Annual Report 2024-2025
Message from the Labatt Family Chair of the Department of Psychiatry
As my final year as the Labatt Family Chair of the Department of Psychiatry ends, I reflect on a decade of progress and persistent challenges. While we have made significant strides in research and education, most individuals with severe mental illness still face stigma and barriers to care.
We recently completed the 2019 - 2025 Five-Year Review process. The external reviewers offered valuable insights. They questioned the Department’s tradition to try to excel in “everything” and suggested we focus our resources on a few strategic areas we are uniquely positioned to contribute to. In this context, they emphasized the need for better integration across clinical sites to enhance collaboration and efficient use of resources. Initiatives like Research Hubs and cross-site fellowships aim to address this. The external reviewers also noted tensions between academic and community priorities. In response, we are expanding core residency training to Scarborough Health Network and Trillium Health Partners; we are also strengthening ties with all community partners through open dialogue and inclusive education strategies.
This year the Department hosted two events designed to drive collaboration in priority areas on the national and international levels. The inaugural Azrieli Brain Medicine Fellowship Program Conference explored the latest advancements in brain medicine and connected leading experts in the field, offering a unique opportunity for emerging medical professionals to showcase their work, network, and engage in interdisciplinary discussions. The Labatt Family Network Symposium on the Biology of Depression featured international experts in the field of depression research exploring the most promising directions for advancing the understanding and treatment of depressive disorders.
In 2024-2025 our Clinician-Researcher Track (CResT) program recruited its first two residents. This new direct-entry residency program is designed for graduating medical students with formal prior research training who are highly motivated to pursue careers as clinician scientists or scholars. It is my hope that it will train the next generation of Canadian psychiatrist-scientists.
Over the past ten years, we have strived to embed Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity, and Accessibility (EDIIA) into all aspects of our work. Our Faculty Mentorship Program supports this goal, offering all faculty members the opportunity to find a one-on-one mentor and to participate in groups tailored for their specific roles and identities. The past year saw the program continue to match new faculty members with mentors and build new connections in our mentorship groups. This year another cohort of seven diverse faculty members received Academic Scholar Awards (ASA), bringing the total number of ASAs awarded since its creation in January 2018 to 72.
This year we were ranked 9th globally by U.S. News & World Report, up from 12th in 2016. Our Department remains Canada’s largest and most active psychiatry community (based on a variety of metrics reviewed in the five-year report). Our faculty’s broad expertise continues to drive innovation in understanding and treating mental disorders, and we continue to lead nationally and internationally in education.
Tackling the complex challenges of mental illness requires clinicians, researchers, and educators who are innovative, collaborative, and courageous. I believe that during my time as the Labatt Family Chair of the Department, our community has created new ways for more people to reach their full potential as faculty members. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead this community and become a part of its legacy.
I know that I leave our mission to alleviate the suffering caused by mental illness in the good hands of my successor, Dr. Simone Vigod.
Dr. Benoit Mulsant, Professor and Labatt Family Chair of the Department of Psychiatry
Vice Chairs
Vice Chair, Research
Vice Chair, Basic & Clinical Sciences
Vice-Chair, Education
Vice Chair, Mental Health and Addiction Equity and EDIIA
Vice Chair, Clinical Innovation
We are pleased to share that the appointment of Dr. Simone Vigod as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry was approved by the Agenda Committee, and confirmed by the Chairs of Academic Board and Governing Council and the President, for an initial 5-year term commencing September 1, 2025. In this role, Dr. Vigod will be known as the Labatt Family Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. Read the full message from Dr. Lisa A. Robinson, Dean, Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
2019-2024 Five Year Review
Faculty
Faculty members are organized in seven departmental academic divisions based on area of expertise. They work at 20 affiliated hospitals and other sites across Ontario: eight Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TASHN) Fully Affiliated hospitals, six TASHN Associate partner hospitals, and six community-affiliated hospitals and sites.
Faculty Mentorship Program
The Mentorship Program is making one-on-one mentorship easily available to all faculty members, and mentorship groups are providing forums for discussions and knowledge sharing between faculty members based on academic roles or social identities (underrepresented genders, IMGs, LGBTQ2S+, racialized women, etc.).
2025 Academic Scholar Award Recipients
Assistant Professors
Associate Professors
Professors
2024 - 2025 New Leadership Appointments
Co-Chair, Advisory Council for EDIIA Teaching and Education
Psychotherapy Curriculum Consultant
Co-Chair, Advisory Council for EDIIA Teaching and Education
Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Chair in Depression and Suicide Studies
Cameron Wilson Chair in Depression Studies
Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
2024 - 2025 Promotions
Senior Promotions
Promoted to Professor
Promoted to Associate Professor
Junior Promotions
Promoted to Assistant Professor
Learners
Programs
Program Leaders
Assistant Director, General Psychiatry Residency - IMG
Director, Clinician Scientist Program
Director, Forensic Subspecialty
Associate Director, General Psychiatry Residency
Associate Director, MD Program
Director, Faculty Development and Mentorship
Assistant Program Director, Curriculum and Assessment
Director, MD Program
Assistant Director, MD Program
Director, Fellowship Program
Director, Geriatric Subspecialty
Director, Continuing Professional and Practice Development
Director, Clinician Scholar Program
Director, General Psychiatry Residency Program
Director, Child & Youth Mental Health Subspecialty
Publications 2024
Discover how our faculty's research is changing the lives of patients with our 2024-2025 ImPACT stories.
Recent ImPACT stories
Divisions
Division Directors
Chief, Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative, and Director, Division of Child and Youth Mental Health
Director, Forensic Psychiatry
Director, Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems
Director, Neuroscience & Clinical Translation
Director, Psychotherapy, Humanities, and Psychosocial Interventions
Director, Geriatric Psychiatry
Director, Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry
Research Funding
2023-2024 Grant Spending by Source (in millions; total: $59M)
Chart data
| Foundations (38%) | Federal Government (37%) | Research Institutions (7.5%) | US Government (4%) | Corporations (4%) | Hospitals (2.5%) | Education (2%) | Associations (1.5%) | Ontario Provincial Government (1%) | Societies (0.5%) | Other (2%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 37 | 7.5 | 4 | 4 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 2 |