Walter Swardfager, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Toronto and a scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook Research Institute. He holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in the clinical pharmacology of cognitive neurovascular disorders. Dr. Swardfager’s lab focuses on understanding how disease and dysfunction of the cerebral small vessels contributes to mood symptoms, cognitive decline and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Dr. Swardfager leads a team grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to accelerate the discovery of effective anti-inflammatory strategies to counter cerebral small vessel disease. He is the Principal Investigator of the Sunnybrook Type 2 Diabetes Study, an observational study aimed at understanding the biopsychosocial determinants of cognitive longevity for people living with type 2 diabetes, and the effects of antidiabetic medications on the brain.