Four startups from The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and Start@UTIAS have received a total of $180,000 from the Ontario Centres of Excellence’s SmartStart Seed Fund. The funding will help the young companies take the next steps in bringing their innovative products to market. All four recipients won prizes at the Hatchery’s Demo Day last fall, and several are building on $55,000 in support from the Start@UTIAS incubator program.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments of all our Hatchery teams,” said Joseph Orozco, executive director of the Hatchery, one of U of T Engineering’s accelerators for student business ventures. “Not only does this funding come at the right time for the startups to continue their entrepreneurial journey, it also provides an important message of a strong and lively entrepreneurial ecosystem in our province. Entrepreneurship is a key element of innovation and here at the Hatchery we are facilitating that process to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

The grant recipients are:

• TeleHex ($60,000) — The company makes an all-in-one tool for adjusting the hexagonal-shaped sockets on most standard bicycles. The telescoping instrument automatically selects the right size, making bike repairs simpler and faster.
• MedChart ($60,000) — MedChart does the legwork of obtaining medical records from all of their clients’ health-care providers and uploading them into a secure, cloud-accessible platform. The goal is to simplify and improve the flow of medical information.
• Kepler Communications ($30,000) — This company aims to use small data-transmission satellites to build a space-based communications network. This will allow other satellites to transmit or receive data even when they’re not near a ground station, reducing data blackouts and improving the flow of space-based information.
• Pillsy ($30,000) — Pillsy has created a Bluetooth-enabled “smart pouch” that helps women remember to take their birth control pills.

Three of the teams (Kepler, MedChart, and Pillsy) also received support from Start@UTIAS, an entrepreneurial incubation program at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. Created by a $1 million donation from entrepreneur and alumnus Francis Shen (MASc UTIAS 8T3), the program encourages and facilitates UTIAS graduate students to leverage the knowledge and skills that they have gained through their education to create business startups.

The SmartStart Seed Fund is available to Ontario-based startups that are associated with campus linked accelerators such as the Hatchery. Teams led by young people aged 18 to 29 can access as much as $60,000 to match investments in their businesses by arms-length third parties, plus a further $7,500 in professional services. The program is very competitive, with a success rate of only 20 per cent.

“The grant is absolutely critical to creating a strong business around our product,” said Peter Wen, a third-year mechanical engineering student and co-founder of TeleHex. “Previously we’d been focused on the product itself. This enables us to afford patent filing, marketing and the help we need to make TeleHex widely available.”

In the coming months, TeleHex will ship its first units to backers of its Kickstarter campaign, as well as select bloggers and product reviewers. “You should soon start seeing TeleHex make a buzz in the cycling community,” Wen said.

The Hatchery’s programs provide student startups with mentoring from professors and industry experts, as well as access to prototyping facilities, office space and seed funding. All of the teams will continue to access the Hatchery’s resources as they take the next steps in building their ventures.

Read more about Hatchery Demo Day 2015

This story originally appeared on U of T News

Regenerative medicine is the way of the future for Canadian health care, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, and two new initiatives are helping strengthen the commitment of U of T Engineering and its partners to stem cell research and manufacturing.

Trudeau announced at the MaRS Discovery District on Jan. 13 that the federal government will give a $20 million grant to the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) to establish and operate a new Centre for Advanced Therapeutic Cell Technologies. At the same time, Vivek Goel, vice-president, research and innovation at U of T, announced that Professor Peter Zandstra (IBBME), chief scientific officer for the CCRM, has become the inaugural director of Medicine by Design.

The CCRM is the commercialization partner of Medicine by Design, a program created last year through a $114 million grant from the federal government.

Trudeau toured two CCRM labs at the Banting Institute with Zandstra, U of T President Meric Gertler and Michael May, the president and CEO of CCRM, along with other government officials. The group then moved across College St. to MaRS, which will become the new home of the CCRM later this year.

The Prime Minister said he has “great respect” for scientists involved in stem cell research, not only because of what they are doing for the health of Canadians but how “they are pushing the frontiers of science and innovation.”

The bottom line, he said, is that “we must do more to prevent diseases” and  the collaboration between public institutions like U of T and its partner hospitals, the private sector and government is crucial in “accelerating the development” of stem cell manufacturing technologies.

GE Healthcare is also committing $20 million to the new centre. Kieran Murphy, CEO of GE Healthcare’s life sciences business, said in a news release that “it is increasingly clear that cell therapies and regenerative medicine will transform health care globally, but successful industrialization is now crucial to widespread adoption.

“This new centre,” Murphy said, “will enable us to work with cell therapy companies to push beyond existing technical limits and problem-solve. Toronto’s concentrated and collaborative clinical infrastructure, combined with the strong guidance of the internationally-renowned CCRM, make it an ideal location for the centre.”

It is expected that the global market for cell-based therapies will surpass $20 billion U.S. by 2025. The main targets for cell-based therapies are cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, musculoskeletal disorder and autoimmune diseases.

Trudeau noted that the new centre will be the first in the world to use a collaborative approach between research institutions and industry to solve cell therapy manufacturing challenges. He said the centre will create jobs, strengthen Canada’s knowledge economy and position Ontario as a global hub for the cell therapy industry.

“Regenerative medicine is the future,” Trudeau said. “Not only is it the future, it’s a branch of medicine that Canada and the province of Ontario are actually quite good at.”

Zandstra is a professor in the U of T Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, holds the Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Bioengineering, and is a principal investigator at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research. He told U of T News he is thrilled to be the executive director of Medicine by Design. “But the big news today is the funding of the new centre. We are very thankful” for the government’s commitment.

Cristina Amon, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, said Zandstra’s “collaborative efforts with partner hospitals and his leadership in regenerative medicine is an outstanding example of how U of T engineers are addressing some of the world’s most pressing health challenges.”

The mandate of Medicine by Design is to undertake transformative research and clinical translation in regenerative medicine, enhance capability in synthetic biology and computational biology and foster translation, commercialization and clinical impacts.

It was formed as a result of the University of Toronto’s success in the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF). The $114 million will be spread over seven years, and will allow U of T and its partners to build on years of support for U of T’s regenerative medicine researchers from federal granting councils, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and support from the Canada Research Chairs and Canada Excellence Research Chairs programs.

Zandstra will lead and provide over-all scientific direction to the Medicine by Design initiative. May, CEO of the CCRM, said the new centre is a “significant milestone” in the fight to find cures for diseases and to create companies that will bring those cures to the marketplace.

And he reminded everyone that the incredible advances in stem cell therapy and its application “trace back to the discovery of stem cells 65 years ago” by U of T scientists James Till and Ernest McCulloch.

See more photos from the tour 

With files from Tyler Irving

University of Toronto engineering professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) has been named the 2016 recipient of the Terumo Global Science Prize for his achievements in tissue engineering and novel biomaterials discovery.

This is only the third time the Terumo Foundation for Life Sciences and Arts has awarded the prize. Sefton joins an elite list of internationally-renowned recipients, including MIT professor of chemical engineering Robert Langer and drug delivery research pioneer Sung Wan Kim of the University of Utah.

“The award is a fantastic acknowledgement of the University’s excellence in this area and the contributions of my trainees over many years,” said Sefton. “I am particularly pleased that the Terumo Foundation specifically cited my efforts to ‘develop younger generations’ who are now promising leaders themselves.”

Sefton is a leader in the field of tissue engineering and has made significant contributions to biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. He is well-known in his field for combining living cells and synthetic polymers to create tissue-like materials that could help restore lost function in humans. More recently, his lab has created biomaterials that actively promote the growth of blood vessels. Such materials accelerate wound healing and/or support the development of lab-grown tissues.

Among his numerous awards and accolades, Professor Sefton was recently named to the United States National Academy of Medicine, an honour bestowed on few Canadian scientists and engineers. He is a University Professor, the highest academic rank at the University of Toronto, which is reserved for the top two per cent of tenured faculty.

A leader in his professional community, he served as president of the U.S. Society for Biomaterials in 2005 and has spearheaded several programs to advance the field. From 1999 to 2005, Professor Sefton was director of the U of T Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) leading its development into one of the top institutes of its kind in North America.

“On behalf of the Faculty, I am delighted to extend my warmest congratulations to Professor Sefton on this prestigious international honour,” said Cristina Amon, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “Professor Sefton’s world-leading research addresses some of the most important health challenges we face, and will impact millions of people around the world.”

The Terumo Global Science Prize includes a monetary award of 10 million yen or approximately C$120,000. Professor Sefton will travel to Japan in July accept the honour.

Women in leadership, the impact of engineering on the world and Skule™ spirit were the themes that took top prizes in the Godiva’s Hymn contest held by U of T’s Engineering Society. The winners were announced on Saturday at Cannonball, one of the annual semi-formal dinners hosted by Skule™ each year.

Tania Albarghouthi (Year 3 ECE) wrote the winning verse. She received a $500 prize and will see her lyrics inscribed on the walls of the Sandford Fleming Atrium, affectionately known as The Pit.

“One of the goals of the contest was to modernize Godiva’s Hymn so it reflects the diversity, culture and values of the modern engineering community,” said Albarghouthi. “I wanted to add a verse that touches upon the growing number of female engineering students at U of T and encourages women in engineering to take action and become leaders.”

Godiva’s Hymn is a tradition in most engineering schools in the English-speaking world. The contest aimed to create verses that better convey the diversity and vibrancy of engineering community in the 21st century.

“Traditions do not — and should not — stay frozen in time,” said Professor Thomas Coyle, vice-dean of undergraduate studies at U of T engineering. “The best traditions are living things that are renewed and enriched each time they are observed. Our traditions should also tell the world who we are and who we aspire to be.”

“Godiva’s Hymn should showcase all the amazing aspects of the culture of engineering that make this a remarkable profession,” said Engineering Society president Ernesto Diaz Lozano Patiño (Year 4 CivE). “Engineering is about leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, social conscience, diversity and philanthropy. I am proud to be a part of this culture.”

See below for the winning verse, as well as first and second runners-up:

Winner:

Professor Emeritus Andrew Goldenberg (MIE) is the 2016 recipient of the A.G.L. McNaughton Gold Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Canada.

The award is the IEEE Canada’s highest honour, recognizing outstanding Canadian engineers for their exemplary contributions to the engineering profession.

Goldenberg is the founder of the field of Robotics at University of Toronto, where he has been a Professor in MIE since 1982. He has supervised the largest number of graduate students at U of T Engineering (46 PhD and 64 MASc), and has an exceptional publication record with over 4,500 citations. The citations count is the highest at MIE, and one of the highest in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

Though a Professor Emeritus since 2011, Goldenberg maintains a full-time load of graduate students and research. He is currently involved in technology development projects that include: mobile and modular robots, medical surgery robots, robots for hazardous environments, smart materials, and expert systems.

In addition to being a world-class researcher, Goldenberg is a successful entrepreneur. He is the founder and President of Engineering Services Inc. (ESI), established in 1982. ESI is a high-technology company involved in the development of robotics-based automation. Under his leadership, the company has achieved significant growth and a leading role in a wide range of industrial sectors.

From 2000 to 2001, Goldenberg was also the President of Virtek Engineering Science Inc. (VESI), a high-technology company formed after the acquisition of part of ESI by Virtek Vision International Ltd., a publicly-listed company. He is also President of Anviv Mechatronics Inc. (AMI), which he founded in 2006. Anviv is a high-technology company involved in the development of mechatronics products. In May 2015, ESI was acquired by a Chinese consortium located in Shenzhen, China.

Goldenberg is a Life Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE), a Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a Member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEng), and a Designated Consulting Engineer in Ontario. He is the recipient of the 2010 PEO Engineering Medal for Entrepreneurship and the 2013 EIC Sir John Kennedy Medal for Outstanding Merit in the Engineering Profession.

“On behalf of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, I congratulate Professor Emeritus Andrew Goldenberg on this richly deserved honour,” said Jean Zu, Chair of MIE. “Professor Goldenberg has made tremendous contributions to the research of robotics, and has been a force of entrepreneurial innovation, bringing his research into the market place for the benefit of all Canadians.”

This story is adapted from an article that appeared on U of T News.

From screws and plates for broken bones to metal hips and dental implants, every day thousands of people undergo surgeries to implant medical devices into the body. But these implanted foreign objects cause the immune system to attack, and while for some this inflammatory response can be controlled by drugs, others will experience device failure.

What if there didn’t have to be an immune response at all? That’s the thinking behind Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) alumnus Kyle Battiston’s (IBBME PhD 1T5) disruptive new anti-inflammatory product which he plans to roll out through a new start-up company, KSP².

Battiston originally designed the anti-inflammatory polymer as a tissue engineering scaffold. Like climbing plant trainers, the scaffolds allow tissue engineers to grow cells in desired shapes. But fragile cells can react poorly to non-native cellular environments, potentially causing new tissues to fail. With anti-inflammatory scaffolds, the possibility of successfully growing tissue increases.

Battiston and his colleagues quickly saw a global relevance for the biomaterial.

By altering its chemistry, Battiston and his colleagues were able to coat medical devices with the novel biomaterial—it’s made from a family of polymers found to reduce inflammation, specifically when it interacts with white blood cells. The coating actually calms the body’s immune response, eliminating the risk of both implant failure as well as the need for anti-inflammatory drugs.

Best of all—it’s versatile. “We’ve learned this family of materials can retain its anti-inflammatory character while adapting diverse physical properties,” he says, allowing Battiston and his new start-up team to adapt the material to a wide variety of specific medical uses.

KSP²’s first product may be market-ready within the next five years—to be followed by a host of other health-related applications.

“The first application will be targeted to peripheral nerve stimulation, but we’re working on a dental application at the same time,” says Battiston, who has recently moved into new lab space at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research (TRCHR) in the MaRS West Tower.

“This has turned into a niche technology opportunity that is resonating with more than six groups with diverse end applications that Kyle and his company KSP² are now talking to,” says Professor Paul Santerre (Dentistry, IBBME), Battison’s supervisor and a key TRCHR researcher. “This [technology] represents an outstanding opportunity that could keep creative and innovative scientists and engineers in the Toronto entrepreneurial ecosystem, and result in international attention and market penetration for leading medical technologies,” he adds.

Still, despite his product’s potential, Battiston didn’t always imagine himself an entrepreneur.

“When I started grad school I didn’t consider entrepreneurism a thing I would pursue. But seeing Professor Santerre’s vision changed that. If you want to make an impact in health care you can’t just do research. If you really want to accelerate and bring that technology to market you have to be involved in that process. That’s a big part of Dr. Santerre’s vision of what students should do.”

Battiston has utilized the University of Toronto’s incubation resources to help get his fledgling company off the ground, including the Banting and Best Centre for Commercialization and the Health Innovation Hub.

Battiston is currently a postdoctoral fellow within the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry.