Multiple BME faculty secure CIHR project grant funding in fall 2025 competition

Several core faculty members from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME) have received Project Grant funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in the Fall 2025 competition. These awards support research across all areas of health, from early‑stage discovery to clinical application. 

This year’s funded projects reflect the range of work underway at the Institute, including new dental restorative materials, retinal neuroprotection, infection biology, cancer regrowth mechanisms, and cancer vaccine design.  

Full list of winners can be found here.

Developing a Novel Dental Restorative System 

Principal Investigators: Dr. Yoav Finer and Dr. Paul Santerre 

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease worldwide, affecting more than a third of people at any time and almost everyone at some point in their lives. Today’s tooth‑coloured filling materials often wear out within 10 years. Drs. Yoav Finer and Paul Santerre are developing a new, longer‑lasting filling material that is stronger and more stable, while still easy for dentists to use and affordable for patients. This innovation could reduce repeat dental work and lower costs for patients, dentists, and Canada’s health‑care system. 

Neuroprotection of the Retina 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Molly Shoichet 

Diseases that cause the retina to deteriorate, such as retinitis pigmentosa, lead to gradual vision loss for people around the world. Existing genetic treatments help only a small number of patients. Dr. Molly Shoichet’s team is developing a treatment that does not rely on a person’s genes by delivering a natural molecule called RdCVF, which helps keep light‑sensing cells alive. Using advanced tools such as computer modeling, protein design, slow‑release gels, and human retinal tissues grown in the lab, the team aims to create a therapy that could one day prevent vision loss for many more patients. 

CEACAM Dynamics During Cell Adherence and Receptor‑Dependent Engulfment 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Christopher Yip 

Some bacteria and viruses cause disease by attaching to and taking over specific receptors on human cells. Dr. Christopher Yip’s team studies a group of these receptors called CEACAMs, which are involved in infections like meningitis, gonorrhea, and pneumonia, and are also linked to inflammatory diseases and certain cancers. The team is creating new tools to watch how these receptors interact with pathogens in real time inside living cells. This work could lead to new ways to prevent or treat infections and other immune‑related conditions. 

Regulatory Mechanisms of Pancreatic Cancer Re‑Growth 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Alison McGuigan 

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal cancers, in part because surviving cells often regrow after chemotherapy. Dr. McGuigan’s team will investigate how drug dose, treatment schedule, and tumor microenvironment signals influence both initial cancer cell death and the ability of surviving cells to reform tumors. The findings are expected to guide the design of optimized combination therapies that not only kill more cancer cells upfront but also prevent or delay recurrence. 

Structural Rules of Immune Complexes Using DNA Nanotechnology for Cancer Vaccination 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Leo Chou 

One of the biggest challenges in developing cancer vaccines is getting the vaccine ingredients into the right immune cells so they can trigger strong T‑cell responses. Dr. Leo Chou’s team is using a technique called DNA origami to build tiny, precisely arranged clusters of antibodies and antigens that the immune system can easily recognize. By learning how the size and structure of these clusters affect the immune response, this project could help create more effective cancer vaccines and guide future vaccine design for infectious diseases, autoimmune conditions, and transplant care.