by Kyla Trkulja, Kristen Ashworth, & Suraiya Mangra

Hello Everyone,

As we welcome in the new year—and celebrate 25 years of 21^st-century medicine—we have aptly chosen Precision Medicine as our Winter issue theme. Over the last few decades, our healthcare and medical research systems have been revolutionized by this new method to patient care, which moves beyond the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach. The advancement of precision medicine has been instigated by key scientific breakthroughs, such as the completion of the Human Genome Project, the discovery of CRISPR-based gene-editing technology, and the expanding use of artificial intelligence to significantly enhance the individualized analysis of patient data.

In this issue, we feature four IMS faculty members that are making significant inroads in the field of precision medicine research: Dr. Daniel Felsky, in the application of precision medicine for mental health; Dr. Carmela Tartaglia, for neurodegenerative diseases; Dr. Joanne Kotsopoulos, for breast and ovarian cancer; and Dr. Sun-Ho Lee, for inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, our Viewpoint articles explore the evolving challenges of precision medicine that we face currently, in the context of advancing technology, patient privacy, and the ethical uses of AI. These articles discuss pressing topics such as genome bank inequities, data and patient confidentiality, integration of patient data in healthcare apps, the current landscape of electronic medical records, and the use of wearable devices in personalized care.

We have also spotlighted three outstanding members of the IMS community in this issue—Dr. Pamela Plant, Dr. Sandy Lee, and Sajeevan Sujanthan—who have made significant and valuable contributions to the institute and beyond.

A big thank you to our amazing team of journalists, editors, and designers for their hard work on this issue. It was wonderful to celebrate with all of you and the rest of the IMS community last year during our inaugural launch party for the Fall 2024 issue. We are looking forward to all of what the future brings for our team in 2025!

Stay warm this winter and happy reading!

Kyla Trkulja

Kyla is a PhD candidate studying novel lymphoma therapeutics under the supervision of Dr. John Kuruvilla, Dr. Rob Laister, and Dr. Armand Keating at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

Twitter: @kylatrkulja_

Kristen Ashworth

Kristen is a PhD student studying the use of a human-based retinal organoid model to investigate cell therapies for genetic eye disease under the supervision of Dr. Brian Ballios at the Krembil Research Institute.

Twitter: @K_Ashworth01

Suraiya Mangra

Suraiya is a 2^nd year MSc student investigating the effects of neuromodulation interventions on brain morphology in patients with neurodegenerative disorders at the Krembil Research Institute under the supervision of Dr. Andres Lozano.