Daniel Otis
Daniel Otis is a journalist with CTV News’ digital team who reports on health issues where science, systems and everyday lives intersect. His coverage combines on-the-ground reporting with close attention to how research, infrastructure and policy shape patient experience. He draws on more than a decade of work across news and feature writing, including stories for outlets such as the Toronto Star, Vice, Slate and The Globe and Mail. He rejoined CTV News’ online team in 2021 after an earlier stint from 2016 to 2019, during which he covered politics, pop culture and health.
Climate change and vector-borne disease
Otis’ health reporting includes work on how climate change is altering the spread of ticks and the risks they pose to people.[anchor] In his coverage of a researcher encountering 13 ticks in one hour as warming temperatures fuel their range expansion, he connects a vivid field scene to the broader public-health question of tick-borne diseases and prevention.[anchor] The reporting sits at the intersection of environment and epidemiology, showing how changing conditions on the ground translate into new exposure for hikers, homeowners and outdoor workers.[anchor] He treats climate-driven health threats as a practical issue, focusing on concrete behaviours, expert advice and the implications for front-line care.[anchor]
Health systems, diagnostics and shortages
Otis also reports on the operational side of health care, including laboratory supply chains and diagnostic capacity. In his story on blood tube shortages and how they could limit non-essential tests, he traces the path from a specific product constraint to the decisions clinicians must make about which investigations can be delayed. The piece highlights the scale of the impact on hospitals and labs, quoting health professionals and professional associations to explain how shortages ripple through everything from routine checkups to chronic-disease monitoring.
His approach shows a clear interest in system-level pressures, using accessible language to describe technical issues so that the consequences for patients and providers are easy to understand.
Sexual health, cognition and everyday life
Another strand of his health coverage focuses on emerging research that links everyday experiences with long-term outcomes.
In his article on a study connecting low sexual satisfaction in middle age with memory decline later in life, he explains the study’s findings and limitations while situating them within broader conversations about aging and brain health. The reporting translates academic work into plain terms, outlining what the data show without overpromising and clarifying how factors such as relationship quality, mental health and lifestyle could play a role.
This emphasis on clear explanation and careful framing makes complex research legible to a general audience while preserving its nuance.
Cannabis, elder care and broader investigations
Health, policy and lived experience come together in Otis’ work on medical cannabis, including an award-winning story about nurses helping elderly patients explore cannabis as part of their care. That coverage looks at how regulatory change and evolving clinical attitudes affect real people, and how health professionals navigate unfamiliar treatments in sensitive settings. His broader portfolio includes investigations into unidentified aerial phenomena for CTV News and Vice, reinforcing a reputation for persistence with records, institutions and complex source material.
Earlier in his career he reported across news, entertainment, life, business and sports, experience that now informs health stories rooted in strong narrative, detailed sourcing and attention to how large systems affect individuals.
4 more health journalists.
Alanna Smith
Alanna Smith is a national health reporter whose work links health policy and politics to real access to care, with a constant focus on health equity, infectious disease and the toxic drug crisis. She reports for The Globe and Mail on infectious diseases, hospitals and long-term care, mental health, drug policy and the pressures on health systems in Western Canada. Her stories connect big-picture decisions to patients, families, front-line workers and volunteers, showing how funding, privatization and federal standards shape public care. She has covered trauma care inequities, proposed public‑private models in Alberta, drug toxicity and overdose policy, respiratory virus surges, measles elimination, gene‑editing advances and gender‑affirming health care laws. Her work combines narrative reporting, data, legal and policy analysis, and has been recognized by national journalism and press freedom organizations.
Allan Levine
Allan Levine is a historian and author whose journalism uses the past to explain present-day issues. He writes for the Winnipeg Free Press, including the Now & Then column, which examines current events through history. His subjects include public health, disease, medical treatment, health systems, politics, social conflict, strikes, wars, antisemitism and Canadian public life. His polio reporting traces Manitoba epidemics, hospital pressures, treatment, mortality and the arrival of vaccines through archival data and medical history. He also writes about the Winnipeg General Strike and Jewish communities, including discrimination, rights and security. His work draws on books about Canadian political leaders, Jewish history and the wartime economy, including The Dollar A Year Men. He writes long-form, analytical pieces that combine dates, statistics, policy decisions and narrative storytelling to connect people and institutions with broader historical change.
Angela Amato
Angela Amato is a digital news producer with CTV News, and her coverage is distinct for linking health research and public safety concerns to legal and policy decisions that shape daily life. She reports on health, justice, politics, business, arts and culture, crime and public-interest stories. Her health work covers academic and clinical research, including studies on vaping and lung blood flow, exercise tolerance and early heart dysfunction in young adults. She also reports on motorcycle gang arrests, homicide and death investigations, Indigenous justice stories, wildfire evacuations, ambulance contracts, property taxes, labour negotiations and political advocacy rules. She explains complex findings in plain language and stays close to documents, data and expert sources. Her background includes investigative and daily newsrooms, and she has earned nominations for national journalism awards.
Apoorva Mandavilli
Apoorva Mandavilli covers the collision of infectious disease science, vaccine policy and public health agencies for The New York Times, following how research, regulation and politics shape outbreaks and access to vaccines. She reports on science and global health with a steady focus on infectious diseases and pandemics, including Covid-19, mpox, H.I.V., malaria and tuberculosis, treating them as ongoing global threats. Her work explains complex epidemiology and virology in clear narratives about risk, evidence and the consequences of scientific decisions. She repeatedly returns to vaccine policy, law and misinformation, tracing how court fights and agency disputes affect immunization schedules and public trust. She also reports on global health programs, funding cuts and inequity in care and technology. A longtime science journalist and former founding editor in chief of Spectrum, she has written widely on science and health and received major honors for medical science reporting and pandemic coverage.