Faculty

CANIBD Guest Faculty - Saturday, November 15, 2025

Plenary Presenters:
 
Keynote Speaker:
Eric 
Benchimol MD PhD FRCPC
Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, SickKids IBD Centre
The Hospital for Sick Children
Professor, Department of Paediatrics and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
 


Plenary Presenter:
Karen Frost, MScN RN NP 
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Nursing
University of Toronto
Nurse Practitioner
Hospital for Sick Children 
Toronto, ON
 
Plenary Presenter:
Richard Ingram
, BMBS(Hons) MRCP(UK) PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Calgary 
Clinical Lead and Associate Director, IBD Unit
Foothills Medical Centre 
Calgary, AB
 
Plenary Presenter:
Nadim 
Khalil
, MD
Pediatrician
London Health Sciences Centre
Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
London, ON
 
 
 
Plenary Presenter:
Karen Kroeker
, MD MSc FRCPC
Director, IBD Clinical Operations and Innovation
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB

Plenary Presenter:
Erin Rawlings
, RPN
Transition Navigator
Children's Hospital
London Health Sciences Centre


 
London, ON


 
 
CANIBD Board

Presenter:

Alana CarterRN MN
IBD Nurse, Research Coordinator
GI Department, Oshawa Clinic
Oshawa, ON

CANIBD Chair, Presenter & Moderator:
Usha Chauhan
, RN(EC) MN BScN ACNP(D) CGN(C)
Nurse Practitioner, Adult Digestive Disease
McMaster University Medical Centre
Associate Professor, School of Nursing
McMaster University
Hamilton, ON

Moderator & Presenter:
Barbara K. Currie, MN RN-NP
Nurse Practitioner IBD
NS Collaborative IBD Program Division of Digestive Care & Endoscopy
QEII Health Sciences Centre
Halifax, NS

Moderator:
Colleen Johnston, RN MBA
Nurse Clinician, Lead for GI CAT
Certified Prosci Practitioner,
Alberta Health Services
Calgary, AB

Kate Lee, PhD MBA
Vice-President, Research & Patient Programs
Crohn’s and Colitis Canada
Toronto, ON

Moderator:
Marie-Louise Martin, BA BScN RN(EP) MN ACNP
Nurse Practitioner, Inflammatory Bowel Disease
University of Calgary
Calgary, AB

CANIBD Vice-Chair & Moderator:
Jennifer Stretton, RN(EC) ACNP MN BScN
Nurse Practitioner, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic
St. Joseph’s Healthcare
Hamilton, ON

Moderator:
Melanie Watson, RN(EC) MN NP Nurse Practitioner
Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre
Adjunct Clinical Professor
Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences
Adjunct Lecturer
Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
Toronto, ON

 

  • Canada has among the highest incidence rates of Crohn's and colitis in the world.
  • 1 in 140 Canadians lives with Crohn’s or colitis.
  • Families new to Canada are developing these diseases for the first time.
  • Incidence of Crohn’s in Canadian kids under 10 has doubled since 1995.
  • People are most commonly diagnosed before age 30.