The Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research’s (CIMVHR) annual forum, focused on military, veteran, family, and public safety personnel health research, will be hosted virtually for the first time due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A kickoff event for CIMVHR Virtual Forum 2021 will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 29, followed by a poster session on Tuesday, Oct. 5.

During the kickoff event participants will hear from featured speaker Maj. Gen. J.G.M. Bilodeau, Surgeon General of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, and keynote speaker Dr. Ruth Lanius, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, and Harris-Woodman Chair at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine.

Four more virtual events will be held each Thursday in October: Oct. 7 – Serving Military Streams; Oct. 14 – Veteran Streams; Oct. 21 – Family and Serving Military Streams; Oct. 28 – Public Safety Personnel and Military Streams. Overall, more than 64 presentations on current research will be made. The full schedule and list of presentations can be found at the CIMVHR Forum website. Registration is available online.          

“Hosting a virtual event is the best decision for the health and safety of CIMVHR’s many stakeholders who attend, present, and sponsor CIMVHR’s forum,” says Dr. David Pedlar, Scientific Director of CIMVHR. “Our symposium series held last October, the first virtual conference for CIMVHR, was a great success and provided many valuable lessons that we will carry forward into CIMVHR Virtual Forum 2021.  It is important that we continue to share the latest research and knowledge from leaders in the field. A virtual format for Forum 2021 will ensure that the research continues to be presented to other experts, knowledge users and funders.”

CIMVHR is a university centre based within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s. The only pan-national institute within the military, veteran, and family health research international landscape, CIMVHR is a network of 45 Canadian university members and 13 global affiliates, serving as the hub for research, relationships, and impact within the academic military, veteran, and family health research community.

CIMVHR Virtual Forum 2021 has been approved for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits.

CIMVHR Forum 2022 is scheduled to be held Oct. 17-19 in Halifax.