Department news

Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME) news

Aaron Wheeler

Using tiny technology to aid in the fight against cancer

This year’s McLean Award winner Aaron Wheeler (IBBME) believes the solution to the colossal challenge of personalizing medicine for cancer patients may be a tiny one. Funded jointly by U of T alumnus William McLean and U of T’s Connaught Fund, the $100,000 McLean Award is given annually to support outstanding basic scientific research at […]

Medusa

Understanding how wounds heal

Whether you fall off your bike and scrape your knee, or knick your finger cutting onions, you know it’s only a matter of time before your injury has scabbed and healed. But what really just happened – how did your wound actually mend? Using a student-designed software program called MEDUSA, as well as a special […]

Bob Pillar

Suffering from knee pain? Biological joint replacements move a step closer with 3D printed templates

Knee pain – it’s familiar to runners, skiers, and almost anyone over a certain age. Yet doctors often urge patients to postpone knee replacement surgery as long as possible because the artificial joint may not last long. Now, a collaborative research project that began at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering […]

Students discuss biotechnology innovations at the conference. (Photo: Roberta Baker)

Big ideas from biotech conference at U of T Engineering

Genetically engineering algae to produce biofuel.  Growing artificial spinal discs in a lab.  Using nanotechnology to fight malnutrition.  These are just some of the ideas presented at the 16th annual CSChE Ontario-Quebec Biotechnology Meeting on May 15 – 16, 2014, which brought together over 90 graduate students from across Ontario and Quebec to explore the fascinating science […]

Molly Shoichet

Medical research pioneer receives U of T’s most distinguished rank

Nausea, vomiting, hair loss – these are just a few of the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy. Although the drugs are designed to kill cancerous cells and save lives, the potent chemicals destroy tissues and can damage the human body. Professor Molly Shoichet (ChemE, IBBME) is leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers who are developing […]

hanna-j-245

Three U of T engineers honoured by Engineers Canada

When Michael Branch (CompE 0T3) founded Inovex over ten years ago, the fledgling software company only had one staff member: him. Now, under Branch’s skilled leadership, Inovex has grown to become a successful company that offers tangible solutions to clients in the environmental and healthcare fields.Branch was one of three members of the U of T Engineering […]

Stewart Aitchison

Creating a clean water supply, using light to save lives

An estimated 768 million people in the world – about one tenth of the world’s population – do not have access to safe water. In Canada alone, five million people lack access to a reliable source of safe drinking water, especially in rural areas or on reserves. Now, the Indian Government’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) […]

Penney Gilbert

Stiffness: a new piece of the breast cancer puzzle

A new study has linked the stiffness of breast tissue to the progression of a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. Published in Nature Medicine this month, the study may help clinicians differentiate between aggressive forms of the disease, which tend to have a poor prognosis, and less deadly forms. University of Toronto Assistant Professor […]

Dentist Tools

Health grants advance research in dental disease and cancer therapy

From gum disease to new cancer therapy, health concerns that affect millions are at the heart of two new Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRPs) involving Professors Warren Chan (IBBME) and Eli Sone (IBBME, MSE). Making recovery from gum disease “stick” Assistant Professor Sone and his collaborators, Associate Professor Bernhard Ganss and Professor Chris McCulloch, are […]