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
Emerging Pathogens
Detecting and responding to new and re-emerging threats before they spread.
Antimicrobial Resistance
Protecting the effectiveness of the medicines we depend on.
Sepsis & Acute Respiratory Distress
Improving recognition and treatment when every minute counts.
Chronic Infections
Addressing the long-term burden of infections that don’t resolve.
Health Inequities
Ensuring infectious disease research and response reach everyone, equitably.
Health Systems Resilience
Building health systems that bend, not break, under infectious threats.
Mis/Disinformation & Public Trust
Strengthening public trust through clear, credible information.
EPIC News
U of T researchers uncover the everyday DNA repair enzyme that moonlights as an antiviral defence
Landon Getz (left) and Amy Qian (right) 27 August 2026 By Megan Fleming A University of Toronto lab has discovered that one of biology’s oldest housekeeping enzymes has a hidden second job. Every living cell — bacterial, viral, or human — carries a small group of...
U of T researchers identify immune defect that may set Crohn’s disease in motion
Professor Dana Philpott (left) and postdoctoral fellow Boyan Tsankov (supplied image) 18 August 2026 By Betty Zou This story was originally published on the U of T News website. The findings may explain why current medications for Crohn's are only effective for a...
ChemE grad student Shilo Chislett brings STEM outreach to Nunavut youth
NSERC Indigenous Student Ambassador Shilo Chislett (ChemE MEng student) in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. (Photo by Shilo Chislett) 7 August 2026 By ChemE Communications This article was originally posted on the University of Toronto Engineering News website. For Shilo...
