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GSL Turns 10: Celebrating a Decade of Research Excellence and Policy Impact

On October 10, 2024 – GSL staff, alumni, and our partners in global health gathered to celebrate the Lab’s 10-year anniversary. GSL’s Director of Operations, Lathika Laguwaran – who has been a member of the team since its beginnings in 2014, opened the event with a welcome and reflections on GSL’s growth over the years. Additional speakers included Amir Asif, Vice President of Research and Innovation who spoke on the importance of hosting GSL at York University; Chris Ardern, Dean of the Faculty of Health, who highlighted the Lab’s wide-ranging impact in addressing complex health challenges by encouraging interdisciplinary work beyond traditional silos; and Patrick Fafard, GSL’s Public Health Institutions Research Director, who shared stories about the Lab’s early days, and the unique interdisciplinary research opportunities it provides.  

The night was emceed by GSL’s Director of Communications Demetria Tsoutouras, who encouraged attendees to take a look at GSL’s journey through the screening of a video featuring interviews with past alumni and colleagues who were part of what made the Global Strategy Lab what it is today.

After a wonderful time catching up with old colleagues and meeting new friends, GSL Founder Steven Hoffman took the stage to reflect on the establishment of the Lab in 2014 as an interdisciplinary hub aimed at applying cutting-edge scholarship to the design of global health laws, policies, and institutions. He referred to the book he co-edited with Julio Frenk, To Save Humanity Link , which argued for a more robust ‘science of global strategy’ to better equip global leaders with the tools needed to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.

First, we need new approaches for synthesizing complex and conflicting evidence about when, how, and why different global strategies can facilitate collective action.  

Second, we must develop new analytical and empirical methods for evaluating global strategies and use them to draw novel insights about how to best design global initiatives, institutions, and interventions for maximal impact. 
 
Third, we need new ways to translate research into evidence-based collective action and train the next generation of strategic thinkers and leaders in these approaches and methods.”

-Steven Hoffman

Over the past ten years, the Global Strategy Lab has become one of Canada’s leading social science research and policy institutes. It continues to grow by innovating research through emerging fields such as Global Legal Epidemiology Link , bridging the gap between public health and political science Link , and providing evidence-based policy research on antimicrobial resistance through the AMR Policy Accelerator Link and its designation as a WHO Collaborating Centre Link . This impact has been made possible through partnerships and support of some of the very best colleagues, mentors, funders, staff and students, without whom this success would not have been possible and for whom we will be forever grateful. 

In closing, Director Mathieu Poirier provided glimpses of some of the exciting work the Global Strategy Lab is currently working on and is planning to undertake in the future. This was also showcased through a video featuring conversations with members of the GSL team, who shared their hopes and visions of the future of the Lab, and it certainly looks like a bright one. As we look into the next ten years of the Global Strategy Lab, our commitment remains focused on research for better policies and a healthier world for everyone. 

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2024 Western Canada One Health Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference

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October 17, 2024

GSL Welcomes Dr. Mathieu Poirier as New Director