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
How worried should I be about drug-resistant fungi? An expert Q&A with Leah Cowen and Jennie Johnstone
Leah Cowen (left) and Jennie Johnstone November 20, 2023 By Betty Zou We may not need to worry about the zombie fungus in the hit HBO television series The Last of Us but there is another real-life fungal pathogen that we should be paying close attention to. Candida...
Experts gather at EPIC symposium to discuss how to bolster support for infectious disease research and pandemic preparedness
A panel of experts called for sustained funding investments, stronger ready-to-use infrastructure and improved communications to help Canada break the cycle of panic and neglect around infectious diseases. These themes emerged from a discussion at the first annual Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium symposium held in mid-October. The panelists included Leah Cowen, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives at the University of Toronto, Marisa Creatore, executive director of the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and U of T President Emeritus David Naylor.
Harnessing synthetic biology to create low-cost diagnostics and improve infectious disease surveillance
EPIC Doctoral Award recipient Justin Vigar is using synthetic biology to develop rapid, low-cost diagnostic tools to combat infectious diseases. He and his lab mates are creating a customizable, paper-based platform that uses pocket-sized slips of paper with genetic circuits embedded onto them. The circuitry is built by freeze drying proteins and other molecular components, which function as amplifiers and sensors, directly onto the paper.
