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Founded in 1843, The University of Toronto Department of Medicine
is one of the oldest and largest medical schools in North America.
Our rich tradition of research and innovation dates back to the
discovery of insulin and its clinical application in 1921-22, and
continues today with landmark discoveries in neuroscience and brain
health, complex diseases, human development and global health.
Exciting new research initiatives have been launched over the past
decade. Foremost amongst them are the Integrated Challenge Grant
and training programs that are building a cadre of leaders who are
helping to transform health care—provincially, nationally and
internationally.
These achievements are possible because of the Department of
Medicine’s outstanding team of faculty, staff, students, alumni and
friends. Philanthropic support has also been critical to our
success. Throughout our long and storied history, extraordinary
philanthropists have shown great generosity to our
Department.
As we look to the issues facing Canada and Canadians in the coming
decades – caring for a changing and aging patient population,
treating rising levels of chronic disease – we recognize the need
for innovative new ideas and approaches to health care. These
challenges present the Department of Medicine and our community of
supporters with an exciting opportunity to change the face of
health research and care in Canada and around the world.
The discovery of insulin at the University of Toronto, by Dr.
Frederick Banting and Charles Best, was one of the most important
medical achievements of the twentieth century. Today, the lives of
millions worldwide are saved through the use of this hormone.
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Leading cHange
At the University of Toronto, Department of Medicine we are shaping
the future of academic medicine. We are driving important
transformations— locally, provincially and globally—through
innovation in three key areas: preparing the next generation of
transformative leaders; driving cutting-edge biomedical research;
and advancing patient-centred care. There has never been a more
exciting time for academic medicine.
Our research strengths span the spectrum (‘bench to bedside to
populations’) of biomedical investigation, ranging from basic
science to translational research to epidemiology to clinical
trials of novel diagnostic devices and treatment strategies. As a
recognized leader in education our programs are training doctors to
meet changing needs in an increasingly complex health care
environment. New ideas, structures, exciting new partnerships and
collaborations are fundamental to achieving our goals of integrated
clinical medical education, research and new models of health care
for Canadians and people around the globe.
We are uniquely positioned to achieve such a robust and ambitious
agenda. With 19 Divisions, 1,200 faculty members and more than 800
postgraduate trainees and fellows enrolled in Core Internal
Medicine and the medical specialties and subspecialties located at
several teaching hospitals, we have the expertise and commitment to
integrate basic and clinical research agendas and to train
physicians to rethink models of care.
Tremendous opportunity exists to translate fundamental discoveries
from our research laboratories into new diagnostic and therapeutic
interventions that benefit patients at the bedside. Our exceptional
diversity and concentration of talent enables us to shape the
practice of medicine on many fronts.
“ Established in 1919, the Sir John and Lady Eaton Professorship
was the first full-time Chair in Medicine in the British Empire. We
are proud of our history, but even more proud of what we have
become–one of the leading departments of medicine in North America
based on our research publications.” dr. Wendy Levinson is the Sir
John and Lady Eaton Professor and Chair of Medicine in the
Department of Medicine.
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University of Toronto Department of Medicine4
inTegraTion, innovaTion and impacT Through our catalytic role in
the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN)—a network of
nine fully affiliated hospitals and research institutes and 18
community-affiliated sites—we engage a diverse, multidisciplinary
network tackling the most difficult and compelling questions of
human health and biology— and use this knowledge to improve
lives.
Working together, we are developing a model of interdisciplinary
research, teaching and patient care that is the envy of
universities and health care systems around the world. We embrace
the core concepts of integration, innovation and impact. The “Three
I’s” encapsulate our strategy to fulfill our social responsibility
by developing leaders, contributing to our communities and
improving the health of individuals and populations through the
discovery, application and communication of knowledge.
integration with our partners enables us to leverage the full power
of Toronto’s health science network to create unique research and
teaching opportunities that promote new collaborative thinking from
a system-wide perspective. innovation refers to our ability to
apply the full scope of our interdisciplinary strengths to answer
complex health and biomedical questions and develop faster, better
and more cost effective ways to improve the lives and health of
populations. Our impact is realized through the meaningful
improvements to health and prosperity made by our community of
students, faculty, alumni and partners.
To maximize our collective advantage and better serve our
community, we are challenging familiar ways of thinking and
building bridges across disciplinary and geographic boundaries.
Through novel collaborative frameworks and unique opportunities for
student and faculty exchange, we are preparing tomorrow’s leading
scientists and scholars, clinical professionals and administrators
for success in a more complex, integrated health care
landscape.
discovery district: The discovery of insulin in 1921 firmly
established the University of Toronto as a wellspring for medical
research and
innovation. since that time, the University has evolved into one of
the world’s largest and most productive biomedical research
networks.
BUiLding Bridges To inTegraTed care
The Department of Medicine, in collaboration with the Department of
Family and Community Medicine, recently created BRIDGES. Funded by
the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care, BRIDGES develops
and tests new models of care which link hospitals, primary care
clinics and community services to provide comprehensive care to
patients with complex chronic disease. BRIDGES supports innovation
and integration in health service delivery by linking health care
providers from hospitals and family medicine teaching practices
associated with the University of Toronto with researchers and
Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) in the associated Local
Health Integration Networks (LHINs). The goal is to disseminate the
most effective Interventions throughout the province.
University of Toronto Department of Medicine6
a new era of medicine
The Department of Medicine is an essential part of Boundless: The
Campaign for the University of Toronto, the largest fundraising
campaign in Canadian university history. With a historic $2 billion
goal, the campaign will help expand U of T’s global leadership
capacity across critical areas of knowledge and help develop the
talent, ideas and solutions for the defining challenges of our
time.
The Department of Medicine will play a major role in fulfilling the
University’s ambitions. As the health sciences advance and our
health care system evolves, our physicians and scientists will be
called on to meet the challenges of a dramatically changing
landscape. As Canada’s top medical school, we can provide the
leadership necessary to excel in this environment. To do so, we
require the support and generosity of our worldwide community of
alumni and friends.
Together, we can prepare the health professionals of tomorrow with
the scientific knowledge and practical skills necessary to deliver
the new standard of health care. By expanding opportunities for
students and researchers, we will accelerate our ability to make
meaningful contributions within the health care system, drive
innovation in science and business and advance health research.
Your support will help us to attract the most productive and
imaginative students and empower our community of scholars to reach
their full potential.
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Department of Medicine Priorities:
endowed cHairs
Competition for the best faculty talent is intense and chairs are
the most effective means of recruiting and retaining outstanding
academic researchers. Endowed chairs are reserved for the
University’s most distinguished scholars and teachers; they ensure
that the Department of Medicine can attract internationally
renowned scientists whose profile and research program will draw
top faculty and students to the Department. This philanthropic
partnership supports research excellence and trains future
generations of researchers and clinicians who will, in turn, care
for patients in Canada and across the globe.
Investment opportunities for new chairs are available for all 19
Divisions.
In addition to the Divisional need for chairs, there are many
investment opportunities that exist within the Department. There is
a need to support a Chair for Quality Improvement and Safety
Initiatives, to enhance the innovative research used to treat and
improve the lives of Canadians and patients globally.
“ Supporting the brightest minds in biomedical research is an
investment in the health and well-being of our loved ones and
future generations of Canadians.” dr. PhiLiP Marsden is the
Vice-Chair of Research, Department of Medicine Oreopoulos-Baxter
Division Director of Nephrology.
» Cardiology » Neurology » Infectious Disease » Respiratory
Medicine » Occupational Medicine » General Internal Medicine »
Clinical Pharmacology
» Endocrinology » Nephrology » Oncology » Haematology » Critical
Care » Emergency Medicine » Dermatology
» Geriatric Medicine » Immunology » Physiatry » Rheumatology »
Gastroenterology
University of Toronto Department of Medicine10
Department of Medicine Priorities:
cLinician scienTisT Training program
Why do we need clinician scientists? The clinician scientist
bridges the gap between the laboratory bench and the patient
bedside, by posing important questions from everyday practice. The
translation of knowledge along with our exceptional diversity and
concentration of talent, prepares us to shape the practice of
medicine on many fronts.
Support for the Clinician Scientist Training Program will enable
the Department to continue to attract the brightest and most
promising academic clinician scientists from across the country and
around the world. These remarkable individuals are critical to
Canada’s ability to unlock the potential of new diagnostics,
therapeutics and the dissemination of new knowledge.
cHair’s sTraTegic innovaTion fUnd
Support for the Department is an investment in the full spectrum of
health research—from fundamental science to translation to
treatment.
The challenges facing Canada’s health care system are immense. We
must promote cross-disciplinary collaboration and bring great minds
together to address these complex challenges. To these ends, the
Department has introduced one-time-only “seed fund” awards of up to
$75,000 that collaborative groups can use to leverage larger grants
beyond the Department of Medicine.
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University of Toronto Department of Medicine12
Supporting Collaboration and Driving Innovative Research
We are all acquainted with the story of the brilliant inventor
toiling away in isolation in his or her basement laboratory. While
the “lone inventor” makes for compelling storytelling, in reality,
genuine scientific progress is collaborative and collective.
Breakthroughs rarely arise from eureka moments, but rather from
incremental advances made by teams of scientists and technicians
working in sophisticated and well-funded laboratories. Good ideas
happen in networks not in isolation.
The breadth and depth of biomedical investigators in the Department
rivals that of leading institutions in the United States or Europe.
Our research faculty includes 155 clinician scientists, 135
clinician investigators and 25 research scientists. Yet, as we plan
for the future, we recognize that members of our Department cannot
do this in isolation. The historical focus of peer-reviewed funding
agencies on “stand alone” independent research projects with
minimal or no overlap has compromised team building, at least from
the perspective of independent principal investigators. Investment
in health research requires careful consideration of where the
Department can capitalize on foci of excellence.
The Department of Medicine recently introduced integrating
challenge grants to engage faculty members across institutions and
departments and more fully integrate research within our academic
enterprise. This unique funding initiative supports the creation of
multi-disciplinary teams where excellence and implementation are
top priorities. Our goals are to facilitate exciting new research
discoveries and apply this research in order to make the strongest
possible impact on health and health care.
We propose a new initiative that will provide grants up to $250,000
per year for a three-year cycle. This support will allow faculty
members to identify priority areas, champion health research in
newer fields and develop leadership skills that will have the
greatest impact on patient care.
“ The benefits of research collaboration are well known. Few places
offer such a broad range of talent across disciplines and
professions as the University of Toronto. This critical mass of
world-class investigators advances all areas of biomedical
research.” Canada Chair in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
Director of the Centre for Patient Safety, dr. Kaveh shojania’s
research focuses on identifying evidence-based patient safety
interventions and effective strategies for translating evidence
into practice.
University of Toronto Department of Medicine14
Advancing Patient-centred Care
Dr. William Osler, who has been called the father of modern
medicine, understood the importance of placing human beings at the
centre of the medical enterprise. “The good physician treats the
disease,” Osler observed. “The great physician treats the patient
who has the disease.”
Helping Canadians stay healthy is a primary goal of the Department
of Medicine. We are committed to improving the health and
well-being of Canada and Canadians as well as to graduating
outstanding doctors and scientists. Medicine is a humanistic as
well as scientific endeavour; physicians have duties that extend
beyond realizing the medical and scientific possibilities of their
field. Among these duties are moral and professional obligations to
individual patients and their families.
In addition to generating new research, nearly two-thirds of our
faculty works on the front lines of health care providing advanced
treatment for tens of thousands of patients every day. This
presents the Department with tremendous opportunities to translate
fundamental discoveries from our research laboratories into new
diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that benefit patients at
the bedside.
virTUaL ward
The Virtual Ward is a new model of care, designed to support
patients who are at high risk of readmission to hospital. The
Virtual Ward takes the best elements of hospital care (“Ward”) and
applies them to patients living in their own homes (“Virtual”). The
Virtual Ward Team consists of a doctor, a pharmacist, two care
coordinators, a team assistant and (on a part time basis) a
hospital based nurse clinician and community nurse practitioner.
“Admission” to the Virtual Ward begins in the hospital and involves
communication between the discharging hospital, the Virtual Ward
team and the patient.
General internist and scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge
Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital, Assistant Professor in the
Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy,
Management & Evaluation, Dr. Irfan Dhalla’s research
investigates means of improving the quality of care provided to
adults with complex medical problems.
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move on
Ambulatory older adults spend less than an hour a day standing or
moving when they are in hospital. Without intervention, elderly
patients lose one to five per cent of muscle strength each day they
spend in hospital and one-third of older adults develop a new
disability (related to activities associated with daily living)
during hospitalization. Half of these women and men are unable to
recover function.
Modest interventions can make a tremendous difference to the lives
of patients and their families. The MOVE ON Project promotes early
mobilization, which has been shown to decrease acute care length of
stay, shorten duration of delirium, improve return to independent
functional status, decrease risk of depression, increase rates of
discharge to home and decrease hospital costs by $300 per patient
per day.
In addition to being the MOVE ON Project Lead, Dr. Sharon StrauS is
the Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation and Quality of
Care and Director of the Knowledge Translation program, Li Ka Shing
Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital and University of
Toronto.
BoUndLessingenUiTY Dr. rIck Swartz is Assistant Professor in the
Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology and Director of the
University of Toronto Stroke Program.
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inTegraTed sTroke neTwork
Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability around the world.
Every seven minutes in Canada, someone dies from heart disease or
stroke. The University of Toronto Stroke Program (UTSP)—in
partnership with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, St. Michael’s
Hospital and the University Health Network—is one of the largest
and best academic stroke programs in North America. The UTSP
combines the resources, strengths and patient populations of the
three separate University of Toronto Stroke Centres to establish U
of T as an international leader in stroke clinical practice,
research and education. Support for UTSP helps develop innovative
methods of stroke service delivery that maximize opportunities to
implement proven therapies and improve efficiency, patient safety
and quality of care.
naming THe deparTmenT of medicine aT THe UniversiTY of
ToronTo
The University of Toronto is pleased to offer the opportunity to
name Canada’s top Department of Medicine. Naming the Department of
Medicine is a lasting gift that permanently links your name—or that
of a family member or friend—with the University of Toronto.
Moreover, by virtue of the Department’s various partnerships, your
name will be associated with affiliated health care institutions
across the Greater Toronto Area. A named gift offers an
unprecedented opportunity to help shape the Department’s and
University’s continuing record of world-class achievement. This
leadership gift will launch the Department into an exciting future
that draws on the collective talent of our faculty, learners, staff
and partners.
University of Toronto Department of Medicine18
University of Toronto Department of Medicine20
The University of Toronto Department of Medicine is a centre of
immense inspiration, remarkable innovation and limitless
possibilities. With a focus on interactive and collaborative
research and teaching, our curriculum is among the most pioneering
of its kind anywhere. The campaign builds on our strength as one of
the top departments of medicine in the world and helps catalyze our
international leadership in biomedical research and
education.
The Department is uniquely positioned to drive transformation in
medical education, interdisciplinary research and patient care. In
coming years, we have the opportunity to make major contributions
that will shape the course of health care in the 21st century. The
institution that discovered insulin in the 1920s and stem cells in
the 1960s continues to change the world today. University of
Toronto researchers have discovered potential stem cells in the
mouse pancreas capable of generating insulin-producing “beta
cells.” Insulin marked a revolutionary treatment for diabetes; stem
cell therapy could very well provide the cure.
Our contributions will improve the health of Canadians and people
around the world. We make this promise because of the tireless
devotion to excellence put forward by our remarkable trainees,
faculty, staff and
community of supporters. We are training the next generation of
health professionals and academic leaders. Our faculty members are
phenomenal educators and world-leading scientists who attract the
best trainees, fellows and colleagues to our growing health
network. Our community of supporters, alumni and philanthropists
also play an integral role in our success; their ongoing support
and advocacy help us to meet the demands of modern health education
and research.
This is an exciting era for health research. And this is an
exciting era at the Department of Medicine. Now is the time to
invest in our collective future and in the people at our University
who will define it. We invite you to support our campaign. Through
your generosity and involvement, we will realize our boundless
potential.
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For More inForMaTion conTacT: angela Kretz Senior Development
Officer, Department of Medicine Office of Advancement, Faculty of
Medicine 6 Queen’s Park Crescent West Toronto ON M5S 3H2 Tel: (416)
978-8805 Fax: (416) 946-7722
[email protected]
deptmedicine.utoronto.ca