Toronto – An expert in innovation at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management has been named the inaugural recipient of the Rotman Chair in Life Sciences Commercialization.
Prof. Alberto Galasso is the first holder of the chair, which was established last year by a generous gift from the Rotman family. The gift provided funding for three new faculty chairs, including the Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare held by Prof. Avi Goldfarb, and supports research and teaching that focuses on health sector challenges. The donation will also fund educational and leadership development for professionals in the healthcare and life sciences sector, including scholarships and bursaries in a range of Rotman School programs including the PhD, MBA, and the new Global Executive MBA in Healthcare & the Life Sciences (GEMBA-HLS) programs.
“Toronto is one of the leading centres in North America for the life sciences industry,” says Dean Tiff Macklem. “Professor Galasso’s teaching will benefit our students and his research will bring new innovations to life sciences and healthcare.”
Prof. Galasso, a professor of strategic management, joined the Rotman School last summer on a full-time basis after holding a cross-appointment to the School from the University of Toronto Mississauga since 2007. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a lab economist at the Rotman School’s Creative Destruction Lab. He serves as co-editor for the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, as associate editor for the Journal of Industrial Economics and as member of the editorial board for the Strategic Management Journal. His research agenda focuses on the determinants of innovative activity, the management of innovation and the functioning of markets for technology.
The Rotman School has been a leader in healthcare management research through its Sandra Rotman Centre for Health Sector Strategy within the University of Toronto. The School and the University also interact with Canada’s largest medical research hub, which is one of the ten largest healthcare and biomedical clusters in the world. The Rotman School currently offers a major in Health Sector Management for students in the School’s Full-Time, Morning and Evening MBA programs. Last fall the new 18-month GEMBA-HLS program began with classes in Toronto, with future modules in Singapore and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Centre, in partnership with Rotman Executive Programs, is Canada’s leading academic provider of healthcare executive programs, and offers health sector programs, which equip professionals with the knowledge and business skills to lead and manage their organizations effectively in a complex field that is constantly evolving.
The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca
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For more information:
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
Voice: 416.946.3818
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca