Faculty and Staff

U of T researchers to advise health providers on improving Ontario's primary care system

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 18:28:29 +0000

U of T researchers to advise health providers on improving Ontario's primary care system

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 01/09/2023 - 13:28

Cutline

(Photo by XiXinXing/iStock/Getty Images)

Heidi Singer

Topic

Our Community

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Health

Research & Innovation

With Canadian health-care systems in crisis, Monica Aggarwal and her colleagues at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health are working to advise health providers on building better integrated primary care systems – work she hopes will help realize real change in the sector.

Aggarwal is leading a research collaboration between U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the section on general and family practice of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). As a leading expert in primary care systems across Canada – anchored by family doctors – Aggarwal has consulted at the federal and provincial levels on multiple occasions.

Monica Aggarwal

She recently completed a cross-comparative study of primary care transformation in Canada, which identified more than 100 sector innovations in the country.

“I feel honoured and privileged to have the opportunity to work with inspiring and passionate primary care leaders who truly want to make a difference for the primary care sector in Ontario,” says Aggarwal, an assistant professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s division of clinical and public health. “The leaders of these organizations have a deep understanding of the issues in health care and recognize the critical role that evidence-based research can have to advance improvements in the primary care sector.”

The researcher decided to first focus on showing how Ontario could implement compensation models that encourage and reward team-based care.

“There’s a real desire to build and spread interprofessional teams,” says Aggarwal, who is supported by a three-year grant from the partner organizations. “However, we are not seeing the results expected from mainstream models in Canada. I think this is not because teams don’t work, but because they are not being implemented in a manner that would allow them to be successful. Provider compensation is a key piece of the puzzle.”

Ross Upshur

She is working with Professor Ross Upshur, head of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s clinical public health division, to develop collaborations with researchers and primary care leaders in Canada and internationally to meet the research needs of knowledge users.

“This is a timely and important collaboration in light of the current crisis in primary care,” Upshur says. “Rigorous research is needed to inform solutions to the current situation.”

Aggarwal’s research will inform policy recommendations to help strengthen primary care in Ontario.

“Across the world, cost-effective and high-performing health systems share a common characteristic – they are based on a foundation of comprehensive primary care, which is supported through a team,” says AFHTO CEO Kavita Mehta. “Jurisdictions that invest robustly in primary care are farther ahead in achieving health system goals, ensuring a lens on equitable and accessible care close to home.

“The research is clear,” she adds. “Now we need to develop an evidence-based roadmap on the best way to invest in interprofessional primary care teams in Ontario to create a strong and sustainable health system.”

Building a strong primary care foundation would also help to address the current staffing crisis, says family physician David Barber, vice-chair of the OMA’s general and family practice executive.

“We are seeing an ongoing decline in medical students wanting to practice family medicine because of the expanding demands in the current practice model, and we will continue to see doctors leaving comprehensive family medicine” Barber says. “We need to change how primary care systems work in Ontario so that family medicine becomes a more viable and attractive practice.”

The U of T research partnership underscores how primary care is the bedrock of the health system, notes OCFP CEO Kimberly Moran.

“Primary care is where most care happens in our health system and evidence from around the world shows that high-performing health systems have strong primary care foundations, anchored by family doctors,” Moran says. “This important research effort will inform much-needed policy action and spark meaningful change for Ontario’s patients and families.”

U of T extends Scott Mabury's term as vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, and vice-provost, academic operations

lanthierj — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 15:22:59 +0000

U of T extends Scott Mabury's term as vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, and vice-provost, academic operations

lanthierj Mon, 01/02/2023 - 10:22

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Our Community

Scott Mabury

University Operations

Department of Chemistry

Faculty of Arts & Science

Governing Council

President Meric Gertler

Sustainability

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

Professor Scott Mabury, a renowned environmental chemist, will serve as University of Toronto vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships and vice-provost, academic operations for another three years.

At a meeting on Dec. 15, the university’s Governing Council approved an extension of Mabury’s term until June 30, 2026.

“Professor Mabury’s visionary leadership of this large and complex portfolio has had a profound impact at the University of Toronto,” President Meric Gertler said. “The extension of his term ensures that the university maintains momentum and maximizes opportunities to complete the major initiatives currently underway.

“I am deeply grateful to Scott for his outstanding service to the university, and for his willingness to continue in this key leadership role.”

Mabury was already serving as vice-provost, academic operations, when he became U of T’s inaugural vice-president, university operations in 2012.

From the start, Mabury says, the idea of putting a professor in charge of this vast portfolio was to better align the university’s operations with its academic mission.

Mabury says as he watched Ron Saporta, chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, present the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability’s 2022 report to Governing Council, it was clear how much progress had been made toward this goal.

“We’re talking about operations and research and courses and students in this very integrated way,” he says. “The premise in the origin story of the portfolio has come to pass.”

Mabury has led several key initiatives to make U of T’s campus more sustainable. Among his recent accomplishments:

The Climate Positive plan that aims to see the St. George campus reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than it emits by 2050.
A $56 million partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank to support sustainable infrastructure projects.

The Landmark Project, slated for completion in 2023, that will transform the historic core of the St. George campus into a greener, more accessible park-like setting, and make Front Campus home to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange field.

But even as U of T’s leadership in sustainability wins recognition, there’s more work to be done, Mabury says.

His vice-presidential role was expanded in 2019 to include the newly created real estate partnerships portfolio, a reflection of his leadership in establishing U of T’s “four corners” strategy to develop on-campus housing, innovation space and other services.

In his extended term, Mabury says he hopes to further develop U of T’s real estate assets to advance the university’s mission while generating an economic return. To achieve this, Mabury says, he plans to leverage what he sees as one of his greatest assets: his team.

“I’m blessed with exceptional and talented leaders in my portfolio and, paraphrasing Steve Jobs, we’ve hired smart people so they can lead the way.

“Our priorities include delivering thousands of units of university housing, to help attract and retain faculty, staff and students, and complete the vision that is the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus by building the second phase building with over 400,000 square feet of bioscience labs critical to advancing the innovation economy in Toronto and Canada.”

Mabury’s portfolio oversees about 1,800 people across the three campuses and departments ranging from design and engineering to food services. Key responsibilities include campus and facilities planning, project development and information technology and cybersecurity.

He also supports the provost on budgetary matters to secure the long-term financial health of the university.

A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Mabury is among the most highly cited scholars in his field. His research interests remain primarily focused on the environmental chemistry of fluorinated organic chemicals.

U of T endocrinologist Lorraine Lipscombe to lead ‘powerhouse’ diabetes research network

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 15:27:54 +0000

U of T endocrinologist Lorraine Lipscombe to lead ‘powerhouse’ diabetes research network

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/18/2021 - 11:27

Cutline

(Photo courtesy of Lorraine Lipscombe)

Blake Eligh

Topic

Our Community

Insulin 100

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Diabetes

Research & Innovation

A noted diabetes researcher and public health advocate from the University of Toronto has been selected to lead a “powerhouse” research network that will focus on the global fight against diabetes and other serious chronic diseases.

Lorraine Lipscombe, a physician and associate professor in the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, has been appointed director of the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations.

Lipscombe is a respected endocrinologist who holds appointments at Women’s College Hospital, where she is director of the hospital’s endocrinology division and is a senior scientist in the Women’s College Research Institute. Her research focuses on the prevention and improvement of care and outcomes for patients with diabetes, particularly women.

In February 2021, Novo Nordisk and the University of Toronto announced a $40-million investment to establish the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations. Based at U of T Mississauga, the network is a partnership between the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and U of T Mississauga. The network will focus on interdisciplinary collaboration to accelerate on-the-ground diabetes research, education and outreach.

“I am truly excited and honoured for the chance to lead this visionary network in demonstrating innovative and effective ways to make populations healthier,” Lipscombe said.

“The Network will afford an unprecedented opportunity to integrate and align expertise across multiple areas to establish a world-leading research program, through strategic collaborations between three U of T academic powerhouses and key community stakeholders in the City of Mississauga.”

“Being one of the most diverse cities in the world, with a mix of urban and suburban areas, and much higher rates of obesity and diabetes than the national average, Mississauga provides a unique environment to explore interventions that can be applied to a wide range of contexts around the world.”

The network executive team welcomed news of Lipscombe’s appointment.

Alexandra Gillespie, vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga, lauded the incoming director as “a world-class researcher, proven team-builder and dynamic leader known for sharing her expertise to empower the success and well-being of others.”

“With her guiding hand, the Network will achieve its goal of identifying and implementing strategies to prevent diabetes and diabetes complications in high risk and marginalized communities,” added Professor Gillian Hawker, chair of the department of medicine.

Lipscombe’s expertise in both clinical care and population health makes her “a superb choice to lead the network," said Professor Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, where Lipscombe teaches in the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

"As a clinician and an epidemiologist, she is particularly skilled at seeing the gaps between research and health delivery, and has developed an impressive track record in addressing them."

Gillespie also noted Lipscombe’s strategic planning skills.

“Professor Lipscombe will enable the Novo Nordisk Network to achieve its ambitious goals: to unite university divisions, hospitals, and community partners in the fight against diabetes and other serious chronic illnesses,” Gillespie said.

“Her leadership will benefit the health of so many people in Mississauga, Toronto, and around the world.”

The announcement of Lipscombe’s appointment comes at a momentous time for diabetes research, as U of T continues a year of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin at the university.

In June, the City of Mississauga announced that it will become the first Canadian municipality to join the Cities Changing Diabetes program. The Novo Nordisk-supported initiative will provide the city with tools, resources and partners – including the Network research hub – to prevent the rise of type 2 diabetes in Mississauga.

About 420 million people worldwide live with diabetes. The World Health Organization estimates that the disease is responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths annually. Complications can lead to devastating health outcomes such as blindness or limb amputation.

“The discovery of insulin is a monumental achievement for Canada and a beautiful example of the translation of research findings into life-altering benefits for people,” Lipscombe said.

“Despite this discovery and all the progress that has been made since then, diabetes remains a major burden on individuals, families, communities and health-care systems around the world.”

“Much research has been done to recognize root causes of diabetes and its consequences and to identify effective interventions. We must now act on this evidence, by shifting our focus from describing what might work to showing what does work.”

U of T startup raises $10.3 million to develop post-surgery pain treatment: Globe and Mail

wangyana — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 18:52:12 +0000

U of T startup raises $10.3 million to develop post-surgery pain treatment: Globe and Mail

wangyana Mon, 02/22/2021 - 13:52

Cutline

(photo by Neil Ta)

Topic

Global Lens

Creative Destruction Lab

Donnelly Centre

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

UTEST

A startup born from the lab of renowned University of Toronto researcher Molly Shoichet has received $10.3 million from investors to begin human safety trials on an injectable gel that can improve post-surgery pain treatment, the Globe and Mail reports.

AmacaThera is built on a gel technology developed by Shoichet, a University Professor in chemical engineering and applied chemistry and biomaterials and biomedical engineering, and her team. She co-founded AmacaThera with Mike Cooke, who was a post-doctoral researcher in her lab.

The gel dramatically extends the duration of anesthetics injected at the site of a surgical incision, potentially eliminating the need to give patients the powerful post-surgery painkillers that frequently lead to opioid addiction.

The Globe and Mail reported that the financing was led by Toronto’s Lumia Ventures and backed by investors in Canada, the United States and Europe, including Viva BioInnovator, BDC Capital Women in Technology Venture Fund and Inveready.

“The work out of that lab is truly transformative and she’s a leader in the space,” Lumira Ventures Managing General Partner Peter van der Velden told the Globe and Mail.

AmacaThera raised $3.25 million in its first round of financing in 2019. It received support from UTEST and the Creative Destruction Lab, two of U of T’s entrepreneurship hubs.

U of T researchers help lay groundwork for Bank of Canada-backed “digital loonie”

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 21:09:20 +0000

U of T researchers help lay groundwork for Bank of Canada-backed “digital loonie”

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 02/11/2021 - 16:09

Cutline

(photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images)

Matthew Tierney

Topic

Our Community

Computer Science

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

How much longer will Canadians want – or be able – to use physical cash? Could a digital currency such as Facebook’s Diem Coin or Bitcoin make the Canadian dollar obsolete?

The Bank of Canada recently announced it was designing a contingency plan for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which sparked speculation about a “digital loonie.”

While the central bank has no plans to issue a digital currency, it is nevertheless conducting research on digital money. Last year, it tapped the expertise of universities by launching a competition that asks experts to propose a system architecture and business plan for a Canadian digital currency.

One of the three proposals selected by the Bank was created by a team of University of Toronto and York University researchers. They estimate it will take another two or three years to properly implement a central bank digital currency, adding that other countries already have a head start.

“You cannot click a button and have a CBDC tomorrow morning,” says team-member Andreas Veneris, a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“This is a long technological, economic, legislative and cultural shift behind digital currencies.”

In addition to Veneris, other members of the U of T-York team are: Andreas Park, an associate professor of finance at U of T Mississauga and the Rotman School of Management; Fan Long, an assistant professor in the department of computer science and the department of electrical and computer engineering; and Poonam Puri, a professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School.

The multidisciplinary team is using its diverse expertise to tackle the problem from multiple perspectives, including technology, economy, legal and global geopolitics. Veneris, for example, is an expert in system design, formal verification, techno-legal questions and crypto-economics. Long, meantime, is a distributed systems and programming languages pioneer, while Park, in his own words, explores how the “plumbing” of financial markets shapes economic outcomes. Puri is an expert in securities law and regulation.

Deepa Kundur, chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering, says collaboration is the key to solving tough problem in critical sectors.

“A complex area like monetary infrastructure has such a wide-ranging impact that a comprehensive analysis demands thought leaders from different fields,” she says. “The proposal is a good example of why ECE has prioritized cross-disciplinary efforts.”

The team members say that the financial sector is lagging behind when it comes to digitization, noting that connected devices have already infiltrated most aspects of daily life, from cars and homes to manufacturing and health care.

Yet, Park says that “payment, the backbone of all commerce, still operates on a legacy infrastructure that lacks the flexibility to adapt to this digitization of the economy.”

For example, he points out that you can buy things on Amazon and receive them the same day – but the seller only sees the payment on their account days later. Such inefficiencies in the payment system add up, with consulting firm Ernst & Young estimating that slow payments cost Canadian businesses $2.9 to $6.5 billion dollars a year.

New players are already emerging to exploit these shortcomings. In 2019, a Facebook-led consortium announced its intention to create a new financial payments infrastructure and with a cryptocurrency known as Diem Coin (formerly Libra Coin), which is scheduled to launch in 2021.

“Facebook has 2.7 billion monthly users,” says Veneris. “Once Diem goes live, it will offer a wide range of functionality for retail payments and make it easier to conduct business. It’ll be as though Facebook became, overnight, the biggest central bank of them all.”

In addition to concerns about how Diem Coin would handle privacy issues, Park says that small economies like Canada could experience currency displacement:

“People may stop using the native loonie, first for convenience and later out of necessity,” he says.

Preventing displacement and protecting privacy were key questions that guided the team’s thinking.

In addition to data security, the team’s proposal considers a number of critical issues facing the launch of a new CBDL: linking legacy and new infrastructure; incorporating privacy into its design to protect consumers and businesses; and providing incentives for the private sector to innovate and excel in a global digital economy while protecting Canada’s social values.

The team suggests a two-stage launch. In the first stage, the Bank of Canada would set up a working infrastructure to give people the ability to make e-payments with a new digital loonie. (A secondary payment CBDL cash-card system would cover Canadians who lack internet access.)

Transactions between parties would involve no credit and be immediate, limited in size to a typical purchase at a grocery store or other retail outlet.

“You would go to a shop and scan a QR code and that’s everything you need to make a payment,” says Long. “It’s a viable, convenient payment mechanism that will be much cheaper for merchants to use than the current system.”

In the second stage, the system expands to an open but controlled network: a “permissioned” blockchain. Here, private sector entities take the lead and build on the central bank’s initial innovation. Customers could keep their transactions private while being able to monetize their personal data to get extra services from the private sector.

Veneris emphasizes that this blockchain is not like Bitcoin, and that a CBDC is not a volatile asset prone to speculation like many cryptocurrencies are today.

“Think of it as an intelligent, open-source social operating system for programmable e-money,” Park says. “A company like Tim Hortons can plug into it to develop an enhanced reward program, or a firm can customize a service for smaller merchants. Entrepreneurs will ensure the payment mechanism keeps pace with incoming tech: Internet-of-Things micropayments, for example.”

And in an emergency, the system is set up to revert back to the central bank’s full control.

While setting up a digital currency is a massive undertaking, Veneris, Park and Long say that where the Bank of Canada leads, others – both locally and globally – will follow.

“The bank has spent the better part of the last decade preparing for this moment,” says Park. “It has a head start over most other central banks in the world.”

Adds Veneris, ”This is Canada’s opportunity to be a global leader.”

U of T students, researchers brainstorm ways to advance UN Sustainable Development Goals

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 21:41:17 +0000

U of T students, researchers brainstorm ways to advance UN Sustainable Development Goals

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 02/02/2021 - 16:41

Cutline

Sustainable development considerations have been incorporated into a wide array of U of T projects and initiatives, including the Landmark Project and an associated geoexchange field beneath Front Campus (photo by Daria Perevezentsev)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Sustainable Development

United Nations

Until recently, the sweeping international framework of the United Nations’ sustainable development priorities didn’t occupy much of Travonne Edwards’s attention.

As a PhD student in the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work – researching racial disparities for Black families in Ontario’s child welfare system – Edwards’s academic concerns lay closer to home, and within the realms of social work and racial equity.

But that began to change after Edwards, on the advice of a professor, took part in a recent event that aimed to encourage graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and professors to find ways to incorporate the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals – better known as SDGs – into their academic activities.

The 17 Zoom Rooms @ U of T event, held in early December, saw Edwards and more than 120 other participants assigned to one of 17 virtual “rooms” where they were invited to generate ideas on how to advance the SDGs at the university and beyond.

Edwards says the workshops were an eye-opener.

“Often times, when I think about research, it’s often conducted within one’s own faculty or institution. This was one of the first times I’ve been introduced to such a variety of folks interested in the same things as me but bringing different research backgrounds, disciplines and discourses,” he says.

“The main takeaway for me was the importance of being open-minded and innovative and to continue to push myself to think beyond the social work realm and include other areas – like tech, science and nutrition –to address issues of inequality.”

The U of T event was inspired by the 17 Rooms Initiative launched by the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation to stimulate innovative forms of collective action aimed at advancing the SDGs, which were adopted by UN member nations in 2015.

“This event aligns strongly with U of T’s ongoing commitment to community engagement, to addressing larger societal challenges and to fostering a global mindset among our students, staff and professoriate,” said U of T President Meric Gertler in a video message welcoming participants to the event.

“The Sustainable Development Goals are not only a set of commitments, but a powerful framework that explicitly acknowledges the interrelationship between all 17 goals. Indeed, to address poverty we must advance education and health, but also develop sustainable cities and communities, tackle climate change and maintain socially just institutions.”

President Gertler noted that U of T is already deeply engaged in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes initiatives across the university, through the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability, and leadership on the national level, such as the responsible investing charter adopted by many Canadian universities last year.

He added that sustainable development considerations have been incorporated into a vast array of university projects and initiatives, from the complex urban challenges examined by U of T’s School of Cities to the equity and inclusion work with Indigenous communities and campus revitalization efforts such as the Landmark Project.

“Our remarkable contributions to community and global health, our scholarship on clean energy and water and our expertise in education – to name but a few examples – all contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals,” President Gertler said.

Laura Chiavaroli, a post-doctoral researcher in the department of nutritional sciences in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine who participated in the 17 Zoom Rooms, traces her enthusiasm to participate in the event back to her involvement in an event last year that looked to encourage innovative ways to pursue the SDGs at U of T.

“It was such a great event. The organizers have such a passion and energy about them that you really feel happy to be a part of these events and the good and important work that U of T is doing in this area,” Chiavaroli said.

“So when I saw that this [17 Zoom Rooms] event was happening, I immediately wanted to partake.”

Chiavaroli was assigned to a room dedicated to exploring “Quality of Education,” which revolves around ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all.

She said a key theme that kept popping up in her room’s deliberations was the importance of fostering inter-disciplinary collaboration to help advance issues around equity in education, as well as matters pertinent to the 16 other sustainable development goals.

“What we learned is that there really is an energetic community of U of T people who are interested and want to be part of change,” Chiavaroli says. “The one thing that we concluded was that we need to work less in silos. There is collaboration happening, but the kind of interconnectedness that’s needed between the different disciplines to help address the SDGs is a leap that we have to undertake.”

Chiavaroli, whose post-doctoral work looks at the relationship between dietary patterns and health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, says her exposure to the UN’s sustainable development goals is also influencing the way she goes about her research.

“Our work is very focused on health, but what are the environmental implications of adopting a dietary pattern? We’re trying to get environmentalists involved in the work to learn from them. We’ve got some health economics people as well, because you want to be assessing the cost of diets and whether they can be adopted by people who have financial challenges or are food-insecure,” she says. “So, having these SDGs in mind really helps to think about your project on a global scale – where it’s going to have the biggest impact.”

Joseph Wong, U of T’s interim vice-president, international and a professor in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, says the 17 Zoom Rooms event exemplified the U of T community’s collective commitment to fostering conversations, innovations and actions aimed at having a global impact.

“What today represents is a conversation-starter,” Wong said during the event. “All of you are colleagues who work in or teach about – in some way – the Sustainable Development Goals. All of you represent precisely the spirit we’re trying to capture here and to start a conversation that I know will continue to endure.

“The Office of the Vice-President, International is very committed to this both in terms of our local as well as global engagement. One of the things that we hope to come out of this are opportunities for us to continue to build and engage our global partners.”

Wong added that the university would closely examine the suggestions and ideas that arose from the 17 Zoom Rooms event, and that they will inform the next steps in developing a broader institutional strategic initiative focussed on SDGs.

In the meantime, Edwards, whose room tackled “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions,” says the discussions have been vital in helping him build bridges between his Ontario-based research and the global challenges that the SDGs set out to solve.

He says the sessions have inspired him to “think strategically and align my research to aim to mitigate or eliminate these global issues – particularly regarding peace, justice and strong institutions – and really [think] about how my research in Ontario can connect the dots to support global initiatives in equity.”

Students and faculty who are interested in contributing to the development of an institutional strategic initiative focussed on the SDGs are encouraged to apply to sit on one of two committees – a steering committee and a student advisory committee – that will be developing a framework over the coming months.

COVID-19 discriminates against Black lives via surveillance, policing and lack of data: U of T experts

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 13:31:37 +0000

COVID-19 discriminates against Black lives via surveillance, policing and lack of data: U of T experts

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 04/21/2020 - 09:31

Cutline

A woman waits for a streetcar in Toronto on April 16, 2020. Many Black community members who work in essential jobs do not have the luxury of staying home during the pandemic (photo by Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Topic

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

The Conversation

U of T Mississauga

Women and Gender Studies

The claim that COVID-19 and its associated medical and social responses do not discriminate belies the history of how pandemics work and who is most impacted by them. States of emergency show that citizenship privileges some, is partial for others and disappears others.

In our early analysis of national media coverage, those experts sharing the grim statistics of infections and deaths, those front-line workers seen as risking their lives and those who have lost loved ones are predominantly white. Black, Indigenous and racialized people, and many whose lives have been further imperilled by this pandemic, remain virtually disappeared from the Canadian landscape.

That makes collective care for members across our communities untenable. We take pause and reflect on how this will impact Black people across economy, health and policing, to name three areas of concern.

Black people tend to be employed in low-paying and highly feminized jobs: These include clerical jobs, janitorial staff, orderlies and nursing assistants who are now determined as essential services. Black people are also more likely to work in the grey and underground economy, which are forms of labour that might involve payments outside the regular labour force and taxation system, and not counted in GDP.

Effectively, anti-Black racism has already ensured that Black people and undocumented residents are less-than-citizens in late modern capitalist Canada. Yet, the people who are likely most at risk are the ones who are being asked to sacrifice their lives. Collectively, Black people in Canada find themselves among the most disadvantaged in all indicators of what is considered a “good life.”

Policing the pandemic

The attempt to interrupt the spread of the virus has brought together policing and public health. Since at least the post-emancipation period in the Americas – and this period includes Canada – public health and policing have been launched against Black communities. Both public health and policing depend on assessing Black people as wayward.

In the post-emancipation Americas, early public health campaigns sought to “train” Black women on child rearing, cleanliness of homes and food preparation. Indeed, as late as the 1960s, one of the justifications for the destruction of Africville, N.S., was the public health claim that the community was at a health risk as there was no sewage system. Instead of providing necessary services, the community was forcibly removed.

Public health has historically been an extension of policing for Black people that has positioned us as suspicious and nefarious in our actions and movements. In our current state of emergency, this union of policing and public health has led to more Black people being arrested, detained and physically restrained in the name of public health protection.

The current rules around movement put Black people at risk, more vulnerable to intensified policing (including carding and street checks) when in public and potentially exposed to the virus at work.

Disavowing the data

On CBC radio’s The Current, Simon Fraser University’s June Francis recapped a conversation she had with a senior federal official in which she raised concerns regarding Black people’s health. Instead of acknowledging this need for data, Francis said the senior federal official told her: “Canada is a colour-blind society and [she] shouldn’t expect that race-based data is necessary.”

On April 9, during a public conversation with the Preston Community COVID-19 Response team and African Nova Scotian communities, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer, Robert Strang, said now was not the time to focus on how the social determinants of health and “longstanding issues” are impacting Black communities during this pandemic. He said: “We can focus on these issues later.”

On April 10, Ontario’s chief medical health officer, David Williams, said as the province fights to contain the coronavirus, disaggregated race-based data is not necessary.

We know differently. The HIV and AIDS responses in Canada show that public health and policing result in criminalization and incarceration for Black people. To ask us to suspend our understanding of these intimate links is to ask us to contend with the possibility of our own demise.

Pandemics do discriminate

Claims of colour-blind health care and approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic are concerning. The data from elsewhere, including the United States and the United Kingdom, sounds an alarm for Canada.

Emerging American data reveal that Black people are contracting the virus at higher rates and also are dying in higher numbers.

Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, head of the British Medical Association, called on the U.K. government to urgently investigate why Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

While some provincial public health officers in Canada claim to be concerned about all citizens and committed to everyone’s health, they simultaneously declare that now is not the time to address the social determinants of health or to begin the collection of disaggregated race-based data. In other words, they refuse to address how racial discrimination negatively impacts the health of Black people.

The absence of such plans, however, is indeed evidence of Black people’s partial citizenship and not-yet-quite citizenship.

In fact, our health officials must meet these demands for data. Accounting for how the virus impacts Black communities differently would actually demonstrate care.

Since the pandemic, we have heard of many Black women and their families in Toronto being evicted and made homeless. We have come to know that many are dealing with increased violence in the narrowly confined spaces they now live in, and are unable to access income support. Despite successful efforts to open health care to all, regardless of immigration status, the Toronto Star reported that some people in Toronto seeking emergency treatment had to pay $500 or risk not being treated.

Racism, poverty, incarceration, limited literacy, over-crowded living conditions, lack of social supports and limited access to health services are chronic conditions that must be considered during this pandemic.

Black lives are further in peril in a time of COVID-19. Subject to death on both the public health and policing fronts, we will not be silent. Even as state public officials choose to ignore our lives and livability by insisting that race and class do not matter, the historical and contemporary evidence in this country demonstrates more than otherwise.

Beverly Bain is a lecturer in the Women and Gender Studies program at University of Toronto Mississauga. OmiSoore Dryden is an associate professor and the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies at Dalhousie University. Rinaldo Walcott is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the director of Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

U of T Entrepreneurship Week: By the numbers

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 18:49:58 +0000

U of T Entrepreneurship Week: By the numbers

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 03/05/2020 - 13:49

Cutline

The True Blue Expo, one of the most anticipated events during U of T's Entrepreneurship Week, will feature more than 60 startups (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

The University of Toronto is gearing up for its fourth annual Entrepreneurship Week, a celebration of U of T entrepreneurs and their startups.

Running from March 9 to 13, Entrepreneurship Week features an array of events hosted by U of T’s campus-linked startup incubators and accelerators, as well as other programming by U of T and its government and non-profit partners. There are startup showcases, pitch competitions, keynote talks, workshops, networking events and more.

Among the most highly anticipated events are the True Blue Expo, which will see dozens of startups showcase their innovations at the MaRS Discovery District; the 2020 RBC Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship pitch competition, which offers $50,000 in prizes; and the RBC Innovation and Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, featuring entrepreneur, venture capitalist and Dragon’s Den judge Michele Romanow.

Here’s a rundown of some key numbers ahead of Entrepreneurship Week:

#1 RANKED U of T's ranking in research-based startups among Canadian universities

20 EVENTS Events making up Entrepreneurship Week

500 STARTUPS Startups created by entrepreneurs at U of T over the past decade

$1.5 BILLION Investment raised by startups at U of T over the past decade

1 – U of T’s rank in research-based startups among Canadian universities

10 – Startups vying for the RBC Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

20 – Events making up Entrepreneurship Week

60 – Startups participating in the True Blue Expo

300 - Entrepreneurship-related courses offered at U of T

500 – Startups created by U of T entrepreneurs over the past decade

$1,000 – Prize money for the winner of the Startup Slam organized by the Impact Centre

15,000 – Size in square feet of ONRamp, U of T’s collaboration and co-working space for startups

$20,000 – Total prizes at Pitch With a Twist organized by ICUBE at U of T Mississauga

$50,000 – Total prizes at the RBC Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurship pitch competition

$1.5 billion – Investment raised by U of T startups over the past decade

Markus Stock, the 17th principal of University College, to focus on student experience

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 19:40:28 +0000

Markus Stock, the 17th principal of University College, to focus on student experience

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 02/07/2020 - 14:40

Cutline

Markus Stock, the 17th principal of University College, smiles during his installation ceremony on Wednesday at Hart House (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Sean McNeely

Topic

Our Community

Student Experience

Department of Germanic Languages and Literature

Rose Patten

Centre for Medieval Studies

Cheryl Regehr

Faculty of Arts & Science

The new principal of University College wants to remove the “but” that sometimes appears when students and alumni describe the University of Toronto.

“The University of Toronto is a world-renowned academic institution, but it can stressful … U of T has a solid international reputation for research, but it can be a little overwhelming,” said Markus Stock in an interview in advance of his installation ceremony on Wednesday as the college’s 17^th principal.

He said he would like to see that “but” replaced with an “and” – in particular, an “and” that highlights the many benefits of U of T’s college system, including a welcoming, friendly and supportive atmosphere to accompany the university’s reputation for world class academics and research.

“If we could insert the colleges into the conversation right at that point, people might say, ‘U of T has an immense reputation as a research institution and its colleges provide students with a valuable support system and social connection.’ I think that would be ideal,” said Stock.

Stock’s installation ceremony, held in Hart House’s Great Hall, was attended by U of T President Meric Gertler, Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr, Chancellor Rose Patten and Faculty of Arts & Science Dean Melanie Woodin, among others.

The procession enters Hart House’s Great Hall. From left to right: President of University College Literary & Athletic Society Danielle Stella, Governing Council Chair Claire Kennedy, University College Principal Markus Stock and U of T President Meric Gertler (photo by Johnny Guatto)

An associate professor of German and medieval studies, Stock joined U of T in 2005 and was previously chair of the department of Germanic languages and literatures. He took over the role of principal of University College on Jan. 1. for a four-year term. The college, established in 1853, was previously led by Professor Donald Ainslie for eight years.

Stock said he is keenly focused on enhancing the student experience and intends to be a hands-on principal by driving forward student-centred initiatives and programs founded primarily on student engagement and interaction.

“Talking with students, I’m figuring out how we can best support their experience on campus,” said Stock. “For me, figuring that out might be the most fascinating part of the job.

“I’m finding out what their aspirations are to see where we can support their academic excellence, but then also emphasize their college is a place where they can live and congregate.”

From left to right: Associate Professor Jennifer Jenkins, Faculty of Arts & Science Dean Melanie Woodin, Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr, University College Principal Markus Stock, Chancellor Rose Patten, Professor Walid Saleh (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Stock said he is excited about the college’s future and intends to fully embrace and celebrate equity and diversity within the college’s student body. He also plans on stressing the importance of student mental health and well-being.

“That’s something I feel very strongly about,” he said. “We have to figure out how to provide services to students who face a mental health crisis – but, to an equal degree, ensure that students who are happy now stay happy during their rigorous academic experience at this university. I think the colleges play a huge role in that.”

U of T President Meric Gertler shakes hands with Markus Stock, the 17^th principal of University College (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Stock also plans to capitalize on the newly renovated student and research spaces as he leads the completion of the University College Revitalization Project.

“What are we going to do with these spaces? How can our new spaces help us with this?” he said, noting that he plans to take full advantage of new spaces for students to freely connect, recharge and easily access support services.

“If I could look back in five years and we instituted many initiatives that led to our students to continue to have a fulfilled academic life, but also have access to valuable learning beyond academics, I think that would be a big success,” he said.

Six essential U of T initiatives students should know about this year

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Six essential U of T initiatives students should know about this year

geoff.vendeville Wed, 09/04/2019 - 00:00

Cutline

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

Topic

Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre

Undergraduate Students

The University of Toronto has recently made a number of important changes to better serve students, staff and faculty. It’s also looking for the community’s input as it looks to make further improvements.

Here are a few essential changes and events happening across the campuses this fall:

Indigenous gateway

Students at the Centre for Indigenous Studies (photo by Aaron Mason)

Anyone looking for information about Indigenous programming, initiatives or services at U of T can turn to the university’s new Indigenous gateway. The site has information on Indigenous-focused programs and courses at U of T, such as the Master of Social Work program in Indigenous trauma and resiliency and courses in Aboriginal law.

The gateway also has resources for the wider U of T community, including bios of U of T Indigenous Elders and the land acknowledgements said at events on all three campuses.

Recognizing global skillsets

(photo courtesy of ENSU)

U of T has rolled out two new opportunities to promote international learning in and out of the classroom. Students can earn a Global Citizen designation on their co-curricular record by completing three opportunities from a list of extracurriculars, ranging from doing graphic design work for the local Amnesty International chapter or participating in the Environmental Students' Union.

Students are also able to get a Global Scholar notation on their transcripts by completing requirements for their chosen faculty or program. So far, there are six certificate programs, but the university is looking to expand offerings to more divisions at all three campuses.

For more information on both programs, visit U of T's global university webpage,

Mental health action plan

(Photo by Stephen Dagg)

U of T President Meric Gertler announced in a letter to students, staff and faculty last spring a four-point action plan to address issues of student mental health. The university struck up a task force of students, faculty and administrative staff to study the issue.

As part of that, consultations for students, staff, and faculty are scheduled this fall. In-person consultations at U of T Scarborough are to take place Sept. 18, at U of T Mississauga on Sept. 19 and the St. George campus on Sept. 24.

An online form to gather feedback will be open until Oct. 15.

The task force is due to report back to the president and provost with recommendations in December.

Tackling sexual violence

(photo by David Lee)

In 2017, U of T adopted a policy enshrining its commitment to all members of the community to provide a campus environment free of sexual violence. This fall, the university is seeking feedback from students, staff and faculty on the policy and the Student’s Companion to the Policy, an aid for students to navigate the policy and associated procedures.

To add some context to the review, U of T’s Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre – which has locations on each campus – created a fact sheet about its activities since it opened. In-person consultations are to be held this month – at U of T Mississauga on Sept. 23, at U of T Scarborough on Sept. 24 and the St. George campus on Sept. 25. All members of the community can also submit feedback until Sept. 30 by answering questions online.

Reinforcing a consent culture

Starting university means meeting new people and forging new relationships. But it’s important to be mindful of others’ boundaries.

The university is undertaking a consent campaign to emphasize the importance of checking in with one another before acting, in small ways that may seem innocuous.The university’s Sexual Violence & Prevention Centre has a page explaining consent and sharing links to useful resources. Students can join the conversation on social media with #CheckInForConsent.

Smoke-free campus

(photo by David Lee)

There’s been no puffing allowed on campus since the new year, when the university officially banned smoking. The rule covers the smoking or holding of lighted tobacco or cannabis as well as the use of an e-cigarette or vaping device.

The policy makes exceptions for medical reasons and Indigenous ceremonies involving smudging.

Faculty and Staff

U of T researchers to advise health providers on improving Ontario's primary care system

U of T extends Scott Mabury's term as vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, and vice-provost, academic operations

U of T endocrinologist Lorraine Lipscombe to lead ‘powerhouse’ diabetes research network

U of T startup raises $10.3 million to develop post-surgery pain treatment: Globe and Mail

Read more about AmacaThera in the Globe and Mail

U of T researchers help lay groundwork for Bank of Canada-backed “digital loonie”

U of T students, researchers brainstorm ways to advance UN Sustainable Development Goals

COVID-19 discriminates against Black lives via surveillance, policing and lack of data: U of T experts

Policing the pandemic

Disavowing the data

Pandemics do discriminate

U of T Entrepreneurship Week: By the numbers

Read more about entrepreneurship at U of T

Markus Stock, the 17th principal of University College, to focus on student experience

Six essential U of T initiatives students should know about this year

Indigenous gateway

Recognizing global skillsets

Mental health action plan

Tackling sexual violence

Reinforcing a consent culture

Smoke-free campus