2026 CAHLN Annual Meeting – RCTLSA 2026

The abstract submission period has ended. Thank you all for your submissions, and we will see you at the conference May 24.

You can register by clicking here:

2026 CAHLN Conference Registration

Registration fee includes sessions, refreshment breaks, lunches, welcome reception on Sunday.

We have the following options available:

Early Bird Registration (with Student Option)

Regular Registration (with Student Option)

Daily Registration (with Student Option)
These will be offered for the Mon/Tue/Wed sessions, and will include sessions, refreshment breaks, and lunches.

Extras/Optional

Sunday, May 24, 2026 – Canadian Association of Veterinary Pathologists (CAVP) Meeting

Monday, May 25, 2026 – Dinner Banquet at the Science Complex

Sunday, May 24, 2026 – Opening Reception

University Club, 5th Floor, University Centre, 50 Stone Road E.

Monday, May 25, 2026 – Technological innovations

8:00 am | Registration
Outside room ECLA 1720, OVC building

8:15 am | Rebecca Hallett (Associate VP Research, University of Guelph) – Welcome Message

8:30 am – 9:15 am | Dr. Geoffrey A. Wood (University of Guelph)
MicroRNAs for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Canine Cancers

9:15 am – 10:00 am | Dr. Emmeline Tan (IDEXX)
Digital Pathology: A Diagnostic Clinical Pathologist’s Perspective

10:00 am – 10:30 am | Refreshments and sponsor display
LLC 1707 B&C

10:30 am – 11:15 am | Dr. Nicole Ricker (University of Guelph)
Translating Data into Decisions: Advances in Sequencing Technologies for Rapid Diagnostics and Metagenomic Surveillance

11:15 am – 12:00 pm | Dr. Oliver Lung (CFIA/ACIA)
Genomic Detection of Pathogens at CFIA’s High-containment lab: One Health Observations in Airborne, Aquatic, and Terrestrial Animals

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm  | Lunch and sponsor displays (LLC 1707 B&C)

1:30 pm – 1:50 pm | Dr. Vincent Baby (CDVUM)
Whole Genome Classification System for Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Type 2 (Betaarterivirus americense) Strains Combining ORF5, nsp3-4-5 and Indels

1:50 pm – 2:10 pm | Dr. Yanyun Huang (Prairie Diagnostic Services)
Bovine Abortion Investigation Using a Reproductive Pathogen Sequencing Panel (BovReproSeq) as a Diagnostic Tool

2:10 pm – 2:30 pm | Daniël Kos (University of Regina)
Hybridisation Probe Capture for Disease Surveillance in the Beef Industry.

2:30 pm – 2:45 pm | Lisa Ledger (University of Guelph)
20 Years of Barcode Scanning: Identifying difficult-to-culture pathogens with universal PCR sequencing primers.

2:45 pm – 3:15 pm | Refreshments and sponsor displays
LLC 1707 B&C

3:15 pm – 3:30 pm | Dr. Ruwani Karunarathna (Prairie Diagnostic Services)
Improved Molecular Detection of Salmonella Enteritidis in Poultry Fluff via Real-Time PCR assay

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm | Dr. Lowia J. Al-Hussinee (University of Guelph)
Validation of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for detection of Flavobacterium branchiophilum in gill disease of salmonids

3:45 pm – 4:00 pm | Dr. Yanyun Huang (Prairie Diagnostic Services) 
Evolution of the genomic services in Prairie Diagnostic Services

4:00 pm – 4:45 pm | Laboratory Reports

6:00 pm – 10:00 pm | Banquet
Science Complex Waasamowin Atrium, University of Guelph

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 – One health lens: Communication and collaboration

8:00 am | Registration
Outside room ECLA 1720, OVC building

8:30 am – 9:15 am | Dr. Andrew Papadopoulos (University of Guelph)
Combatting Online Misinformation

9:15 am – 10:00 am | Dr. Heather McClinchey (Ontario Ministry of Health)
Diphtheria in a Donkey … The Opportunities and Hurdles in Adopting a One Health Approach

10:00 am – 10:30 am | Refreshments and sponsor display
LLC 1707 B&C

10:30 am – 11:15 am | Dr. Scott Weese (University of Guelph)
Pitfalls, challenges and opportunities; lived experiences with scientific communications

11:15 am – 11:40 am | Dr. Maureen Anderson (OMAFA)
Rabies Response & Surveillance in Ontario: A One Health Team Effort

11:40 am – 12:00 pm | Dr. Brian Stevens (University of Guelph)
The Role of Wildlife Disease Surveillance in Advancing One Health

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Lunch and sponsor displays
LLC 1707 B&C

1:30 pm – 2:15 pm | Dr. Josip Rudar (CFIA)
Biosecurity at the Edge: Using Efficient Deep Learning to Identify Important Animal Health Pathogens and Disease Vectors

2:15 pm – 2 :30 pm | Dr. Vanessa Morton (PHAC)
From Poultry to People: The Value of a One Health Approach to Salmonella Enteritidis Outbreak Investigations

2:30 pm – 2:45 pm | Dr. Chao Chun Liu (Simon Fraser University)
SamnSero: Integrating Nextflow and ONT to Assess Salmonella Risk in Real-Time

2:45 pm – 3:15 pm | Refreshments and sponsor displays
LLC 1707 B&C

3:15 pm – 3:30 pm | Dr. Rasaq A. Ojasanya (University of Guelph) * Student Presentation
Risk Factors for Antimicrobial Resistance in Urinary Escherichia coli from Dogs in the United States (2018–2024)

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm | Dr. Wallis Rudnick (PHAC)
Results of an AMRNet-Vet Survey of Challenges, Lab Practices, and Prioritization of Harmonized Guidelines for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing among 9 Public Veterinary Laboratories in Canada.

3:45 pm – 4:00 pm | Parichay Subedi (University of Saskatchewan) * Student Presentation
Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Trueperella pyogenes isolates from British Columbia, Canada

4:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Dr. Cassandra Reedman (PHAC)
Evaluating Associations between Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Results in Clostridium perfringens in Canadian Broilers, Turkeys, and Layers (2018-2023)

4:15 pm – 4:30 pm | Dr. Hugh Cai  (University of Guelph)
Theileriosis in Dairy Cows from Eastern Ontario

4:30 pm – 4:45 pm | Dr. Alexandra Reid (OMAFA)
Piscine Lactococcosis Surveillance in Rainbow Trout in Ontario, Canada 2023-2025.

4:45 pm – 5:00 pm | Dr. Bradley DeWolf (University of Guelph)
Association between Salivary Anti-CarLA IgA Concentrations in Ontario Pastured Sheep and Offspring Performance

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm | BBQ and Arboretum Tour
Guelph Arboretum
University of Guelph

Wednesday, May 26, 2026 – Disease surveillance and preparedness

8:30 am – 9:15 am | Dr. Zvonimir Poljak  (University of Guelph)
Beyond Positives to Signals: What Submissions, Negatives, and Metadata can (and can’t) Reveal about Disease Trends

9:15 am – 10:00am | Dr. Amy Greer (Trent University)
Preparedness Prior to Possible Incursion: Using Models to Assess the Risk of H5N1 Influenza Introduction and Spread in Ontario Dairy Cows”

10:00 am – 10:30 am | Refreshments and sponsor displays
LLC 1707 B&C

10:30 am – 11:15 am | Dr. Tanya Rossi  (University of Guelph)
The Ontario Animal Health Network’s Contributions to Knowledge Transfer and Acquisition

11:15 am – 11:30 am | Dr. Andrew Brooks (University of Guelph)
Foreign Animal Disease Emergency Exercises – 15 Years of Continuous Improvement

11:30 am – 11:45 am | Ashley Lacey (University of Guelph)
Proficiency Testing in an Animal Health Laboratory

11:45 am – 12:00 pm | Dr. Angela Riveroll (University of Prince Edward Island)
Development of a Proficiency Testing Program for Swine Enteric Viruses for Veterinary Laboratories in Canada

12:00 pm – 12:15 pm | Student award and closing remarks

12:15 pm | Boxed Lunch and Departure

Poster Presentations will be on display in Room 1707 B&C throughout the conference, with presenters available at breaks to discuss their research and answer questions.

Monday May 25th morning, to Tuesday May 26th after PM coffee. The presenters and poster numbers are below. * denotes student presentation

Poster No.	Authors	Title	Presenter
1	Grace Couper, Zvonimir Poljak	Natural Language Processing and Machine-Learning Models in Veterinary Free-Text Clinical Records: A Scoping Review	Grace Couper *
2	Jonathan Morton, Janel Wessel, Vanessa Cowan	Investigating The Effect of Endurance Racing on Cardiac Troponin I Release in Saskatchewan Horses	Jonathan Morton *
3	Brittany M. Naeckel, R. Darren Wood, James A. Mori	Successful long-term control of feline primary erythrocytosis with chlorambucil monotherapy	Brittany M. Naeckel *
4	V. Allicock, D. Hodgins, C. Bauman, A. Peregrine, E.Borkowski	Evaluation of antibodies to a carbohydrate larval antigen(CarLA) in Ontario lambs of different ages experimentallyinfected with Haemonchus contortus across a simulatedgrazing season	Victoria Allicock *
5	Kelsey Holland, Mikaela Jahncke, Lisanework Ayalew, Shivani Ojha	Investigation of the fecal microbiome of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in a captive environment	Shivani Ojha
6	Nadia Dsouza, Alan Chicoine, Joe Rubin	Antimicrobial Resistance and Prevalence of Canine Uropathogens in Saskatchewan (2023–2026)	Nadia Dsouza *
7	Cassandra Reedman, Agnes Agunos, Richard J. Reid-Smith, Amrita Bharat, Justin Carr, Dale Douma, Ruwani Karunarathna, Beverly Morrison, Matt E. Saab,  Durda Slavic, Wallis Rudnick	A descriptive analysis of diagnostic poultry antimicrobial resistance data from the Canadian AMRNet-Vet program	Cassandra Reedman
8	Lilani Munasinghe	Leukemia in a Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus) Initially Suspected as Severe Leukocytosis Associated with Infection	Lilani Munasinghe

LABORATORIAN OF THE YEAR

 

Who can be nominated:

Anyone who has made a significant contribution to animal health laboratory medicine in Canada. A nominee can be an outstanding diagnostician, educator, researcher, mentor of future laboratorians, or other contributor to the field.

 

How to nominate:

Send a brief letter of support outlining the nominee’s accomplishments, along with the nominee’s CV, to the Awards Committee of CAHLN, by sending an e-mail to TBD before TBD. Please write “Laboratorian of the Year” as the subject title.

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For any queries related to the CAHLN 2026 Meeting, please send an email to:

ahladmin@uoguelph.ca