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The Institutional Strategic Initiatives portfolio increases the University of Toronto’s capacity to support large-scale, high-impact interdisciplinary research.

The Institutional Strategic Initiatives portfolio advances the University of Toronto’s capacity to conduct high-impact interdisciplinary research that transforms lives.
Global issues such as inequality, climate change and infectious diseases are some of humanity’s grand challenges. They demand creative and innovative answers that cross-disciplinary barriers, address the scale of problems before us, and can translate cutting-edge discovery into societal solutions.
As Canada’s top university and a global Top 20 institution, the University of Toronto is uniquely positioned to lead life-changing research and innovation. The Institutional Strategic Initiatives portfolio streamlines the process of building, growing and maintaining collaborations across disciplines. We enhance partnerships with external industry, community and philanthropic partners.
Drawing on the University’s deep research excellence, innovation and talent, the University’s strategic initiatives will ignite groundbreaking research that will create a better future for the generations to come.
Engage with Institutional Strategic Initiatives:
Medicine by Design-funded researchers develop cell injection technique that could help reverse vision loss
University Professor Molly Shoichet. (Photo by Neil Ta) Story from: https://mbd.utoronto.ca/news/medicine-by-design-funded-researchers-develop-cell-injection-technique-that-could-help-reverse-vision-loss/ By Tyler Irving|August 19th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: cell therapy, cycle 2, Molly Shoichet, team projects, vision Through research partially funded […]
How Do Cities Manage Change? Experts Size Up Contemporary Challenges in Municipal Governance
Photo credit: Nick Iwanyshyn Article from: https://sr-institute.utoronto.ca/city-governance/ The pace of change in cities—technological, social, economic—seems to speed up day by day, posing challenges to municipal government structures established in different […]
Medicine by Design launches Translation Talks
Article from https://mbd.utoronto.ca/news By Ann Perry|June 16th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: commercialization, events, Summer by Design, Translation Talks Translation Talks is a weekly webinar series for trainees that will cover key concepts […]
PRiME announces a COVID-19 Task Force on Advanced Diagnostics and New Therapeutics
Article from https://www.prime.utoronto.ca/news As the global community responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, PRiME is convening its leading researchers to form a COVID-19 Task Force on Advanced Diagnostics and New Therapeutics […]
Follow us @researchuoft
Coming up on April 21: our friends at the @UofT_dlsph Interdisciplinary Data Science Research Cluster and @CAMHResearch co-host "Prediction, Machine Learning and Causal Inference: What does it mean for Population Health and Data Science?"
https://t.co/sBygKXyQRN @UofT_TCAIREM
Let's get to know the speakers at our inaugural academic conference, https://t.co/T9Fg0ARU8K
First up: @jeffclune of @OpenAI and @UBC_CS. Read about Jeff's work on #AI, catastrophic forgetting, continual learning, and more in this 2020 @VentureBeat item.
https://t.co/MCph5waVME
Next Wednesday at 3 pm EST: we're excited to welcome @ShannonVallor of @UoE_EFI and @CentreTMFutures to our weekly seminar for a talk on “The digital basanos: AI and the virtue and violence of truth-telling."
Thanks to our co-sponsors CARE-AI at @uofg. https://t.co/NFBUdiAFNA
The Global #Urban Network invites you to the next in the 2021 Seminar Series ~ '#Pandemic Responses and Beyond'. Join experts from @iitbombay, @PennIUR and @Urban_Inst, in conversation with Moderator @shaunabrail.
#Urban2021
Details and registration at https://t.co/numXpmyxgH.
"...there's none of this gloom and doom in thinking. In fact, most people in Toronto think that Toronto's best days are ahead of it..."
Prof. @Richard_Florida compares the impact of the #Pandemic on various #Cities & why he believes we have an opportunity to strive for better.
While the pandemic and recent racial justice protests have challenged our cities, we have an opportunity to create more equitable, inclusive communities for the future.
Watch the 1-1 #WRLDCTY discussion with world-renowned #urbanist @Richard_Florida on how he views the future.
"A strong IZ policy could create 40K affordable rental units...from buildings currently in development in 2021."
Explore this thread from @soc_housing sharing key insights & recommendations from the 'Inclusionary Zoning' discussion.
#AffordableHousing
https://t.co/RSSzeyhLBt
Still spaces available ➡️https://t.co/h0QYcMFzGW

The next Conversations in Convergence is on April 28 at 10 a.m. with @StephIrisPro and @emstrohm. Register to join this interactive discussion with #MedicinebyDesign researchers who study similar questions using different approaches. Learn more & register: https://t.co/h0QYcMFzGW
Research on migration has been an emerging area in the field of human-computer interaction in recent years. #TorontoSRi Faculty Affiliate @ishtiaqueSIA is co-organizer of the Migration and Mobility in HCI workshop at @sig_chi on May 8.
Learn more: https://t.co/xYT2NmSPB5 #UofT
Did you know that we're on @LinkedIn too? Follow #TorontoSRI to connect with our leadership and researchers, get notified when we're hiring, and stay on top of the latest events and issues in tech, society, data, responsible AI, public policy, and more. https://t.co/RKsG9CKCXW
Join @soc_housing for this critical dialogue, today at 7pm, which will bring together speakers with diverse perspectives and insights to the conversation.
Details and registration at https://t.co/ZqA7SG9qB5
#AffordableHousing #CommunityMatters #Toronto
Today, 7pm!
We're convening academics, activists, and planners closely engaged in planning IZ to ask:
"With Toronto just months away from voting on IZ, what's the full potential of a well-designed IZ policy to help address Toronto's housing crisis?"
https://t.co/G3lxCOXaS8
This #MedicinebyDesign-funded research team led by @ShanaOKelley is #TransformingHumanHealth with cross-cutting research that aims to produce stem cells at scale in the lab, leading to treatments for many diseases. Read about the team's work: https://t.co/yQajoQH1Cl
"...we’ve all witnessed the ways polarized political discourse & #Urban inequities come to bear on the public realm...these socio-political issues are often overlooked by status quo urbanists..." says @Jay_Pitter in her reflection on #Safety in #Cities.
https://t.co/l3hecuJVdd
This afternoon at 3 pm EST: #TorontoSRI Faculty Affiliate Brian Cantwell Smith in conversations with @munkschool's @jonrlindsay about Lindsay's new book, "Information Technology & Military Power." (@CornellPress).
https://t.co/OUbohLm8gJ
Tomorrow at 3 pm EST: the #TorontoSRI weekly seminar series welcomes @UofT_IHPST's @karinavold for her talk on “AI extenders: The ethical and societal implications of humans cognitively extended by AI."
Join us! https://t.co/R6JeJV2ctz @ejonesimhotep, @LeverhulmeCFI, @DrBaigrie
Register for new sessions of Careers by Design, a five-part workshop series to foster healthy labs that support the inclusion & well-being of members, while empowering trainees to realize academic & professional goals. Workshops will be led by @NanaLee03. https://t.co/7ANXxLgCOn
Our conference site is live! Join us at ABSOLUTELY INTERDISCIPLINARY 2021 to explore "Human and Machine Normativity: New Connections," June 16-18th.
https://t.co/xgm8V1yyzI
#AIXAI #AIXAI21 #TorontoSRI #AIforSocialGood #AIEthics #UofT #ResponsibleAI #LetsSolveIt
Still spaces left for this Wednesday's talk. Learn more and register: https://t.co/XKW7ms138U

April's Global Speaker Series will feature Sonja Schrepfer, PhD, from @UCSF. The Global Speaker Series brings international #regenmed leaders to the #MedicinebyDesign community. In partnership with @McEwenInstitute. Learn more and register➡️ https://t.co/XKW7ms138U.
Join us at 5 pm today to hear from @UofT fourth-year undergrads who spent the last year designing solutions for real urban issues as their multidisciplinary design capstone projects. The presentations would be followed by a networking session.
Details at https://t.co/uIRejNbuOW
⚡️The recording of our Lightning Lunch on EH/DH: Energy Humanities and The Digital Turn is up on our youtube channel!
Find the full recorded session here: https://t.co/sROSveLrgD
#DigitalHumanities #EnergyHumanities #CDHI
@TrentUniversity @ucsantabarbara @UofT

Missed out on our Lightning Lunch last week? Don't fret! A recording of the session should be coming out soon.
In the meantime, enjoy these screengrabs of our speakers Anne Pasek, Lisa Parks & Caleb Wellum!
@aepasek @CalebWellum @ucsantabarbara
#CDHI #digitalhumanities
Good news everyone! The recording of the Feb 23rd Lightning Lunch on Network Analysis is now available! ⚡️
In case you were unable to attend the event, or if you would like to re-watch it, click here: https://t.co/UK5ZVbv3l5
#DigitalHumanities #CDHI #NetworkAnalysis

⚡️This month's Lightning Lunch will be on 'Network Analysis' in which speakers will describe their work excavating the development of trade, knowledge, and religious networks within and beyond the Greco-Roman world.
Feb 23, 2021
Register here: https://t.co/pYnm6Eu2Et
#DH #UofT
Arturo Ortín-Martínez began his career as a nurse in Spain, until #regenmed & then a move to #Toronto changed his life. His work in vision sciences @KBI_UHN has kept him in this city longer than he expected. Read his #PeopleofMedicinebyDesign story ➡️https://t.co/Hy44CBvfCy
STOP THE PRESS - we got news!
Yesterday, @cityoftoronto voted "YES" on a motion by @m_layton to grant $3M of Section 37 funding to the @KMCLandTrust for the site purchase.👏👏
Congratulations to KMCL & @soc_housing on this leap for #AffordableHousing, owing to their advocacy!
April 13: the @carnegiecouncil's International Conference for the Governance of AI (@ICGAI2021) presents a panel on "Inclusivity and Effective Governance."
Panelists include @EileenDonahoe, @CjColclough, @LagumdzijaZ, and more.
https://t.co/L3h0YuLilJ
The next Conversations in Convergence is on April 28 at 10 a.m. with @StephIrisPro and @emstrohm. Register to join this interactive discussion with #MedicinebyDesign researchers who study similar questions using different approaches. Learn more & register: https://t.co/h0QYcMFzGW
#CFP: #TorontoSRI Faculty Affiliate @prof_lyons is guest-editing a special issue of @springerpub's "AI and Ethics" journal on AI Auditing, Assurance, and Certification.
Deadline for submissions is May 31, 2021. https://t.co/okoDyqXaJj
Humans are a fundamentally normative species. Our cognitive and social systems shape behaviour to reflect collectively-determined values and norms in support of cooperation.
Can understanding these systems help align #AI with human values? Let's find out! https://t.co/birAV1vivv
"For the past two decades, the quickening pace of innovation has dramatically compressed the time it takes to disrupt established industries and bring new products and processes to market." Read to learn more about the impact of the #Pandemic on the pace of #Digitization.
Check out my latest oped on The Innovation Imperative: Digitization and decarbonization are picking up speed and policymakers need to be ready | Financial Post https://t.co/31MILF2w4J @munkschool @InnovationPoli1 @MUI_UofT @UofTCities @IRPP @cca_reports
You won't want to miss this! #Inclusion #Cities #Recovery
Today! 6pm. https://t.co/bRY231xujT
Check out this event held by @munkschool!
Lives of Data: Computational Cultures from India https://t.co/cP4hkDqpNS
#DigitalHumanities #CDHI
We got NEWS!🥳
@YvonneYeungGTA, @KGreenbergTO & Matti Siemiatycki's 'Uptown Brampton Transit-Oriented Communities Toolkit' got a Canadian Society of Landscape Architects' Award of Excellence.
Congratulations to @CityBrampton & @ULIToronto!
Learn more at
https://t.co/39VuQ88Nl6
Join @InnisCollege & @USPUofT for "Planning the Post-COVID City: How Should We Build Back Better?" - a discussion panel with alumni city builders on Toronto's equitable post-pandemic recovery- on Thursday, April 15 at 7 pm (EDT).
Details & registration at https://t.co/3nPObEVWIq
We're excited about the writing course to do cool stuff!🤩
#SofC #SmallGrantFunds
I got a small grant for my writing course to do cool stuff! I got a small grant for my writing course to do cool stuff!
Learn more about this project and the student team working on it here https://t.co/irr4mPpcN3
Join us to explore, encourage and engage students working together to address real urban design problems over the past year as a part of #SofC's Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project!

The @UofTCities Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Project Final Design Virtual Showcase is happening on April 12! We've had the pleasure of supporting the work of these passionate students and we can't wait to see their projects, Learn more: https://t.co/J1kp1Dj3Yc
New #MedicinebyDesign-funded research by the @CindiMorshead lab shows pre-treatment with diabetes drug metformin could provide brain protection to children who get radiation for brain tumours. https://t.co/gM0Uo0BMVM
"Urban planning principles that espouse sustainability & equitability are still relevant & critical for coping with the current pandemic..." Explore @UNHABITAT's report examining the impact of the #Pandemic on #Cities through an intersectional lens.
https://t.co/cEAdb2gCz3 (1/3)
Explore @UnequalScenes, an ongoing project that weaves together photography and social justice, to capture and reveal stark urban spatial inequities that exist in some cities around the globe.
https://t.co/InF69iAGl6
#Urbanism #Inequality #Cities #SocialJustice
How can we protect human autonomy and dignity through a human rights framework in the digital era?
This Wednesday, April 7th: we welcome #TorontoSRI Research Lead @wendyhwong (@UofT_PolSci) for her talk on “Rebooting human rights in a datafied world."
https://t.co/4jkDgIGogH