Welcome to the Emerging Pathogens & Infectious Diseases Consortium
Welcome to EPIC – the Emerging Pathogens and Infectious Diseases Consortium.
EPIC brings together researchers, clinicians, and institutions across the University of Toronto and its hospital partners to advance infectious disease research and build lasting resilience against emerging threats.
This work builds on a long legacy: EPIC partners have played an integral role in infectious disease research for a century, from work that helped control diphtheria and eradicate smallpox, to today’s front-line research in antimicrobial resistance and infection control. Our collective response to COVID-19, highly pathogenic avian influenza, and mpox makes clear there’s never been a more important time to advance that work, from emerging pathogens and antimicrobial resistance to health inequities and public trust.
Building on this momentum, EPIC marshals the advanced research infrastructure and world-renowned research and training expertise of our EPIC partners to deliver an integrated, innovative response to the infectious disease challenges facing communities today and in the future.
Seven EPIC research clusters
Antimicrobial Resistance
Protecting the effectiveness of the medicines we depend on.
Chronic Infections
Addressing the long-term burden of infections that don’t resolve.
Emerging Pathogens
Detecting and responding to new and re-emerging threats before they spread.
Health Inequities
Ensuring infectious disease research and response reach everyone, equitably.
Health Systems Resilience
Building health systems that bend, not break, under infectious threats.
Misinformation, Disinformation & Public Trust
Strengthening public trust through clear, credible information.
Sepsis & Acute Respiratory Distress
Improving detection and treatment when every minute counts.
EPIC News
At the U of T Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research Days, innovative research approaches spanning multiple disciplines took centre stage
Clockwise from top left: trainees at the poster session, Danielle Taschereau Mamers with the illustration of the keynote address, attendees listening to the keynote talk, wordcloud from the submitted abstracts and a trainee oral presentation July 7, 2025 By Sunitha...
EPIC congratulates recipients of the 2025 Inspire Summer Studentships
Top row (left to right): Elect Adenuga, Atinuke Boboe, Abdulkadir Duble. Second row (left to right): Kaden Hill, Makuach Joack, Jezreel Sol-Edeigba May 12, 2025 By Sunitha Chari The University of Toronto’s Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) has...
Targeting pleural immune cells to treat bacterial infections and improve lung transplant outcomes
Sumiha Karunagaran (left) is investigating how immune cells in the pleural cavity (right- shown in pink) respond to bacterial infections of the lungs April 17, 2025 By Sunitha Chari Lung transplant recipients are on lifelong immunosuppressant drugs to reduce their...
