Professor Milica Radisic (IBBME, ChemE) has been named a YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction for 2018. This prestigious recognition honours the outstanding achievements of those who work to improve the lives of women and girls in their community.

Professor Radisic is the Canada Research Chair in Functional Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering and Associate Chair, Research for the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry. She has made transformational advances in tissue engineering which have resulted in new methods for growing human tissue in the lab. Radisic was the first in the world to use electrical impulses and specially designed bioreactors to guide isolated heart cells to assemble into a beating structure. She has also created an injectable tissue patch that could help repair hearts, livers or other organs damaged by disease or injury, as well as the AngioChip, an artificial 3D beating heart tissue. Radisic’s technologies are the basis for two startup companies, both led by women CEOs.

Milica Radisic is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. She has won several major national and international awards, including the Women in Science and Engineering Breaking the Glass Ceiling Award for her contributions as a mentor and a role model. She serves on the board of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, the main advocacy body for Ontario engineers, and has leveraged leadership roles in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society to advance and  support women in her field. Radisic has participated in several outreach programs to promote science and engineering to girls, has mentored dozens of women engineering students, and has spoken extensively in multiple forums about the challenges of balancing a family and a demanding career and the need for further support for work-life balance.

“Professor Milica Radisic has revolutionized the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering and is an inspiring role model and exceptional mentor for women engineers and entrepreneurs,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “On behalf of the Faculty, I extend my warmest congratulations to her on this richly deserved recognition.”