41ST ANNUAL FELDMAN LECTURE

OCTOBER 2, 2026 | IN-PERSON EVENT

DELTA HOTELS – EDMONTON SOUTH CONFERENCE CENTER

Top of the Inn, 4404 Gateway Boulevard NW, Edmonton AB

Dr. Zayna Khayat, PhD, BSc, Dr. John Torous, MD, MBI, and Dr. Marlynn Wei, MD, JD

Minds by Design: An AI Approach to Mental Health Care

REGISTRATION COMING SOON LEARN MORE
Dr. Zayna Khayat

Dr. Zayna Khayat, PhD, BSc, is a health futurist in residence with the healthcare and life sciences practice of Deloitte in Canada where she guides individuals, companies, organizations, and governments in the sector on key trends and shifts that are reshaping healthcare, and how they can make smarter decisions today to be resilient to whatever futures unfold in healthcare and life sciences.

Dr. John Torous

Dr. John Torous, MD, MBI, is the director of the digital psychiatry division in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He completed his psychiatry residency, fellowship in clinical informatics, and master's degree in biomedical informatics at Harvard. He serves as editor-in-chief for the journal JMIR Mental Health, web editor for JAMA Psychiatry, and has published over 300 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Torous has also advised the US Senate on AI issues.

Dr. Marlynn Wei

Dr. Marlynn Wei, MD, JD, is a Harvard- and Yale-trained psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and author working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, mental health, and ethics. Her work examines emerging clinical and ethical issues related to AI, including AI-mediated therapy, AI-associated delusions, and digital immortality. She is an author for Psychology Today and has been an advisor to the US senate on AI issues.

VIEW PAST EVENTS

Plenary Sessions:

Plenary 1

Dr. Khayat – AI in Health Care – What is Now, Near & Next

Dr. Khayat will frame what AI is and discuss the history of its development, the types of AI, and where each type of AI is being deployed in healthcare in Canada compared to the rest of the world. She will explore what cases are "near and next", and the implications for patients, clinicians, organizations and health systems. Dr. Khayat will discuss the implications of AI on the human workforce and as well as the associated implications for how healthcare has historically been designed, delivered and paid for.

Plenary 2

Dr. John Torous – AI and Mental Health: Opportunities, Risks and the Path Forward

Dr. Torous will discuss the current evidence on how AI, especially LLMs, are being used in mental health care, including what is feasible today and what remains uncertain. He will differentiate lower-risk and higher-risk applications of AI in mental health (e.g., note-taking vs. therapy-like functions) and explain why some uses are easier to automate than others. Finally, he will look at key limitations, safety concerns, and regulatory challenges associated with AI in mental health, and explain why measurement, evaluation, and digital literacy are critical for responsible implementation.

Plenary 3

Dr. Wei – Emerging Clinical and Ethical Issues of AI in Mental Health: A Four-Domain Risk Framework.

Dr. Wei will identify the risks of interactions with AI systems across four domains: emotional dependence, reality testing, crisis safety, and ethical or systemic issues.

She will talk about defining AI sycophancy and AI hallucinations and then describe how these mechanisms contribute to mental health and safety risks. Lastly, Dr. Wei will show you how to recognize patterns of maladaptive or higher-risk AI chatbot use that warrant clinical inquiry or further assessment.

Overall Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this conference, participants should be able to:

By the end of this program, participants will be able to critically evaluate the current and emerging roles of artificial intelligence in health care and mental health, including its capabilities, limitations, and future directions; differentiate lower- and higher-risk applications; and apply risk, safety, and ethics informed frameworks to recognize clinical, workforce, and system-level implications of AI use in practice.

REGISTER WITH EVENTBRITE COMING SOON

Agenda

October 2, 2026

8:00 am Mountain Time

In-person Event

Delta Hotel – Edmonton South Conference Centre

REGISTER COMING SOON
TimeEvent
08:00 – 09:00Registration and Continental Breakfast
09:00 – 09:10Tribute to Zane Feldman
Welcome and Introduction of Honored Speakers
09:10 – 10:00Plenary 1 – Dr. Zayna Khayat – AI in Health Care-What is Now, Near & Next
10:00 – 10:30Question and Answer
10:30 – 10:50Health Break
10:50 – 11:40Plenary 2 – Dr. Torous – AI and Mental Health: Opportunities, Risks & the Path Forward
11:40 – 12:10Question and Answer
12:10 – 13:10Lunch
13:10 – 14:00Plenary 3 – Dr. Wei – Emerging Clinical and Ethical Issues of AI in Mental Health: A Four-Domain Risk Framework
14:00 – 14:30Question and Answer
14:30Closing Remarks
Zane Feldman

Zane Feldman

Zane Feldman made a significant donation to the Department of Psychiatry at the Edmonton General Hospital (now the Grey Nuns Community Hospital) in 1981 in gratitude for the care extended to his two sons. This donation created The Feldman Lectures which began in 1983.

Mr. Feldman was born in Winnipeg in 1923, the son of Israel and Rose (Frank) Feldman. He served in the RCAF and moved to Edmonton in 1949. He had a taxi business before becoming a partner in Crosstown Motor City and later President of West Edmonton Chrysler. Active in the sports community, Zane Feldman was President of the Edmonton Oil Kings and founder and governor of the original Edmonton Oilers in the WHA. He was a director of the Alberta Cancer Board for two years and played a key role in the acquisition of the land for the new Beth Israel Synagogue in West Edmonton. He was the recipient of the Order of Canada Medal in 1992 and was the Negev Dinner honoree in 1993. Mr. Feldman died in 2003 at the age of 80.

Past Feldman Lecture Distinguished Presenters

1983-2025

1983

Dr. Paul E. Garfinkel, M.D., F.R.C.P. (C)
Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
"Selecting an Antidepressant"

1984

Dr. Heinz Lehmann
Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Montreal
"Schizophrenia - Psychiatry's Evergrowing Problem"

1985

Dr. David Sheehan
University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
"The Anxiety Disease", "The Biology of Panic"

1986

Dr. Hagop S. Akiskal, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, The University of Tennessee, Memphis
"Interaction of Psychologic and Biologic factors in the Origin of Mood Disorders", "The Soft Bipolar Spectrum - Clinical and Social Significance"

1987

Cancelled

1988

Dr. Harold Mersky
Professor of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, Director of Education and Research, London Psychiatric Hospital
"The Idea of Hysteria" "Pain and Compensation" "An individual Perspective on the abuses of Psychiatry in the USSR" "Psychological aspects of Pain"

1989

Professor Sir Martin Roth
University of Cambridge, Department of Psychiatry, Adenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, England
"Some Contemporary Growing Points in the Study of Alzheimer's Disease" "Travelling Between Doubt and Certainty in Medicine and Elsewhere" "Use and Abuse of Benzodiazepines"

1990

Norman E. Rosenthal, M.D.
Chief, Unit of Outpatient Studies, Clinical Psychobiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
"Epidemiologic and Seasonal Changes in the General Population" "What We Know about the Physiological Underpinnings of Seasonal Changes" "Diagnosis of SAD and all its Variants" "Treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder - Light and Beyond"

1991

Dr. Marie Asberg
Karolinska Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
"Psychobiology and suicide - can we close the gap between Psychodynamic and Biological Models?"

1992

Dr. Bessel A. van der Kolk
Chief, Erich Linderman Mental Health Centre Trauma Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
"Dissociation, Trauma and Psychiatric Illness"

1993

Dr. C.B. Nemeroff
Head, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
The Biology, Diagnosis & Treatment of Affective Disorder

1994

Dr. Robert M. Post
Biological Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Affective Disorders

1995

Dr. Sheldon Preskorn
Department of Psychiatry, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Psychiatric Research Institute, St. Francis Regional Medical Centre, Wichita, Kansas
Update on Antidepressants

1996

Dr. Philip Seeman
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
Schizophrenia and dopamine receptors; Atypical antipsychotic drugs; Future Research and medications

1997

Dr. Norman Sartorius
President, World Psychiatric Association; Head, Mental Health Division, WHO (1997-1993)
"Mental Health and Primary Health Care", "The Current State of Psychiatry", "Comorbidity in Psychiatry"

1998

Dr. Glen Gabbard
Bessie Walker Callaway Distinguished Professor of Psychoanalysis and Education, Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Sciences, The Menninger Clinic, Topeka, Kansas
"Psychodynamic Therapy in a Era of Neuroscience" "Treatment of Depression Comorbid with Personality Disorders" "Psychotherapy of the Chronically Suicidal Borderline Patient"

1999

Dr. Michael F. Myers
Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.
"Mental Health in Physicians and Allied Professionals"

2000

Dr. Heidi L. Heard
Behavioural Technology Training Group, University of Washington, Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics, Department of Psychology, Seattle, WA
"Dialectical Behaviour Therapy"

2001

Dr. Harold Sackheim
Chief, Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York
"Update on Electroconvulsive Therapy"

2002

Dr. Shitij Kapur
Chief, Department of Biological Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York
"Linking biology, phenomenology, and Pharmacology in Schizophrenia"

2004

Dr. Roger D. Weiss
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Clinical Director, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program, McLean Hospital
"Treatment Strategies for Patients with Substance Abuse and Dual Diagnosis"

2005

Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire
Meritorious Service Cross, Commander of the 1st Canadian Division, Deputy-Commander of the Canadian Army
"A Personal Experience with PTSD"

2006

Dr. John W. Newcomer
Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Medical Director for the Center for Clinical Studies at Washington University
"Atypical Antipsychotics: Metabolic Effects"

2007

Christine A. Padesky, PhD
Distinguished Founding Fellow, Academy of Cognitive Therapy, Co-Founder Center for Cognitive Therapy
"A New Paradigm for Cognitive Therapy of Personality Disorders"

2008

Arthur Caplan, PhD
Emanuel & Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Centre for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia
"Is it Ethical to seek to enhance ourselves and our children using biomedical knowledge?"

2009

Dr. Kenneth Kendler
Director, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics
"Psychiatric Genetics: A Current Perspective"

2010

Dr. Martin Seligman
Fox Leadership Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"The Nature & Science of Happiness"

2011

Dr. Arya Sharma
Professor of Medicine & Chair for Cardiovascular Obesity Research and Management, University of Alberta
"Obesity – Assessment & Treatment"

2012

Stephen Michael Stahl, M.D., Ph.D.
Department Of Psychiatry, University Of California – San Diego
"Neuropsychopharmacology of Atypicals"

2013

Baroness Susan Greenfield B.A. (Hons); M.A.; D. Phil
Oxford University, United Kingdom
"Are Digital Technologies Impacting on Wellness of Young Minds"

2014

Kay Redfield Jamieson, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
"An Overview of Mood Disorders & Suicide"

2015

Jeffrey Lieberman, MD
Lawrence C. Kolb Professor & Chairman, Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Centre - New York
"Schizophrenia: Past, Present & Future" "Shrinks - The Untold Story of Psychiatry"

2016

David Nutt, MD
Edmond J. Safra Chair, Psychopharmacology, Imperial College, London, England
"Research of Drugs that Affect the Brain & Conditions such as: Addictions, Anxiety & Sleep"

2017

Philip Cowen, BSc, MB, BS, MD, FRCPSYCH
Professor, Psychopharmacology - University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Classification of Depression & Implications for Treatment

2018

Laurence J. Kirmayer, MD FRCPC FCAHS, FRSC
James McGill Professor & Director, Division of Social & Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University - Montreal, Quebec
"Integrating Culture & Context in Theory & Practice in Psychiatry"

2019

Dr. Judy Cameron, PhD – University of Pittsburgh
Dr. George Koob PhD – Bethesda, MD
Dr. Stephanie Covington PhD, LCWS – La Jolla, California
"The Brain Story"

2020

Cancelled

2021

Cancelled

2022

Professor Mark Edwards MBBS, BSc (Hons), PhD, FRCP, FEAN
King's College, London, UK
"Functional Neurological Disorders"

2023

Professor Anna Lemke MD
Stanford University School of Medicine
"Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence"

2024

Professor Oliver Howes BM, BCh, MA, MRCPsych, PhD, DM, FMedSci
King's and Imperial Colleges, London, UK
"Schizophrenia: From Molecule to Management"

2025

Dr. Guy Goodwin, FMedSci
Chief Medical Officer at COMPASS Pathways, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, England
"Mood Disorder: From the Mundane Standard of Care to Novel Futuristic Approaches"