Professor Peter Zandstra, seen here with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U of T President Meric Gertler and Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland, is the new executive director of Medicine By Design (all photos by Johnny Guatto)
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 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.
Professor Craig Simmons and Professor Peter Zandstra (standing) are two of the leading researchers driving scientific discovery and the development of new therapies at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research
What if we could identify the gene responsible for a baby’s heart defect, grow a piece of her heart on a chip, then test drugs to find the one able to shut down the defective gene?
A decade ago, that scenario seemed as far-fetched as a Mars landing. Today, University of Toronto researchers predict these stunning achievements are just a few years away, thanks to the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research – a powerful collaboration between scientists from U of T’s medical and engineering faculties and physicians from SickKids and the University Health Network.
Engineering professor Peter Zandstra and University Professor Emeritus James Till were among the world-leading researchers who gathered in Toronto for the Till & McCulloch Meetings. (Photo: James Poremba)
If you or someone you know has benefited from a bone marrow transplant, then you may be more knowledgeable about stem cells and regenerative medicine (RM) than you think.
Bone marrow transplants, a procedure used in treating cancer that has been around for the last 40 years, is just one of the applications of stem cell science. RM includes stem cells, biomaterials and molecules and it is used to repair, regenerate or replace diseased cells, tissues and organs.
Peter Zandstra (right) and his Medicine by Design team will move in to the new MaRS space (photo by James Poremba)
The University of Toronto has acquired four floors in the new west tower of MaRS and will be taking a 20 per cent equity share in the building.
“This is a big step in our overall commitment to support our students, faculty and researchers in their work solving the most complex and devastating diseases of our time,” says Scott Mabury, Professor & Vice-President of Operations for the University of Toronto.
Molly Shoichet (left) and Peter Zandstra (right) are two U of T Engineering professors involved in the new Medicine By Design initiative. (Photo: L’Oreal/UNESCO, U of T News)
More than 50 researchers and clinicians at the University of Toronto and its partner hospitals are participating in Medicine By Design, the new centre for regenerative medicine announced on July 28, 2015.
The centre, which builds on decades of U of T research dating back to the demonstration of the existence of stem cells by James Till and Ernest McCulloch, will design and manufacture cells, tissues and organs to treat degenerative disease.
