OBI Public Talk — Mental Health in the Age of Prevention

When:

- Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2026
- Time: 6 PM - 7:30 PM EDT
- Registration: Online | In-Person (Downtown Toronto, ON)

About the event:

Join us as we discuss the shift in mental health care from crisis response to prevention, and the role of research in this change.

Progress in brain health research is easy to underestimate, until you zoom out. Year to year, the steps can feel small. But over a decade, the change is profound: new discoveries, new treatments, and a fundamental shift in how society understands conditions that affect millions of people. The Evolution of Brain Health traces that longer arc across three talks, each focusing on a single topic to explore how far we've come, what the science tells us today, and where it's taking us next.

For much of recent history, mental health care meant responding to crisis. That is changing. Research is uncovering the biological roots of conditions like depression and anxiety, from inflammation to the gut-brain connection, while society is bringing mental health out of the shadows and into mainstream conversation.

The next frontier is prevention: new treatments, digital tools, and holistic lifestyle approaches that can identify risk earlier, intervene sooner, and fundamentally change what care looks like for millions of people.

What to expect:

This is the second of three talks in OBI's 2026-2027 Evolution of Brain Health series. Each one looks at a different area of brain health: where it started, where it stands today, and where it's heading.

Mental Health in the Age of Prevention will explore:

• Key advances in mental health research and what they could mean for the future of care
• How everyday factors, including sleep and lifestyle habits, can affect brain health and mental well-being
• How to make informed decisions about mental health, treatment options, and available supports

About the speakers:

Dr. Benicio Frey is Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, Homewood Research Chair in Women’s Mental Health and Depression and Director of the Centre for Clinical Neurosciences at St. Joseph's Healthcare. His research focuses on the neurobiology of mood disorders and the links between women’s mental health and depression. Dr. Frey is the Director of the CAN-BIND program.

Rachel Grace Peiris, MSc is a research coordinator at the University of Toronto's Department of Health and Society, in the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health. Her current work focuses on perinatal mental health and care experiences for people with disabilities. She is passionate about lived experience perspectives in research and has been a member of CAN-BIND's Community Advisory Committee for three years. She has also recently joined OBI's Data Advisory Committee and the UHN's PiPER PLEX Network.

Moderator: Dr. Krishana Sankar, a trained scientist and science communicator, currently working as a science advisor for a globally recognized anti-misinformation initiative.