By Shauna Mazenes
Ian McDermott knows the best research starts with teamwork.
Time spent working in a laboratory early in his career showed Ian the need for an environment fostering more interaction and engagement among researchers. It's something he believed would lead to the highest quality science, and ultimately, the best patient care.
"We need to work together to gain the best benefits," says Ian, Executive Director of Redevelopment and Chief Planning Officer at UHN. "But to do that, we need to create the best environments."
Ian has done just that over 27 years at UHN, which will end Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 when he departs for Sinai Health Systems to be Vice President of Facilities and Capital Development.
"We said we were going to create a different kind of research lab, and not only did we do that, but it became a model people copied," he says of his time at UHN.
After working several years as a molecular geneticist in a laboratory at the then-Princess Margaret Hospital beginning in 1989, Ian realized researchers were isolated, often hesitant to collaborate.
Recognizing this, Ian accepted a job as Manager of Lab Operations, where he proposed the concept of "the dance floor laboratory" — an open-space design intended to encourage spontaneous interaction and community amongst researchers.
Despite initial reluctance, the idea took off. Researchers quickly realized they produced better results by working together. Within a year of piloting the project at the Princess Margaret Cancer Research Tower, they didn't want to be anywhere else.
'A true UHN problem-solver'
For Ian, it was just the beginning of re-imagining health care spaces at UHN.
After that success, UHN executives asked him to replicate the idea for the Krembil Discovery Tower at Toronto Western Hospital, this time with a goal of integrating research into other areas of the hospital.
That's when his philosophy was used to bridge the gap between labs and clinics at UHN, and in doing so, transformed research from an isolated activity into a vital component of patient care.
"In design, and especially in research design, thinking critically about those collision points is essential to integrate research and education into what we do clinically," says Rebecca Repa, Executive Vice President of Clinical Support & Performance at UHN.
Whether it's in the elevators, at the coffee machine or the water cooler, creating purposeful "collisions" among staff is what fosters a culture of innovation, and is of particular importance for a teaching hospital such as UHN.
"Many major developments happen because two entities who wouldn't normally connect to each other connected and began to innovate together," Rebecca says. "But most importantly, Ian understands that at his very core. It's never an afterthought in terms of planning.
"His background gives him an academic hospital lens, which is a very unique and beneficial perspective to have."
Rebecca calls Ian "a true UHN problem-solver," recalling how hard he worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the countless plexiglass dividers, screener booths at every entrance and multiple vaccination clinics, UHN was morphing every day.
And, Ian stepped up as a leader from the very beginning.
"He was at every table," Rebecca says. "He was the person who knew the entire space and had the legacy history to help find solutions in the moment."
'He should feel an incredible sense of pride in what he's done here'
In 2017, UHN merged all the design portfolios and created Facilities Management, Planning Redevelopment & Operations (FM-PRO). Ian has been the Executive Director from the outset and his innovative approach to space and interaction has influenced projects across the organization, something that will continue after his departure.
A recent example of Ian's influence was the opening of the Cancer Clinical Research Unit Convergence Centre in 2023. This area was strategically designed to support both clinical research and clinical care, enabling patients to be comprehensively studied, tested and treated all in the same space.
And, the teamwork, design-assisted approach behind Project Aspire, Toronto Western's new patient and surgical tower set to open in 2028, was also shaped by Ian's philosophy.
Merging UHN, the architects and the construction team in the planning and building stages of the project — known as "integrated and collaborative construction management" — is not a common practice in health care, but this true state-of-the art method of planning and development is being used.
Marnie Escaf, Clinical Vice President at UHN, says one of Ian's most notable projects was Princess Margaret Cancer Centre's space transformation in 2019, namely the lobby. Following through on a vision to create a better environment for cancer patients, the pair teamed up to make it happen.
"Certainly, when I look at Princess Margaret, I think of Ian as a key contributor to that," says Marnie, previously Vice President of the cancer centre, who has worked on numerous projects with Ian over the past 20 years.
"He's done some phenomenal space projects," she says. "Just the physicality of what he's achieved will be a constant reminder of him.
"Ian is able to take really complex projects and manage them so smoothly."
Marnie describes Ian as a visionary, an incredible problem-solver and a man of integrity.
"He should feel an incredible sense of pride in what he's done here."
Looking back on his career at UHN, Ian says it was about the journey and the opportunities that came along the way.
"I'm grateful for everyone I've met here, and the capacity I've been given to improve research, patient care and clinical operations at UHN," he says.
