Health - University of Toronto Magazine

Outdoor photo of Mathew Okwoli in a blue, pin-striped, double-breasted suit

Startups Could Help Solve Some of Africa’s Biggest Health Challenges

African entrepreneurs are working with U of T to build their businesses and – they hope – save lives Read More

Digital illustration of planet Earth surrounded by tiny white dots interconnected by dotted lines. Several red-coloured dots are connected by solid lines to areas on a world map underneath made of pixels of black land masses and white ocean.

A Sentinel for Global Health

AI is promising a better – and faster – way to monitor the world for emerging medical threats Read More

Healing Power

Why AI could be good news for both patients and our health-care system Read More

Digital illustration of a pregnant woman in a wheel chair, with her hands grasping the rocky surfaces of cliffs on either side of her.

Expecting the Best, Receiving Less

More people with disabilities are having children. Our health-care system is unprepared, says researcher Hilary Brown Read More

In the foreground, a man with tattooed arms and red and white striped swim trunks and a boy with long hair are splashing water as they walk into the surf. In the middle ground and background, people are standing or walking in the water. In the distance are the white foam of incoming waves.

Are Cold Plunges Good for You?

Research suggests they are, in three ways Read More

A young woman is looking at her cellphone in the dark, while lying on her front in bed

Why Can’t We Put Down Our Phones?

A U of T Mississauga study finds that problematic smartphone use is increasing worldwide – especially among younger women Read More

Digital illustration of a Black man lying, with his eyes closed, on a therapist's couch made up of speech bubbles. There is a cigarette box lying on the floor next to him.

Could AI Help You Quit an Addiction?

U of T researchers are developing a chatbot to help people stop smoking. One day, it might offer therapy, too Read More

Collage of small-sized people of diverse ethnic backgrounds sitting on, lying on, hanging from or holding up giant fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, fish and other foods

You’ve Decided You Want to Eat Better. Now What?

There are countless diets to choose from, but one rises above the rest, say U of T experts Read More

Digital illustration, primarily in blue tones, depicting street lights on either side, shining down on fragmented pieces of a person

New Paths to Recovery

Every year, thousands of Canadians seek help for addiction. Which treatments work best? Read More

Coloured graphite drawing of a woman asleep in bed under a green and yellow leaf-patterned blanket, next to a blue alarm clock and a blue-shaded lamp.

Improving Your Shuteye

Anthropologist and sleep expert David Samson offers five useful ideas for getting a better night’s rest Read More

A researcher wearing a white lab coat, blue disposable gloves and protective eyewear, working with a machine in a lab at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research and holding a pipette

Rogers Foundation Gives $90 Million to Usher in New Era in Cardiac Care

Gift will enable the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research to expand its research into heart failure – and save lives Read More

Illustration of the upper portion of a flower stalk ending in an open flower head with a child sitting in the centre. An electrocardiogram line runs horizontally behind the flower.

Tremors of the Heart

How AI could help doctors predict cardiac problems in critically ill children Read More

A researcher observes data on a laptop, while an athlete wearing an oxygen mask pedals a machine with a hand-operated wheel.

From Strength to Strength

U of T’s new Tanenbaum Institute for Science in Sport will help athletes at all levels perform better Read More

Illustration of Black health-care workers, one wearing a face mask and another wearing a face shield

A Prescription for Equality

A new medical academy at U of T Scarborough will try to close Canada’s racial health gap Read More

A gloved hand holding an enlarged chip (left), a hand with a drop of blood above the index finger and an arrow pointing toward the chip (right)

A New Way to Monitor Heart Patients

“Lab on a chip” technology will reduce travel expenses and improve care for those living in remote communities Read More

Artist rendering of the Discovery Pharmacy showing students sitting or standing in waiting areas, a TV screen with an appointment schedule, and a student speaking with a pharmacist

The Pharmacy of the Future

A new U of T facility will train pharmacists to take on a larger role in Canadian health care Read More

Researcher wearing a yellow and green hazmat suit, holding rectangular containers

Preventing the Next Pandemic

Understanding how viruses and bacteria rely on human cells to survive could reveal new ways to defeat them Read More

Black and white closeup of Chen Yang looking at the camera

From Anxiety to Action

U of T students are collaborating with faculty on research that could improve the mental health of youth worldwide Read More

Hunger in the North

Too many people in Nunavut don’t get enough to eat. Anthropologist Tracey Galloway believes Inuit communities, not southern governments, have the solution Read More

Illustration of a giant vial of insulin and a tiny figure standing on the cap looking down a hole in the centre, through which shines a light

The Miracle of Insulin

A century after U of T scientists discovered the life-saving extract, researchers are finding new ways to improve the lives of people with diabetes Read More

Who Cares for the Caregivers?

There is a steep personal cost to caregiving, from chronic stress to physical injury. How can we help those who minister to family and friends? Read More

Ian McGilvray and Gary Bader standing off-centre, with Sonya MacParland sitting in a chair in front of them, all wearing lab coats and safety glasses. McGilvray is in the centre of the photo, leaning against a table with glass beakers and an open laptop.

Mapping the Human Body, One Cell at a Time

U of T scientists have created a cell-by-cell map of the human liver that could increase the success of transplant surgery and lead to new treatments for liver disease Read More

A collage showing a researcher working in the lab, a hospital bed, orange cells attached to human ears, a culture growing in a petri dish and people walking on a striped road

The Deadly Global Fungus

Prof. Leah Cowen’s lab aims to understand how C. auris works and how to stop it Read More

A fork, plate and knife are set out over a blue and white checkered tablecloth, with a cellphone on top of the plate with a picture of an avocado on the screen

How to Choose a Nutritious “Digital Diet”

Three suggestions for maintaining a healthy relationship with technology Read More

IV bags hanging from dollar signs that are, in turn, hanging from an IV pole

In Sickness and in Health

What happens when someone with precarious immigration status needs emergency care? Read More

When Cancer Strikes, and You Live in Nunavut

A U of T study examines ways to improve care and reduce the sense of isolation for Inuit patients in Canada’s Far North Read More

Tiny people shopping giant-sized snacks, including chips, cookies, candy bars and fruit cups

The Ads That Kids Shouldn’t See

Prof. Mary L’Abbé wants to restrict the marketing of unhealthy food to kids – and their parents Read More

Delivering Help to Indigenous Parents

A unique project provides support to women during pregnancy and after, with the aim of creating healthier families Read More

Neighbourhood of streets and houses on an electronic circuit board

Preventing Disease through AI

Laura Rosella is using machine learning to suggest ways to reduce diabetes rates – and save millions in potential health-care costs Read More

Conceptual illustration depicting a researcher examining the mind in darkness/depression

The Labatt Family Network Will Examine the Biology of Depression

Scientists will focus on how the illness affects the brain Read More

Prof. Paul Santerre in his lab at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, with his research team working in the background

New Hope for Heart Patients

Prof. Paul Santerre is working on a cardiac patch that would enable an injured heart to heal itself Read More

Illustration of a person in a cubicle. The neighbouring cubicle shows another person with a cloud above their head, signifying mental illness.

Mental Health in the Workplace

Depression and anxiety affect about one in five. How do we help the person who could be affected in the cubicle next to us? Read More

An illustration of a bottle of pills with an x on it

Flip the Script

How the medical system is trying to wean patients off opioids Read More

The High Price of Pills

More than two million Canadians don’t take their full dose of medications because of the cost. How can they be helped? Read More

A surgeon's hand reaching for a scalpel, being offered by a robotic hand

AI and the MD

Doctors will soon use artificial intelligence to help diagnose and treat patients, opening up new possibilities for better health Read More

Illustration of intersecting yellow lines, as well as red lines in the shape of a stethoscope.

Six Questions We Need to Ask about Using Artificial Intelligence in Health Care

A U of T research team is examining ethical issues raised by the new technology Read More

Illustration of an armed soldier upfront and helicopters, smoke and running soldiers in the background.

Suppressing Our Most Fearful Memories

Research on mice reveals that specific memories can be weakened. Could this one day help treat the effects of trauma in humans? Read More

With Damaged Organs, a Chance for “Regrowth”

Prof. Michael Sefton imagines being able to treat diabetes with a single injection Read More

Photo of a plastic-gloved hand picking up the fourth of six prescription medicine containers in a row.

Many Medicines Are Considered Essential. Not All Are Effective

A U of T doctor is leading efforts to review the medical evidence for more than 2,200 commonly prescribed drugs Read More

Illustration of a magnifying glass magnifying a mosquito, with mosquitoes on the left of the glass transforming into airplanes on the right.

Predicting Where Infectious Diseases Will Strike Next

Climate change adds a new wrinkle in the quest to get out in front of epidemics Read More

Illustration of a chart with a line graph in the shape of a smiling face and arms, and with a heart in the upper left corner.

Dark Data

The usefulness of “steps per day” and other information our devices help us track Read More

Photo of Spartan Bioscience's DNA-testing device.

Could This Palm-Sized Cube Replace an Entire Lab?

Spartan Bioscience, founded by three alumni, aims to make DNA testing more accessible Read More

UHN chief patient safety officer Emily Musing at Toronto General Hospital.

Make No Mistake

Can a group of Toronto hospitals eliminate medical errors? Read More

Photo of Gulshan and Pyarali Nanji (front) and family with Dr. Sherif El-Defrawy

With Restored Sight Comes Opportunity and Hope

A gift from the Nanji family to U of T will help people “see the light of all the world” Read More

A Ugandan man, before and after restorative dental treatment.

Bringing Smiles to Uganda

On a two-week visit to remote villages, a U of T dental team fixes teeth – and changes lives Read More

Yoga Is Good for You

But just what are the health benefits? Read More

Close up shot of a medical provider's hand tipping two pills onto a patient's hand

Among Syrian Refugees, a Need for Insulin and Heart Meds

As the media share images of wounded migrants, some of the biggest medical threats go almost unmentioned Read More

Illustration of a woman asleep with a pair of lung-shaped blank space on her body

U of T Doctors Keep Patient Alive Without Lungs for Six Days

The procedure allowed Melissa Benoit to have a life-saving transplant Read More

At his lab at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, U of T scientist Craig Simmons works on growing replacement tissue for the pulmonary heart valve.

A Better Life for Children with Heart Defects

Research at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research could one day eliminate the need for infants with heart problems to have more than one surgery Read More

Photo of a researcher looking at a digital microscope slide.

Big Data, Genetics and Personal Medicine Will Soon Transform Health Care

But there’s a gap between all the medical data being gathered and the ability to translate this into therapies for individual patients Read More

From left: Jeff Reading, Howard Hu, Lee Vernich and Earl Nowgesic have all been involved with U of T’s cancer study in the First Nation community at Northwest Angle 33.

A Community Grapples with Cancer

Researchers at the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health have teamed up with a First Nation in northwestern Ontario to solve a generation-old medical mystery Read More

Patrick Gunning, a principal investigator at U of T Mississauga's Centre for Medicinal Chemistry

Advancing Drugs to Fight Cancer and Other Diseases

A research centre at U of T Mississauga aims to speed up the development of new life-saving cancer medications Read More

Photo of a woman in a yoga pose on a mat

Let’s Get Physical

U of T professor Peter Donnelly is tracking the physical activities multicultural Torontonians enjoy Read More

Photo of a child playing in front of a cooking fire

Of Hearth and Home – and Health

A simple U of T innovation could help prevent burns among millions of children in the Global South Read More

Illustration of a man with the shadow of a boy in a hospital room

The Hidden Epidemic

Prof. Esme Fuller-Thomson researches the devastating effects of child abuse on health. Now she wants to ensure all survivors get the help they need Read More

Child Abuse Might Be Linked to Cancer

Chances of developing health problems are greater for childhood abuse survivors Read More

A Few Simple Questions Could Change Your Dental Visit

Dentists should screen patients for anxiety to minimize their experience of pain, new research suggests Read More

U of T students Alex Boross-Harmer (left) and Megan D’Souza at the new Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre

Lift Weights to Lift Mood

U of T opens one of the first research facilities in the world to integrate the study of physical activity and mental health Read More

Photo of Prof. Cheryl Arrowsmith looking into a microscope

U of T Researchers Lead Cancer-Fighting “Dream Team”

“Our knowledge is at a turning point,” says scientist Peter Dirks Read More