Professor Leah Cowen is Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives. She leads the University of Toronto’s research and innovation enterprise, representing the University to key stakeholders in government, industry, and the community. She oversees the development and implementation of policies that improve research and innovation at U of T. She is a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics. Her research examines the biology and evolution of fungal pathogens, which have a staggering impact on human health. Her lab seeks to develop new strategies to thwart drug resistance and treat life-threatening infections.
Professor Cowen is the Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics & Infectious Disease, co-Director of the CIFAR Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities program, and the co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Bright Angel Therapeutics, a company that leverages state-of-the-art technologies for the development of novel antifungal therapeutics.
