Leadership
Director
Professor Daniel Sellen
Director, Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition
Daniel Sellen is a Professor of Anthropology (Arts and Science), Nutritional Sciences (Temerty Faculty of Medicine), and Social and Behavioral Health Sciences (Dalla Lana School of Public Health). With over 4 decades of experience, his collaborations in a dozen countries have focused on food equity and human, program and system capacity building. He is a Senior Resident Scholar at the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and a Salzburg Fellow, Past-President of the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation, and held previous roles at the University of Toronto including Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Global Health, inaugural Associate Dean of Research at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Canada Research Chair in Human Ecology and Public Nutrition.
Executive Committee
Dean Lisa Robinson
Chair, Lawson Centre Executive Committee
Lisa Robinson has been Dean of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and Vice-Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions at the University of Toronto, since July 1, 2024. She serves as Chair of the Lawson Centre Executive Committee. Dean Robinson is a professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, former Head of the Division of Nephrology at The Hospital for Sick Children, and a Senior Scientist in the Cell Biology program at the SickKids Research Institute. A clinician-scientist, Prof. Robinson holds a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in vascular inflammation and kidney injury. Her specialization is in caring for children with kidney disease, with a focus on renal transplantation.
Professor Lynn Wilson
Vice Dean, Clinical and Faculty Affairs, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Lynn Wilson is a Professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She has been a comprehensive family physician since 1986. Her interests have included palliative care, addiction medicine, obstetrics, and global health. Prof. Wilson has co-led a number of provincial and national projects regarding substance abuse education for physicians and is the co-editor of two textbooks on addiction medicine. Prof. Wilson was Vice Dean, Partnerships in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine from 2016 to 2020, responsible for the Faculty’s ongoing relationships with nine fully affiliated hospitals and 18 community-affiliated hospitals and health facilities, as well as government, community organizations and international collaborators. Her current role includes partnerships as well as clinical faculty appointments and related matters, such as professional values and faculty wellness.
Professor Justin Nodwell
Vice Dean, Research and Graduate Education, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Justin Nodwell was appointed Vice Dean, Research and Graduate Education on May 1, 2021. In this new combined portfolio, Prof. Nodwell provides leadership and oversight of Temerty Medicine’s research activities and two key education activities — graduate education and undergraduate life sciences education. Prof. Nodwell is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, where he previously held the role of Chair for seven years. As Chair, he coordinated the department’s move to MaRS, and oversaw the department’s expansion through several faculty recruits and cross-appointments. He also undertook renewals of the undergraduate and graduate programs, and successfully implemented laboratory rotations for incoming graduate students.
Professor Meredith Irwin
Chair, Department of Paediatrics
Meredith Irwin was appointed Chair of the Department of Paediatrics at U of T and Chief of Paediatrics at The Hospial for Sick Children in 2020. She holds cross-appointments at U of T in Medical Biophysics and Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology. Prof. Irwin is a Senior Scientist in the Cell Biology program in SickKids’ Research Institute, as well as a paediatric oncologist and a global leader in the development of clinical trials and novel biomarkers for patients with neuroblastoma. Prof. Irwin is also Co-Director of the Neuroblastoma Program and Head of the Solid Tumour Section of the Division of Haematology/Oncology, where she serves as an Attending Physician.
Professor Deborah O'Connor
Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Deborah O’Connor has been Chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences since 2018. She holds a departmental chair in Vitamin Research in Human Milk and Development at U of T, and has scientific appointments at The Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital. She is also a faculty member in the Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition. At SickKids, Prof. O'Connor served as Director of Clinical Dietetics and Breastfeeding Support from 2000 to 2012 and then as Associate Chief of Academic and Professional Practice until 2013. She studies maternal and infant nutrition and has published extensively on the nutritional requirements of pregnant and lactating women, and on strategies to help provide human milk to vulnerable infants.
Professor Shirley Lee
Interim Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Shirley Lee is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She is a nationally recognized family physician, educator and academic leader whose career bridges clinical excellence, educational innovation and system-level change. She previously served as the Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is currently a Family Physician at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Lee's impact has been acknowledged through multiple national and provincial awards, including Dr. Richard Kohn Memorial Award for Mentorship in Emergency Medicine, the CMPA Award of Excellence for Teamwork and Collaboration, the CAME Certificate of Merit, and more than a dozen University of Toronto awards for innovation, program development, teaching excellence and educational leadership.