Celebrating 10 Years of Global Strategy Lab

We’re thrilled to announce an exciting milestone: 10 years of research at the Global Strategy Lab (GSL)!  Join us in commemorating 10 years of making the world a healthier place for everyone.

Over the coming months, we’ll be featuring key moments that have shaped GSL’s journey through a series of events on a living timeline on our website. 

As we reflect on the journey that brought us here, we invite you to join us in celebrating a decade of dedication to advancing global health and well-being by sharing your reflections on social media using the hashtag #GSL10. 

July 2014

The Global Strategy (GSL) Lab Begins

In July 2014, the Global Strategy Lab was born from a fundamental belief: the need to bring a science to bear on how countries, non-governmental organizations and researchers can all work together to solve health threats that defy national boundaries.

A Decade of Growth

Lathika Laguwaran, Director of Operations at the Global Strategy Lab, shares her journey, taking us into the lab’s origin and her role in its evolution over the past decade. Click here to watch the video.

September 2014

GSL Moves to Ottawa Universit

The Global Strategy lab sets up its first offices in the Faculty of Law alongside the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. With funding from the Research Council of Norway, GSL starts on projects focused on AMR, international law and scientific advice.

November 2014

The i4C Consortium

GSL and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health joined together to launch a consortium of researchers and partnering institutions to focus on “Strengthening International Collaboration for Capitalizing on Cost-Effective and Life-Saving Commodities (i4C)”.

May 2015

Publication of “To Save Humanity”

“To Save Humanity: What Matters Most for a Healthy Future,” edited by Julio Frenk and Steven J. Hoffman, was published on May 12, 2015. This collection of essays from global health experts addresses key issues such as pandemics, healthcare systems, and climate change, providing actionable insights for a healthier future. The book emphasizes the importance of global cooperation, universal health coverage, and effective health governance.

A growing team

Maxwell Tran, former Research Assistant at the Global Strategy Lab (GSL), reflects on his experience from 2015 to 2017 while an undergraduate at McMaster University. Watch his interview here.

October 2015

JLME Special Issue on AMR and Legal Agreements

A workshop in Uppsala, Sweden, organized by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, the Global Strategy Lab, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (JLME), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance resulted in a special issue featuring eleven articles. These articles highlight the need for collective action to mitigate antibiotic resistance and propose strategies for states and non-state actors to tackle this challenge effectively.

Elliot Gunn becomes one of the first ever GSL post-bachelor fellows

Discover Elliot Gunn’s inspiring journey as a post-bachelor fellow at GSL during 2016-2017. Watch his interview here.

April 2016

International Law’s Effects on Health and Social Determinants (ILSR) Published in Systematic Reviews

The publication of the ILSR protocol marked the first step in an ambitious project to assess the effectiveness of international laws on global health challenges. It outlined the methodology and data analysis plan for the systematic review.  

International legal barriers to Canada’s marijuana plan

In this interview, Roojin Habibi discusses her tenure as a research fellow at the Global Strategy Lab (GSL) starting in 2016. She highlights her initial involvement through a health law internship at the University of Ottawa and her work on the legalization of cannabis in Canada and its international legal implications.
Watch the interview here.

July 2016

Ebola Again Shows the International Health Regulations Are Broken: What Can Be Done Differently to Prepare for the Next Epidemic? 

This paper evaluates the International Health Regulations (IHR) through the 2009 H1N1 influenza and 2014 Ebola epidemics, identifying similar lessons from both. It highlights missed opportunities to act on these lessons and examines political barriers to implementation. The authors propose strategies to overcome these barriers and stress the urgency of reforming the IHR before future epidemics, like Zika, emerge. 

August 2016

Patrick Fafard becomes Associate Director of GSL

With a distinguished career in government and academia, Patrick Fafard joined the Global Strategy Lab as Associate Director. Watch his interview here.

July 2017

GSL relocates to York University

GSL relocated from the University of Ottawa to York University, becoming part of the growing Global Health Profile of York University. Now housed in the Dahdaleh Building, adjacent to the new Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, GSL draws upon the full strengths and resources of the Faculty of Health and Osgoode Hall Law School.

Ranjana Nagi shares her story

Former Research Fellow Ranjana Nagi reflects on her transformative experience working at GSL, where she began her professional journey as an undergraduate student at York University in 2018. Watch her interview here.

July 2018

Optimizing Scientific Advisory Committees

This special issue of Global Challenges brought together perspectives from various disciplines to explore the optimal design and functioning of Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs), aiming to improve their effectiveness in informing policy decisions.

May 2019

The International Network for AMR Social Science 

Since 2019, the Global Strategy Lab has been a founding member of the International Network for AMR Social Science (INAMRSS)—an international consortium uniting research leaders to strengthen social science approaches to AMR policy and research.

June 2019

WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

GSL published two landmark studies in The British Medical Journal, initiating the first impact evaluation of the WHO FCTC and uncovering the gendered effects of global cigarette consumption.

November 2019

WHO Collaborating Centre on Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance

The WHO Collaborating Centre on Global Governance of Antimicrobial Resistance at GSL uses rigorous and innovative research support the World Health Organization in assessing and addressing the growing global health and development threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

To be continued…

Check back in October for the next update to our timeline.