Janet Rossant to receive U of T honorary degree for her world-renowned research and leadership in biomedical sciences

Published: June 1, 2026

By Scott Anderson

How does a single fertilized egg become a complex organism? For Janet Rossant, exploring the answer to that question and many others helped make her one of the world's most influential developmental biologists.

Today, in recognition of her world-leading research in developmental biology and stem cells, and for her leadership in advancing biomedical science and research ethics, and advocating for mentorship within the global scientific community, Rossant will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto.

A chief of research emerita and senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children and a U of T University Professor emerita, Rossant is internationally recognized for transforming scientists' understanding of the genetic and cellular mechanisms that govern early mammalian development. Her work has yielded foundational insights into human biology, birth defects and disease, while helping establish the scientific underpinnings of regenerative medicine. Over a long career, she has also helped build some of Canada's most important research institutions, championed women in science and trained generations of researchers.

Born in the United Kingdom, Rossant studied zoology at the University of Oxford and graduated with first-class honours in 1972. She earned a PhD in mammalian development at the University of Cambridge in 1976. She has said her fascination with development began early in her scientific training. "I still think that the problem of how a single cell, the egg, develops into a complex organism is incredibly fascinating," she said in a 2007 interview with Nature Reviews Genetics.

After coming to Canada in 1977, Rossant joined Brock University as an assistant professor. She moved to Toronto several years later, joining the faculty at U of T and working for two decades at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital (now the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health). She joined the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in 2005, serving as chief of research for 10 years. Along the way, she became a central figure in developmental biology in Canada, using genetic and cellular manipulation techniques to study how cells in the early embryo take on different fates.

That work led to a series of breakthroughs. Rossant's research helped explain how genes control normal and abnormal development and how several kinds of stem cells are established. In 1998, her work contributed to the discovery of the trophoblast stem cell, a placental stem cell type that has deepened understanding of how congenital anomalies in the heart, blood vessels and placenta can arise.

As her research pushed the field forward, Rossant increasingly turned her attention to how stem cell science could be applied to human health. At SickKids, her team used induced pluripotent stem cells from children with cystic fibrosis to create lung cells and study how they respond to different drugs - work aimed at improving treatment. "By reverting adult cells to pluripotent stem cells, we can model human disease and hopefully be able to treat them with stem cells," she told The Varsity in 2018.

Rossant's influence extends far beyond her own lab. As SickKids's chief of research, she oversaw a period of major growth and the creation of the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning. In a 2025 video for Life Sciences Ontario, Rossant described herself as a builder: "I build things. I build teams. I build buildings. I build things that help science move forward."

Since 2016, she has served as president and scientific director of the Gairdner Foundation, which has long recognized many of the world's leading biomedical researchers. "They are Canada's Nobel Prize," Rossant said in the Life Sciences Ontario video.

Throughout her career, Rossant has been committed to mentorship and to advancing women in science. A recipient of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award, she has noted that women remain underrepresented in leadership roles and has urged younger scientists to persist. "I would tell all early-career female scientists to just stick with it," she told The Varsity. "Finding mentors and a support network are important."

Rossant's many honours include the Order of Canada, the Killam Prize for Health Sciences, the Friesen International Prize in Health Research, election to the Royal Societies of London and Canada and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, as well as multiple honorary degrees. Most recently, she received Life Sciences Ontario's 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.