By Kristen Ashworth

Graphic design by Jinny Moon

On Thursday, November 13, 2025, the IMS Magazine hosted its second annual Fall Launch Party to celebrate the publication of our 2025 fall issue, Health in the Margins, and to welcome a new academic year with the magazine. Journalists, editors, and designers, both new and returning, alongside IMS faculty, staff, students, friends, and featured guests, joined together for a wonderful evening of celebration, community, and of course, some delicious food! 

The party began with a welcome address from Interim Director of the Institute of Medical Science (IMS), Dr. Lucy Osborne. The magazine was grateful for her thoughtful remarks, which focused on the growth of the magazine since its founding in 2011, and its unique role within our IMS community. Dr. Osborne highlighted how the magazine provides students with an opportunity to greatly strengthen their scientific communication skills, while also being a platform to showcase the remarkable research taking place across the institute.

The evening continued with a presentation that introduced the 2025-2026 magazine team, including our executive editors, designers, and journalists, many of whom were in the audience. 

This was followed by a panel discussion with an impressive line-up of guest panelists featured in the fall issue, including Dr. Sloane Freeman, Dr. Jenny Lau, and Dr. Mayrose Salvador. Dr. Freeman, a pediatrician at St. Michael’s Hospital and associate professor at IMS, founded the Research Equity Advocacy in Child Health (REACH) School Network program to better connect school-aged children to health professionals; Dr. Lau, a palliative care physician at the IMS, is working to reduce barriers to palliative care access for those with substance use disorder; and Dr. Salvador, Co-Founder of Pueblo Science, brings hands-on, community-driven science education to underserved and remote classrooms around the world. Together, all three panelists brought a breadth of versatile and insightful perspectives to the conversation on the issue’s theme. The discussion spanned topics ranging from career pathways and the driving forces behind their research passions to thoughtful reflections on practicing sensitivity and empathy in their work, particularly in their interactions with marginalized communities.

The evening concluded with a reception that included some delicious food, music, and photos. Guests also had the opportunity to pick up their hard copies of the fall issue.

The IMS Magazine would like to extend its sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to both the issue and launch party event, as well as the faculty, students, and guests who came out to support and celebrate the magazine for our second annual launch party. We couldn’t have asked for a more successful evening and look forward to coming together again next year!