Dr. N. Zoe Hilton, Research Chair in Forensic Mental Health at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, has been named a recipient of a 2025 University of Toronto President’s Impact Award.
Announced April 17, the award recognizes faculty members whose research has achieved significant and demonstrable impact beyond academia. Recipients are inducted into the President’s Impact Academy and receive $10,000 annually for five years to further their research efforts.
A professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Dr. Hilton was honoured for her work in the development and implementation of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) — the first statistically based tool in Canada designed to help police and legal professionals assess the likelihood of repeated domestic violence. Her work has played a vital role in improving safety for victims of domestic abuse; ODARA is now formally adopted in six Canadian provinces and territories, and embedded in legislation in four U.S. states.
Waypoint had a well-established reputation for violence risk assessment research back in the 1990s, before we created the ODARA in collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police. Working at this hospital for 35 years has given me the opportunity to conduct long-term research in this field and see the impact it has internationally and also right here in the hospital. This has grown into a strong research program in intimate partner violence and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV).
Dr. N. Zoe Hilton, Research Chair in Forensic Mental Health at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Dr. Hilton’s research was initially inspired by a domestic murder-suicide where warning signs were missed. In response, she led an academic-policing partnership to collect the data necessary to develop a tool that is both scientifically valid and operationally relevant.
Her work also includes accessible training programs, collaborations with policymakers, and ongoing engagement with community partners. This extensive knowledge mobilization has helped foster a shared understanding of domestic violence risk across service sectors — leading to better case prioritization, more efficient legal resource allocation and enhanced safety planning for at-risk individuals.
There is growing recognition that a GBV-informed lens is essential to mental health services for women and others affected by intimate partner violence. The timing of the University of Toronto President’s Impact Award is a great encouragement for me to continue this work and to support Waypoint’s early-career researchers to carry on this legacy.
Dr. N. Zoe Hilton, Research Chair in Forensic Mental Health at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Waypoint has an established and growing research program of research on intimate partner violence.
The ODARA is an actuarial tool for estimating the risk that a domestic violence offender will assault a partner again. It was created by the Ontario Provincial Police Behavioural Sciences and Analysis Section and researchers at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.