IBME

Twelve researchers at the University of Toronto are receiving Connaught Innovation Awards to help accelerate the development and commercialization of promising technologies with strong socio-economic potential that will have a positive impact on society.

“The University of Toronto congratulates this year’s recipients, whose work is addressing some of society’s most important challenges,” said Leah Cowen, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “From energy-saving windows to the use of plant hormones as appetite suppressants or the development of therapeutic targets that hold promise for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, these researchers’ inventions have the potential to make life-changing impacts here in Canada and around the world.”

This year's recipients are:

Julie Audet, Institute of Biomedical Engineering: A tool to optimize complex formulations based on evolutionary computation accelerated by artificial neural networks
Denise Belsham, department of physiology: The use of a plant hormone CX as an appetite suppressant
Alan Cochrane, department of molecular genetics: Development of broad-spectrum, host-directed antivirals
Kevin Golovin, department of mechanical and industrial engineering: Reducing microplastic fibre pollution using low friction polymer brush as textile coatings
Glenn Gulak, department of electrical and computer engineering: A hardware accelerator for fully homomorphic encryption-based machine learning applications
Patrick Gunning, department of chemical and physical sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga: Development of an artificial intelligence-driven platform to explore the undruggable genome
Benjamin Hatton, department of materials science and engineering: Smart building facades for scalable operational energy management
Ronald Kluger, department of chemistry: Production and evaluation of hemoglobin-bis-tetramers for oxygen transport to increase supply of lungs for transplant by enhancing ex vivo perfusion of donor lungs
Eugenia Kumacheva, department of chemistry: A platform for safety evaluation of chemical agents
Janice Robertson, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology: Targeting TDP-43 aggregation as therapeutics for TDP-43 proteinopathies
Paul Yoo, Institute of Biomedical Engineering: Novel electrodes for non-invasive electrical nerve stimulation
Yu Zou, department of materials science and engineering: Autonomous additive manufacturing system

The Connaught Innovation Award, which provides one-time seed funding to support the development and commercialization of the researchers’ innovative technologies, is backed by the Connaught Fund – the largest internal university research funding program in Canada. Established 50 years ago through the sale of Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, which is known for the discovery and production of insulin, the fund supports �鶹��Ƶ scholars through programs such as the Connaught New Researcher Award, the Connaught Community Partnership Research Program, the Connaught Major Research Challenge for Black Researchers, the McLean Award and international doctoral scholarships.

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Connaught New Researcher Awards recognize 53 faculty members across University of Toronto

lanthierj — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 14:53:15 +0000

Connaught New Researcher Awards recognize 53 faculty members across University of Toronto

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Fri, 08/27/2021 - 10:53

Connaught New Researcher Awards

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Music

IBME

OISE

Rotman School of Management

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

�鶹��Ƶ Mississauga

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough

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The University of Toronto has recognized 53 faculty members across the three campuses with the Connaught New Researcher Award.

“I am elated to receive this award and recognition for my work,” said Kyle Ganson of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, who is investigating the phenomenon known as bio-hacking. “My hope is that these findings will help promote the health and well-being of young people by ensuring that assessment and treatment protocols are informed and resources are allocated appropriately.”

Designed to help winners establish a strong research program and increase their competitiveness for external funding, the award is supported by the Connaught Fund and is part of �鶹��Ƶ’s commitment to fostering excellence in research and innovation by supporting faculty members who are in the early stages of their academic careers.

“These researchers are doing important and innovative work across the humanities, life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and social sciences,” said Professor Leah Cowen, �鶹��Ƶ’s associate vice-president, research. “Kaja Jasinska’s research will help us understand the impact of interrupted schooling on the development neural systems for reading of resettled refugee children. Kevin White’s work on decolonizing Haudenosaunee oral history will develop collaborative research methods with Six Nations of the Grand River – and Yun William Yu will develop new mathematical algorithms and computer software for analyzing genome sequences.

“They – along with 50 other faculty members across the university – will create knowledge that has a significant impact on people’s lives, thanks to the support of the Connaught Fund.”

Read about award-winner John Calarco

Read about award-winner Rafael Montenegro-Burke

Read about award winners at �鶹��Ƶ Engineering

Read about award winners at the Faculty of Arts & Science

Read about award winners at Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Read about award winners at �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough

See the complete list of Connaught New Researchers

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Eugenia Kumacheva awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

lanthierj — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 19:30:49 +0000

Eugenia Kumacheva awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Mon, 04/12/2021 - 15:30

Faculty

Guggenheim Fellowship

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Chemistry

IBME

Women in STEM

landscape

University Professor Eugenia Kumacheva, a distinguished professor of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Kumacheva’s research explores the field of “soft matter” or polymers, colloids, liquid crystals, hydrogels and living matter. She has designed and developed soft materials for use in an extraordinarily broad range of areas, including telecommunications, security, data storage, drug delivery and tissue engineering.

A native of Ukraine, Kumacheva holds a Canada Research Chair in Advanced Polymer Materials. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, an Officer of the Order of Canada and was the first Canadian winner of the L’Oreal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science.

Kumacheva, who is cross-appointed to the Institute of Biomedical Engineering is now collaborating with Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a professor of chemistry and computer science, on the development of innovative anti-cancer therapies.

“The Guggenheim Fellowship is a mark of recognition and one of the great career achievements for a scientist,” says Kumacheva. “It will support the collaborative research with Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, with an ambitious goal to accelerate anticancer drug discovery.”

Read the Faculty of Arts & Science story

Faculty of Arts & Science

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