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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME)
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T161000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T162500
DTSTAMP:20260206T172235Z
CREATED:20260201T172236Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T172235Z
UID:10000680-1770394200-1770395100@bme.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Graduate Student Seminar Series - Usha Kabilan
DESCRIPTION:Graduate Student Seminar Series\nPlease ensure you invite your Principal Investigator by adding their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.\nLocation: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave\nPresentation Title: Macrophage-Fibroblast crosstalk in lung fibrosis\nAbstract:\nBackground: Lung fibrosis is a devastating disease that can affect all organs post-injury due to inadequate repair by activated fibroblasts. These so-called myofibroblasts (MFs) accumulate collagen during fibrosis\, resulting in progressive lung stiffening and respiratory failure. Another hallmark of fibrosis is extracellular activation of transforming growth factor-β1 from latent complexes (L-TGF-β1) by fibroblast αv integrins. TGF-β1 drives fibroblast-to-MF activation and renders them resistant to apoptotic clearance. We published that contact with macrophages (Mϕ) mediates chronic TGF-β1 signalling in lung fibroblasts. How L-TGF-β1 is presented by Mϕ in the lung remains unclear.\nHypothesis: Presentation of L-TGF-β1 on the surface of Mϕ for activation by fibroblasts in direct contact results in chronic MF activation and survival.\nObjective: To elucidate how L-TGF-β1-presenting Mϕ and TGF-β1-activating MFs create a pro-fibrotic niche of active TGF-β1.\nMethods: Monocytes from mouse bone marrow and human peripheral blood were polarized using cytokine cocktails that mimic normal\, inflammatory\, and fibrotic lung conditions. Mϕ polarization and expression of L-TGF-β1 presenting membrane proteins (“tethers”) such as GARP and NRROS were assessed using flow cytometry and qRT-PCR. Mϕ expressing L-TGF-β1 tethers were co-cultured with fibroblasts\, and TGF-β1 activation was quantified using αSMA (alpha-smooth muscle actin) expression\, an MF marker\, using Immunofluorescence microscopy. Gene silencing of L-TGF-β1 tethers and inhibition of αv integrins were used to modulate TGF-β1 activation in co-cultures.\nResults: Polarization with GM-CSF and IL-13\, cytokines that are characteristic of the lung alveolar microenvironment\, produced CD163+CD200R+ alveolar-like Mϕ (ALMs). ALMs expressed high levels of TGF-β1\, and the L-TGF-β1 tethers GARP\, while no difference in NRROS gene expression. GARP loss and integrin inhibition from ALMs in co-cultures with fibroblasts disrupted TGF-β1 and MF activation that drives lung fibrosis.\nConclusion and Significance: Presentation of L-TGF-β1 by GARP on the surface of ALMs to αv integrin-expressing fibroblasts is crucial for MF activation. Specifically inhibiting GARP-TGF-β1 may represent a novel targeted approach to block MF activation in lung fibrosis.\nSupervisor Name: Boris Hinz\nYear of Study: 2\nProgram of Study: PhD\nPowered by Calendly.com
URL:https://bme.utoronto.ca/event/graduate-student-seminar-series-usha-kabilan/
LOCATION:2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE)
CATEGORIES:Graduate Seminar Series
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T161000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T162500
DTSTAMP:20260201T172236Z
CREATED:20260201T172236Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T172236Z
UID:10000681-1770394200-1770395100@bme.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Graduate Student Seminar Series - Usha Kabilan
DESCRIPTION:Graduate Student Seminar Series\nPlease ensure you invite your Principal Investigator by adding their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.\nLocation: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave\nPresentation Title: Macrophage-Fibroblast crosstalk in lung fibrosis\nAbstract:\nBackground: Lung fibrosis is a devastating disease that can affect all organs post-injury due to inadequate repair by activated fibroblasts. These so-called myofibroblasts (MFs) accumulate collagen during fibrosis\, resulting in progressive lung stiffening and respiratory failure. Another hallmark of fibrosis is extracellular activation of transforming growth factor-β1 from latent complexes (L-TGF-β1) by fibroblast αv integrins. TGF-β1 drives fibroblast-to-MF activation and renders them resistant to apoptotic clearance. We published that contact with macrophages (Mϕ) mediates chronic TGF-β1 signalling in lung fibroblasts. How L-TGF-β1 is presented by Mϕ in the lung remains unclear.\nHypothesis: Presentation of L-TGF-β1 on the surface of Mϕ for activation by fibroblasts in direct contact results in chronic MF activation and survival.\nObjective: To elucidate how L-TGF-β1-presenting Mϕ and TGF-β1-activating MFs create a pro-fibrotic niche of active TGF-β1.\nMethods: Monocytes from mouse bone marrow and human peripheral blood were polarized using cytokine cocktails that mimic normal\, inflammatory\, and fibrotic lung conditions. Mϕ polarization and expression of L-TGF-β1 presenting membrane proteins (“tethers”) such as GARP and NRROS were assessed using flow cytometry and qRT-PCR. Mϕ expressing L-TGF-β1 tethers were co-cultured with fibroblasts\, and TGF-β1 activation was quantified using αSMA (alpha-smooth muscle actin) expression\, an MF marker\, using Immunofluorescence microscopy. Gene silencing of L-TGF-β1 tethers and inhibition of αv integrins were used to modulate TGF-β1 activation in co-cultures.\nResults: Polarization with GM-CSF and IL-13\, cytokines that are characteristic of the lung alveolar microenvironment\, produced CD163+CD200R+ alveolar-like Mϕ (ALMs). ALMs expressed high levels of TGF-β1\, and the L-TGF-β1 tethers GARP\, while no difference in NRROS gene expression. GARP loss and integrin inhibition from ALMs in co-cultures with fibroblasts disrupted TGF-β1 and MF activation that drives lung fibrosis.\nConclusion and Significance: Presentation of L-TGF-β1 by GARP on the surface of ALMs to αv integrin-expressing fibroblasts is crucial for MF activation. Specifically inhibiting GARP-TGF-β1 may represent a novel targeted approach to block MF activation in lung fibrosis.\nSupervisor Name: Boris Hinz\nYear of Study: 2\nProgram of Study: PhD\nPowered by Calendly.com
URL:https://bme.utoronto.ca/event/graduate-student-seminar-series-usha-kabilan-2/
LOCATION:2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE)
CATEGORIES:Graduate Seminar Series
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T162500
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T164000
DTSTAMP:20260206T172235Z
CREATED:20251220T181936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T172235Z
UID:10000667-1770395100-1770396000@bme.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Graduate Student Seminar Series - Soroush Mehraban
DESCRIPTION:Graduate Student Seminar Series\nPlease ensure you invite your Principal Investigator by adding their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.\nLocation: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave\nPresentation Title: Efficient Video-Based Human Motion Understanding for Gait Analysis\nSupervisor Name: Babak Taati\nYear of Study: 4\nProgram of Study: PhD\nReschedule Reason: Updating seminar location\nPowered by Calendly.com
URL:https://bme.utoronto.ca/event/graduate-student-seminar-series-soroush-mehraban-2/
LOCATION:2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE)
CATEGORIES:Graduate Seminar Series
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T164000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T165500
DTSTAMP:20260206T172235Z
CREATED:20260109T163747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T172235Z
UID:10000675-1770396000-1770396900@bme.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Graduate Student Seminar Series - Zeeshan Siddiqui
DESCRIPTION:Graduate Student Seminar Series\nPlease ensure you invite your Principal Investigator by adding their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.\nLocation: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave\nPresentation Title: Examining Dimensionality Reduction and Clustering Techniques to Identify Neuroanatomical Subgroups Across Neurodevelopmental Conditions\nAbstract: Neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) such as autism\, ADHD\, and OCD\, are widely prevalent in children and youth\, and are marked by developmental differences that can lead to distress and disability across multiple domains of life. Current clinical research has faced challenges in identifying effective treatments and interventions for these individuals. One reason for this lies in the emerging findings that reveal high within-diagnosis diversity and high between-diagnosis similarity in NDCs across brain structure/function\, behavioural presentation\, and cause. Current literature has attempted to characterize this neurodiversity by using clustering\, an artificial intelligence (AI) technique for organizing data into groups with similar patterns. My work aims to build on existing works by leveraging novel\, deep learning AI techniques to more intelligently learn patterns in complex neuroimaging data and optimize clustering to find NDC subgroups with improved distinguishability and characterizability. This work can ultimately help inform personalized intervention to improve outcomes in neurodiverse children.\nSupervisor Name: Dr. Azadeh Kushki\nYear of Study: 2\nProgram of Study: MASc\nPowered by Calendly.com
URL:https://bme.utoronto.ca/event/graduate-student-seminar-series-zeeshan-siddiqui/
LOCATION:2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE)
CATEGORIES:Graduate Seminar Series
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T164000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T165500
DTSTAMP:20260109T163747Z
CREATED:20260109T163747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260109T163747Z
UID:10000676-1770396000-1770396900@bme.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Graduate Student Seminar Series - Zeeshan Siddiqui
DESCRIPTION:Graduate Student Seminar Series\nPlease ensure you invite your Principal Investigator by adding their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.\nLocation: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave\nPresentation Title: Examining Dimensionality Reduction and Clustering Techniques to Identify Neuroanatomical Subgroups Across Neurodevelopmental Conditions\nAbstract: Neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) such as autism\, ADHD\, and OCD\, are widely prevalent in children and youth\, and are marked by developmental differences that can lead to distress and disability across multiple domains of life. Current clinical research has faced challenges in identifying effective treatments and interventions for these individuals. One reason for this lies in the emerging findings that reveal high within-diagnosis diversity and high between-diagnosis similarity in NDCs across brain structure/function\, behavioural presentation\, and cause. Current literature has attempted to characterize this neurodiversity by using clustering\, an artificial intelligence (AI) technique for organizing data into groups with similar patterns. My work aims to build on existing works by leveraging novel\, deep learning AI techniques to more intelligently learn patterns in complex neuroimaging data and optimize clustering to find NDC subgroups with improved distinguishability and characterizability. This work can ultimately help inform personalized intervention to improve outcomes in neurodiverse children.\nSupervisor Name: Dr. Azadeh Kushki\nYear of Study: 2\nProgram of Study: MASc\nPowered by Calendly.com
URL:https://bme.utoronto.ca/event/graduate-student-seminar-series-zeeshan-siddiqui-2/
LOCATION:2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE)
CATEGORIES:Graduate Seminar Series
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T165500
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260206T171000
DTSTAMP:20260206T172235Z
CREATED:20260109T163748Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260206T172235Z
UID:10000677-1770396900-1770397800@bme.utoronto.ca
SUMMARY:Graduate Student Seminar Series - Sara Alatrash
DESCRIPTION:Graduate Student Seminar Series\nPlease ensure you invite your Principal Investigator by adding their email via the ‘Add Guest’ button and they will also be notified of your presentation.\nLocation: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave\nPresentation Title: Foundation Models for Mapping Neurodiversity and Predicting Individual Outcomes Using Measures of Brain Structure\nSupervisor Name: Azadeh Kushki\nYear of Study: 2\nProgram of Study: PhD\nPowered by Calendly.com
URL:https://bme.utoronto.ca/event/graduate-student-seminar-series-sara-alatrash-2/
LOCATION:2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE)
CATEGORIES:Graduate Seminar Series
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR