Gold Medal for iGEM Team at U of T
What does it take to earn a gold medal at the North American iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition? For the gold medal-winning team from U of T’s IBBME, it can be summed up in just one word: safety. This year’s iGEM competition, hosted earlier this month at Hart House, brought 550 students from across North […]
Predicting the Fate of Stem Cells
University of Toronto researchers have developed a method that can rapidly screen human stem cells and better control what they will turn into. The technology could have potential use in regenerative medicine and drug development. Findings are published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature Methods. “The work allows for a better understanding of how […]
Till & McCulloch Award Goes to IBBME’s Peter Zandstra
A Canadian technology that has the potential to boost the number of stem cells given to patients undergoing transplants of the blood-forming system has been recognized as the most influential stem cell research paper authored by a Canadian in the past year. The University of Toronto’s Peter Zandstra (IBBME) is the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Till & McCulloch Award […]
IBBME Student Debuts Documentary at Toronto International Film Festival
Professional baseball pitcher, U of T PhD candidate and now filmmaker, Drew Taylor (IBBME 1T4) is unveiling a unique piece of Canada’s history at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Our Man in Tehran, a feature film he co-directed with Larry Weinstein, will air as part of the festival’s Mavericks series, and will introduce film audiences […]
Technology from IBBME Spin-off Receives 2nd Nod from FDA
Interface Biologics, Inc, the spin-off company begun by Professor Paul Santerre (IBBME), has received its second FDA clearance in less than a year for AngioDynamic’s BioFlo Port catheter. The catheter is made with Endexo technology, a biomaterial substance invented by the U of T spin-off company. Added to existing medical devices such as the BioFlo PICC Catheter and […]
Building Open-Source Science with the DropBot
“When it doesn’t really exist anywhere you have to build your own,” said Ryan Fobel (IBBME PhD candidate), who is the mastermind behind the DropBot, a ‘digital microfluidics’ research tool that may just spark a revolution in biomedical engineering research. According to Associate Professor Aaron Wheeler, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry at the […]
Can Frankenstein and a Baby’s Heartbeat Unlock the Mysteries of Stem Cells?
It’s an electrifying step forward for cardiac research. University of Toronto researchers have announced a new method of maturing human heart cells that simulates the natural growth environment of heart cells while applying electrical pulses to mimic the heart rate of fetal humans. The discovery, reported this week in the scientific journal Nature Methods, offers cardiac […]
Professor Molly Shoichet Profiled in Forbes
Professor Molly Shoichet (ChemE, IBBME) was recently profiled by Forbes for her research into stem-cell delivery. Professor Shoichet’s lab is looking to solve a complex challenge facing stem-cell researchers: how to ensure that cells delivered to patients don’t die after transplantation to the point of care. Speaking to colleagues of the International Society of Stem […]
U of T Breakthrough Allows Fast, Reliable Pathogen Identification
A U of T team – including researchers from Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering – has created an electronic chip that can analyze blood and other clinical samples for infectious bacteria with record-breaking speed. Life-threatening bacterial infections cause tens of thousands of deaths every year in North America but […]
