Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

Twenty faculty members from the University of Toronto have been awarded Canada Research Chairs in support of their research in areas ranging from LGBTQ2S+ youth mental health to quantum photonic technologies and sustainable suburban housing.

Awarded by the Government of Canada, Canada Research Chair positions are designed to reinforce academic research and training excellence with a view to improving depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthening Canada’s international competitiveness and helping train the next generation of highly skilled people.

“I would like to congratulate all the University of Toronto scholars who have newly been appointed Canada Research Chairs or had their positions renewed in this latest cohort,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “From cognitive neurobiology to household finance and urban environmental science, these researchers are furthering knowledge and spurring innovation in areas of critical importance.”

The latest cycle of Canada Research Chair appointees from U of T includes eight new and 12 renewed positions:

New Canada Research Chairs

Alex Abramovich at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness and Mental Health

Claire Célérier in the Rotman School of Management – Tier 2 in Household Finance

Natalie Coburn at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 1 in Cancer Outcomes

Li Qian in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Tier 1 in Quantum Photonic Technologies

Alison McGuigan in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Tier 1 in Tissue Engineering and Disease Modelling

Zahra Shakeri Hossein Abad in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health – Tier 2 in Health Informatics and Precision (Public) Health

Mina Tadrous in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy – Tier 2 in Real-World Evidence and Pharmaceutical Policy

Marianne Touchie in the department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Tier 2 in Sustainable Urban Housing

Renewed Canada Research Chairs

Rachel Barney in the departments of classics and philosophy at the Faculty of Arts & Science – Tier 1 in Ancient Philosophy

Marie-Josée Fortin in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Faculty of Arts & Science – Tier 1 in Spatial Ecology

Paul Frankland at the SickKids Research Institute, the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and the department of physiology and Institute of Medical Science in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 1 in Cognitive Neurobiology

Anne-Claude Gingras at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health and the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 1 in Functional Proteomics

Tara Gomes at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy – Tier 2 in Drug Policy and Substance Use

Daniel Grace in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health – Tier 2 in Sexual and Gender Minority Health

Marc Johnson in the department of biology at U of T Mississauga – Tier 2 in Urban Environmental Science

Sheena Josselyn at the SickKids Research Institute, the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the department of physiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 1 in Memory Function and Dysfunction

Carmen Logie at Women's College Research Institute and the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work – Tier 2 in Global Health Equity & Social Justice with Marginalized Populations

Ito Peng in the department of sociology in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Tier 1 in Global Social Policy

Navindra Persaud at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, the department of family and community medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health – Tier 2 in Health Justice

Martine Puts in the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing – Tier 2 in Care of Frail Older Adults

Read the Government of Canada announcement

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Daniel Drucker receives 2023 VinFuture Special Prize

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 16:39:17 +0000

Daniel Drucker receives 2023 VinFuture Special Prize

Research & Innovation

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 01/08/2024 - 11:39

Faculty

St. George

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

landscape

Daniel Drucker (photo by Polina Teif)

Daniel Drucker, a senior investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health and a University Professor in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine, is part of a team of scientists who have been awarded the 2023 VinFuture Special Prize for Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields.

The prize, valued at $500,000, is presented by the not-for-profit VinFuture Foundation in recognition of breakthrough scientific and technological innovations.

Drucker and collaborators were recognized for discovering the role of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gut hormone that has paved the way for the development of treatments for diabetes and obesity and prompted applications for neurodegenerative diseases.

“This recognition really was built by thousands of trainees, scientists, clinical trial people and many tens of thousands of people living with obesity and diabetes and cardiometabolic disorders, who volunteered for the clinical trials [and] who made the reality happen,” Drucker said during the VinFuture Prize awards ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam in December 2023.

Drucker shared the prize with Professors Joel Habener of Harvard Medical School, Svetlana Mojsov of Rockefeller University and Jens Juul Holst of the University of Copenhagen.

The awards ceremony took place just a few days after Science named GLP-1 therapies as its 2023 Breakthrough of the Year. The journal noted there’s a “groundswell of hope” that the drugs can curb rates of obesity and related chronic diseases, and cited recent clinical trials that found promise that they could also reduce the risk of heart attacks.

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Daniel Drucker awarded 2023 Wolf Prize in Medicine

lanthierj — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 21:03:25 +0000

Daniel Drucker awarded 2023 Wolf Prize in Medicine

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Fri, 02/10/2023 - 16:03

Faculty

St. George

Wolf Prize

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Sinai Health

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

landscape

Daniel Drucker, a senior scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, and a professor in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine has been honoured with the 2023 Wolf Prize for medicine.

“We are very excited to have our science highlighted by the Wolf Foundation; this is terrific recognition for dozens of trainees and lab staff who have made important contributions over the years,” Drucker says.

Drucker was recognized for his research on the physiology and therapeutic potential of glucagon-like peptides, hormones produced in the gut that now form the basis for several highly effective drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, obesity and intestinal disorders.

The Wolf Prize is awarded annually to scientists and artists from around the world, for their achievements in the interest of humanity and friendly relations among peoples. Eight laureates from five countries were honoured this year, and will receive a certificate and US $100,000 at a ceremony in Israel this June.

Drucker joins three other U of T faculty members who have received the Wolf Prize since its inception in 1978: John Polanyi (department of chemistry, 1982), Anthony Pawson (department of molecular genetics, 2005) and James Arthur (department of mathematics, 2015).

“The University of Toronto congratulates Dan Drucker on this latest recognition of his important work,” says Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “His commitment to scientific discovery, his decades of meticulous work and dedication to improving the lives of patients have led to new treatments that have truly made a global impact.”

Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

20 U of T researchers awarded new or renewed Canada Research Chairs

New Canada Research Chairs

Renewed Canada Research Chairs

Read the Government of Canada announcement

Daniel Drucker receives 2023 VinFuture Special Prize

Daniel Drucker awarded 2023 Wolf Prize in Medicine

Read more about the Wolf Prize