Dobrovský & Šídlo

Misinformation spreads fast—but how do we separate fact from opinion in an increasingly noisy information landscape? In last episode of season five, we dig into misinformation and disinformation in healthcare. We chat with Assistant Professor and Pharmacist Jennifer Lake on the critical difference between misinformation and disinformation and Associate Professor Colin Furness on why expert voices must play a bigger role in public conversations—even as the definition of “expert” itself becomes contested. The discussion also looks at the University of Toronto’s Beyond Borders initiative and how political shifts, particularly in the United States, could shape the future of health research and healthcare in Canada. Tune in for a timely conversation about trust, expertise and the fight against misinformation in public health.

Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare and research—but how much of it is real progress, and how much is hype? In this episode of The I’m Pharmacy Podcast, host Mina Tadrous explores the practical impact of AI across clinical care, population health, and drug discovery. Featuring insights from Dr. Devin Singh (SickKids), Professpr Laura Rosella (University of Toronto), and Assistant Professor Rachel Harding (Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy), this episode examines how AI is already improving workflows and research, where limitations and risks remain, and why transparency, validation, and open science are critical to building trust.

Pharmacy is changing fast — faster than anyone expected. In this special live episode of I’m Pharmacy, recorded at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, host Mina Tadrous brings together a panel of pharmacists, physicians, learners, and educators to ask a big, urgent question: How do we turn scattered progress in Ontario’s healthcare system into coordinated, collaborative, patient-centred care? You’ll hear candid stories from the front lines of both pharmacy and family medicine — from the rapid rise of minor ailment prescribing to the immense pressures reshaping primary care. Panelists share what’s working, what’s breaking, and what absolutely must change. Download now and join the conversation.

A few years ago, a bus full of Americans crossed the border into Canada with Senator Bernie Sanders. They weren't coming for sightseeing. They came to buy insulin. Unlike the bus of patients heading north for insulin, most Americans can't simply cross a border to escape the system. They live with it every day. How the U.S. end up with the most expensive drug pricing in the world? In this episode, we discuss the current state of drug pricing in the United States with pharmaceutical policy pioneer Dr. Jerry Avorn, Professor at Harvard Medical School and author of Rethinking Medication: Truth, Power and the Drugs you Take. Learn more: http://www.rethinkmeds.info/

Trump’s Whitehouse is at war with national funding institutions, pausing hundreds of research projects both nationally and internationally. How are Canadian researchers coping with widespread funding cuts, and who pays the price when science is under attack? Featuring: • Bradly Wouters, executive vice-president science and research, University Health Network • Adam Bjorndahl, associate professor, Department of Philosophy, Carnegie Mellon University

We're baaaaaack! Season Five launches September 17. As a sneak peek of what's to come, we sat down with Dr. Mike Fralick on the Rounds Table to chat about the upcoming season, musings on the future of AI and drug discovery, and whether Mike can hold his own in a 90's-style rap battle. Check out episode one of our new season, launching September 17.

In the final episode of the season, we continue our discussion exploring the often overlooked consequences of innovation. In the last episode, we focused on the outcomes of new innovation on existing healthcare systems, exploring ethical access and economic influence. Today, we discuss who innovation can leave behind, and why it is essential that medical breakthroughs benefit everyone. Featuring: Jaris Swidrovich Assistant Professor and Indigenous Engagement Lead, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Founder and Chair, Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada Hagar Labouta, Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Scientist, Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science, Unity Health Toronto

Like a train moving at a fast pace, innovation can feel unstoppable. In many ways, the only path is forward. But like all good things, we must take a pause to ensure we aren't blinded with the excitement of potential and hope. To end the season, we wanted to use the next two episodes to do just that—pause and explore what we must and should consider as we create this new future with innovations. We'll delve into the ethics of access, probing into who truly owns innovation and whether there are alternative ways to incentivize groundbreaking advancements. So join us as we ask ourselves—and you—to consider this. Featured Guests: Dr. Alison Thompson Associate Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy & Dalla Lana School of Public Health Dr. Quinn Grundy Assistant Professor Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector

The internet is full of examples of failed innovations... The Segway, The PalmPilot, MySpace... tech that started revolutions, but failed to scale. This phenomenon is not specific to Silicon Valley. In fact, it is very present in healthcare. On this episode of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast, we chat diffusion and implementation. What can innovators learn from failed innovatrions to better navigate the healthcare market? Chatting with industry experts, we will explore in the world of developing interventions, and the emerging excitement of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Featured guests: Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw Senior Scientist at The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa Dr. Muhammad Mamdani Vice President of Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto Director, U of T's Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Education and Research and Medicine Professor (status), Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

So you have a good idea... no, a great idea. The science is solid. The tech is exciting. People are interested. Your innovation and its success seems certain. And yet, you fail to make the jump from an exciting idea to scaling up and being successful. As we explore the art of prototyping, and early launches, we'll explore how these foundational ideas are assessed for market fit. Join us as we explore the intricate dance of innovation and practicality for each prototype. Together, we'll uncover how these early models are pivotal and paving the way for innovation to really take flight. Featuring: Dr. Keith Pardee Associate Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Canada Research Chair in Synthetic Biology and Human Health Mike Sullivan CEO and Co-founder, Cubic Health

Here we go on the path of innovation. On this episode, we build on the pathway of innovation to better understand how change occurs, how the spark of a novel discovery can really kick start this journey. We do believe that all good innovation should be grounded in strong science. But how and where does it start? Where does the initial spark come from? How does the scientist see a discovery and select this path? Do they know this from the onset? Has it shaped the questions they ask? Or is it a mere process that occurs as part of good science. Featured Guests: Dr. Molly Shoichet University Professor Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Toronto Dr. Tim Corson, Professor Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto

Historically, academia has been breeding ground for groundbreaking discoveries. But often these findings remained confined within Academic Journals lacking the pathway to real world applications. However, as technology transfer offices popped up around universities around the world, entrepreneurial programs, catalysts, collaborative initiatives, universities are more and more recognizing the value of translating their research into products and therapies that can benefit society. As communities around the world grapple with complex health challenges, there's a growing pressure to deliver innovative solutions in a timely manner. This has driven academia to actively engage in commercialization and look at it as a means to fund science students and really just keep the lights on in many labs. So, that's what we'll explore this episode. Why does commercialization take place? Why should academics even bother? And is it a driving force for innovation? We'll learn from some real efforts that have been occurring…

Welcome to Season Four. Join us in kicking-off a new season of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast as we explore the heart and soul of the academic endeavour, innovation. Now, before you roll your eyes about another podcast focusing on innovation, this season goes beyond a re-telling of success, and gets to the bottom of where innovation comes from. We dive deep into where ideas come from, what failures led to success, and the difficulties of taking an innovation from idea to intervention. In our first episode, we chat eureka moments with Dr. Quynh Pham, the Scientific Director and Principal Investigator, Centre for Digital Therapeutics, University Health Network, as well as Dr, Michael LaFlamme, Senior Scientist at the McEwen Stem Cell Institute, University Health Network.

In the final episode of season three, we're turning our spotlight to the ones who will be the forefront of tomorrow's pharmacy landscape, our pharmacy students. Featuring: Theodora Udounwa, fourth year PharmD student, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Al-Amin Ahamed, fourth year PharmD student, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Madelynn Hannah, pharmacist and MScPhm trainee, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

What is the pharmacist of the future, and how do we train them? Recorded live at the 2023 Canadian Pharmacy Education and Research Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, host Mina Tadrous explores the future of pharmacy education alongside an esteemed panel of pharmacists and pharmacy educators. Featuring: Taylor Raiche, University of Saskatchewan Natalie Kennie-Kaulbach, Dalhousie University Sandra Jarvis-Selinger, University of British Columbia Lalitha Raman-Wilms, University of Manitoba

Tune in to the first episode of our I'm Pharmacy Podcast Miniseries 'Pharmacy in Focus'. Throughout the next three episodes, we'll be exploring the current state of pharmacy practice, education and research, and uncovering what the future holds for the profession of pharmacy. In the first episode, we take a trip to Southhampton, Ontario to speak to Pharmacist and Pharmacy Owner Kristen Watt about how her pharmacy model could pave the way for a new era of pharmacy, as well as Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Associate Dean Academic Jamie Kellar on pharmacist identity.

In today's episode, we tackle a crisis that affects millions of individuals worldwide, and has reached an alarming proportion in Canada. We're going to talk about the mental health crisis. Mental health disorders have long been a significant concern. In recent years, the magnitude of the problem just feels like it's escalated, leaving a profound effect on individuals, families and communities. Featured guests: Dr. Paul Kurdyak Psychiatrist and Vice President Clinical for the Mental Health and Addiction Center of Excellence at Ontario Health Dr. Simone Vigod Head of Department of Psychiatry at Women's College Hospital

We produce lots of science. There's an estimated 125,000, medical or clinical studies published per month, in 2021. That means that there's over a million different papers with lots of different evidence in different spaces being produced a year. And yet, with all of this knowledge, we seem to see a plateau in people's health and health outcomes. How can it be that despite the availability of high quality evidence, amazing science, and proven effective interventions, there's a delay or a failure to get this knowledge into practice? In this episode of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast, we dig into moving evidence into action, speaking with family physician and scientist Dr. Noah Ivers and implementation scientist Dr. Tina Fahim.

Medications are an integral part of our healthcare system, and yet their access is grossly limited around the world. On this episode of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast, we dive into the issue of access to medicine, both globally and in Canada, with family physician Dr. Danielle Martin and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Professor Jillian Kohler.

Where were you when you first heard the news about the pandemic? On this episode of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast, we dig into the pandemic, what the last three years have looked like, and if we are ready for the next one. To discuss, we chat with Emily Musing, inaugural leader in residence at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. And former VP clinical and the chief Patient Safety Officer at the University Health Network, as well as Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Assistant Professor and mRNA expert, Bowen Li.

In the first episode of season three, we dive into what the World Health Organization calls one of the major public health threats to humanity, antimicrobial resistance. To discuss AMR, and what scientists and health care providers are doing to battle it, we chat with pharmacotherapy specialist Mark McIntyre and Associate Professor in U of T's Department of Molecular Genetics, William Navarre.

Introducing Season Three of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast: Big Problems, Bigger Solutions dropping January 24. Big thanks to everyone who showed their support for the show and helped us bring home a silver and listener's choice signal award in the category of science and education!

The global pharmaceutical market is expected to grow to $1.6 trillion this year. In Canada alone, we spend close to $35 billion a year on prescription drugs. This is big money, and Big Pharma. On the last episode of season two, we explore the world of drug pricing and access, chatting with Vice President and Head of Medical, Global Influenza and COVID Franchises Dr. Ayman Chit, and GreenShield Canada Vice-President Pharmacy Benefits Management, Dr. Ned Pojskic. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you soon for season three!

Recent estimates suggest that close to 40% of adults over the age of 65 are prescribed at least five drugs. But is more better? On this episode on the I'm Pharmacy Podcast we tackle the topic of optimized use, discussing the process of deprescribing, prescribing cascades, and polypharmacy with Clinician Scientist Lisa McCarthy and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy Professor and Dean Lisa Dolovich.

How do we study the safety of drugs? Who studies them? And what does that mean to our risk tolerance of medications? Host Mina Tadrous explores these questions with Pharmacoepidemiologist Dr. Tara Gomes and Clinical Pharmacologist Dr. David Juurlink.

Today, and as we've seen throughout this pandemic, clinical trials are the commonplace for how any new treatment gets approved. It is the gatekeeper to anything getting stocked on the shelves of pharmacies or hospitals. And that's what I want to dive into in this episode. How are trials planned? What does it take to complete one? What are all the different components that go into this gold standard for clinical evidence, the final step before market access. To help answer these questions, we chat with Dr. Rob Van Exan, a veteran of the industry with over 35 years of experience in vaccine development, and Dr. Lee Dupuis, a Clinician Scientist at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the Hospital for Sick Children.

How do we pick how to introduce the right molecule into the body in the right way? Well, there's a lot of things to consider. How was it absorbed into the body? Where and how is it broken down? What's the size of the molecule? What is it treating? And where do we want it to go? There's lots of different questions to determine the right formulation. So today we explore the magic of formulations. Why is it important? How do we decide from a laundry list of different medications formulations And how do we develop new formulations that haven't yet been developed?

The process of moving from a potential drug molecule to being on the shelf of a pharmacy is a long and winding journey. On average, from the time the molecule is discovered to when it's actually approved by the FDA, it takes 12 to 15 years. More importantly, it costs close to $1 billion to bring a drug to market. It's also estimated that of the 1000s of molecules that are looked at, only a few will make it to clinical development, and following that, only five to six percent will survive and ended up being submitted for regulatory review. So how do we choose the winning horse? On this episode of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast we talk to Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy researchers Professor Micheline Piquette Miller, Professor Raymond Reilly, and Dr. Jennifer Doucet on just what it takes to conduct translational research, and the excitement of seeing one's research leave the lab.

On this episode of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast, host Mina Tadrous finds answers to the questions: How do we figure out how where drugs work? Does this ever change? And are there more than just one way to find that final target? Featuring discussions with Stèphane Angers, Director and Professor of U of T's Donnelly Centre, and Rob Bonin, Assistant Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and Co-director of the U of T Centre for the Study of Pain.

In 1921. At the corner of university and college in Toronto, two scientists Frederick Banting, and Charles best figured out how to remove insulin from a dog's pancreas. They extracted thick brown sludge. Fast-forward 100 years, and the world is still benefiting from this momentous discovery. As we kick-off the second season of the I'm Pharmacy Podcast, host Mina Tadrous starts with the pivotal question: Where do the ideas for new drugs start from? Where do they even start by inventing a new drug? And how does one find the next insulin?