The ivory tower poltroons
How collegial behaviour died in the era of wokeism.
A tale of two citizenries
How I fell for an academic sleight-of-hand that was to be trounced by ideology.
Welcome · Bienvenue · Willkommen · Bienvenidos
Welcome to the home page for Prof. Leigh Revers, Associate Professor at the Institute for Management & Innovation at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Here you will find everything you need, whether you are a student at UofT currently enrolled in one of my courses, or whether you just want to learn more about what I teach. You’ll also find resources supporting other, related courses that I endorse, instructed by eminent colleagues of mine.
› Meet my colleagues
Duncan Jones
Adjunct Professor, IMI
Mark Currie
Assistant Professor, Biology
Jayson Parker
Associate Professor, Biology
Scott Prosser
Distinguished Professor, Chemical & Physical Sciences
› Learn about my courses
› Courses that I currently teach at the University of Toronto are listed below with brief descriptions. In each case, the most recent course outlines are available for downloading in PDF format by clicking on the corresponding colour-coded chevrons. When a course is running, live course calendars become available and may be subscribed to via both Apple Calendar and Google Calendar servers.
• BLACK KNIGHT •
Session: Winter (begins 16-Jan)
Instructors: Leigh Revers & Duncan Jones
Credits: 0·5
Open To: U of T Graduate Students, with priority given to the following programs—
› MBiotech BioPharma Stream
› Master of Management of Innovation
› Immunology
› Pharmacy
› Pharmacology & Toxicology
Course Description
In this course, we focus exclusively on the dominant role of biologic therapies in modern medicine. In 2020, six of the top 10 drugs by revenue were molecules of biologic origin, namely those manufactured primarily by biosynthetic rather than chemical means, with sales of the top selling therapy, the anti-TNFα monoclonal antibody adalimumab, falling just shy of the US$20 billion mark. The lucrative preeminence of biologics is set to continue, bolstered by the introduction of innovative molecular delivery strategies, such as antibody-targeted conjugates, fragments and fusions, as well as by the robust staying power of market leaders. The latter phenomenon is an inevitable consequence of the higher-than-usual regulatory hurdles faced by conventional generic manufacturers seeking to make biosimilars: intended copies of off-patent biologics that, having undergone a strict comparability exercise, are approved by regulatory agencies such as the EMA and the FDA.
This course (hosted downtown at the University's Faculty Club) will survey this changing landscape within an historical framework and will highlight critical scientific and process parameters unique to biologics, that set them apart from conventional small-molecule medicines, including their molecular architecture and mechanisms of action, manufacturing considerations, analytical and functional lot release assays and clinical trial design. We will explore some of the pitfalls by examining a roster of clinical case studies. The capacity of payers to afford these increasingly high-cost therapies in the face of current economic trends will be discussed.
The broad goals of the course are as follows—
› A detailed understanding of the complexities associated with biologic drugs;
› A broad familiarity with biologics manufacturing and its inherent variability;
› A critical understanding of the aspects of biosimilarity; and
› A familiarity with the clinical implications emerging from the use of biologics.
We need your support!
If you are an MBiotech student, or an eligible graduate within IMI, please consider enrolling today.
• WHITE QUEEN •
Session: Winter (IMI2003HS
) & Summer (IMI2003HY
)
Instructor: Duncan Jones
Credits: 0·5
Course Description
A project involves planning and completing a series of tasks in order to achieve a desired outcome. Each project is a unique venture, with a beginning and an end. Whether at work or in your personal life, we have all undertaken projects. The effective management of a project is thus a key skill for its successful delivery, especially on time and on budget. The application of formal processes, tools, knowledge and experience can improve project success rates, especially for projects that are larger, more complex, costly, risky and in some cases critical.
Through a series of case studies and class discussions, this new elective explores this practice of project management across a range of industries. Various supporting tools and techniques will also be introduced. Through direct involvement in a project of choice, an opportunity is provided to further develop insights into the various technical and collaborative issues that can negatively impact a project as well as how to overcome them, mitigate them and prevent them in the future.
› Click here for a short video introduction • IMI2003H
• BLACK KING •
Session: Fall
Instructors: Duncan Jones & Tim Lee
Credits: 0·5
Course Description
In this course through a series of lectures and case discussions, students learn about the formation, financing, and management of early-stage ventures especially as it relates to the (bio)technology and associated medical device space. Topics include opportunity identification and assessment, preclinical and clinical phases, regulatory procedures and pathways, legal issues including patents and venture finance. Students will each be required to select a young, publicly-traded company in which to complete an in-depth analysis, presentation and report.
Recommended preparation for this course: These three essays by Paul Graham.
Session: Summer
Instructor: Leigh Revers
Credits: 0·5
Course Description:
This laboratory-based course introduces fundamental experimental techniques commonly used in biomedical research and provides ‘hands-on’ experience working with nucleic acids and proteins over an intensive six-week schedule. Students receive a practical overview of key protocols over the first week and are provided with same-day, interactive technical demonstrations in a fully equipped ‘wet’ laboratory. This is followed by an extended research assignment in which students work in teams towards expressing and isolating a biomedically relevant, recombinant protein. Teams must design an appropriate research strategy, conduct experiments, collect and analyse data and submit their product with a final report to meet a tight deadline. The course concludes with a final presentation seminar day.
Session: Summer
Instructor: Leigh Revers
Credits: 0·5
Co-Requisites:
Course Description:
As a companion course to BTC1710H
, this laboratory course is intended to provide students with hands-on experience with some concepts in protein and materials chemistry. The experience will focus on the use of advanced equipment and techniques and will include experiments involving protein PEGylation, nanoparticles in drug delivery, and biodiesel synthesis, as well as bioinformatics. This is an intensive four-week course, operating five days a week. Students will complete these projects and experiments in teams. A significant component of this course involves a science-intensive, business assessment in which the students have an opportunity to apply what they have learned.
Session: Winter
Instructor: Leigh Revers
Credits: 0·5
Pre-Requisites: CHM341H5 or CHM345H5
Course Description:
I have assembled a brand new course, CHM442H5S: Strategy & Control in Modern Drug Synthesis, endorsed by and developed in consultation with Prof. Patrick Gunning. This course brings into focus aspects of strategy and control for designing the syntheses of complex drug molecules that are blockbusters for the pharmaceutical industry.
Not only will you learn about 21st Century developments in organic synthesis, this course will serve as an outstanding and invaluable differentiator for anyone applying for medical school, or for higher levels of study as a research graduate in groups such as The Gunning Group, or in professional programs, such as the Master of Biotechnology Program (MBiotech).
To enrol, check your Degree Explorer or contact Eliza Escandar. I hope you will consider this new course offering as a part of your undergraduate journey!
› Learn about graduate elective courses at IMI
› Under the auspices of the Institute of Management & Innovation (IMI), and in collaboration with colleagues hailing from other University departments, and from the private sector, I am one of IMI’s tenured Faculty that offers students enrolled in the IMI portfolio of professional graduate programs, and across UofT, a rich vein of modern and relevant electives from which to choose when completing their degree requirements. Whatever courses you select to take, all of these course are designed to offer advanced learning opportunities at the interface of traditional disciplines, such as Business, Data Science and the Life Sciences, and serve as capstone experiences for UofT graduates as they launch their careers.
One of the goals of the electives program at IMI is to create learning environments for students across the different professional graduate programs. The following table illustrates which elective offerings are automatically available to you, depending on your particular program and or home department. Where a pawn (♟) is shown, please enquire with your home department.
› How to Enrol
Graduate students who wish to enroll in any of the courses on this page must—
1 › | Complete a Course Add/Drop Form, |
2 › | Have the completed form authorised by the Graduate Coordinator of your home department, and |
3 › | Submit the signed form via email either to Tessa Qendro, MBiotech, ortensia.qendro@utoronto.ca. (for BTC courses codes) or to Patrice Lee, IMI, patrice.lee@utoronto.ca (for IMI course codes). |
Students CANNOT enrol themselves directly on Acorn/ROSI.
› Learn how to subscribe to live course calendars
Option 1
Apple Calendar on iPad & iPhone UPDATED
1 › | In your iOS browser, open this page and tap-and-hold the desired Apple Calendar icon. |
2 › | Chrome users select Copy Link. Safari users scroll down and select Copy. |
3 › | Open the Calendar app in iOS. |
4 › | At the bottom of the screen, select Calendars and then choose Add Calendar followed by Add Subscription Calendar. Paste the copied link into the Subscription URL field and tap Subscribe. |
Calendars added in this manner will now appear in the Apple Calendar app on your iPhone or iPad.
Option 2
Apple Calendar on macOS UPDATED
1 › | On your Mac, using your browser, open this page and right-click on the desired Apple Calendar icon. Chrome users select Copy Link Address. Safari users select Copy Link. |
2 › | On your Mac, launch Apple’s Calendar app. |
3 › | From the File menu, select New Calendar Subscription… |
4 › | Paste the copied link into the Calendar URL field and click Subscribe. |
Calendars added in this manner will now appear in the Apple Calendar app on your Mac and can be synced to your mobile devices.
1 › | On your Mac or PC, using your browser, open this page and right-click on the desired Google Calendar icon. Chrome users select Copy Link Address. Safari users select Copy Link. |
2 › | Open a new tab or window and log in to your Google account online. |
3 › | Click Calendar from the Google apps palette at the top right of the browser window. |
4 › | In the left-hand menu, click ‘+’ next to Other Calendars and choose From URL. |
5 › | Paste the copied link into the URL of calendar field and click Add calendar. |
Calendars added in this manner will now appear in the Google Calendar app on your mobile device.
Option 4
Microsoft Outlook on Desktop, iOS Device or Android
Direct subscriptions to our calendars are currently not recommended. Subscribed calendars may be successfully added in the browser version of Outlook 365 by clicking Add Calendar on the calendar page, followed by Subscribe from web, but real-time synchronisation with Outlook in this manner has not proved reliable. Our fully tested work-around is as follows:
1 › | Follow the steps in Option 3, above, and subscribe to all of the desired calendars in Google Calendar using your browser. |
2 › | Open a new browser window and log in to your UTmail account online. |
3 › | Click the Calendar icon from the pallet on the left (second icon down). |
4 › | Click Add Calendar in the calendar pane, followed by Add personal calendars, in the pop-up dialogue window. |
5 › | Click on Google to add synchronised calendars from your Google account. |
All of your Google calendars will now be displayed in Outlook 365 and in your Outlook app on your mobile device.