University Professor Molly Shoichet (ChemE, BME) has been named the inaugural Pamela and Paul Austin Chair in Precision and Regenerative Medicine.
The chair, situated within the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, was created in November 2023 via a gift from the The P. Austin Family Foundation. It will strengthen and expand research on personalized approaches to drug delivery, discovery, and tissue regeneration, driving innovation and translation of breakthrough research in these multidisciplinary fields.
“Precision medicine, epitomized by the maxim ‘the right treatment to the right patient at the right time’ is revolutionizing healthcare worldwide,” says Shoichet, who serves as Scientific Director for PRiME Next-Generation Precision Medicine. PRiME is a University of Toronto Institutional Strategic Initiative, based at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, that is dedicated to addressing unmet needs and challenges in drug discovery, diagnostics, and disease biology.
“It’s a great honour to hold this prestigious chair. Paul and Pamela Austin are visionaries, bringing together our global community in precision medicine. I am particularly excited to advance our precision medicine strategies in the brain, the eye and in cancer, with the ultimate goal of making a difference in human health.”
Shoichet, internationally renowned for her pioneering work in tissue engineering and drug delivery, is developing transformative solutions to promote tissue repair in the body that would otherwise be irreversible. Examples include nerves damaged due to spinal cord injury, stroke or degenerative diseases of the retina.