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
A tiny, gut-dwelling fungus might hold clues to fighting mosquito-borne diseases like Zika and malaria
U of T Scarborough researchers have decoded the genome of a gut-dwelling fungi that might unlock clues to fighting deadly mosquito-borne diseases (photos by Don Campbell) January 23, 2025 By Don Campbell U of T Scarborough researchers have successfully sequenced the...
U of T study uncovers how a new gut microbe drives the gut-lung axis
University of Toronto professor Arthur Mortha (right) and former postdoctoral fellow Kyle Burrows December 19, 2024 By Betty Zou A team led by University of Toronto researchers has discovered a new communication pathway between the gut and lung. Their findings...
EPIC welcomes the third cohort of the Doctoral Awards recipients
Top row (left to right): Shana Alexander, Omri Arbiv, Yami Ommar Arizmendi Cardenas, Ali Barzegar Khanghah, Justin Callahan, Deepa Chaphekar. Second row (left to right): Yu Ying Fan, Mohammadamir Ghasemian Moghaddam, Sumiha Karunagaran, Pranamika Khayargoli, Dongyeob...
