Sonia Sugumar

Background

About Sonia Sugumar

With over a decade of demonstrated expertise in business development, strategic planning, community building, and research administration, Sonia Sugumar is a visionary leader who brings science into society through high-impact industry-academic partnerships with multinational companies. In her current role as the Associate Director, Corporate Partnerships & Blue Door Community at the University of Toronto, Sonia builds comprehensive partnerships with global companies anchored in research & innovation, entrepreneurship, student training & recruitment, and corporate social responsibility to drive real-world impact. The BlueDoor team which Sonia leads, a community of 50+ business development professionals across the university, recently earned an Excellence Through Innovation award for its success in securing nearly $15M to support transformational research in just 2 years. She has held progressively senior roles at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics and the Ontario Brain Institute, all with a focus on driving research impact across multiple sectors. Sonia is a strong advocate for young scientists looking to build non-traditional careers, dedicating much of her spare time to mentoring students, supporting entrepreneurs, and building professional development programs. Sonia holds an MSc in Neuroscience and an MBA in health sector strategy from the University of Toronto. TLDR; research impact through industry partnerships, business development, strategic planning, research evaluation, community building, generating order from chaos