New Portfolio, New Energy

Midstream in a global pandemic feels like a weird time to start a new position. Most of our classrooms are empty. Labs are operating at 50 per cent capacity and, aside from a few experts, most of us are surprised at how long this has gone on.

But maybe the timing is perfect? One thing we’ve learned this year is that we are resilient and can drive rapid change even when conditions are terrible. As vaccination picks up, the end of the tunnel seems like it may be coming into view. I’m sure we have a way to go yet, but already there seems to be new energy and appetite for making interesting and important changes.

Here are some of the things I’m thinking about as I begin my term in a newly integrated portfolio as Vice Dean Research & Graduate Education.

The dedication and heroic hard work of our staff, faculty and students has kept our teaching and research going and thriving throughout the pandemic. I think there are going to be some interesting conversations about whether some of the changes we implemented as “emergency measures” might, in fact, lead to longer term improvements. Honest and open dialogue with faculty and students will be essential.

I am very interested in new initiatives in undergraduate education. We need to collaborate across departments and faculties to enhance existing programs and create new ones that will have a positive impact on our collective future at Temerty Medicine. Interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration are essential, both as faculty teaching strategies and as learning objectives for our students.

In addition to maintaining and improving research and educational opportunities for our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, we need to focus on their professional development for a rapidly changing job market. Here too, the issue of student experience needs to be paramount. Our unparalleled scientific strength ensures that we will always be an attractive destination for outstanding trainees. However, challenges stemming from the Toronto housing market as well as historic inequities in access to higher education, are issues that we must face head on. Some of these initiatives are already underway; for example, I am keen to build on my predecessor Reinhart Reithmeier’s initiative in establishing a Postdoctoral Fellows Academy.

We need to maintain and improve the quality of our research spaces and enhance core facilities for 21st century technologies, including everything from cutting edge light- and electron microscopes to CL3 laboratory and animal facilities. We must build on our success at attracting research dollars by expanding our grant pre-review mechanisms and grant-writing mentorship, especially for new faculty. The innovative Temerty Pathway grants, aimed at highly ranked grant applicants who just missed the cut for funding, will be integral to these efforts.

Indeed, last year’s astoundingly generous donation from the Temerty family creates opportunities for us to create a renewed faculty of medicine that will serve students from Canada and around the world for generations to come. A hugely exciting time is upon us!

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this change is the James and Louise Temerty Building, now in its planning stages for King’s College Circle. Ambitious and flexible in its scope, this new research and education space will be built with the needs of students and faculty front and centre. Against the backdrop of the university’s ambitious Landmark Project, it will enhance the St. George campus for generations. This location is a university centrepiece and it’s our Faculty’s front door. The building needs to be distinctive, iconic and instantly recognizable.

In sum, our goals moving forward must be to continue to excel all fronts. I’m excited and hugely honoured to be taking on this newly integrated decanal position and look forward to working with my many colleagues, faculty and students in the coming years.