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 aims to improve access to research capacity through on-site biomanufacturing
Pardee lab graduate student Quinn Matthews demonstrates local production of enzymes in the Yukon, including producing and purifying proteins using the cell-free system and a 3D-printed centrifuge on a mountain outside Whitehorse. 1 June 2026 By Eileen Hoftyzer New...
Gut cells help orchestrate immune responses, study finds
A microscopy image showing intestinal barrier cells (outlined in yellow with blue DNA), ILC2 cells (pink) and mucus-producing cells (turquoise). 26 May 2026 By Betty Zou University of Toronto researchers have shown, for the first time, that organ-specific cues prompt...
Parasite expansion and climate change: Five questions for EPIC Doctoral Award recipient Haley Morris
Haley Morris received a competitive EPIC doctoral award to support her thesis research developing predictive models for the habitat expansion of parasitic worms in a warming climate 8 May 2026 By EEB Newsroom This article was originally posted on the Department of...
