Melanie Woodin
President of the University of Toronto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melanie A. Woodin is a Canadian neuroscientist and academic administrator who has served as the 17th president of the University of Toronto since July 1, 2025.[2][3][4] She is the first woman to hold the office.[5] Woodin previously served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto, a position she began in 2019.[6]
Melanie Woodin | |
|---|---|
Woodin in 2021 | |
| 17th President of the University of Toronto | |
| Assumed office July 1, 2025 | |
| Chancellor | |
| Preceded by | Meric Gertler |
| 19th Dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science | |
| In office July 1, 2019 – July 1, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | David Cameron[1] |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Wright |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Education | University of Toronto (BSc, MSc) University of Calgary (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Workplaces | University of Toronto |
| Thesis | The Role of Trophic Factors in Synapse Formation and Plasticity between Identified Lymnaea Neurons (2001) |
Life and career
Woodin graduated from the University of Toronto in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Master of Science in zoology in 1997.[7] In 2001, she completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Calgary, then completed her postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley.[8]
Woodin joined the University of Toronto as assistant professor in the Department of Zoology in 2004.[9] She established the Woodin Lab which she continues to lead.[10]
She has served as the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies (Cell & Systems Biology 2014–15), Director of the Human Biology Program (2015–17), Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies and Academic Planning (2018), and the Vice-Dean, Interdivisional Partnerships in the Faculty of Arts and Science (2019).[7][11]
She serves on the board of directors at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence.[12] She is a member of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy leadership and was the President of the Canadian Association for Neuroscience, an association dedicated to advancing brain research.[13]
She was elected the 17th president of the University of Toronto in 2025 and has held the role since July 1, 2025.[4]
Awards and honours
In 2014, Woodin was named Neuroscience Alumnus of the Year by the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary.[14] In 2022, she received the Alumni of Distinction Award from the Cumming School of Medicine.[15]
She has been a Senior Fellow of the University of Toronto's Massey College since 2019.[16]