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
Contest winners find new, fun ways to explain vaccine science
From left to right: Stacey J. Butler, Aideen Teeling, Abigail Netanya Ngan April 26, 2024 By Betty Zou and Ishani Nath Aliens, wizards, ninjas and an inquisitive bunny named Muffin. These are just a few of the characters the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases...
Fighting malaria with math: why one U of T student is studying parasite evolution and what it could mean
April 25, 2024 By Betty Zou This World Malaria Day, a University of Toronto PhD student is shedding light on a poorly understood phenomenon that could impact vaccination strategies for malaria and other infectious diseases. The phenomenon, called vaccine-driven...
Allison McGeer inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
April 15, 2024 By Jenni Bozec “One of the great things about my career has been seeing infection prevention and control in hospitals grow, seeing more people join the field and the good things that are coming out of that,” comments Allison McGeer as she...
