Six researchers at the forefront of advances in human health, technology, the natural world and the next frontier are joining the University of Toronto through a major federal initiative to bring top international talent to Canada.
MRI scientist Adrienne Campbell-Washburn, computer science engineer Tanya Berger-Wolf, biostatistician Shu (Joy) Jiang, chemical biologist Michelle Arkin, economist Raymond Fisman and astrophysicist Sara Seager have all been named Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada , a federal program designed to draw world-renowned researchers to Canada to tackle challenges of strategic importance.
It's part of Ottawa's $1.7-billion Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative , which aims to give Canada a global competitive edge by investing in the researchers driving the discoveries that will shape our future.
"At a time when parts of the world are turning away from science, Canada is doubling down. Attracting top talent will deliver breakthroughs that improve Canadians' lives and advance Canada's position as a global leader in science and innovation," says Mélanie Joly, Canada's minister of industry and minister responsible for Canada economic development for Quebec regions. "By expanding Canada's talent pipeline and research capacity in areas that are vital to our prosperity and sovereignty, we are helping build the strongest economy in the G7."
The $541-million program includes support for 64 chairs over eight years during its initial phase.
"This vital government support is helping Canada build an extraordinary foundation of research excellence amid an uncertain international landscape - and the University of Toronto is a place where bold thinking can thrive," says U of T President Melanie Woodin.
"By empowering scholars to pursue ambitious ideas, we are bolstering Canada's innovation advantage and strengthening our capacity to lead."
U of T's role in bolstering Canada's capacity for discovery and innovation spans the research pipeline. Alongside a renewed push to recruit global talent , the university launched a $24-million initiative last fall to fund 100 new postdoctoral fellowships and grants for emerging scholars and has taken steps to support researchers who were affected by last year's U.S. funding cuts .
Woodin notes the six research chairs, four of whom are Canadian, add to a growing roster of world-leading scholars who joined the university in recent years, including historians Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore , philosopher Jason Stanley , economist Mark Duggan and innovation scholar Jacquelyn Pless .
The university has a long history of drawing researchers from abroad to do career-defining work in Canada. That includes University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, who arrived from Carnegie Mellon University in 1987 and went on to lay the foundations for deep learning - work that earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024.
Working to leverage the power of data to enhance our knowledge of ecology and biodiversity, Berger-Wolf, for one, says she is excited to build on that legacy as a member of U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
"As an AI researcher, I am very excited to be coming to one of the original homes of artificial intelligence," she says. "What attracts me is the breadth of research going on here: no matter what challenge you're trying to address, there is probably someone here working on it."
Similarly, Seager, a U of T alumna whose return to the university was announced last year , says she is honoured to be a part of the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs program.
"Space exploration pushes us to develop technologies to new limits," Seager says, "and the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair will enable my team to translate new developments into advanced tools here on Earth."
Here's a look at U of T's six new research chairs and their work:
Adrienne Campbell-Washburn, the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Medical Imaging Technology, is an MRI scientist who joins the Sunnybrook Research Institute and U of T's department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, where she was a senior investigator. She helped develop next-generation MRI technologies, with a focus on cardiac and pulmonary imaging. At U of T, she will work to make cardiac imaging more accessible through lower-cost MRI systems, AI-enabled techniques and portable scanners that can be used at the bedside and in community settings.
Tanya Berger-Wolf , the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in AI for Nature, uses artificial intelligence to study biodiversity and joins the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering from Ohio State University. She co-founded Wildbook, an AI-powered global platform that monitors wildlife and helps protect animals from extinction. At U of T, she plans to combine imagery, audio, sensor and genetic data to track changing ecosystems and develop new monitoring tools.
Shu (Joy) Jiang, the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Translational Digital Health, is a biostatistician from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis who focuses on bringing artificial intelligence into clinical practice. She helped develop and commercialize an AI-based tool for assessing breast cancer risk. At U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, she will lead the development of national infrastructure for AI medical imaging deployment, connecting hospitals, regulators and industry to bring validated AI tools to Canadian patients at scale.
Michelle Arkin , the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Chemical Biology, comes from the University of California, San Francisco, where she focused on developing medicines for diseases once considered difficult to treat. Her work contributed to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for dry eye disease. In the chemical and physical sciences department at U of T Mississauga, she will explore new approaches to precision medicine, including molecular glues, protein-protein interactions, AI-enabled drug discovery and enzymes whose dysfunction has been linked to disease.
Raymond Fisman, the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Finance and Political Economy,studies how power and influence shape government decision-making - and what that means for public trust. The economist's research at Boston University has spanned corruption, governance, inequality and political influence. At U of T's Rotman School of Management, he will explore the influence of well-resourced individuals and other special interests on public policy decisions, including why voters sometimes overlook evidence of corruption and how governments can strengthen public engagement and accountability.
Sara Seager , the Eddie Goldenberg Distinguished Research Chair of Canada in Planetary and Molecular Sensing Technologies, returns to U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she became a leading figure in the study of planets beyond our solar system and the search for signs of life. The U of T alumna and acclaimed astrophysicist will develop new technologies to study worlds both distant and close to home, with applications ranging from the search for habitable planets to environmental monitoring and health. This work includes the development of molecular sensors capable of detecting trace compounds at extremely low concentrations and AI-enabled models to understand complex planetary and environmental systems.
