Research News and 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.

fingertip probe monitor

COVID-19: ECE team programs single-board computers to remotely monitor patients and protect health care workers

April 16, 2020

A U of T Engineering team, led by Professor Willy Wong (ECE/IBBME) has created a simple, scalable solution to remotely monitor the vital signs of COVID-19 patients. This technology could help preserve vital personal protective equipment (PPE) for health-care workers.

Hand washing

U of T startup develops technology that encourages hand hygiene to prevent the spread of COVID19

April 13, 2020

Dr. Geoff Fernie is developing a wearable technology that reminds first-line responders to wash their hands despite their busy schedules. This technology could significantly reduce the spread of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) including COVID19.

Milica Radisic

How does COVID-19 invade our bodies so easily? U of T Engineering team uses ‘organ-on-a-chip’ model to find out

April 9, 2020

Milica Radisic (ChemE, IBBME) is working with Axel Guenther and Edmond Young (both MIE) to create tiny models of the nose, mouth, eyes and lungs to better understand how COVID-19 infects organs

COVID19 virus in a cell

Review paper summarizes diagnostic tools and surveillance for COVID19

April 7, 2020

Prof. Warren Chan, Dr. Samira Mubareka, Dr. Jonathan Gubbay and their trainees have summarized current diagnostic tools for detecting and surveilling COVID-19 in the journal ACS Nano. This article aims to guide researchers in developing COVID19 diagnostics by discussing current and emerging diagnostic tools.

Kramay Patel wearing a mask

As COVID-19 protective supplies dwindle, U of T Engineering grad students are stitching face masks for Toronto

April 3, 2020

U of T Engineering graduate students Kramay Patel (IBBME MD/PhD candidate) and Chaim Katz (IBBME PhD candidate) are temporarily trading in their electrodes and amplifiers for sewing machines and cotton threads.

Mollu Shoicet in lab with graduate students

Smart finger pads for robots among six U of T Engineering projects awarded with Connaught Innovation funding

March 10, 2020

Smart finger pads for robots among six U of T Engineering projects awarded with Connaught Innovation funding

Portrait of Dorrington Awards Winners

2020 Dorrington Awards Recognize Graduate Research in Rare Diseases, Computer Vision and 3D Cancer Modelling

February 18, 2020

2020 Dorrington Awards Recognize Graduate Research in Rare Diseases, Computer Vision and 3D Cancer Modelling

Buddhisha Udugama and Pranav Kadhiresan holding a pill-sized heating device for diagnostic testing

IBBME researchers develop pill-sized heating device for diagnostic testing

February 17, 2020

IBBME researchers develop pill-sized heating device for diagnostic testing

Student pointing to a computer screen in Rodrigo's lab

Rodrigo-Fernandez Gonzalez Lab

February 7, 2020

Dr. Rodrigo Fernandez-Gonzalez is interested in understanding how cells coordinate with one another during wound repair and embryogenesis.

3D skin printer

Handheld 3D skin printer demonstrates accelerated healing of large, severe burns

February 4, 2020

A new handheld 3D printer can deposit sheets of skin to cover large burn wounds – and its “bio ink” can accelerate the healing process.

Graduate Students in a lab

Researchers develop method to improve artificial islet transplantation success rate

January 17, 2020

Researchers from IBBME developed a method to improve the transplantation success rate of artificial islets.

Group of Researchers sitting. From left to right: Jessica Ngai, Dr. Shrey Sindhwani, Dr. Abdullah Syed and Benjamin Kingston.

Most Engineered Nanoparticles Enter Tumours Through Cells, Not Between them, U of T Researchers Find

January 13, 2020

University of Toronto researchers have discovered that an active rather than passive process dictates which nanoparticles enter solid tumours, upending decades of thinking in the field of cancer nanomedicine and pointing toward more effective nanotherapies.

Daniel Szulc

Margaret Cheng Lab

December 17, 2019

Dr. Hai-Ling Margaret Cheng is developing cell and tissue scaffold tracking contrast agents to visualize how they are moving in the body.

Ben Kingston

Cancer Cartographers

December 10, 2019

Imagine being dropped off at the edge of an urban city with crisscrossing streets and no navigational instructions. The roads often run into dead-ends and are full of pot-holes, the network reception is non-existent, and the buildings aren’t numbered. If you want to get from the edge of the city into the downtown core, the only logical way is to map out your own route.

Cartoon of a MRI Machine

Non-invasive Biosurveillance

December 10, 2019

Dr. Hai-Ling Margaret Cheng is an IBBME/ECE faculty member at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.

Jan Andrysek

Walking Manual

December 10, 2019

When Dr. Jan Andrysek was a master’s student at Holland Bloorview Hospital in 1998, he was already working alongside rehabilitation engineers and clinicians to develop solutions to help kids walk.

Blood Cells

Tiny filters help detect cancerous blood cells

December 3, 2019

A computer model is used to guide the design of tiny pillars in a microfluidic device used to detect malignant multiple myeloma cells

Portrait of Locke Davenport

Fall Convocation 2019: Three graduating students share their one-minute thesis

November 7, 2019

U of T engineering have chatted with Locke Davenport Huyer (ChemE, IBBME PhD 1T9) about his research topic in graduate school.

Cartoon of two engineers solving a problem

Engineering the brain: the promise of neural engineering in medicine

October 31, 2019

In conversation with Dr. José Zariffa on how the field could address conditions from Alzheimer’s disease to vision loss.

Alexandria Michelini

Jan Andrysek Lab

September 17, 2019

Dr. Jan Andrysek’s lab is dedicated to help amputees to regain movement in their lower limbs.

Molly Shoichet

Dr. Molly Shoichet – Order of Canada

September 12, 2019

Dr. Molly Shoichet received the Order of Canada at the end of 2017

Michael Sefton

Dr. Michael Sefton – Order of Canada

September 12, 2019

Dr. Michael Sefton received the Order of Canada at the end of 2017.

Tom Chau

Dr. Tom Chau – Order of Ontario

September 12, 2019

Dr. Tom Chau received the Order of Ontario in 2018.

Geoff Fernie

Dr. Geoff Fernie – Order of Canada

September 12, 2019

Dr. Geoff Fernie received the Order of Canada at the end of 2017