32nd ANNUAL

RESPIRATORY hEALTH sYMPOSIUM

32nd Annual Respiratory Health Symposium, Sept 19th 2025

Speakers (Public/Student):

Daniela Fernandez, Director of Community Engagement for 211 NB:

211 in New Brunswick – The Front Door to Help

Daniela is an experienced program manager and facilitator, with a passion for holistic and collaborative approaches to community development and experiential education. She has worked in areas such as environmental and community health, cross-cultural education, and social justice. Her education and international experiences have allowed her to focus on addressing a range of community issues through fieldwork, mentoring, program management, and communications, and she is delighted to be the Director of Community Engagement for 211 N.B., promoting a support service that is truly made for everybody.

Dr. Alan Kaplan, MD CCFP(EM), FCFP:

Indoor Air Quality & Asthma

Alan Kaplan is a Family Physician with special interest in respiratory medicine practicing in Aurora, Ontario.  He is chair for the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada. In addition, Dr. Kaplan is the Vice President of the Respiratory Effectiveness Group, an Honorary Professor of Primary Care Respiratory Medicine of the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute, Singapore, the Past- Chairperson of the Respiratory Section of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and Senate member of the International Primary Care Respiratory Group. He is a member of the Scientific committee of GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma).

Dr. Kaplan is also the medical director of LHIN Pulmonary Rehabilitation clinics and a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Toronto. He has authored over 177 peer reviewed articles and 140 conference abstracts. ‘I am lucky enough to be married with four children and four dogs.’

Kelli Etheridge, Licensed Counselling Therapist, Horizon Health Network:

Living Well With Stress

Kelli Etheridge is a Licensed Counselling Therapist at Horizon Health Network working in primary health care. She provides mental health services to individuals of all ages with mild to moderate mental health concerns. In additional to providing individual therapy, Kelli is a regular guest presenter at the Cardiac Rehab and Pulmonary Rehab groups at the Moncton Hospital. She is passionate about her work and considers it a great privilege to help individuals reach their desired goals and live a healthy and fulfilling life.

Ravleen Bansal, Health Programs Coordinator, New Brunswick Lung:

Cannabis Harm Reduction: Screening Guideline

Ravleen Bansal holds a Bachelor of Arts (Joint Honours in Psychology and English) from the University of New Brunswick and has been involved in community health and research work ever since. Ravleen spent a year working with children on the autism spectrum, an experience that sparked an interest in inclusive and supportive care systems.
During university, Ravleen was heavily involved in research, with a focus on different topics such as cognitive processing and quality of life in youth with autism. Currently, they work as a Health Programs Coordinator at New Brunswick Lung association, where they lead a cannabis harm reduction initiative aimed at equipping healthcare professionals with the essential tools and knowledge needed to engage in meaningful harm reduction discussions with their patients.

Michele Castonguay, Hon. B.A. (Psychology), RPSGT:

Sleep-disordered Breathing and Sleep Hygiene: Overviews and Interactions

Michele Castonguay began her career as a sleep medicine technologist in 1988; this early entry provided unique opportunities to grow with and contribute to the field. While at the Ottawa General Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Centre, she also co-created and led the Ottawa General Hospital Sleep Technologist Training Program. Over its ten-year span, the program trained nearly 100 technologists from across Canada.

She has also served on the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT), holding roles as Secretary, Examiner, and Exam Development Committee member.

More recently, Michele splits her time between clinical work at the Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Sleep Disorders Centre and her role as a clinical research assistant under Dr. Judith Leech at the West Ottawa Sleep Centre. Her favorite part of the work remains her direct interactions with patients, and she is a strong advocate for patient education—believing that empowering individuals through initiatives like sleep hygiene is essential to therapeutic success.

Melanie Langille, M.Env.Sc., President & CEO, New Brunswick Lung:

Radon: A Silent Lung Cancer Risk

Melanie Langille holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of New Brunswick, and a Master of Environmental Science from the University of Toronto. She worked for 12 years in environmental consulting, reporting for a wide variety of environmental impact assessments, contaminated site assessments, and human health and ecological risk assessments. With a technical expertise in vapour intrusion, she led the development of standards for soil vapour intrusion investigations in Atlantic Canada under the Atlantic Partnership in Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) Implementation (Atlantic PIRI) Committee. Since joining NB Lung in 2019, Melanie has focused on public education and policy advocacy in environmental and lung health.

 32st Annual Respiratory Health Symposium, Sept 26th 2025

Speakers (Health Care Professionals):

Dr. Johannes Doemer, PhD, ROH:

Hazards of Respirable Silica – The Silica Control Tool

Dr. Johannes Doemer has been an occupational hygienist with WorkSafeNB since 2019, assisting workplaces in the anticipation and reduction of health hazards to prevent occupational diseases. Johannes previously worked as an occupational hygienist and senior consultant for Resource Environmental Associates Limited in Toronto. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Muenster in Germany and has an extensive background in scientific research and health and safety.

Claudia Bilodeau, PhD:

Beyond the cough; an update in interstitial lung disease

Claudia Bilodeau, PhD, is a Medical Science Liaison at Boehringer Ingelheim, specializing in interstitial lung disease. She holds a master’s degree in cystic fibrosis research from Université de Montréal. Following completion of her master’s, she completed a PhD in lung development, stem cell biology, and regeneration from the University of Toronto. With her research-driven background in pulmonary biology, she bridges science and medicine to advance understanding and innovation in respiratory health, guided by a compassionate commitment to improving the lives of patients affected by complex lung conditions.

Laura Bifolchi, Marisa Oliveros, Lung Health Foundation:

Within the Loop: Providing Community Support for People Living with Lung Conditions

Laura Bifolchi is a Senior Manager of the Person-Centered care & Programs’ team at the Lung Health Foundation. As a trained Registered Nurse and Certified Respiratory Educator, she is a Lung Coach at LHF – assisting people living with COPD to self- manage to improve their quality of life and health outcomes.  Previous to this role, Laura worked at a Family Health Team for 9 years creating and running the Lung Health and Pulmonary Rehab Program. Laura has extensive experience in spirometry testing and interpretations. Laura collaborates with other health care providers to ensure that patients feel safe and comfortable to discuss their needs and concerns while connecting them to community services.

Marisa Oliveros is a Lead for the Person-Centered care & Programs’ team at the Lung Health Foundation. In her role, she leads the creation and implementation of multiple programs and projects and serves directly as a community navigator for people with lived experience who are part of or need support accessing the foundation’s programs and services. Marisa brings a strong health equity perspective to her work, leveraging her knowledge of the social determinants of health and public health to ensure that all community members receive the support they need.

Leah Hemphill, NB Lung:

Why phasing out fossil fuels is more important now than ever before

Leah is the Manager of Environmental Programs (Clean Air) at NB Lung, leading initiatives and advocacy to address environmental factors affecting lung health, such as radon gas exposure, and indoor/outdoor air quality. Coming from a background in emergency response management and Public Health policy, she brings expertise in translating complex environmental health issues into practical strategies for communities, healthcare professionals, and policymakers. 

Dr. Markus Waite, GP:

What’s New in GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma)

Dr. Markus Waite is a family physician based in Moncton, NB. He runs a full-time family medicine practice and provides part-time hospitalist care at The Moncton Hospital, where he currently serves as Head of the Department of Family Medicine. He is Medical Director of the Coverdale Medical Walk-In Clinic and an Associate Professor at Dalhousie Medical School. Nationally, he is Vice Chair of the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada and contributes to the Canadian Thoracic Society’s guideline committee on mild asthma. He completed his medical training at the Université de Sherbrooke in 2016. 

Dr. Luisa Galvis:

Advances in Lung Cancer Screening