Department of Chemistry

John Polanyi

Nobel Prize

Subheadline

The department of chemistry also recently renamed the research wing of the Lash Miller building in Polanyi's honour

The groundbreaking work of University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi, celebrated chemist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986, is the focus of a new permanent exhibit at the Lash Miller building, home of the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Through still images, video and equipment, the dynamic exhibit tells the story of Polanyi's career including his seminal work in the field of reaction dynamics – a branch of chemistry that investigates what happens during chemical reactions.

The centrepiece of the exhibit is a replica of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry medal awarded to Polanyi (photo by Diana Tyszko)

The display includes original equipment used in Polanyi’s early research, a reproduction of the lab notebook used by his graduate student to document their experiments and a video chronicling the process of discovery – along with a replica of his Nobel Prize medal.

"It’s been my good fortune to be surrounded by brilliant colleagues and other supporters throughout my life and career," Polanyi said. "I'm deeply humbled and grateful for this marvelous display and ongoing recognition of my life’s work.”

“John Polanyi holds a revered place in the history of the University of Toronto and his legacy is an inspiration for all of us,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler. “This installation is a compelling expression of his achievements. All those responsible deserve our thanks and congratulations.”

The exhibit includes a reproduction of the notebook in which Polanyi’s graduate student Ken Cashion documented the results of the experiment that delivered the groundbreaking discovery (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Polanyi came to �鶹��Ƶ from Princeton University in 1956, and not long after, made his seminal discovery: his detection of infrared radiation released upon the collision of hydrogen and chloride molecules was the first observation of energy produced from the vibration of new molecules immediately after their formation.

His work went on to influence the development of advanced instrumentation in domains like pharmaceutical research, medicine and chemical manufacturing – including the development of the first chemical lasers.

“The university made a significant investment in me, a young scholar,” said Polanyi. “The environment and the resources I received enabled me to pursue a new and unknown direction in chemical physics.”

In 1974, he was named a University Professor – the highest academic honour bestowed by the university on its faculty members – and in 1994, the John C. Polanyi Chair in Chemistry was established.

The exhibit tells the story of the Nobel Prize-winning discovery in the field of reaction dynamics, and University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi’s advocacy for nuclear disarmament and the responsible use of science (photo by Diana Tyszko)

In tandem with the new exhibit, the department of chemistry also recently renamed the research wing of the Lash Miller building in his honour.

“The John Polanyi research wing and this new display will serve to permanently highlight John's legacy for current and future young scholars,” said Professor Mark Lautens, chair of the department of chemistry. “John has brought great visibility and prestige to the University of Toronto through his groundbreaking studies and his contributions that go well beyond scientific discovery. We are equally grateful [for] and proud of his advocacy for science, for peace and for a better world.”

Inspiration for the exhibit came after Polanyi donated some of his equipment to the department of chemistry upon his retirement in 2020. A special celebration was held in his honour at Massey College in the fall of 2022, after which Professor Robert Batey, then department chair, with support from the Faculty of Arts & Science dean Melanie Woodin and the Offices of the President and the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, led the development of the exhibit to celebrate Polanyi’s impact and legacy.

“John has made tremendous contributions to the world of science as well as society at large through his advocacy for nuclear disarmament," said Batey. "We are proud to be able to celebrate his work this way in the place that has been his professional home for so many years.”

“This display is a fantastic tribute to Professor Polanyi's remarkable career as a scientist, a teacher and a global citizen,” said Woodin. “It is a fitting acknowledgement for someone who has engendered a network of excellence that stretches across countries and continents.”

University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi (pictured second from the right) was joined in viewing the exhibit by (l to r) department of chemistry chair Mark Lautens, portrait painter Brenda Bury and former department chair Robert Batey (photo by Diana Tyszko)

The department of chemistry and Toronto-based communications and design firm Snack worked closely with Polanyi on the development of the display, drawing from his extensive archive of memorabilia and donated equipment.

The exhibit also captures Polanyi’s advocacy for the responsible use of science and a keen social conscience that compelled him to campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons throughout his career. “A great university that invests in science must also strain to warn of the accompanying risks to humanity," he said.

�鶹��Ƶ, hospitals launch pilot program to boost commercialization of medical innovations

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:19:19 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ, hospitals launch pilot program to boost commercialization of medical innovations

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:19

Cutline

(photo by Daria Perevezentsev)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Acceleration Consortium

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Artificial Intelligence

Department of Computer Science

Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Art & Science

Hospital for Sick Children

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Research & Innovation

Startups

University Health Network

The University of Toronto is collaborating with the University Health Network, the Hospital for Sick Children and Sunnybrook Research Institute on a new program that aims to leverage the expertise of entrepreneurs and business leaders to advance commercialization of emerging medical technologies and regenerative medicine research.

Funded by the Government of Ontario, the Entrepreneur-In-Residence program will support projects that display high potential for clinical impact and spin-off company formation, spanning areas ranging from regenerative therapies and medical devices to AI-powered clinical tools and apps for patient care.

The one-year pilot program is being launched with the help of a $300,000 grant from Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON), a provincial agency that was established in 2022 to provide IP resources and supports to researchers and businesses.

“The Entrepreneur-in-Residence program will help take medical innovations developed in academic and hospital environments and translate them into the commercial arena, generating economic opportunity for the region and expanding clinical impact globally,” said Leah Cowen, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

“The University of Toronto is grateful to IPON for its support of this initiative, which stands to strengthen existing networks of knowledge exchange and collaboration between the university and its partner hospitals.”

Jill Dunlop, left,Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities, said post-secondary institutions are critical incubators of innovation and commercialization (photo courtesy of IPON)

The program will see Entrepreneurs-in-Residence – individuals with a track record of launching science-based ventures and shepherding projects from proof-of-concept to incubation, acceleration and seed funding – liaise with �鶹��Ƶ’s Innovations & Partnerships Office and IPON to generate and protect IP. It is designed to add capacity and scope to �鶹��Ƶ’s thriving entrepreneurship and commercialization ecosystem, including existing Entrepreneur-in-Residence initiatives such as those offered by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Medicine By Design, an institutional strategic initiative (ISI).

“In today’s global knowledge-based economy, Ontario’s post-secondary institutions are critical – not just as centres of learning, but as incubators for innovation and commercialization,” said Jill Dunlop, minister of colleges and universities, in a recent announcement of new IPON-funded initiatives.

“Through the province’s support of IPON, our government is ensuring the social and economic benefits of publicly funded research stay in our province, so that Ontarians and the Ontario economy benefit from these new discoveries and innovations.”

Dunlop also spoke at an April 8 event with Christine Allen, a professor in �鶹��Ƶ’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy who has an extensive track record of translating and commercializing lab discoveries.

Christine Allen, far right, is a professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the founder and CEO of Intrepid Labs (photo courtesy of IPON)

At the event, Allen highlighted the growth of her startup, Intrepid Labs Inc., which she co-founded with Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a professor in the departments of chemistry and computer science in �鶹��Ƶ’s Faculty of Arts & Science and director of the Acceleration Consortium. The company marries Allen’s prowess in drug formulation and development with Aspuru-Guzik’s expertise in AI and advanced computing in order to accelerate the development of next-generation medicines. In the fall, the company closed a pre-seed round of US$4 million.

“The availability of top-notch talent in AI and life sciences made Toronto a great place to launch our company,” says Allen, who is Intrepid’s CEO, noting all four of the startup’s co-founders are from �鶹��Ƶ.

She added that �鶹��Ƶ is a powerhouse for entrepreneurship and intellectual property, ranked second in North America for university-based startups, and that companies with founders or co-founders from �鶹��Ƶ make up a significant percentage of some of the fastest-growing companies in Ontario.

“This is the beauty of being at the University of Toronto and having the MaRS Discovery District across the street and all the hospitals around us. It’s such a rich environment,” she says.

“We can do this in Toronto.”

Allen stressed that a thriving lab-to-market ecosystem is critical to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“Students are increasingly seeking out roles in the private sector,” she says. “For them to see other students and faculty members [found startups] helps them realize that it’s possible for them to start companies, too.”

New photoreactor technology could pave the way to a carbon-neutral future, researchers say

siddiq22 — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 17:00:32 +0000

New photoreactor technology could pave the way to a carbon-neutral future, researchers say

siddiq22 Wed, 08/09/2023 - 13:00

Cutline

(Photo courtesy of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

Topic

Solar

Sustainability

Subheadline

An international team that includes researchers from �鶹��Ƶ has designed and implemented an innovative prototype photoreactor for making green chemicals and fuels

An international team that includes researchers from the University of Toronto has designed and implemented a new model for photoreactors, a solar-powered technology for converting water, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen into greener chemicals and fuels.

The innovative design allows the photoreactor to capture photons at high efficiency under varying sun directions, eliminating the need for sun-tracking. The panels are also manufacturable via extrusion of polymers, making them inexpensive and easily manufacturable at scale – all of which could help make a sustainable future more affordable and practical.

Geoffrey Ozin (supplied photo)

Geoffrey Ozin, University Professor in �鶹��Ƶ's department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and his team collaborated with researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany on the project.

“Solar cells are renowned for efficiently and economically converting sunlight to green electricity, circumventing the use of greenhouse-gas-emitting fossil fuels,” Ozin says.

Unlike thermoreactors, photoreactors combine the photons in sunlight and reactants to generate green chemicals and fuels. By using sunlight and water, photoreactors could effectively reduce carbon emissions.

Despite their potential, many photoreactors have been plagued by several challenges, including the high cost of construction materials. They can also be inefficient in converting photons to products. To create these photochemical conversions, photoreactors rely on a photocatalyst, a material that absorbs light and converts a reactant into a product.

However, non-productive processes due to the reflection, scattering, transmission and absorption of light by the photocatalyst and the photoreactor materials can result in energy loss. Photoreactors would benefit from sun-tracking, a device that adjusts the angle of the photoreactor with respect to the position of the sun for optimal harvesting of light.

To be technologically and economically viable, the photon-to-product conversion efficiency of the photoreactors must be at least 10 per cent. While the science of integrating photocatalysts into photoreactors over the past decade for making green chemicals and fuels has yielded significant advances, the efficiencies have remained low – often one per cent or less.

Ozin's team and the group from KIT – which included postdoctoral researcher Paul Kant, PhD student Shengzhi Liang, research scientist Michael Rubin and Professor Roland Dittmeyer – developed a panel-like photoreactor that contains hundreds of parallel microscale reaction channels. They recently published a paper on the promising results of their proposed model in the journal Joule.

A key feature of their design is that each reaction channel is connected to a V-shaped light-capture unit that guides the light into the channel where the photocatalyst is located. All surfaces are highly reflective to optimize the transport of photons from the external light source to the photocatalyst housed in the microchannels with minimal light losses.

Future design adaptations can address the issue of intermittent sunlight by using light-emitting diodes integrated into the photoreactor as the photon source, powered by renewable electricity from photovoltaics and backed up by lithium-ion battery storage to provide 24-7 operations.

Illustration of the photoreactor model, which can be placed on rooftops; upper left shows the photoreactor panels; upper right shows the photoreactors' V-shaped concentrators and tube-like cavity (supplied image)

The new photoreactors model can outperform existing state-of-art photoreactors and can be used on rooftops of houses and solar farms, as well as be integrated with photovoltaics to produce both renewable electricity and green chemicals and fuels.

“This technology has inspired the development of a new generation of solar-powered devices that instead make green fuels such as hydrogen from sunlight and water,” Ozin says.

The advancement comes at a time when the need to combat climate change is more pressing than ever, with record-breaking temperatures marked around the world this summer.

“These solar products will substitute their fossil-based analogues – and will help to reduce our carbon footprint,” says KIT researcher Kant.

“This directly increases chances that we will be able to reach the dream of a sustainably living humanity. Hopefully, we will even make it in time – without drastic temperature overshoot and related disasters.”

�鶹��Ƶ extends Scott Mabury's term as vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, and vice-provost, academic operations

lanthierj — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 15:22:59 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ extends Scott Mabury's term as vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, and vice-provost, academic operations

lanthierj Mon, 01/02/2023 - 10:22

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Scott Mabury

University Operations

Governing Council

President Meric Gertler

Sustainability

�鶹��Ƶ Mississauga

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough

Professor Scott Mabury, a renowned environmental chemist, will serve as University of Toronto vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships and vice-provost, academic operations for another three years.

At a meeting on Dec. 15, the university’s Governing Council approved an extension of Mabury’s term until June 30, 2026.

“Professor Mabury’s visionary leadership of this large and complex portfolio has had a profound impact at the University of Toronto,” President Meric Gertler said. “The extension of his term ensures that the university maintains momentum and maximizes opportunities to complete the major initiatives currently underway.

“I am deeply grateful to Scott for his outstanding service to the university, and for his willingness to continue in this key leadership role.”

Mabury was already serving as vice-provost, academic operations, when he became �鶹��Ƶ’s inaugural vice-president, university operations in 2012.

From the start, Mabury says, the idea of putting a professor in charge of this vast portfolio was to better align the university’s operations with its academic mission.

Mabury says as he watched Ron Saporta, chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, present the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability’s 2022 report to Governing Council, it was clear how much progress had been made toward this goal.

“We’re talking about operations and research and courses and students in this very integrated way,” he says. “The premise in the origin story of the portfolio has come to pass.”

Mabury has led several key initiatives to make �鶹��Ƶ’s campus more sustainable. Among his recent accomplishments:

The Climate Positive plan that aims to see the St. George campus reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than it emits by 2050.
A $56 million partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank to support sustainable infrastructure projects.

The Landmark Project, slated for completion in 2023, that will transform the historic core of the St. George campus into a greener, more accessible park-like setting, and make Front Campus home to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange field.

But even as �鶹��Ƶ’s leadership in sustainability wins recognition, there’s more work to be done, Mabury says.

His vice-presidential role was expanded in 2019 to include the newly created real estate partnerships portfolio, a reflection of his leadership in establishing U of T’s “four corners” strategy to develop on-campus housing, innovation space and other services.

In his extended term, Mabury says he hopes to further develop U of T’s real estate assets to advance the university’s mission while generating an economic return. To achieve this, Mabury says, he plans to leverage what he sees as one of his greatest assets: his team.

“I’m blessed with exceptional and talented leaders in my portfolio and, paraphrasing Steve Jobs, we’ve hired smart people so they can lead the way.

“Our priorities include delivering thousands of units of university housing, to help attract and retain faculty, staff and students, and complete the vision that is the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus by building the second phase building with over 400,000 square feet of bioscience labs critical to advancing the innovation economy in Toronto and Canada.”

Mabury’s portfolio oversees about 1,800 people across the three campuses and departments ranging from design and engineering to food services. Key responsibilities include campus and facilities planning, project development and information technology and cybersecurity.

He also supports the provost on budgetary matters to secure the long-term financial health of the university.

A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Mabury is among the most highly cited scholars in his field. His research interests remain primarily focused on the environmental chemistry of fluorinated organic chemicals.

'No small feat': �鶹��Ƶ's Anatole von Lilienfeld is using AI to explore the vastness of 'chemical space'

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 16:55:07 +0000

'No small feat': �鶹��Ƶ's Anatole von Lilienfeld is using AI to explore the vastness of 'chemical space'

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 12/05/2022 - 11:55

Cutline

Anatole von Lilienfeld is one of the world's brightest visionaries on the use of computers to understand the vastness of chemical space. (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Erin Warner

Topic

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Acceleration Consortium

Artificial Intelligence

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Rersearch & Innovation

Vector Institute

The University of Toronto’s Anatole von Lilienfeld navigates space – but rather than exploring the depths of the universe, his artificial intelligence-powered work focuses on “chemical space” and the untapped potential of undiscovered chemical combinations.

The inaugural Clark Chair in Advanced Materials at �鶹��Ƶ and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence – and a pivotal member of �鶹��Ƶ's Acceleration Consortium – von Lilienfeld is one of the world's foremost visionaries for the use of computers to understand the vastness of chemical space.

Von Lilienfeld, a professor jointly appointed to �鶹��Ƶ’s department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the department of materials science and engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, was a speaker at the Acceleration Consortium’s first annual Accelerate conference earlier this year. The four-day program explored the power of self-driving labs, an emerging technology that combines AI, automation and advanced computing to accelerate materials and molecular discovery.

Writer Erin Warner recently spoke with von Lilienfeld about the digitization of chemistry and what the future holds.

How big is chemical space?

We are surrounded by materials and molecules. Consider the chemical compounds that make up our clothing, the pavement we walk on, and the batteries in our electric cars. Now think about the new possible combinations that are out there waiting to be discovered, such as catalysts for effective atmospheric CO2 capture and utilization, low-carbon cement, lightweight biodegradable composites, membranes for water filtration, and potent molecules for treatment of cancer and bacterial-resistant disease.

In a practical sense, chemical space is infinite and searching it is no small feat. A lower estimate says it contains 10⁶⁰ compounds – more than the number of atoms in our solar system.

Why do we need to accelerate the search for new materials?

Many of the most widely used materials no longer serve us. Most of the world’s plastic waste generated to date has not yet been recycled. But the materials that will power the future will hopefully be sustainable, circular, and inexpensive.

Conventional chemistry is slow, a series of often tedious trial and error that limits our ability to explore beyond a small subset of possibilities. However, AI can accelerate the process by predicting which combinations might result in a material with the set of desired characteristics we are looking for (e.g., conductive, biodegradable, etc.).

This is but onestep in self-driving laboratories, an emerging technology that combines AI, automation, and advanced computing to reduce the time and cost of discovering and developing materials by up to 90 per cent.

How can human chemists and AI work together effectively?

AI is a tool that humans can use to accelerate and improve their own research. It can be thought of as the fourth pillar of science. The pillars, which build on each other, include experimentation, theory, computer simulation and AI.

Experimentation is the foundation. We experiment with the aim of improving the physical world for humans. Then comes theory to give your experiments shape and direction. But theory has its limitations. Without computer simulation, the amount of computation needed to support scientific research would take far longer than a lifetime. But even computers have constraints.

With difficult equations come the need for high-performance computing, which can be quite costly. This is where AI comes in. AI is a less costly alternative. It can help scientists predict both an experimental and computational outcome. And the more theory we build into the AI model, the better the prediction. AI can also be used to power a robotic lab, allowing the lab the ability to run 24/7. Human chemists will not be replaced; instead, they can hand off tedious hours of trial and error to focus more on designing the objectives and other higher-level analysis.

Are there any limitations to AI, like the ones you described in the other pillars of science?

Yes, it is important to note that AI is not a silver bullet, and that there is a cost associated with it that can be measured in data acquisition. You cannot use AI without data. And data acquisition requires experimenting and recording the outcome in a way that can be processed by computers. Like a human, the AI then learns by reviewing the data and making an extrapolation or prediction.

Data acquisition is costly, both financially and in terms of its carbon footprint. To address this, the goal is to improve the AI. If you can encode our understanding of physics into the AI, it becomes more efficient and requires less data to learn but provides the same predictive qualities. If less data is needed for training, then the AI model becomes smaller.

Rather than just using AI as a tool, the chemist can also interrogate it to see how well its data captures theory, perhaps leading to the discovery of a new relative law for chemistry. While this interactive relationship is not as common, it may be on the horizon and could improve our theoretical understanding of the world

How can we make AI for discovery more accessible?

The first way is open-source research. In the emerging field of accelerated science, there are many proponents of open-source access. Not only are journals providing access to research papers, but also in many cases to the data, which is a major component for making the field more accessible.

There are also repositories for models and code, like GitHub. Data sets can record and encode a lot of value.Providing more open access to data, which can be too costly for some to generate on their own, could lead to scientific advancements that ultimately benefit all of humanity. Scientists can then use the data from other scientists to ask their own research questions and make their own AI models.

A second way to expand AI for discovery is to include more students. We need to teach basic computer science and coding skills as part of a chemistry or materials science education. Schools around the world are beginning to update their curricula to this effect, but we still need to see more incorporate this essential training. The future of the sciences is digital.

How do initiatives like Acceleration Consortium, and a conference like Accelerate, help advance the field?

We are at the dawn of truly digitizing the chemical sciences. Coordinated, joint efforts, such as the Acceleration Consortium, will play a crucial role in synchronizing efforts not only at the technical but also at the societal level, thereby enabling the worldwide implementation of an ‘updated’ version of chemical engineering with unprecedented advantages for humanity at large. The consortium also serves to connect academia and industry, two worlds that could benefit from a closer relationship. Visionaries in the commercial sector can dream up opportunities, and the consortium will be there to help make the science work. The groundbreaking nature of AI is that it can be applied to any sector. AI is on a trajectory to have an even greater impact than the advent of computers.

Accelerate, the consortium’s first annual conference, was a great rallying event for the community and was a reminder that remarkable things can come from a gathering of bright minds. While Zoom has done a lot for us during the pandemic, it cannot easily replicate the excitement and enthusiasm often cultivated at an in-person conference and which are needed to direct research and encourage a group to pursue a complex goal.

Anatole von Lilienfeld at the first annual Accelerate conference (photo by Clifton Li)

What area of chemical space fascinates you the most?

Catalysts, which enable a certain chemical reaction to occur but remain unchanged in the process. A century ago, Haber and Bosch developed a catalytic process that would allow the transformation of nitrogen—the dominant substance in the air we breathe—into ammonia. Ammonia is a crucial starting material for chemical industries, but also for fertilizers. It made the mass production of fertilizers possible and saved millions of people from starvation. Major fractions of humanity would not exist right now if it were not for this catalyst.

From a physics point of view, what defines and controls catalyst activity and components are fascinating questions. They might also be critical for helping us address some of our most pressing challenges. If we were to find a catalyst that could use sunlight to turn nitrogen rapidly and efficiently into ammonia, we might be able to solve our energy problem by using ammonia for fuel. You can think of the reactions that catalysts enable as ways of traveling through chemical space and to connect different states of matter.

Ulli Krull transforms �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga – and partnerships with the city – during visionary career

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 16:54:20 +0000

Ulli Krull transforms �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga – and partnerships with the city – during visionary career

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 07/08/2020 - 12:54

Cutline

(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Christine Ward

Topic

�鶹��Ƶ

�鶹��Ƶ Mississauga

Ask Ulli Krull how it all got started – the programs, buildings, research, partnerships and city-building that defined his nearly 40-year career at the University of Toronto Mississauga – and he breaks into a grin.

“I’ve never looked back at what I’ve done,” Krull says. “I’d rather ask, ‘What is the next big thing?’”

But as he turns everything over to the new principal and vice-president, he's keen to share the story of one moment that he considers a turning point in his career – and in �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga’s relationship with the City of Mississauga.

Celebrating the launch of the new Institute for Management & Innovation in 2014 with Hazel McCallion (centre) then the mayor of Mississauga (photo by Stephen Uhraney)

It was the late 1990s and Hazel McCallion, then the mayor of Mississauga, was on a flight home from Kobe, Japan, where she had met with representatives of the World Health Organization’s Kobe Centre, Cities and Health Program to talk about creating a made-in-Mississauga “Healthy City” model. McCallion found herself sitting next to a faculty member from �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga's management department.

“She told him go back to campus and ask how we were going to help change the city,” Krull says.

It was a challenge custom-made for Krull, then the associate dean of sciences. “I knew immediately the team I wanted to bring together. We were going to teach Hazel how to build a healthy city while moving our academic work into the community in a way that had never been done before,” he recalls.

Krull made the project an assignment in an undergraduate course. He tasked 44 students with identifying how every city department could have an impact on health, and then sent them to city hall to flesh out the details. Their recommendations became a comprehensive report for the mayor, which led to a student presentation to the World Health Organization and, ultimately, to the formation of the UTM-City of Mississauga Healthy City Stewardship Centre. In 2006, the centre was awarded the World Leadership Award honouring exceptional leadership in cities around the world.

That, says McCallion, “is when Ulli became a vital part of the success of the City of Mississauga.”

Krull describes himself as a “lucky guy,” but his city-building role had nothing to do with luck. From the moment of his arrival on �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga’s campus in 1984, he had a plan and he saw the University of Toronto campus, known then as Erindale College, as the ideal place to bring it to fruition.

A three-time �鶹��Ƶ graduate, Krull earned his Bachelor of Science (1979), Master of Science (1980) and PhD (1983) degrees in analytical chemistry on the St. George campus. While still a doctoral candidate, his ground-breaking research on artificial cell membranes attracted industry attention – and a large federal research grant.

“All of a sudden, I had all this money, but not enough space to conduct my research,” he remembers. He started looking for a place to expand around the same time that two Erindale chemistry professors transferred to the St. George campus.

Krull jumped at the opportunity and, in 1984, he became the campus’s sole analytical chemist.

Over the next five years, he threw himself into research and teaching, outfitting his laboratory, recruiting students, publishing research and navigating the complex world of intellectual property and patents. As he ticked off each academic milestone, including a two-year stint as chair of the department of chemistry from 1990 to 1992, he started thinking about his next big thing.

“I started looking beyond campus to the city,” Krull says. He knew that innovation was a driver for positive change and that government and industry alike were eager for new ways to source innovative thinking.

But he also knew that he needed a launch pad, a project to prove that the future of �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga and Mississauga were not mutually exclusive. That’s when McCallion came calling.

Krull is robed by student representatives Arjan Banerjee and Salma Fakhry as Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr applauds (photo by Steve Frost)

Over the approximately 25 years that followed, Krull took on a series of progressively senior administrative roles that allowed him to continue leading change – from associate dean of sciences and vice-principal for research and graduate studies (1994-1999) to vice-dean, graduate (2006-2008) to vice-principal of research (2003-2013) to vice-principal of special initiatives (2012- 2016) and, finally, principal and vice-president (2017-2020).

He also earned many teaching awards, while continuing to run a large research enterprise that has netted more than 250 publications, 60 book chapters, more than a dozen patents, four startup companies and two of the top awards for analytical chemistry research in Canada. Krull and his team are now harnessing the power of nanotechnology and microfluidics technology to detect disease markers and help make personalized medicine possible. He’s also exploring portable diagnostic techniques involving cellphones and their cameras.

Throughout it all, his passion for building something new – new partnerships, new research and learning opportunities for students and new ways of strengthening Mississauga’s economic and social fabric – steadily spurred him forward.

“Ulli Krull has played an absolutely crucial role in the development of �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga as an anchor institution in the western GTA,” says �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler.

“He has this incredible passion for enhancing UTM’s role as a city-builder and for realizing its full potential as a centre of excellence in research and teaching. And that’s been a huge force in attracting brilliant faculty, staff and students to the campus.”

Krull was instrumental in the creation of the Centre for Applied Biosciences & Biotechnology, the Research Innovation Commercialization (RIC) Centre, the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, the Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI) and, most recently, �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga’s robotics cluster program.

Philanthropist Terrence Donnelly, whose $12 million donation supported construction of �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga’s Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex that houses the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, notes the importance of Krull’s “unique brand of leadership.” He truly was key, says Donnelly, “in bridging the university with the community and creating the opportunity for me to invest in something that is making a tangible difference to Ontarians.”

“Ulli sparked the idea of connecting science to business in a way that is meaningful and creates real jobs and economic prosperity,” says Pam Banks, executive director of the RIC Centre, Peel region’s incubator for innovation and entrepreneurship. She credits Krull with helping to broker the relationships with industry, the municipalities, the region and the provincial government, that led to the establishment of the non-profit in 2008.

“Ulli’s a triple-threat. He brings to the table expertise in science, business and community-building,” she says. “You and I think about what might happen today or tomorrow. Ulli approaches life like a game of chess. He’s looking 15 years out.”

Ellen McGregor agrees. The CEO of Mississauga cleantech company Fielding Environmental, she worked alongside Krull on the city’s economic development advisory board and the Mississauga Innovation Leadership Alliance charged with developing a culture of innovation within the city.

“Ulli is highly principled and that makes him a leader in the community, someone people want to be around. He makes us feel there’s value in our contributions and that we’re a part of something bigger, something more than we could accomplish on our own.”

She points to �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga’s Innovation Complex, unveiled in 2014 with a $10 million investment pledge from the city, then the largest municipal grant ever made to the university. The complex is home to IMI, a research and teaching hub dedicated to providing students with the sector-specific knowledge and leadership skills to manage innovation. Krull is credited as one of IMI’s chief architects.

Six years after its opening, the complex is a steady source of innovative ideas and future leaders for companies like Fielding. “Ulli understands better than most that to grow a business you need access to capital, talent, market and innovation,” McGregor says. Through IMI, “he makes sure that our company has access to talent, research studies, even lab space, so we can generate more revenue.”

Bonnie Brown, director of economic development for the City of Mississauga, has invited Krull to participate in countless investment pitches to life sciences companies thinking of setting up shop in the city. By painting a compelling picture of how the university can help fuel their talent pipeline, “Ulli has helped land many investments in Mississauga,” she says.

Alumna and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie says that both the city and �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga are better because of his Krull's many contributions.

“Your drive to build the city and cultivate a vibrant innovative culture through your role in the launch of the Research Innovation and Commercialization Centre, the development of the Master of Biotechnology program, the Institute for Management & Innovation, the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and the Continuum Robotics Laboratory, have all positioned UTM as a leading education and research partner (and) put us on the national and international map.”

As his tenure as principal and vice-president comes to an end, Krull says he's grateful for the many accolades, thank-you messages and stories of positive change he’s received.

Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr says �鶹��Ƶ has benefitted greatly from his passion and support for higher education as well as his intelligent and forward-thinking leadership. “His countless contributions have helped shape UTM into the diverse and thriving campus it is today. I am deeply grateful to Ulli for his remarkable service and unwavering commitment to those at UTM and to the broader community.”

Krull hopes his impact reaches even deeper. “I worked hard to meet everyone – students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors – where they are at, to talk to them personally and let them know that they can say or ask anything they want, no matter what their title.”

Paul Piunno, associate professor (teaching stream) in the department of chemical and physical sciences and one of Krull’s former graduate students, appreciated that approach. “Ulli always dangled a carrot in front. Here’s what you’ve learned. Now, how can you apply it to help the human condition? I’ve taken that to heart.”

His leadership was an example to those around him, says Heather Hines, director, undergraduate programs and student services in the department of management. “Despite his many responsibilities, Ulli always found time to connect with those in the community and unfailingly demonstrated his support, whether it be through attending a student awards ceremony, speaking to a staff mentorship forum, or even getting decked out in a Santa outfit for a good cause.”

Krull’s leadership style also resonated with both Felipe Nagata and Carol Bisnath, former presidents of the �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga Students’ Union and the UTM �鶹��Ƶ Association, respectively.

“Ulli always gave students a voice while reminding us to work together and think about what comes next,” Nagata says. “He’d tell us, ‘We’re all in this together, so let’s get it together.’”

Bisnath remembers his openness and accessibility with the alumni board and with her personally. “Ulli is humble, strong, dignified and never afraid to show his humanity, not just to me, but to every person on campus. He has created a real sense of community.”

Krull’s smile stretches even wider at the thought.

“Helping everyone feel like they’re a part of a family, that they’re an important part of what makes UTM a special place, that’s been my goal all along.”

Mission accomplished.

Meet �鶹��Ƶ's five newest University Professors

perry.king — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 19:56:08 +0000

Meet �鶹��Ƶ's five newest University Professors

perry.king Tue, 02/12/2019 - 14:56

Cutline

From left to right: Susan McCahan, vice-provost, academic programs, Chancellor Rose Patten, newly named University Professor Shana Kelley of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler (all photos by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

Hospital for Sick Children

Faculty of Medicine

Humanities

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Five University of Toronto professors were recognized this week as the university's newest University Professors, an elite designation bestowed on a small number of faculty members.

Shana Kelley, John Kloppenborg, Tania Li, Douglas Stephan and Stephen Scherer were honoured at a reception on Monday for their productive and influential academic careers. University Professors are chosen for their unusual scholarly achievement and pre-eminence in a particular field of knowledge.

“Our five honorees are global leaders who each have had a profound impact in their respective fields and on society more generally,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler.

“They’ve advanced influential new ideas, new methodologies and new technologies. They’ve challenged paradigms and defined entirely new areas of study.”

The five faculty members were presented plaques by President Gertler, Chancellor Rose Patten and Susan McCahan, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-provost of academic programs.

Between them, the five new University Professors have garnered five honorary degrees, four Royal Society of Canada fellowships, three Canada Research Chairs and two Steacie Prizes – which recognize a person under 40 who has made notable contributions to scientific research in Canada.

“For as long as I have been closely associated with the University of Toronto, I have had such a keen interest, and inspiration really, about the great talent that is here,” said Chancellor Patten. “It’s uplifting and very humbling, to hear all you’ve done, to see all that you’re doing, to hear your fine words.

“The university is such a pool of talent, and you just raise it higher.”

Meet �鶹��Ƶ's five new University Professors:

Shana Kelley

Shana Kelley, from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, is a trailblazing chemist who has pioneered nanotechnologies for new clinical diagnostic approaches to combat cancer and infectious diseases. Her research, which has been published in dozens of prestigious journals, was behind two molecular diagnostic companies she co-founded – GeneOhm Sciences and Xagenic.

“When I told my parents, they said, ‘You’re a university professor? Haven’t you been doing that for a while?’” joked Kelley prior to the ceremony. “The thing that is very special about it is that it’s your own colleagues who have decided that you’ve achieved this rank.

“That’s a very special kind of recognition. It’s one thing for the outside world, they don’t have to honour your accomplishments, but when your colleagues do it, it’s extra special.”

John Kloppenborg

John Kloppenborg, from the department for the study of religion, is considered one of the leading academics on the origins of Christianity and the New Testament. A 13-time winner of the Dean’s Special Merit Award, he has supervised 28 doctoral students and was an associate editor for a number of major journals in his field.

Kloppenborg used one word to describe his appointment: “daunting.”

“When you look at the list of people who are University Professors at the University of Toronto, 50 of them right now, those are astonishing people who have done amazing things.

“It a real honour and humbling experience to receive this.”

Tania Li

A globally recognized anthropologist, Tania Li has investigated land tenure, forest politics, food security and global development. With a particular focus on Indigenous highland communities in Indonesia, Li's three award-winning books have been used in classrooms worldwide.

She was honoured last year with the 2018 Insight Award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – the first �鶹��Ƶ researcher to receive this award.

Li, who has worked abroad and been recognized globally for her scholarship, is pleased about being honoured by �鶹��Ƶ.

“This particular [award] is like the home team, right? This is the institution where I’m based,” said Li. “I found a rich community of scholars here, and it’s really wonderful to be among that group, to be recognized.”

Stephen Scherer

Stephen Scherer is one of the top genetic researchers in the world, co-founding and leading the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children, which recently defined genetic factors identifying autism – 300 scientific papers have documented this work, with about 20,000 citations.

He is internationally known for his work studying the structure and function of the human genome, especially his contributions sequencing the first genome of an individual and the human chromosome 7.

Scherer is the director of �鶹��Ƶ’s McLaughlin Centre, which seeks to advance genomic medicine through research and education.

But it's the role of teacher that gives him the most satisfaction, he said.

“I contribute through the research I perform but the way I give back is through the teaching and mentoring of students,” said Scherer, who teaches two courses each year. "Now I'm the one providing the environment, the nurturing – whereas, in the past, I was the student.

“To become a University Professor is surreal.”

Douglas Stephan

Douglas Stephan is a celebrated chemist who is a pioneer in the field of organometallic and inorganic chemistry. His first major breakthrough was the discovery of a new class of catalysts for the polymerization of ethylene – basically affecting how plastics are made worldwide. A winner of the Steacie Prize, Stephan has authored nearly 500 scholarly articles, which have been cited more than 40,000 times.

He has garnered nearly every prize possible in chemistry, but says he is humbled by this appointment.

“There’s a number of University Professors in my department, in chemistry, and to be lumped into the same group as those guys is certainly an honour and humbling for sure,” he said.

“These are people I really admire and respect. It’s great.”

See a list of all of �鶹��Ƶ's University Professors

�鶹��Ƶ expert on dementia's hidden darkness: Violence and domestic abuse

noreen.rasbach — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:49:42 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ expert on dementia's hidden darkness: Violence and domestic abuse

noreen.rasbach Tue, 11/13/2018 - 12:49

Cutline

Dementia patients are often the perpetrators and often the victims of abuse. Research also shows that a medical history of head injury can more than double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in some populations (photo by Shutterstock)

Donald Weaver

Topic

Research & Innovation

The Conversation

Every week in my neurology clinic, I see patients and their families who are dealing with the realities of dementia. Of the many people I encounter, these three stories highlight a growing health issue that I feel is neglected – the complex relationship between dementia and domestic violence.

The first is a story of confusion: “Dad is a nice guy, always has been. But now, because of the Alzheimer’s, he’s confused most of the time – and Mom isn’t coping. She doesn’t know what to do and she is frustrated. It started with her twisting his arm to get him to do things, but now she even hits him sometimes.”

The second is a story of public safety: “The dementia has changed him – he’s not the same man I fell in love with and married so many years ago. He gets suspicious and angry a lot. He screams at me, he yells at our son, he shouts at the postman. He has even punched the caregiver who comes to help him bathe. I suppose we can cope, but I’m worried. We have two shotguns and a rifle in our basement – what do you think I should do with them?”

The third is a scene of abuse: “I got divorced a long time ago because he used to hit me … a lot. He would get drunk every Saturday night and beat me up. He even knocked me out cold, probably five or six times. I haven’t seen him in more than 30 years, but I still feel that he is hurting me. Do you think all of these beatings caused my dementia? Did that bastard cause my dementia?”

These stories are united by a common theme: the complex relationship between dementia and domestic violence. Today, both are commonplace. One in 10 people over 65 years of age in the United States have dementia, typically Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and about one in four women and one in seven men in the U.S. experience severe physical abuse by an intimate partner at some point during their life.

Alarmingly, evidence now suggests that there may be a complex but definitive link between dementia and domestic abuse. Notably, one case-control study that I carried out with colleagues shows that spousal abuse could be associated with the development of Alzheimer’s.

Caregiver abuse

Abuse of older people is not a new problem. Elder abuse is a growing concern on a societal level, with more seniors reporting incidents of abuse and violence. The abuser may be a partner, a relative, a friend or a paid caregiver.

Most abuse tends to take place in the privacy and supposed safety of the home – and so it’s typically a hidden problem. Yet, anywhere between five to 20 per cent of seniors globally may be physically abused, while up to 55 per cent may be abused in other ways.

Needing help with simple everyday tasks can be a huge blow to the sense of self and pride of someone dealing with dementia (photo by Shutterstock)

Patients with dementia are especially vulnerable to this disturbing trend. Unsurprisingly, caring for patients with dementia requires time and patience and, as with any advanced medical care, practice.

Dealing with dementia’s intellectual impairments can be especially challenging for unprepared caregivers and family members, and this frustration can sometimes lead to abuse.

Violent mood swings

Conversely, sometimes the person with dementia is the initiator of the violence rather than the recipient. The onset of dementia is known to coincide with the development of aggressive and angry tendencies. One study found that almost 20 per cent of new dementia patients have behaved aggressively towards caregivers, including loved ones they’ve known for years.

It’s not hard to understand why. In the early phases of the disease, patients are acutely aware of the changes happening to their memories and thoughts and regularly feel overwhelmed. As the disease progresses, they may need help dressing, bathing or performing simple everyday activities, which they have done for themselves, without help, for all of their lives.

This can be devastating to a person’s pride or sense of self; sometimes these emotions can manifest as unusually aggressive or hostile behaviour. Dementia can also trigger violent mood swings and outbursts. At times, these can be extreme; a patient may seem perfectly fine one moment, then be screaming and overtly physical the next.

As yet, it’s a mystery as to why these outbursts occur. But it is possible that changes in the brain’s neurochemistry may destabilize moods and cause more violent emotions.

‘Punch drunk’

Finally, there is the possibility that abuse that occurred decades ago could be contributing to the onset of dementia today. There has been much debate as to whether head trauma can lead to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

Typically, associations have been vague, and it seemed unlikely that trauma from years ago, with no other apparent effects, could somehow lead to dementia. But we now appreciate that head trauma can be a major risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s. In fact, as far back as 1928, the term “punch drunk” was introduced to describe a disorder of progressive dementia that was first seen in boxers.

This was later called “dementia pugilistica” and is known today as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Recent research suggests that concussions and other traumatic brain injuries may increase the early brain pathologies that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s later on.

‘Punch drunk’ was a term used to describe the behaviour of boxers who had suffered repeated severe blows to the head (photo by Shutterstock)

Also, a medical history of head injury can more than double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in some populations, even after many years.

With the World Health Organization estimating that up to 30 per cent of women worldwide have experienced violence from an intimate partner, the global burden of domestic abuse on Alzheimer’s may be a critical factor.

A call to action

Despite its obvious significance, this dementia and domestic violence overlap remains under-recognized and incompletely understood. It’s not a new problem, but because it tends to be conveniently ignored, it has yet to garner proper scientific scrutiny.

The growing prevalence of both dementia and domestic violence is worrisome. We need to appreciate the clear relationship between Alzheimer’s and domestic violence.

As science grapples with these uncomfortable questions over the years to come, stopping the spread of domestic violence seems like an obvious, and feasible first step.

Dementia is more than just three stories or some ambiguous science; it is a call to action.

Donald Weaver is a professor of chemistry at the University of Toronto and director of Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Meet Medicine by Design’s 2018 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award winners

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 14:41:20 +0000

Meet Medicine by Design’s 2018 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award winners

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 07/06/2018 - 10:41

Cutline

"Some of the best research in Canada happens here in Toronto," says Daniel Dennis, one of five emerging researchers to receive a post-doctoral fellowship award from the University of Toronto's Medicine by Design

Ann Perry

Topic

Dublin Awards. Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Hospital for Sick Children

Faculty of Medicine

Medicine by Design

University of Toronto Mississauga

Five emerging researchers are pushing the frontiers of regenerative medicine in diseases ranging from Duchenne muscular dystrophy to heart failure thanks to the 2018 Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards from the University of Toronto's Medicine by Design.

The awards support high-calibre post-doctoral fellows at �鶹��Ƶ and its affiliated hospitals who have outstanding potential to become independent researchers in regenerative medicine, a branch of medicine that develops methods to re-grow, repair or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues.

Each award is valued at as much as $50,000 per year for three years. This year’s award recipients work in laboratories at three faculties across �鶹��Ƶ and at the Hospital for Sick Children, demonstrating the diversity of research excellence in regenerative medicine in Toronto.

The award program is part of the mandate of �鶹��Ƶ’s Medicine by Design initiative to accelerate regenerative medicine breakthroughs and translate them into new treatments for common diseases. Medicine by Design is made possible thanks in part to a $114-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund – the largest single research award in �鶹��Ƶ’s history.

Medicine by Design's Ann Perry caught up with each of this year's recipients for a quick Q & A.

Daniel Dennis

Supervisor: Freda Miller, SickKids Research Institute and �鶹��Ƶ's department of molecular biology

Tell us about your post-doctoral research.

My post-doctoral research is on white matter damage, which occurs in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. My focus is on determining the growth factors that naturally influence white matter formation and using them as a basis for discovering drugs that can help the brain heal itself when white matter damage occurs.

Why did you choose to do your post-doc in Toronto?

Toronto is an ideal place to do research in regenerative medicine because of the highly collaborative environment filled with people with diverse skills and expertise. Some of the best research in Canada happens here in Toronto, so it’s a tremendous learning environment. More specifically, being mentored by Dr. Freda Miller and Dr. David Kaplan is great for my professional development.

What do you plan to do after your post-doc?

After my post-doc, I plan to continue my research on white matter damage and repair, and I hope to get my own laboratory.

Ji-Eun Kim

Supervisor: Tae-Hee Kim, SickKids Research Institute and �鶹��Ƶ's department of molecular genetics

Tell us about your post-doctoral research.

Intestinal cells are replaced every few days by a process called differentiation from self-renewing intestinal stem cells. Understanding this process is very important in gut health. I am studying the role of gut microbiota in stem cell differentiation, which affects the onset of necrotizing enterocolitis. This disease is the most common gastrointestinal disorder in pre-term infants, with a 30 per cent mortality rate.

Why did you choose to do your post-doc in Toronto?

Toronto has a tremendous concentration of internationally renowned researchers in regenerative medicine and developmental biology. The extremely collaborative and interdisciplinary environment and amazing facilities enable fast data generation and drive cutting-edge research.

What do you plan to do after your post-doc?

My long-term career goal is to become a principal investigator in academia, and I want to guide students by sharing what I have learned and experienced during my life.

Erica Scott

Supervisor: Aaron Wheeler, �鶹��Ƶ's department of chemistry

Tell us about your post-doctoral research.

My post-doc focuses on developing a tool that enables analysis of neural stem cell networks at single-cell resolution. It does this by combining a single-cell laser lysis technique, microfluidics and then RNA and DNA sequencing. We hope to describe the high degree of variability between neural stem cells and their environment to best harness their therapeutic potential.

Why did you choose to do your post-doc in Toronto?

I chose Toronto because of its competitive, but also uniquely collaborative, research program, and because of the interdisciplinary nature and fantastic project brought forth by my laboratory.

What do you plan to do after your post-doc?

I am planning to apply for faculty positions in neurogenetics.

Eric Strohm

Supervisor: Craig Simmons, �鶹��Ƶ's department of mechanical and industrial engineering

Tell us about your post-doctoral research.

Heart failure is the leading cause of death worldwide. It affects more than 26 million people globally and it is not curable. It often results from poor contraction of the heart’s muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes. This can occur due to genetic mutations, secondary effects from another disease or drugs such as chemotherapeutics, or from damage such as a heart attack. Professor Simmons is developing a cardiac microtissue platform that simulates a beating heart (a “heart-on-a-chip”) that can be used to model cardiac diseases and evaluate therapies for heart failure. The cardiomyocyte beat properties and contractility are important metrics in these systems, but there are limited ways to measure them.

My post-doctoral work focuses on using ultrasound to measure the contractile forces of the cardiomyocytes and tissues. I’ve built a custom acoustic microscope that can focus ultrasound to a very small point to measure cell contractility in a range of platforms, including standard cell culture plates and specialized heart-on-a-chip systems. By changing the ultrasound frequency, this versatile system can scale from measurements of single cells to 3D microtissues. Applications include evaluating drug cardiotoxicity, screening drug candidates to treat heart failure, and quantifying stem cell-based therapies for regenerative cardiac repair.

Why did you choose to do your post-doc in Toronto?

I wanted to apply the ultrasound techniques that I developed during my PhD studies at Ryerson University to the exciting fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine. I met with Professor Simmons and we identified several projects that could capitalize on our expertise in different fields. Toronto is a world leader in regenerative medicine, with excellent academic opportunities and a thriving startup culture. For these reasons, Toronto is an ideal place for me to continue my academic career.

What do you plan to do after your post-doc?

My goal is to create and develop ideas that have real-world utility. I’d like to lead a laboratory so I can pursue my own research interests.

Karen Yuen

Supervisor: Patrick Gunning, �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga's department of chemical and physical sciences

Tell us about your post-doctoral research.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a highly aggressive muscular degeneration disorder that has no effective treatment or cure. Symptoms first appear when patients are between two and six years old, and they usually die in their twenties or thirties. Recently, a breakthrough study has indicated that blocking the activity of a transcription factor protein, STAT3, can induce the regenerative ability of the muscle stem cells. Building on this knowledge, we aim to develop a highly potent STAT3 inhibitor drug that would regenerate the disease-comprised muscle cells. To achieve this goal, we will chemically optimize the most advanced STAT3 inhibitors available to date for targeting muscle cells with reduced side effects. We will then evaluate these drug candidates in cell and animal models of muscular degeneration diseases, including DMD.

Why did you choose to do your post-doc in Toronto?

I chose Toronto to conduct my post-doctoral research because it is a well-known global hub of regenerative medicine expertise, with numerous world-renowned scientists that have made seminal contributions toward groundbreaking discoveries. The opportunity to work with Professor Patrick Gunning, who has made huge impacts in the field of STAT protein inhibitors, was instrumental in my decision to come to Toronto. His vast knowledge, coupled with state-of-the-art research facilities, offer an excellent working environment for me to further my research.

What do you plan to do after your post-doc?

Given my passion for science, I would like to remain in the field, but I am uncertain if that will happen in an academic or industry environment. With this award, I hope to become a better-rounded scientist through learning and collaboration, and contribute to regenerative medicine.

�鶹��Ƶ's Mark Lautens and the art of being a great doctoral supervisor

rasbachn — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 04:00:00 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ's Mark Lautens and the art of being a great doctoral supervisor

rasbachn Wed, 09/20/2017 - 00:00

Cutline

Mark Lautens on supervising doctoral students: “They should see you as having their interests in mind and helping them reach their potential, rather than you dictating what they do and how hard they have to work”

Kim Luke

Author legacy

Kim Luke

Topic