The Tapscott Chair

The Tapscott Chair at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) conducts research into the causes and treatments of schizophrenia. The Chair is currently occupied by Dr. Fang Liu, one of the world’s leading authorities in neuroscience and psychiatric medicine.

The Tapscott Chair was endowed by Don Tapscott and Ana P. Lopes – CM, and named, in the words of Don, “in memory of my brother Dave and in honour of our parents Don and Mary Tapscott who worked tirelessly for 15 years to keep Dave healthy.”

Dr. Fang Liu is the acting Tapscott Chair in Schizophrenic Studies. She is currently a professor and the Director, Division of Neuroscience and Clinical Translation in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. Her lab is located at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where she is a senior scientist and the Tapscott Chair in Schizophrenia Studies. Dr. Liu obtained her MD from Shanghai Medical University in China and practiced as a pediatrician before immigrating to Canada.  She obtained her MSc and PhD from the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto.  Dr. Liu joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto in 2001 and was promoted to full professor in 2011. Research in Dr. Liu’s molecular neuroscience program in CAMH has focused on identification of novel biomarkers as well as novel targets for the development of protein peptide or small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of psychiatric diseases. Her research has led to a number of highly novel and internationally-recognized discoveries (e.g. Liu et al., Nature 2000; Lee et al., Cell 2002; Pei et al., Nature Medicine 2010; Su et al., Neuron 2014; Li et al.., Journal of Clinical Investigation 2020) that are being translated into potential novel therapeutics for treating neuropsychiatric disease such as depression, schizophrenia and PTSD.
Dr. Arturas Petronis occupied the Tapscott Chair in Schizophrenia Studies from 2010-2020. He is also the Head of Krembil Family Epigenetics Laboratory, and dedicates his research to the elucidation of epigenetic factors in complex non-Mendelian diseases.
Dr. Robert Zipursky was Tapscott Chair in Schizophrenia Studies from 1991-2006 at the University of Toronto. He researches the biology of schizophrenia, the usage of brain imaging techniques for treatment, treatment of first episode psychosis, as well as early intervention and prevention of schizophrenia.
The inauguration of the Tapscott Chair in Schizophrenia at the University of Toronto took place in 1997. Dr. Mary Seeman occupied the Chair for the first three years, when many new discoveries about schizophrenia were coming to light.