On March 6, 2026, the Canadian Hub for Health Intelligence & Innovation in Infectious Diseases (HI3) and Institutional Strategic Initiatives (ISI) at the University of Toronto hosted the Biosecurity and Health Emergency Preparedness in Today's Research and Development Landscape Lecture and Panel Discussion.
The event featured keynote speaker U.S. Navy CAPT Andrew Letizia (MD, MTM&H, FIDSA) who delivered a compelling overview of potential risks to population health and challenged our understanding and approach to biosecurity and dual-use technologies.
Following the keynote, CAPT Letizia joined Professors Anne Snowdon (ScanHealth; Odette School of Business, University of Windsor), Dani Nedal (Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto), and Samira Mubareka (Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; University of Toronto) in a panel discussion. Together, they explored how health security is defined and understood across their different fields; examined how complex biosecurity and dual-use challenges can impact research, public health, and national preparedness; and discussed why coordinated approaches to these risks are increasingly important in our rapidly changing global landscape.
To learn more about our speakers, please see their detailed biographies below the video.
Speaker Biographies
Keynote and Panelist
CAPT Andrew G. Letizia, MD, MTM&H, FIDSA
Science Director, Naval Medical Research Unit INDO PACIFIC
CAPT Andrew G. Letizia, MD attended The Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He completed his residency and an Infectious Disease Fellowship at Walter Reed and master’s degree in Tropical Medicine.
He completed clinical and research tours in Italy, Japan, Ghana, and Washington DC. In the summer of 2021, he reported to Naval Medical Research Unit INDO PACIFIC in Singapore as the Science Director where he leads a team of 10 PhDs and 3 MDs conducting over $9 million worth of research annually in 11 countries.
CAPT Letizia is a practicing Infectious Diseases physician, Professor at Uniformed Service University and faculty at The National University of Singapore (NUS) with over 100 peer-reviewed publications including first authored research articles in The New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet Respiratory Medicine. He is a Fellow in the Infectious Disease Society of America and won multiple US military medals and achievements.
Panelist
Dr. Anne Snowdon
Professor, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor
Scientific Director & CEO, SCAN Health
Dr. Anne Snowdon is a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor. She is leading a national community of practice and program of research focused on advancing supply chain resilience for Canadian health systems. This work builds on a well-established program of research focused on healthcare supply chain, digital health transformation and health system innovation to advance health system performance, drive economic value and productivity and strengthen quality and safety of health care in Canada.
Currently, Dr. Snowdon is the Scientific Director and CEO for SCAN Health and Chief Scientific Research Officer for HIMSS. She is the Vice Chair of the Ontario Research Fund Advisory Board (ORFAB) and a board member of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Panelist
Dr. Dani Nedal
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto
Dani Nedal (PhD, Georgetown University) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, jointly appointed in the Department of Political Science and the Munk School. His research focuses on global security and international order. He is currently writing a book entitled "Urban War and Urban Peace," which explores the relationship between urban geography and interstate conflict.
Dr. Nedal has taught at Carnegie Mellon University's Institute for Politics and Strategy, the U.S. Army War College, and Georgetown University. He has held fellowships at MIT's Security Studies Program, Yale's International Security Studies program, and the University of Birmingham's Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security.
Panelist
Dr. Samira Mubareka, MD, FRCPC
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Shared Hospital Laboratory
CIHR-PHAC Applied Public Health Chair, Pandemic and Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery
Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto
Dr. Samira Mubareka is a virologist, medical microbiologist and infectious disease physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. She obtained her medical degree at Dalhousie University, and completed her specialty training at McGill University and the University of Manitoba. She also completed a research fellowship at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York where she trained in Dr. Peter Palese’s group.
Her research program has focuses on respiratory and zoonotic virus transmission. Most recently, to address important research gaps in public health at the human-animal interface, she has been collaborating on surveillance and characterization of endemic, emerging and high consequence viral zoonotic pathogens. This work garnered the 2021 Janet Rossant Lectureship, the T. J. Marrie Lectureship, and the Richard G. Hegele Award for Excellence in Research and Innovation.