by Denise Sabac

Graphic design by Josephine Choi

Dr. Pascal Tyrrell is an Associate Professor and Director of Data Science in the Department of Medical Imaging with appointments with the Department of Statistical Sciences and the IMS at the University of Toronto. He is also a generous, curious, and passionate individual whose academic and personal journey sheds light on how to navigate the abundance of postgraduate opportunities. 

When I asked Dr. Tyrrell about his career path, he answered that it is “very long and convoluted”. He continued by stating that his academic journey started with roughly 18 years of university studies. Dr. Tyrrell’s relationship with academia began at Concordia University, where he completed his undergraduate studies in cellular and molecular biology. During this time, he met his eventual graduate research supervisor, who he followed to UofT to complete his master’s studies on cyanobacterial physiology. However, this initial interest was short-lived. Despite almost completing a PhD at the same lab, he described feeling that he “was not in the right place.” He did not see a career for himself in academia, and subsequently chose to enter the corporate world. Excited by the demand for computer programmers in the new age of Y2K, Dr. Tyrrell chose to become one himself. Shortly afterwards, he pivoted into a new job as an IT recruiter. Despite the excitement of industry, Dr. Tyrrell now found himself back in academia as a Data Manager at SickKids in the Division of Rheumatology. As you can imagine, the story does not end there. In fact, after his department underwent budget cuts that terminated his position, he chose to commence another PhD in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics in the IMS. After successfully acquiring his PhD, he hoped this time to stay in academia, but this proved to be a difficult task. Dr. Tyrrell shares that “getting a job as a professor was too hard, and still is.” Instead, he became a financial advisor at Edward Jones Investments, but this was only temporary. The rapid emergence of data science and Dr. Tyrrell’s passion for academics prompted his return to UofT as an associate professor in the Department of Medical Imaging, where he conducts pioneering research on the use of AI and data science in healthcare.

After reflecting on his experiences, Dr. Tyrrell expressed that the interesting part about his journey is that he “did none of this intentionally.” Rather, it is possible to follow what you enjoy and have things work out without the need for a rigid plan. Despite his overall success, Dr. Tyrrell conveys that the greatest challenge for him was finding “a job that fit him right, a job to grow in and be successful at”. For him, this job was data science. 

As a motivated data scientist, Dr. Tyrrell describes his role as “studying different ways to leverage the information contained in data in order to help improve patient outcomes.” He also shows great appreciation for the breadth of data science, which he believes made this field a good fit for him. Dr. Tyrrell explains that while he is not formally trained in computer science, statistics, or medicine, he gained the ability to conduct medical research as a data scientist. He learned computer science through programming involved with data analysis, gained a foundation in medicine through medical research, and learned statistics as a PhD student. He further shared that this type of informal training is common in data science because you never know the content that it will be applied to. Dr. Tyrrell explained that data science is made of three pillars: math/statistics, computer science, and content. He describes content as “understanding the data, understanding what the data is for, and understanding how you are leveraging the information that’s contained in the data in order to better something.” As such, he encourages students to consider what type of content they find intriguing and ensure that they get a good mix of all three pillars if they want to pursue a career in data science. Overall, Dr. Tyrrell is grateful for the emergence of his current field, but also explains that he “worked hard to be in a position to be lucky.”

Furthermore, Dr Tyrrell’s hard work has led him through both academic and industry positions; thus, I asked if he was willing to elaborate on the differences between the two. Dr. Tyrrell eagerly started explaining that we should do both and that they are not completely separate. In academia, the research “provides theories to things that can be applied.” He also explained that there is more flexibility while working in academia—you are responsible for how and when your work gets done. On the other hand, he describes industry as relying more on applied research, and that “it aims to take an idea and turn it into a commercializable product, which is extremely difficult”. Additionally, in terms of the work structure, he mentions that there is a lot less independence. Staff are often assigned work that aims to benefit the company at large, and do not have a say in what project they work on. Dr. Tyrrell emphasized that this is not necessarily a “bad” thing. He explained that while many graduate students enjoy and excel in academia, they should be prepared for the differing values and work structure at for-profit organizations. Overall, Dr. Tyrrell stressed that the main difference between for-profit (industry) and academic institutions are their missions. Academia predominantly applies theoretical research in the pursuit of uncovering ‘ultimate truths,’ whereas industry often relies on applied research driven by profit. Lastly, he shared that the biggest misconception is that theoretical research is the most important component to innovation. Rather, he believes that both industry and academia are fundamental to this goal.

In addition to academic and industry-based research, Dr. Tyrrell is very passionate about startups. He describes these organizations as “the middle ground between research and large corporations,” and that they represent a large percentage of business in Canada. Despite being largely involved in many startups over the years, today he is primarily involved with the software startup company SofTx Innovations Inc. as the CEO and co-founder. He describes this work as a type of hobby for him that he can do in addition to his responsibilities as a professor. In fact, being at the intersection between academia and industry also provides him with opportunities to translate his research into real-world applications. Given his strong interest in startups, and the learning opportunities available in this work, he encourages graduate students to participate in this line of work. He does so by leading the Healthcare Innovation Challenge at IMS, and teaching the new Startups in Medical Sciences course, which was offered for the first time in Winter 2024. 

Given his abundance of experiences, I wondered what advice Dr. Tyrrell would share with current graduate students. His response to this inquiry emphasized the importance and beauty of always learning. He encourages students to be engaged and to never stop learning. With science and technology changing so rapidly, he advised that “it’s inconceivable to think that you’re not going to continue to learn.” Lastly, he concluded by reflecting that learning is a journey that should be enjoyed without placing too much emphasis on the destination.