Alex Gabbey, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry, has been named a 2025 CAS Future Leader.
The Future Leaders program supports the growth of science leadership among early-career scientists, according to the announcement naming Gabbey—along with over 30 other scientists from around the world—to their 2025 cohort. The program, inaugurated in 2010, enables Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars to learn leadership skills, engage in scientific discourse, and connect with peer scientists and innovators.
“We are proud to equip early-career scientists with leadership and communication skills that enable them to have an even greater impact in their areas of expertise,” said Peter Carlton, CAS Future Leaders program director, in the official announcement. “The record number of applicants this year shows that scientists appreciate the program’s purpose to help them grow as leaders.”
Alex Gabbey completed her BSc in chemistry at the University of Alberta in 2020 and subsequently joined the University of Toronto to complete her PhD in organic chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Sophie Rousseaux. Now in her fifth year, her research involves Ni-catalyzed reactions of redox-active esters, as well as the synthesis and functionalization of strained rings. She is also participating in a research exchange in the lab of Prof. Tim Noël at the University of Amsterdam, where she is learning to implement flow chemistry in organic synthesis.
Outside of the lab, Alex has been an active member of Working Towards Inclusivity in Chemistry Toronto (WICTO).
Chemistry Stories: The CAS 2025 Future Leaders group includes about thirty scholars from around the world, including Dr. Francisco Yarur Villanueva, who recently graduated from U of T. Are you already getting to know the leaders from other universities?
Alex Gabbey: Right now I’m studying at the University of Amsterdam on a research exchange. I saw Eva, a Future Leader from ETH Zurich, at a PhD defense in February. Neither of us knew that we’d been selected for the program at that time, but we’ve connected since to congratulate one another and laugh about almost meeting each other! I also know Francisco from the chemistry department at U of T; we were in the same cohort together.
I wasn’t previously acquainted with any of the other Future Leaders, but we have a group chat so I’m getting to know everyone through that. I’m very excited to meet everyone in Columbus in August!
You have already done some excellent leadership here at UofT as a board member of WICTO. Do you have a sense of how you might like to use this new opportunity to level up your leadership skills?
When I reflect on my PhD, and even my undergraduate degree, I recognize that none of my achievements would have been possible without the support of excellent mentors. Whether they were faculty members, friends, or colleagues, the one thing that they all had in common was: they made me feel like I could do it.
I think that is one of the most important qualities in a leader – to believe in others and help them understand that they’re capable of tackling the challenges that they face. A good leader knows how to adapt to the needs of others, to encourage them, and to lift them up, no matter where they’re at.
One of my goals is to pay forward the support and guidance that I’ve received from the chemistry community. I aspire to be the best role model that I can for the next generation of scientists.
When you think of leadership within the field of chemistry, is there anyone whose example you particularly hope to follow?
One of my biggest role models is Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour, whom I met during my undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta. Dr. Armour was a tireless advocate for women in the chemical sciences and she co-founded WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science, and Technology), one of the first organizations in Canada that empowered women to pursue and succeed in the chemical sciences. She was such an incredible ambassador of chemistry for girls and women of all ages.
She also wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty – she used to do chemistry demos for audiences of hundreds of students! Her passion for science was infectious and she made everyone in the room feel welcome. I want to be a scientist – and a leader – like that.
You say you’ll meet the other leaders in person, on trips to visit the CAS Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio and then attend ACS Fall 2025 in Washington, DC?
Yes. It's an incredible honor to be selected as a CAS Future Leader and I couldn’t be more excited to meet the rest of the Future Leaders in a few months.
There’s such a variety of nationalities and research interests represented in our cohort, so I’m especially looking forward to connecting with such a diverse group of scientists!
A good leader knows how to adapt to the needs of others, to encourage them, and to lift them up, no matter where they’re at. --Alex Gabbey
Related Links
Working Towards Inclusivity in Chemistry Toronto (WICTO)
Alex Gabbey receives Women Chemists Committee (WCC) Merck Research Award