UHN has appointed international health care innovation leader Dr. Eyal Zimlichman as the inaugural Porter Family Chair in Healthcare Innovation.

The Chair is an annual Innovator-in-Residence position for a world-renowned expert who can help advance research and clinical innovation, build new collaborations, and mentor the next generation of innovators. It was created thanks to philanthropic support led by Scotiabank to honour the extraordinary commitment and remarkable leadership that Brian and Megan Porter have demonstrated to UHN and to health care.

Dr. Eyal Zimlichman is an internationally recognized leader in AI, digital health, health care transformation, and venture creation. He is Founder and President of ARC Global and Vice Chairman of Redesign Health. He is also a Professor at Reichman University and Vice-Dean for Innovation at Reichman Medical School. He founded ARC, a validated Digital and AI innovation model, at Sheba in 2019, growing it from a hospital-based innovation program into an international network of health systems.

His experience includes ARC’s approach to digital health and AI innovation, with its design principles, processes, and partnerships, and SPARC, a complementary clinical entrepreneurship education program. At UHN, Dr. Zimlichman will draw on this expertise to provide education, mentorship, and advice on innovation and commercialization, helping foster a culture of leadership.

“As our inaugural Porter Family Chair, Dr. Zimlichman will bring international expertise and new perspectives that will strengthen innovation across UHN to help move promising ideas closer to patient impact,” says Dr. Brad Wouters, Executive Vice President, Science and Research at UHN.

The one-year appointment will also include collaborative innovation projects, UHN-wide seminars, training, and mentorship opportunities.

As part of his first visit to UHN, Dr. Zimlichman will deliver a special seminar, “From Innovation to Transformation and Economic Growth,” on November 17. The presentation will explore how entrepreneurship and commercialization can help transform health care and generate sustainable value. UHN researchers, clinicians, trainees, and staff are invited to attend the seminar and register in advance.

● When: November 17, 2026, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM ET

● Where: Bob Bell Auditorium, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Avenue, 6th floor, Room 6-604

● How: Register here.

The Porter Family Chair in Healthcare Innovation was made possible through philanthropy and represents a lasting investment in innovation at UHN. UHN extends its sincere thanks to the Porter family and UHN Foundation for helping bring this vision to life and creating new opportunities to improve health care for patients.