2024-2025 Dean's Report

From transforming cancer care to accelerating drug discovery and strengthening health policy, our researchers are driving scientific and clinical advances that translate into real-world change. 

In paediatric oncology, Professor Lee Dupuis and collaborators at SickKids are transforming supportive care with SSPedi, a first-of-its-kind digital tool that helps children report and manage the physical and emotional symptoms of cancer treatment. Research published in JAMA and JAMA Pediatrics shows SSPedi significantly reduces symptom burden. “By identifying what bothers kids, we can provide health care professionals with the tools to best manage those symptoms—an extraordinarily powerful combination,” says Dupuis. 

Innovation is also advancing cancer diagnostics and treatment. Professor Raymond Reilly and his team at the Centre for Pharmaceutical Oncology supported the world’s first human clinical trial of porphysomes, a Toronto-developed nanomedicine that can image and treat tumours. “Without Professor Reilly and the GMP facility, the journey to bring this discovery to patients would have been even longer,” says Professor Gang Zheng, who developed porphysomes. 

Associate Professor Mina Tadrous published a high-impact JAMA study warning that proposed U.S. tariffs on Canadian pharmaceuticals could disrupt supply chains and raise costs, underscoring the need for health-first policy decisions. 

In neurodegenerative disease research, Assistant Professor Rachel Harding is decoding the huntingtin protein to develop drug targets for Huntington’s disease. Deeply connected to the patient community, she says: “What’s the point of doing science if it’s not connected to the people who are most impacted by what you’re studying?” 

New tools are reshaping therapeutic discovery. Assistant Professor Bowen Li and collaborators developed AGILE, an AI-guided platform that accelerates lipid nanoparticle discovery for mRNA therapies. “Using AGILE, lipid nanoparticle discovery is no longer by trial and error,” says Li. “It makes our screening process more rational.” 

BioHubNet: Strengthening Canada’s biomanufacturing talent pipeline 

The newly launched Biomanufacturing Hub Network (BioHubNet), an immersive talent development program hosted at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and led by University Professor Molly Shoichet, aims to bolster Canada's talent pipeline by bridging the gaps between academia and industry to develop industry-ready talent for the biomanufacturing sector. Recently awarded $18.9 million in federal funding from the Canada Biomedical Research Fund (CBRF), BioHubNet is co-led by Darius Rackus, an assistant professor of chemistry and biology at Toronto Metropolitan University, and Gilbert Walker, professor of chemistry at U of T. The sweeping network brings together eight universities and colleges, four hospitals, and 26 industry and training partners across Canada. 

On World Pharmacists Day 2024, we celebrated the grand opening of the Discovery Pharmacy’s flagship space in our building’s atrium. An interdisciplinary hub for care, research and learning, the Discovery Pharmacy provides care to faculty, students and staff at U of T.  
 
“This is a dynamic place where new ideas can be developed and refined in and for the real world of patient care,” says Dean Lisa Dolovich.

This spring, the Centre for Practice Excellence hosted Showcasing AI Innovations in Pharmacy, a special event exploring how AI is transforming pharmacy education and practice. Moderated by Minh-Hiên Lê, the session featured demonstrations of AI tools for decision support and virtual simulations, and a panel on how digital technologies are enriching learning and patient care. 

The Faculty is also introducing new tools to strengthen assessment and support learning analytics. Beginning with the launch of the Three-Year PharmD program, all tests will be delivered through ExamSoft, a secure, cloud-based assessment platform already in use at U of T’s Faculties of Medicine, Law and Dentistry. ExamSoft enhances exam security through its Examplify app, streamlines exam delivery by eliminating paper, and provides powerful analytics to inform teaching and program development. Faculty and course coordinators are being trained to integrate the platform, ensuring a smooth transition for both educators and students. 

These conversations about digital transformation extend beyond the classroom. In the Faculty’s award-winning I’m Pharmacy podcast, Season 4, Episode 5: Spreading the Cure: Diffusion and Implementation, host and Associate Professor Mina Tadrous speaks with Dr. Muhammad Mamdani about how innovators can overcome barriers to scaling health technologies, including AI, to truly impact patient outcomes. 

By embedding AI literacy, leveraging secure digital platforms, and fostering critical dialogue about innovation, the Faculty is shaping pharmacists who can lead in a digital-first future. 

As part of the latest phase of Project Leap, U of T's ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by over 50 per cent by the end of 2027, crews are hard at work connecting campus buildings to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange system — a thermal battery buried deep beneath Front Campus that is transforming how the university heats and cools its buildings. Current construction will connect the Medical Sciences Building, FitzGerald Building, Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building and Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research to the geoexchange. Once complete, a total of 33 campus buildings will benefit from the expanded geoexchange system.

This year we welcomed Assistant Professor Ivy Lam, as the Faculty's first Academic Lead, Climate, Health & Sustainable Care. In this role, Lam will guide and advance the Faculty’s efforts to embed environmental sustainability across our curriculums, research, and operations. She will work closely with leadership, faculty, staff, as well as partners across the University of Toronto and beyond to support climate-conscious pharmacy education and practice. Lam will also represent the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy as an Associate Director of the University of Toronto’s Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health, and Sustainable Care.   

“This is not just an environmental issue, it’s a human health issue, so we have to act as health care professionals,” she says. Through her leadership, the Faculty is empowering pharmacists to mitigate environmental impacts—from deprescribing to reduce medication waste to supporting patients during extreme weather events. 

Creating sustainable change across our health system

With expanded scopes of practice and innovations in care, pharmacy is evolving rapidly to support better health care in Ontario. In May, we celebrated pharmacist innovators through the inaugural Leslie Dan Faculty Pharmacy Practice Excellence Awards, presented by the Centre for Practice Excellence.

The awards were presented at the Shaping the Future of Minor Ailments Services: Innovation & Excellence Forum, an event focused on minor ailments hosted by the Network for Improving Health Systems, a collaboration between the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and Dalla Lana School of Public Health. The event brought together researchers, policymakers and fellow clinicians to discuss challenges and opportunities we face in implementing a more efficient and integrated system.  
 
Panel members included Justin Bates, Ontario Pharmacists Association; Audrey Laporte, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto; Delia Sinclair Frigault, Ontario College of Pharmacists; Dr. Eric Wong, Ontario College of Family Physicians; and Dr. R. Sacha Bhatia, Ontario Health. 

At the 2024 OPEN Research Summit, researchers, policymakers and practitioners discussed strategies to align pharmacy with evolving health needs. Faculty-led studies, such as Natalie Crown’s research on pharmacists’ capacity to assume new roles, and student-led projects exploring gamification in minor ailments education, are helping shape sustainable change. 

While working a short-term contract in the pharmacy department at Timmins and District Hospital, 2T6 PharmD student Andrea Elia was tasked with exploring strategies the hospital could implement to launch an antimicrobial stewardship program. After contacting 'Introduction to Antimicrobial Stewardship (PHM383)' course coordinator Mark McIntyre, this project quickly transitioned into a learning opportunity for students - who developed solutions and presented them to hospital leadership.

“I think that when I look back on my PharmD degree, this project will be one of the things I will remember because of the integration between the class and the real world,” said Elia.  

Student & Learners