innovation lens. He has collaborated with clinicians, researchers and industry on the use of antimicrobial copper in healthcare, ultraviolet disinfection, and clean air strategies.

Medical Consultant, Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
Newmarket, Ontario

Dr. Afanasyeva completed her residency program in Public Health & Preventive Medicine at the University of Ottawa and the subspecialty program in Occupational Medicine at the University of Toronto. She holds a Master of Public Health degree and a PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, where for academic excellence she was inducted into the Delta Omega Honorary Public Health Society, Alpha Chapter. She received her medical degree with distinction from the Belarusian State Medical University and completed an internship in internal medicine in Belarus. Dr. Afanasyeva is a medical consultant with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). Prior to joining the MLITSD, Dr. Afanasyeva worked as an occupational medicine physician at Humber River Hospital and at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Dr. Afanasyeva is an adjunct lecturer with the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, a clinical adjunct professor with the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and an adjunct professor with the University of Ottawa School of Epidemiology and Public Health. Dr. Afanasyeva has been an examiner with the Public Health and Preventive Medicine Exam Board of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She has co-authored over 30 publications, including original research papers, invited reviews, and book chapters, in the areas of occupational medicine, immunology, and the role of infection in autoimmunity.

Associate Medical Officer of Health, Toronto Public Health
Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Irene Armstrong completed her medical degree, in both family medicine and public health and preventive medicine residencies at the University of Toronto. She has a Master of Science in Community Health and Epidemiology from Queen's University, and a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours Psychology) from the University of Western Ontario. Irene is a public health and preventive medicine specialist who has worked as an associate medical officer of health in communicable disease control at Toronto Public Health (TPH) since 2005. Irene is an Adjunct Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and her primary teaching responsibilities include, supervising medical students and residents undertaking public health electives/rotations at TPH. Irene was a member of the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee on Infection Prevention and Control from 2009-2016, and the Ontario Hospital Association and Ontario Medical Association Joint Communicable Disease Surveillance Protocols Committee from 2010 until the committee was paused in 2019.

Associate Professor,
Co-Medical Director Infection Control and Head of Infectious Diseases Service,
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
Infectious Diseases Physician
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario

Dr. Chagla is an Associate Professor at McMaster University, and an Infectious Diseases Consultant. He is Medical Director of Infection Control, Head of Infectious Diseases Service, and Senior Medical Director of Medical and Academic Affairs at St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. He is a member of the Institute for Infectious Diseases Research (IIDR) at McMaster University, and a board director of AMMI-Canada (Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases). Dr. Chagla holds a BSc and MD from Queen's University, an Internal Medicine Residency from Western University, an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at McMaster University, and a Masters of Science (Infectious Diseases), and Diploma in Tropical Medicine from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine

Physician | Infectious Diseases | Department of medicine
Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control Program, Acute Care, Nova Scotia Health
Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Dr. Mark Downing is the Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Control in Acute Care for Nova Scotia Health. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University with a cross-appointment in the Department of Bioethics. Beyond IPAC, he has a keen interest in ethical decision-making at the system level and how this is taught within medical education. He received his Medical Degree from Dalhousie University in 2007, followed by a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Ottawa and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Toronto. He also obtained a Master of Health Science in Bioethics through the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, in 2024. Prior to moving back to Nova Scotia in 2023, he was the Associate Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Control and the Medical Director for Antimicrobial Stewardship at Unity Health Toronto. Dr. Downing is currently a member of the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program and sits on several working groups. He is also an active member of the Emerging and Re-Emerging Infection Network in Nova Scotia which coordinates provincial responses to issues that relate to infectious diseases.

Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine
Medical Lead, Infectious Diseases
Medical Director, Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT)
Medical Inspector, Audit and Inspection Committee, Ministry of Health, British Columbia
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
Kelowna, British Columbia

Dr. Ephtimios completed his training in General Internal Medicine, Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research in the United States and his Fellowship in Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine in Canada. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and is involved in the teaching of Medical Students, Residents and Fellows. He was on the front line in the battle against and helped in controlling SARS in the Greater Toronto Area in 2003. For his efforts he received the team achievement award in infection control. Dr. Ephtimios has been in the field of infection control for over 30 years. His clinical and research interests are in Hand Hygiene, Emerging Infections, and Hospital Acquired Infections. Before moving back to Canada in 2020 to help with the COVID- 19 outbreak; he was the Medical Director of Infectious Diseases, in charge of Infection Control and Antibiotics Stewardship, as well as the Chief of Medicine, in a major USA hospital. Currently, Dr. Ephtimios Co- Chairs the Infection Control Committee in Central Okanagan (ICCCO) in BC. He is a member of the BC Health Authorities Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and sits on the Society of Hospital Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Guidelines Committee. Dr. Ephtimios is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Canada), and holds certification in Infection Control, Tropical Medicine, and Travellers' Health. He is a Certified Physician Executive (CPE) and a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS). In his free time, Dr. Ephtimios enjoys reading, scuba diving and travelling the world.

Physician & IPC Medical Lead
Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital
Red Lake, Ontario

Dr. Jeffrey Eruvwetaghware education includes a Medical degree from the University of Port Harcourt, a Master of Public Health from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene from the University of Glasgow. He holds a Certification in infection control (CIC), Long-Term Care Certification in Infection Prevention (LTC-CIP) and Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC). He is a Certified Professional in Health Quality (CPHQ) with extensive experience in a variety of healthcare settings, including acute, long-term care, and public health. He is a member of the Canadian College of Healthcare Leaders and a Certified Healthcare Executive. He has served in various Infection Prevention and Control roles throughout his career at the local, provincial, and national level including serving as Past chair of the IPAC Canada Mentorship Program, Past-President of the IPAC Canada Northeastern Ontario Chapter, former member of the Ontario Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee on Infection Prevention and Control (PIDAC-IPC) and Member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Infection Control (CJIC).

Director, IPC, Alberta Children's Hospital
Calgary, Alberta

Jennifer Happe completed her Master of Science degree in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary and has worked in infection control for 15 years. She began her career as a clinical researcher investigating alternative therapies for Clostridium difficile infections, including novel antibiotics and fecal microbiota transplants, before transitioning into the role of Infection Control Professional with Alberta Health Services (AHS). Jennifer is a former Director on the Board of Infection Prevention and Control Canada (IPAC Canada) and has been the Chair of the IPAC Canada Surveillance and Applied Epidemiology Interest Group for the past 9 years. Jennifer is also the current Chair of the IPAC Canada Scientific Advisory Committee for the Annual Education Conferences. Jennifer is an active member of several Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program Work Groups. Jennifer is committed to developing evidence-based infection control recommendations to achieve better health outcomes for patients and their families. She joined the PHAC NAC-IPC group in 2020.

Medical Director, Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Integrated Sites
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Dr. Kraut graduated from the University of Manitoba Medical School and obtained specialty training in internal medicine at the University of Manitoba and in occupational medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in both occupational medicine and internal medicine. He is currently the medical director for occupational health for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, a position he has held since 2009. He also has positions in occupational health for Shared Health and the Health Sciences Center providing medical supervision for the documentation of immunization status, tuberculosis surveillance and personal protective equipment requirement for health care workers. Since 1989, Dr. Kraut has also been an occupational physician at the MFL-Occupational Health clinic. He was an attending physician in internal medicine on the clinical teaching units in Winnipeg for 30, years stopping in 2020. Dr. Kraut served on the Board of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association of Canada from 2014 to 2022. Dr. Kraut has served as a consultant in occupational medicine to a variety of industry, government, and labour organizations. He has published in the area of occupational diseases and is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

Director, Infection Prevention and Control
London Health Sciences Centre
London, Ontario

Marianita has a master's in health administration, and degrees in Medical Technology (laboratory medicine) and Public Health. She is the director of Infection prevention and Control at London Health Service Sciences Centre. With almost 20 years of infection prevention and control (IPAC) experience, Marianita has been at the forefront in providing guidance and responding to several pandemics and epidemics of our time, including SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and COVID-19. As a seasoned IPAC professional, her proficiency centred around program planning and policy development, infectious disease surveillance, microbiology, outbreak management, emergency preparedness, medical devices processing and analytics. She has developed very strong partnership across the province and has been a part of Ontario West Subject Matter Expert IPAC during COVID-19. In her role, she has led many large-scale initiatives (e.g. COVID-19 outbreak management of LTC homes to improve IPAC standards; redesign of hand hygiene programs in hospitals to improve access and compliance; develop pandemic planning in hospitals to elevate practice standards and reduced preventable harm associated with IPAC). Her leadership ability creates effective partnerships and authentic collaboration ensuring an integrated approach to quality and patient safety in all aspects of clinical care. Prior to infection prevention and control, Marianita worked in clinical research with a focus on HIV and kidney transplant care in academia and acute care settings in Toronto as well as clinical laboratories and abroad. This training has guided many hospitals in adopting best practices, integrating research into programming and elevating IPAC practices.

Director of Service Excellence
Accreditation Canada
Ottawa, Ontario

Donna Moore completed her Registered Practical Nursing (RPN) diploma at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, and holds a Master of Science degree (MSc) in Infection Prevention and Control from the University of Essex, UK. She holds certifications in both Infection Control (CIC^®) and Medical Device Reprocessing (CMDRT^®). Donna has served as the Manager of Infection Prevention and Control at William Osler Health System, a large multi-site acute care hospital system. In this role, she played a vital part in protecting and promoting the health and safety of all patients within the health system. Donna possesses over 20 years of experience working in and managing IPC programs. She has developed expertise in Medical Device Reprocessing and large-scale emergency preparedness activities, including SARS, MERS, and COVID-19, both nationally and internationally. Donna held the positions of Corporate Clinical Services Manager overseeing the Medical Device Reprocessing program at William Osler Health System in 2017, and Team Lead for the IPAC Regional Support Team at Public Health Ontario in 2013. She worked as a consultant and subject matter expert with Accreditation Canada International (ACI), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Health Services Organization (HSO), and most recently with the World Health Organization (WHO). She also worked as part-time faculty at Seneca Polytechnic.

Medical Director, IPC, Unity Health, St. Michael's Hospital
Toronto, Ontario

Matthew P. Muller completed his medical degree, residency in internal medicine and specialization in infectious diseases at the University of Toronto. He then completed a PhD in clinical epidemiology. Currently, he is the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control and an Infectious Diseases physician at St. Michael's Hospital. His research interests focus on the epidemiology and prevention of hospital-acquired infections with a focus on hand hygiene measurement and improvement. Dr. Muller is involved in infection control guideline and policy development at the provincial level and as the chair of the Ontario Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee on Infection Prevention and Control (PIDAC-IPC).

Physician & Co-Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control
Jewish General Hospital
Montreal, Quebec

Dr. Leighanne Olivia Parkes earned her Doctor of Medicine from the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University, where she had previously graduated with honours from their Bachelor of Health Sciences program. She is Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Medical Microbiology, and has also completed a clinical fellowship in infectious infection prevention and control at the University of Toronto. She is an infectious diseases physician at the Jewish General Hospital and co-medical director of the department of infection prevention and control at the integrated university health and social services centres (CIUSSS) du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal. In these positions, she specializes in infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship in long-term care as well as the role of engineering controls in infection prevention. Dr. Parkes works as a microbiologist with the department of Laboratory Medicine at McGill University Health Centre, where she sits on the Transversal Quality and Risk Management Microbiology Committee. She is also a researcher with the Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital. In 2021, she published on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy amongst health-care workers in the American Journal of Infection Control (Covid-19 vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and refusal among Canadian healthcare workers: A multicenter survey). Followed by the results of a trial in 2022 on optimal mask use to prevent COVID-19 transmission in the Annals of Internal Medicine (Medical Masks Versus N95 Respirators for Preventing COVID-19 Among Health Care Workers : A Randomized Trial). In 2023, Dr. Parkes published again, this time on COVID-19 and duration of infectivity in Clinical Infectious Diseases (Timing and Predictors of Loss of Infectivity among Healthcare Workers with Mild Primary and Recurrent COVID-19: a Prospective Observational Cohort Study) as well as Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (Persistence of infectivity in elderly individuals diagnosed with severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection 10 days after onset of symptoms: A cross-sectional study). As an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award, in recognition of her contribution to post-graduate medical education.

Executive Director, Communicable Disease Prevention and Control
Victoria, British Columbia

In his role as the Executive Director of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control at the British Columbia Ministry of Health, Brian leads the development of strategic provincial policy for infection prevention and control, immunization, and sexually transmitted and blood borne infections.

Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Alberta Hospital
Edmonton, Alberta

Dr. Smith completed her MD at Dalhousie University after which she went on to the University of Alberta for her internal medicine and infectious diseases training. She then completed a master's degree in clinical Epidemiology at the University of Toronto while doing a fellowship in Infection Prevention and Control at Mt Sinai Hospital in Toronto. She then returned to Edmonton, Alberta where she works as an associate professor in the division of infectious diseases. She is Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University of Alberta Hospital, Mazankowski Heart Institute and Cross Cancer Institute. She is actively involved in national and local surveillance for hospital acquired infections and is a member of the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program. She is involved in education within infectious diseases and Infection Prevention and Control.

Medical Director, IPC, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Ottawa, Ontario

Dr. Nisha Thampi holds a Master of Science in Public Health with a focus in health economics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is a pediatric infectious diseases physician and has been the Medical Director of the Infection Prevention and Control Program at CHEO, a pediatric health and research centre in Ottawa, for the last 10 years. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa in the Department of Pediatrics Her research interests include healthcare-associated infection surveillance, economic evaluations of infectious diseases, and antimicrobial stewardship in neonates. She has a particular interest in innovative strategies to promote hand hygiene among school-aged children and families.

Assistant Teaching Professor
University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Nursing
Moncton, New Brunswick

With over 20 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and currently pursuing her PhD, Julie has served several roles across the New Brunswick healthcare sector. Julie's career has taken her from the role of front-line Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit to leadership roles within Long-Term Care (LTC). Julie has been afforded the opportunity to serve as the provincial lead for the scale of the appropriate use of antipsychotics initiative as well as with the implementation of the interRAI LTCF assessment across all nursing homes in NB. Julie moved into the infection prevention and control (ICP) space during the global pandemic and worked in both the acute and long-term care sectors in this capacity and recently served as CEO for the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes. Currently, Julie is an Assistant Teaching Professor with the University of New Brunswick in the Faculty of Nursing. Julie served as a technical subcommittee member with CSA on development of the National LTC standards and currently serves as President-Elect to the Board of Directors with the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Canada organization. Julie continues to provide quality improvement and evaluation coaching supports through Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) for a number of initiatives involving LTC organizations and also serves as clinical co-lead to the LTC group with Choosing Wisely Canada.

Manager, Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention and Control, Infection Prevention and Surveillance Division, Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada