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
New research examines anti-HIV drugs’ effects in pregnancy
Teresa Bennett (left) and Reina Bendayan (Photo credit: Steve Southon) December 18, 2023 By Eileen Hoftyzer Advances in treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have not only helped to extend the lives of people living with the virus but can also prevent...
Leading the charge: Microbiology’s evolution and COVID-19
December 14, 2023 “A lot of people are burned out from the COVID-19 response so it’s sometimes hard to recognize how far we've gone in that short period of time and what that means. I think there will be huge changes in the way we deliver microbiology locally and...
Scientists discover new lipid nanoparticle that shows muscle-specific mRNA delivery, reduces off-target effects
From left to right: Institute of Biomedical Engineering PhD trainee Jingan Chen, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy assistant professor Bowen Li, Li lab postdoctoral researcher Yue Xu December 11, 2023 By Kate Richards A team of researchers based at the University of...
