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 shows antiviral drug helps with COVID-19 recovery
Andrew Pinto 4 May 2026 By Lisa Varano The results of two clinical trials show that Paxlovid, an oral antiviral drug, does not reduce hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated adults at higher risk of severe COVID-19. However, the drug does help people recover a few...
Toronto team leads first-in-Canada case of sustained HIV remission
Professor Mario Ostrowski (Photography by Johnny Guatto) 27 April 2026 By Betty Zou with files from Leslie Whyte Zhou A team of clinicians and researchers at the University of Toronto, University Health Network and Unity Health Toronto have reported the first Canadian...
How studying wildlife is changing the way we think about infectious disease
Samira Mubareka at Algonquin Park Research Station (Photography by Yuri Markarov) 23 April 2026 By Brianne Tulk Samira Mubareka is an infectious disease physician, medical microbiologist and scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and an associate professor of...
