About Us
The UHN Collaborative Centre for Immunology to Immunotherapy (Ci2i) is committed to transforming immunology and immunotherapy research by bringing together experts across disciplines to accelerate innovation.
Ci2i unites scientists and clinician-scientists from across UHN research institutes along with key clinical programs. The goal is to advance collaborative efforts in understanding immune responses across various diseases, and to develop and translate novel immunotherapeutic strategies for patients with a wide range of diagnoses.
In addition, Ci2i will serve as a state-of-the-art immune phenotyping hub offering established assays for monitoring immune responses in different immune-related diseases and during treatment, as well as a cell manufacturing hub for in-house production of cell therapies. Ci2i is committed to advancing the understanding of immune responses in diverse diseases and translating these insights into ground-breaking immunotherapeutic clinical trials.
Our Vision and Mission
Our vision is to harness the power of the immune system and enhance quality of life through the strategic and innovative integration of immunology, immune analysis, and immunotherapies. By uniting cutting-edge discovery with clinical expertise, we bridge research and care, turning scientific breakthroughs into real-world solutions that advance treatment and improve patient outcomes.
Our mission is to foster the development of UHN-led, investigator-initiated clinical trials that deepen our understanding of immune responses across diseases. Aligned with our vision, we are committed to translating immune insights into innovative immunotherapeutic strategies that transform patient care.
The Centre is led by the Centre Chair and Executive Committee who provide oversight on Centre activities, strategic leadership, and how the Centre fosters collaboration to ensure the Centre fulfills its mandate as a hub for health systems and policy research at UHN and beyond.
Chairs
Dr. Naoto Hirano is a Senior Scientist at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Immunology to Immunotherapy, and Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Robert Inman is Co-Director and Senior Scientist at UHN’s Schroeder Arthritis Institute and a Professor of Immunology and Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also Co-Director of the UHN Spondylitis Program, and is past Deputy Physician-in-Chief of Research at UHN.
Dr. Pamela Ohashi, FRSC is a Senior Scientist at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) and a Professor of Immunology at the University of Toronto. She also established and directs the Tumour Immunotherapy Program (TIP) at PM.
Ci2i Executive Committee
Partners
- The Department of Immunology, University of Toronto
- Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
News
UHN Launches New Centre: Ci2i
Symposium marks the opening of the Collaborative Centre for Immunology to Immunotherapy (Ci2i).
Events
Click here to see upcoming and past events for Ci2i.
Ci2i’s Strategic Priorities:
- Develop and implement an integrated framework that spans research institutes and clinical programs at UHN for multiple common initiatives such as CAR therapy.
- Foster collaboration among scientists, clinician scientists and clinicians, promoting interdisciplinary research to enhance understanding of immune responses in various diseases.
- Foster the development of the next generation of leaders.
Ci2i is building upon the Tumour Immunotherapy Program (TIP), led by Dr. Pam Ohashi at PM. Within TIP, Dr. Ohashi has established state-of-the-art Centre for Integrative Immune Analysis and Cell Manufacturing.
The Centre for Integrative Immune Analysis possesses expertise in processing, storing and analyzing patient specimens for clinical trials and translational studies. The Centre for Cell Manufacturing has expertise in generating immune cells for administration under early-phase clinical trials. Expansion of the two Centres under the Ci2i umbrella will enable immune profiling of clinical samples and the manufacture of cell-based therapies in various disease areas.
Ci2i CONNECT is a collaborative platform that brings together clinicians, clinician-scientists and immunology researchers to accelerate discovery and innovation.
What Ci2i CONNECT does
- Facilitate targeted, high-impact collaborations between clinicians and scientists working in tumour immunology, autoimmunity, inflammation, and transplant immunology and other disease-related areas.
- Build industry partnerships to facilitate research and development leading to innovative clinical trials.
Ci2i CONNECT Steering Committee
The Ci2i CONNECT Steering Committee is composed of clinician-scientists and immunology researchers whose interests encompass tumour immunology, autoimmunity, transplantation immunology and immunotherapy. The Committee is led by Dr. Pam Ohashi, who serves as the Lead of the Ci2i CONNECT initiative.
Get involved
Interested in collaborating?
Click here to learn more about Ci2iCONNECT including its guiding principles and projects that are seeking collaborators.
Contact our team at ci2iconnect@uhn.ca for any questions or request an intake form.
For general inquiries, please contact us at ci2iconnect@uhn.ca