News & Stories
Explore the latest news, stories, and groundbreaking research happening at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Stay updated on innovative projects, impactful discoveries, and the achievements of our talented students, faculty, and alumni shaping the future of biomedical science and engineering.
Quick Navigation
2021 Yip Awards Recognize Early Graduate Research in Biology and Disease
Heta Lad and Carolina Chavez Madero are two BME students who won this year’s Cecil Yip Doctoral Research Award.
How to write a successful Vanier CGS application
The Vanier application deadline is rapidly approaching. Check out some extensive best practices and mistakes to avoid offered by Joseph Sebastian, a 2020 Vanier-CGS winner, on writing an ‘award-winning’ Vanier CGS application.
Medicine by Design’s Pivotal Experiment Fund invests $1 million in four research teams to bridge the “valley of death” funding gap
Four researchers leading teams that are sharing $1 million in funding through the Pivotal Experiment Fund.
Dr. Omar Khan discuses Delta variant concerns being raised as Canada with Sonia Deol on Global News
Dr. Omar Khan discuses Delta variant concerns being raised as Canada with Sonia Deol on Global News.
Saving lives – one breath at a time
Derek Watt completed his Master of Applied Science (MASc) degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2007. Now working as the Director of Commercial Products at Thornhill Medical, Derek is part of a team that designs, builds, and supplies a robust line of field-ready respiratory devices. Thornhill Medical’s products are specifically designed for military, field hospital, transport medical and first responder teams.
Medicine by Design’s executive director launches new chapter in diabetes research with JDRF grant
Dr. Michael Sefton had received ~ $430,000 JDRF grant to continue to study if cells found in the skin can play a key role in enabling stem cell transplants for diabetes.
Dr. Omar Khan and George Lagogianes discussing the merits & concerns of vaccine passports
Dr. Omar Khan and George Lagogianes discussing the merits & concerns of vaccine passports, why 2 doses matter, & why Canada’s policies are inevitably tied to the global COVID-19 situation.
BME minor students win Director’s Best Capstone Award
Adeen Rizwan, Jonathan Reyes, and Kent Hsieh won this year’s BME Capstone Director Award for their consultation and proposed improvements on a mobility device.
Two BME students awarded prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
Nebras Warsi and Joseph Sabastian are two of the BME Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship winners of 2021. Vanier awards are given based on the merit of academic excellence, extracurricular activities, and demonstration of leadership.
Faces of BME – Samantha S.
Samantha Stuart, MASc candidate from the Frank Gu Lab is applying machine learning algorithms to biomedical applications in the lab, while leading & participating in science outreach initiatives like the Canada Wide Science Fair. Read about her journey here.
Four BME faculty promoted to associate professor
Drs. Kei Masani, Sarah Vasconcelos, Sowmya Viswanathan, and Azadeh Yadollahi were both promoted to Associate Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME). This promotion was based on their research excellence, teaching mandates, and community- based contributions.
Researchers develop a quantum dot smartphone device to diagnose and track COVID-19
Researchers at the University of Toronto (Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Donnelly Centre for Biomolecular Research) in collaboration with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Public Health Ontario, and Mt. Sinai Hospital have engineered a diagnostic test with a smartphone reader to surveil and track COVID-19 patients.
An innovative approach to visualize the peri-implant healing process at single-cell resolution
In a recent study, researchers from the University of Toronto employed a unique state-of-the-art imaging technique for deep tissue imaging, that has enabled the monitoring of peri-implant bony healing biology in action. This technology can lead to a better understanding of the healing process, allowing researchers to leverage this knowledge to develop faster therapeutic approaches with the use of biomaterials for the future.
Daniel Franklin joins BME/TBEP as assistant professor
Dr. Daniel Franklin officially joined the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME) as an assistant professor on May 1st, 2021. This is in collaboration with Ted Rogers Translational Biology and Engineering Program (TBEP). Dr. Franklin completed his doctoral degree in physics at the University of Central Florida (2018) and shortly after, pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University
New method can improve drug delivery in implants
An innovative biomaterial discovery by researchers at the University of Toronto in collaboration with Ripple Therapeutics Inc., has established a method that yields better control over drug release profiles in implants and has the potential to disrupt the classical drug delivery market.
A helping hand for neurorehabilitation
Dr. Jose Zariffa and his research team are developing tools that enable clinicians to evaluate rehabilitation success and track recovery. The goal is to create a personalized process for the improvement of rehabilitation from spinal cord injuries and stroke, accelerating the affected individuals back on the road to recovery.
Ontario Expands Vaccine Eligibility to All Adults 18+
Breakfast Television: Dr. Omar Khan, a professor of biomedical engineering, to talk about the province expanding vaccine eligibility to all adults.
Grand Questions: U of T’s Medicine by Design invests $3 million in the future of regenerative medicine
Treating heart failure without transplant surgery. Delivering powerful cell therapies to patients where they live – no matter how remote. Recording how cells talk to one another in the body to personalize future therapies. These are just some of the transformative advances the University of Toronto’s Medicine by Design initiative hopes to enable through its Grand Questions Program, which is investing $3 million to prepare for the future of regenerative medicine
TRANSFORM HF partnership advances novel technologies for heart failure care
A new partnership between the University of Toronto and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research is forging new collaborations and designing new technologies to reimagine how high-quality, digital approaches to heart failure can be equitably delivered to all Canadians.
Two engineering community members honoured with U of T Awards of Excellence
Professor Brenda McCabe (CivMin) and graduate student Kramay Patel (BME MD/PhD candidate) have been honoured by the University of Toronto with Awards of Excellence (AWEX).
Faces of BME – Marta O.
Faces of BME – Marta O. I grew up in Ukraine in a family of artists, so it seemed natural that I too would become an artist. At the age […]
U of T Engineering professors and staff members honoured for excellence by the Faculty
Sixteen Engineering faculty and staff have been honoured for their outstanding contributions to U of T Engineering with teaching, research, and administrative staff awards. These awards recognize exceptional faculty and staff members for their leadership, citizenship, innovation and contributions to the Faculty’s teaching, service, and research missions.
Faces of BME – Amalia G.
Faces of BME – Marta O. Communication is an important skill for all engineers to develop because it doesn’t matter if you have the best idea out there, if you […]
Explainer: U of T Engineering professor Omar F. Khan on COVID-19 vaccination efficacy, misconceptions and Canada’s rollout
As Canada races to vaccinate its citizens amid an increase in variant infections, writer Liz Do spoke to Professor Omar F. Khan (BME), an immunoengineering expert. Khan, whose lab designs nanotechnology devices that can deliver RNA technology to cells for better disease treatment, explains common concerns and questions around COVID-19 vaccines.