May 18, 2016

MaRS2 Occupancy Confirmed

Dean Trevor Young

Dean Trevor YoungSomeone asked me recently what an analogous role is to being Dean. Am I like a CEO? Yes – and students are my ultimate shareholders.  Am I like a coach in the NFL? Not so much, given the secret playbooks and the bluster. Captain of the ship? Partly, but command and control from the bridge simply doesn’t work in academia – or in any well-run organization, it turns out.

Transparency, clear communications and an understanding of decision-making rationale are what successful people need to be engaged and motivated. Better yet, people need to be part of a decision-making process that allows contrarians and supporters alike to be heard, especially on important decisions that impact how we work.

Over the past year, I have been consulting widely around the best use of two floors of new research space in the MaRS2 tower earmarked for the Faculty of Medicine. We’re now rolling out a plan for occupancy by October with 30 Principal Investigators and approximately 200 research trainees and staff. This is Step 1 in my commitment to renew research infrastructure across the Faculty, including at the Medical Sciences Building.

No topic – save perhaps for parking and administrative support – is as fraught as workspace.

I entered into consultations with department chairs and others with an open mind, a set of guiding principles and the leadership of Rick Hegele, Vice Dean Research and Innovation.

Those guiding principles were: ensuring Basic Science departments are the backbone of a strong Faculty; finding synergies in research themes that bridge across departments; and aligning research themes with activity currently in the MaRS2 tower. We also wanted to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the space, the open concept design and the type of facilities. Our consultations were collaborative, frank and iterative. We identified seven Basic Science research themes:  Drug Research and Discovery, Gene-Protein Regulation, Infectious Disease, Metabolism, Neuroscience, Regenerative Medicine, Structural Biology.

For the MaRS2 space, we focused on two of those themes: Gene-Protein Regulation and Infectious Disease. Gene-Protein Regulation encompasses several departments: Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, and the Department of Medicine. For Infectious Disease, it made sense to take advantage of how space has been designed and adjacencies in the MaRS2 tower; a second node of Infectious Disease research will remain at MSB.

The implementation plan now begins in earnest. Rick Hegele’s office will lead the planning process ahead, working with key stakeholders to develop a governance and operational oversight framework for the MaRS2 space. Heather Taylor’s experienced leadership of the Facilities Management and Space Planning group will ensure the details are carefully executed. And my thanks go out to the Basic Science Chairs for their careful consideration and leadership throughout this process.

If you’re moving, please be patient and mindful that Rick, Heather and their teams are juggling many moving parts across many Faculty buildings.

If you’re not moving in this phase, let me assure you there is much more ahead for research renewal. The Medical Sciences Building is the heart of the Faculty’s research infrastructure and we are committed to planning further renovations to upgrade MSB as well as rebuilding and refreshing space for all campus-based lab researchers (the 10-year-young Donnelly Centre being the exception). There will be opportunities ahead to contribute to those planning discussions.

It truly is an exciting time for Basic Science at the Faculty of Medicine. I look forward to working with you all as we implement a successful research renewal process ahead. Rick and I welcome the input, the debates and discussions. And I give you my commitment to remaining open and clear in communicating our decisions and rationale.

Trevor Young
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice-Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions