Canadian Rare Disease Network

Building Bridges "Bridging" Conference
2025-08-21 08:00 - 2025-08-24 17:00 (America/Edmonton)

Webinar: Patient Partnership 2025 – The Lupus100 Project
2025-08-27 00:00 (America/Edmonton)
Co-developed by ERN ReCONNET and LUPUS EUROPE, The Lupus100 Project is a multilingual resource based on real patient questions about lupus, turning a national patient booklet into a Europe-wide, medically validated information tool. Speakers Eric Hachulla (clinician, ERN ReCONNET), Jeanette Andersen (patient representative, ERN ReCONNET), and Zoe Karakikla-Mitsakou (General Secretary, Lupus Europe) will share how meaningful collaboration between patients and clinicians shaped this impactful communication initiative!

2025 RARE Drug Development Symposium
2025-09-03 08:00 - 2025-09-04 17:00 (America/Denver)
Rare disease patient advocates are taking the lead in research like never before, driven by the urgent need for new treatments. The RARE Drug Development Symposium hosted by Global Genes in partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital is designed to equip advocates with the knowledge, skills, and connections to navigate early-stage research with confidence. During this 1.5 day event, attendees will have a mix of main stage sessions, targeted breakouts, group presentations, and hands-on workshopping. Whether you’re initiating research efforts or looking to refine your strategy, this symposium offers practical insights to accelerate progress in research strategies and activities.

6th International Hypothalamic Hamartoma Symposium
2025-09-04 08:00 - 2025-09-05 17:00 (America/Belize)
Presented by Hope for HH and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona, this symposium will gather leading experts, patients, and caregivers from around the world to share the latest research, clinical advances, and treatment strategies for Hypothalamic Hamartoma (HH)! Alexis Arzimanoglou and Helen Cross are part of the Symposium Committee.

Back-to-School with PH: Q&A Session
2025-09-04 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Edmonton)
Getting ready for a new school year can be exciting—but also challenging when pulmonary hypertension (PH) is part of the picture.
Join in on Thursday, Sept 4 at 11:00 AM EST for a virtual round table with Janette Reyes, PH Pediatric Nurse at SickKids Hospital.

2025 C-Path Global Impact Conference
2025-09-09 08:00 - 2025-09-11 17:00 (America/Vancouver)
As C-Path celebrates its 20th anniversary, CGIC 2025 stands out as a milestone event—bringing together a global community dedicated to advancing medical innovation and improving patient outcomes.
Whether you’re joining us from industry, regulatory agencies, academia, patient organizations, or as someone with lived experience, you’ll find valuable insights, thought-provoking discussions, and meaningful opportunities to collaborate.

PxP2025
2025-09-09 08:00 - 2025-09-12 17:00 (America/Edmonton)
The PxP (For Patients, By Patients) conference will be September 9-11 (for those in Europe, Africa or North and South America), or 10-12 (Asia and Oceania). This free, virtual event aims to bring you a wealth of knowledge, skills and resources on Patient Engagement in health research.

PCSI 2025
2025-09-10 08:00 - 2025-09-12 17:00 (America/Toronto)
From September 10 to 12, 2025, the 37th PSCI conference will be held at the Quebec City Convention Centre under the theme: “Patient Grouping as a Driver of Value in Health: The Patient at the Heart of Our Decisions.” The topics will be:

Innovations in case-mix, data and technology.
Advancements in coding, classification systems, and data quality.
Case-mix and costing beyond funding.
From case-mix to policy: the patient at the center.
Connecting funding with patient outcomes and quality of care
Using costing and funding to create value and demonstrate productivity.
Artificial intelligence & case-mix: in service of patient-centered care.

On September 9th, there will be a day of pre-conference workshops.

2025 Pulmonary Hypertension Community Conference
2025-09-11 08:00 - 2025-09-13 17:00 (America/Toronto)
​Join PHA Canada’s 2025 PH Community Conference to explore how they can drive meaningful change and inspire hope across the PH community. This year’s event will feature powerful keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and engaging panel discussions—all designed to empower you with new strategies, the latest research, and stories of resilience and innovation.

Ottawa NMD 2025 Conference
2025-09-11 08:00 - 2025-09-13 17:00 (America/Toronto)
7th Ottawa International Conference on Neuromuscular Disease and Biology will take place at the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa, Canada on September 11-13, 2025.
The Ottawa NMD 2025 conference will offer an outstanding program emphasizing recent breakthroughs in basic and translational research and clinical discoveries in neuromuscular disease.

OTCD-Gala for a Cure
2025-09-12 11:00 - 23:30 (America/Toronto)

Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Conference
2025-09-17 08:00 - 2025-09-19 17:00 (America/Edmonton)
Join CFC September 17 –19, 2025 for Cystic Fibrosis Canada’s first Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Conference, hosted in Calgary, Alberta.
The conference will spotlight the development of Canadian consensus and national standards for CF care, explore early implementation strategies, and highlight hot topics in healthcare and research and knowledge gaps that future research and clinical trials can address.

RareKids-CAN-Education Session: Family Engagement in Research Fundamentals
2025-09-17 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Toronto)
Join RareKids-CAN on September 17, 2025, from 2-3pm ET for their next education session, led by their Patient and Family Engagement Facilitators. This session is open to everyone interested in strengthening engagement practices. Don’t miss out!

EURORDIS Webinar: Patient Partnership 2025 – The Lupus100 Project
2025-09-18 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Edmonton)
The Lupus100 Project, recognized as a winner of the 2025 Patient Partnership Good Practice Challenge, highlights the crucial role of patient partnership in improving communication about rare diseases such as lupus.

LHON Awareness Day 2025 Webinar: "Exploring the Power of Nutrition in Mitochondrial Diseases"
2025-09-19 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Edmonton)
This year’s theme focuses on how nutrition can support mitochondrial health. You’ll hear from experts across Australia, Italy, and Brazil, sharing practical strategies and the latest research relevant to LHON and other types of mito.

Undiagnosed Hackathon 2025
2025-09-21 08:00 - 2025-09-24 17:00 (America/Chicago)
350 million people live with an undiagnosed disease worldwide. Genome sequencing can provide answers for 40% of the People Living With Undiagnosed Disease (PLWUD) but around 60% still don’t receive a diagnosis. The purpose of the Undiagnosed Hackathon is trying to find new ways and collaborations to solve the undiagnosed diseases, that can’t be solved today. In this unique event multidisciplinary teams of clinicians, bioinformaticians/molecular biologists, scientists, developers, AI specialists and brilliant minds will work together to tackle the most difficult diseases.

Advancing Rare Disease Healthcare: Spotlighting the Economic and Health System Burden of Disease
2025-09-23 09:30 - 11:30 (America/Edmonton)
Please join this 1.5-hour live virtual meeting to hear esteemed faculty describe the global economic impact of rare diseases on patients and healthcare systems. Expert community advocates will also share their practical experience of advancing patients’ needs with key stakeholders. Panel discussion and audience questions will consider how to have meaningful impact in your country or region with patient healthcare experience data and insights to drive change in practice and better health outcomes for people living with rare disease. The live virtual meeting is further supplemented with published studies and content.

6th Western Canadian Neuromuscular Conference
2025-09-25 08:00 - 2025-09-27 17:00 (America/Edmonton)
The 6th Western Canadian Neuromuscular
Conference is confirmed for 2026! Don’t miss
the opportunity to network with leading experts
and stay at the forefront of medical
advancements in the field of neuromuscular
diseases.

Canadian Rare Disease Symposium: Preparing for Clinical Trials – International Regulatory Insights, and cGMP Gene Therapy Manufacturing capabilities in Canada
2025-10-01 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Toronto)
The Stem Cell Network (SCN) and the National Research Council Canada (NRC) are excited to contribute to the national conversation on cell and gene therapy for rare diseases. Building on the 2024 event titled “Canadian Rare Disease Ecosystem Symposium: Genetic Therapies for Rare Disease”, SCN and NRC are pleased to invite you to the Canadian Rare Disease Symposium: Preparing for Clinical Trials – International Regulatory Insights, and cGMP Gene Therapy Manufacturing Capabilities in Canada–a focused half-day event dedicated to advancing gene and cell therapy development in Canada through regulatory alignment and manufacturing readiness.
This virtual symposium will convene international regulatory authorities, Canadian manufacturing experts, and rare disease developers to explore two critical enablers of translational success: clinical trial readiness and cGMP manufacturing capacity.

30th Annual International Congress of the World Muscle Society
2025-10-07 08:00 - 2025-10-11 17:00 (Europe/Vienna)
The World Muscle Society is a dynamic community that aims to promote, disseminate, and share all aspects of neuromuscular physiology and diseases, from basic science to patient care. It encompasses a broad range of scientists and healthcare professionals who share the common interest for neuromuscular disorders.

Rare Diseases International-Community Conversations on Mental Health
2025-10-10 07:00 - 08:00 (America/Edmonton)

A Conversation About Patient Partner Outsider Syndrome
2025-10-15 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Edmonton)
Patient/caregiver partnership in health research has evolved substantially since the launch of Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) over a decade ago. However, findings from the Patient Advisors Network (PAN) “Reimagining the Research Landscape” report, commissioned by CIHR in 2024 for the SPOR Refresh, revealed that patient/caregiver partners often feel like outsiders in the research ecosystem. This webinar will take a deeper dive into the OSSU Research Day presentation “Why do patient/caregiver partners feel like outsiders?”
Ms. Maureen Smith will moderate a frank discussion between two of the report authors, Mses. Alies Maybee and Annette McKinnon, and PAN Board member Ms. Sandra Holdsworth, and leading patient-oriented researchers Drs. Manoj Lalu, Ambreen Sayani and Stuart Nicholls, on the barriers uncovered by the report and showcasing best practices to mitigate these barriers.

RareKids-CAN Coffee Chat: Digital Storytelling with Krystle Schofield
2025-10-16 20:00 - 21:00 (America/Toronto)
Join other parents, caregivers, and individuals impacted by rare diagnosis and rare disease on October 16 at 8 P.M. EST. and learn about digital storytelling. Learn from Krystle Schofield, a RareKids-CAN parent partner, B.C. mom, digital storytelling facilitator + photographer.

RQMO 2025 Education Day
2025-10-18 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto)
Under the theme “Rare Diseases: Let’s Break Isolation Together!”, this event aims to build bridges between those who live the daily reality of rare diseases and those who accompany and care for them.

Building Bridges: Advancing Collaborative Pediatric Palliative Care
2025-10-22 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto)
This pediatric palliative care symposium is for health care professionals interested in increasing their knowledge and skill in working with children with serious illness and their families.
The goal is to share research and clinical experiences that broaden the perspectives and collaborative efforts to enhance the care delivery in hospital, home and hospice.
Pediatric-focused clinician’s and adult palliative care clinicians most welcome

Cardiac Precision Medicine in the 21st Century
2025-10-29 08:00 - 2025-10-31 17:00 (America/Toronto)
The 10th International Cardiovascular Genomic Medicine & SickKids Cardiac Precision Medicine Conference is making its debut in North America! This year’s theme, “Cardiac Precision Medicine in the 21st Century,” delves into cardiovascular genomics and precision medicine in the era of ‘Omics’, AI and digital medicine. Join us as we bring together international experts and innovators to explore transformative research and collaborative opportunities that can shape the future of cardiovascular medicine.
This event will feature the 4th William Harvey Oration delivered by Dr. Sharlene Day and the Dr. Michael Braudo Lectureship delivered by Dr. Ma’n H. Zawati.

Easing Pain, Advancing Care: A New Pathway for Children with Severe Neurological Impairments
2025-10-29 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Edmonton)
This webinar will provide an overview of the multi-phased project, from clinical trial to implementation. It will highlight the clinical complexity of assessing pain and irritability; the project’s relevance and impact for clinicians, children with health complexity, and their families; as well as key lessons for patient-oriented research and implementation science.

Taking multiple medications? 5 questions to ask
2025-10-29 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Edmonton)
In recognition of Canadian Patient Safety Week 2025 (October 27-31), join Dr. Emily McDonald — a physician specializing in patient safety and Director of the Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network — for a live, interactive webinar.
Learn essential questions to ask to ensure all your medications are still necessary and helping you.

YPAHD Day + National Conference
2025-10-30 08:00 - 2025-11-01 17:00 (America/Toronto)

Ehlers-Danlos Society ECHO Summit: Mental Health
2025-11-01 08:00 - 18:00 (America/Edmonton)
The Ehlers-Danlos Society is delighted to welcome you to register for the EDS ECHO Summit: Mental Health, a virtual event held on November 1, 2025. This event is suitable for community members, their friends, families, and caregivers, as well as healthcare professionals.
This event will feature presentations, case studies, and panel discussions around the latest management and care strategies, featuring presentations on the following topics:

The Mind/Body Connection
Coping with a Diagnosis
Intersectionality
Neurodivergence
Practical Management Strategies
