Waypoint Research Institute’s InSPIRE 2025 Conference Bridges Research And Real-World Change

The Waypoint Research Institute (WRI) welcomed nearly 150 researchers, advocates, service providers and students to the Village Conference Centre in Blue Mountain for Integrating Science, Practice, Innovation, Research and Experience (InSPIRE) 2025, its first in-person research conference since 2019. The two-day event, held June 3-4, was a celebration of reconnection and a call to mobilize research into meaningful change.

Dr. Nadiya Sunderji, President and CEO of Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, opened the conference by acknowledging the pressing challenges communities face today — from rising needs for trauma-informed services to systemic inequities in mental health and substance use care.

“In this moment of urgency, we have unprecedented tools to pull together in a unique way: science, innovation, partnership and lived expertise,” Dr. Sunderji said. “This is what InSPIRE is all about — how do we move research into action? How do we make mental health and substance use care more responsive, more just and more human?”

The urgency of that vision was echoed by Dr. Bernard Le Foll, Waypoint’s Vice-President of Research and Academics and Chief Scientific Officer. He reflected on the WRI’s dramatic growth — from a staff of fewer than 20 in 2021 to nearly 50 today — and its expanding impact.

“We’ve evolved from a specialty-focused institute into a group dedicated to interdisciplinary, embedded and equity-informed research,” he said. “But none of this is possible in isolation. We need service providers, policymakers, data scientists, Indigenous researchers, patients, people with lived and living experience, and their families all at the table.”

One of the most powerful voices at the conference was keynote speaker Jesse Thistle, a Métis/Cree professor and author of the bestselling memoir “From the Ashes.” He illustrated the spiritual and social web that ties us to all beings and elements. His personal story — from homelessness and addiction to healing and academic success — revealed the profound effects of disconnection and the redemptive power of kinship, or wahkootahwin.

“I was homeless and suffering mental health issues because I was taken out of my Indigeneity,” he said. “I didn’t have these issues because I was Indigenous. It’s a huge difference.”

Themes of connection, equity and action were woven throughout the panels and presentations. Dr. Christopher Canning, Director of WRI, applauded the energy of being together in person and emphasized the importance of webs of reconnection — a concept reinforced from Thistle’s talk. “We are inherently collective beings,” he said. “It’s incredible what can happen when we’re in the same room, sharing and learning.”

A dynamic panel explored the politics of research, system transformation, and the ethics of inclusion. Shauna Cronin — a systems innovator, equity advocate and co-design strategist — emphasized reimagining systems to be invisible to the person receiving care. Shawn Fisk, a Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) change leader in substance use health, reminded attendees that people exist on a spectrum of substance use, and urged a dismantling of stigma through compassionate care. Dr. Benedikt Fischer, a WRI-affiliated leader in substance use, mental health and public health policy, called on scientists to engage in “political and idealized battles” to ensure evidence reaches those who can effect change.

As InSPIRE 2025 closed, Dr. Canning expressed appreciation to those who contributed to its success. Echoing the conference’s opening, he noted the event was about sharing findings, but also ensuring the work researchers do “doesn’t just sit in academic journals protected by paywalls” and is instead translated into action.

“What is the purpose of research if not to help improve lives, inform services and change the world for the better?”