Welcome to the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium
Welcome to EPIC – the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium.
EPIC partners play an integral role in infectious disease research, from work that controlled diphtheria and helped eradicate smallpox 100 years ago, to current research in antimicrobial resistance and infection control.
Today, our collective fight against infectious threats, including COVID-19, highly pathogenic avian influenza and mpox, makes clear that there’s never been a more important time to advance EPIC – the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium as a critical hub in the pan-Canadian effort to combat future pandemics.
Building on our momentum in combatting the SARS-CoV-2 virus, EPIC will marshal the advanced research infrastructure and the world-renowned research and training expertise of the EPIC partners to allow an integrated innovative response to infectious diseases.
EPIC is a collaborative initiative among:
- University of Toronto
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
- Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute
- Sunnybrook Research Institute
- University Health Network
- Unity Health Toronto
These globally-leading institutions will make a difference to preventing the next pandemic and enhancing the impact of the life sciences ecosystem in Ontario.
These are the four pillars of EPIC’s work
Toronto High Containment Facility
Toronto’s only Combined Containment Level 3 (C-CL3) facility for the study of high-risk human pathogens has been critical to understanding the viral pathogens and developing therapeutics and treatments. Infectious diseases continue to pose a threat to Canadians’ health and prosperity. Investments in the facility will prepare Ontario and Canada for future pandemics.
Training & Talent
EPIC offers immersive and cross-disciplinary training to a diverse cohort of talent researching infectious diseases, who are ready to work in industry and academia. Hundreds of researchers, clinicians and lab staff will gain access to leading-edge technologies, develop the skills to turn discovery into solutions, and connect Canada to global networks of pandemic surveillance and response.
Transformative Research
EPIC will connect multiple disciplines to address infectious diseases. Insights made possible by state-of-the-art platforms that accelerate the discovery and production of therapies will combine with the expertise of clinicians, engineers, public health experts and scientists to translate treatments to patients and improve their outcomes.
Knowledge Translation
EPIC will play an important role as a knowledge broker. It will create a hub for potential commercialization of novel therapeutics. New researchers at EPIC will be equipped to explain bench science to decision-makers and the public, as well as to translate discoveries into made-in-Canada products and solutions to global health challenges.
EPIC News
How worried should I be about drug-resistant fungi? An expert Q&A with Leah Cowen and Jennie Johnstone
Leah Cowen (left) and Jennie Johnstone November 20, 2023 By Betty Zou We may not need to worry about the zombie fungus in the hit HBO television series The Last of Us but there is another real-life fungal pathogen that we should be paying close attention to. Candida...
Experts gather at EPIC symposium to discuss how to bolster support for infectious disease research and pandemic preparedness
A panel of experts called for sustained funding investments, stronger ready-to-use infrastructure and improved communications to help Canada break the cycle of panic and neglect around infectious diseases. These themes emerged from a discussion at the first annual Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium symposium held in mid-October. The panelists included Leah Cowen, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives at the University of Toronto, Marisa Creatore, executive director of the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and U of T President Emeritus David Naylor.
Harnessing synthetic biology to create low-cost diagnostics and improve infectious disease surveillance
EPIC Doctoral Award recipient Justin Vigar is using synthetic biology to develop rapid, low-cost diagnostic tools to combat infectious diseases. He and his lab mates are creating a customizable, paper-based platform that uses pocket-sized slips of paper with genetic circuits embedded onto them. The circuitry is built by freeze drying proteins and other molecular components, which function as amplifiers and sensors, directly onto the paper.
