Jef Ekins / en Fighting cancer: U of T researchers develop new tool to track circulating tumour cells /news/fighting-cancer-u-t-researchers-develop-new-tool-track-circulating-tumour-cells <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Fighting cancer: U of T researchers develop new tool to track circulating tumour cells </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-21-traveling-cancer-cells-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ozVIZ7e6 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-11-21-traveling-cancer-cells-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=IOM6FNzP 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-11-21-traveling-cancer-cells-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xAikVEnW 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-21-traveling-cancer-cells-lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ozVIZ7e6" alt="Photo of circulating tumour cells"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-11-21T12:15:59-05:00" title="Monday, November 21, 2016 - 12:15" class="datetime">Mon, 11/21/2016 - 12:15</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Circulating tumour cells are targeted with magnetic nanoparticles and then trapped using x-shaped microscale obstacles (photo illustration by Ella Marushchenko)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/jef-ekins" hreflang="en">Jef Ekins</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Jef Ekins</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cancer" hreflang="en">Cancer</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-pharmacy" hreflang="en">Faculty of Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/shana-kelley" hreflang="en">Shana Kelley</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institute-biomaterials-and-biomedical-engineering" hreflang="en">Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Cancerous tumours are known to release cells into the bloodstream, and it is these circulating tumour cells (CTC) that are the sources of metastatic tumours – tumours that spread and form in distant locations in the body and can eventually kill patients. &nbsp;</p> <p>A breakthrough by Professor <strong>Shana Kelley</strong>’s research group at the Ƶ published in&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2016.239.">Nature Nanotechnology</a>&nbsp;provides a new tool to characterize CTCs that may help cancer biologists and clinicians understand how to use these cells to provide better treatment.&nbsp;</p> <p>Monitoring circulating tumour cells has been a tremendous challenge as they are outnumbered in blood by healthy cells at a level of over 1 billion-1. Moreover, they can display varied and dynamic properties, and the collection of CTCs found in the bloodstream of a cancer patient may have differing metastatic potential. Consequently, efforts to integrate the analysis of these cells into mainstream clinical medicine have been limited because it has been difficult to pinpoint what types of cells and what phenotypic properties should be targeted.</p> <p>But the potential of CTCs to allow the collection of a non-invasive “liquid biopsy” to monitor cancer progression is a tantalizing possibility that has continued to attract significant attention to this problem.</p> <p>The Kelley research group found that by using magnetic nanoparticles, CTCs in blood samples could be targeted based on proteins displayed on the cell surface, and separated based on the levels of the protein present. &nbsp;Using a high–resolution microfluidic device, cells were then separated into 100 different capture zones to generate a profile that provides phenotypic information related to metastatic potential. &nbsp;</p> <p>Using this approach and monitoring cells generated in animal models of cancer and in samples collected from prostate cancer patients, the properties of CTCs were shown to evolve and become more aggressive as tumours became more advanced.</p> <p>“Through this approach, we aimed to provide a new way to profile CTCs beyond simply counting their numbers in clinical samples,” explained <strong>Mahla Poudineh</strong>, lead author of&nbsp;the paper who is a graduate student at the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering. &nbsp;“Instead, we wanted to provide phentotypic information that might allow these cells to be classified as benign or more dangerous, which would then inform treatment options.”</p> <p>Kelley is a professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and the&nbsp;Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering. <a href="http://www.kelleylaboratory.com/">The Kelley group</a> along with collaborators at the<a href="http://www.light.utoronto.ca/"> Sargent Group</a>, Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering Professor Ted Sargent's research&nbsp;lab, hope to turn the approach they reported into a device that can be used by cancer researchers and eventually clinicians to allow CTC analysis to be monitored routinely and used to limit the progression of cancer.</p> <p>“We were very fortunate to collaborate with a number of oncologists at the Sunnybrook Research Centre and Princess Margaret Hospital as we developed this technology so that we could test our approach with real patient specimens and better understand how to adapt it for use in the clinic,” Kelley said.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 21 Nov 2016 17:15:59 +0000 ullahnor 102549 at Producing low-cost drugs & vaccines on-site: new research from U of T, Harvard, MIT and U of O /news/low-cost-drugs-vaccines-can-be-produced-site-new-research-u-t-harvard-mit-and-university-ottawa <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Producing low-cost drugs &amp; vaccines on-site: new research from U of T, Harvard, MIT and U of O</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-09-22-Pardee-Lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=2CQvpb9i 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-09-22-Pardee-Lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9NxKo1co 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-09-22-Pardee-Lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=-0MWVM4z 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-09-22-Pardee-Lead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=2CQvpb9i" alt="Photo of portable system"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-09-22T13:08:44-04:00" title="Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 13:08" class="datetime">Thu, 09/22/2016 - 13:08</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The portable biomolecular manufacturing system can produce a broad range of biomolecules, including vaccines, antimicrobial peptides and antibody conjugates, without power or refrigeration (Wyss Institute at Harvard University) </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/jef-ekins" hreflang="en">Jef Ekins</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Jef Ekins</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pharmacy" hreflang="en">Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/keith-pardee" hreflang="en">Keith Pardee</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/drugs" hreflang="en">Drugs</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Research team has developed a portable drug-manufacturing system that can be used anywhere in the world</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As much as 80 per cent of the cost of bringing vaccines to the developing world comes from ensuring that the medications are properly refrigerated and transported.&nbsp;</p> <p>A team of researchers from the Ƶ, MIT, Harvard, and the University of Ottawa have developed a new portable drug-manufacturing system that uses two sets of freeze-dried pellets, which when mixed with water, are able to produce medications, vaccines and diagnostic tools virtually anywhere in the world.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2070 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/Biomolecular%20Manufacturing%20001.gif" style="width: 480px; height: 270px; margin-left: 135px; margin-right: 135px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; (courtesy of&nbsp;Wyss Institute at Harvard University)</em></p> <p>The team published a proof-of-principle paper in<em> <a href="http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(16)31246-6">Cell</a> </em>that details the&nbsp;development of&nbsp;a drug manufacturing system that's able to produce on-site, on-demand therapeutics and biomolecules.&nbsp;</p> <p>“In essence, it’s like having a portable pharmacy that you can use to create the medications you need,” said Assistant Professor <strong>Keith Pardee</strong> of U of T’s Faculty of Pharmacy, co-lead author of the paper.&nbsp;</p> <p>Most vaccines need to maintain a consistent temperature to prevent spoilage and maintain their efficacy, which necessitates a cold chain from production to application.&nbsp;</p> <p>Despite these precautions and the attention paid to their transportation, the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund estimate that the amount of essential vaccines that end up wasted could be as high as 50 per cent.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2071 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/Pardee_0863-embed.jpg" style="width: 480px; height: 320px; margin-left: 135px; margin-right: 135px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>The first of the freeze-dried pellets, developed by the researchers in 2014, is an innovative cell-free synthetic biology “machinery” that provides the manufacturing infrastructure to create an end product.&nbsp;</p> <p>The second pellet consists of&nbsp;DNA instructions that tell the manufacturing piece what compound to produce. This pellet can be customized to generate a variety of products, including vaccines, anti-cancer antibodies, and diagnostic tools.&nbsp;</p> <p>When the two freeze-dried pellets are combined with water, the production process begins.&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="/news/rapid-low-cost-detection-zika-virus-developed-experts-u-t-harvard-mit-cornell-and-more">Read more about the team's earlier research on a low-cost Zika virus detection system</a></h3> <p>Through the simple act of rehydrating the components by adding water, vaccines, antibody-based drugs for cancer treatment, small molecules, and clinical tools like diagnostic systems spring to life, bringing tools and treatments to underserved populations.&nbsp;</p> <p>The possible applications for this discovery, Pardee explains, are almost endless.&nbsp;</p> <p>“If, for example, the influenza vaccine developed in a given year is off target and doesn't fight the strains of the virus that emerge, the system we’ve developed can address that,” he said. “The current production chain for the influenza vaccine begins in late spring early summer for fall and winter application. If the formula is wrong, it would take months to change, produce, ship, and administer a vaccine that hits on the right strains.</p> <p>“Whereas with our system, in theory, once the proper strains are identified and a new formula developed, the vaccine could be produced anywhere in a matter of hours. The materials would already be on the shelf –&nbsp;they’d just need to be programmed to produce the vaccine. While this is just a proof-of-concept study, this could mean no prolonged production time, no timely and expensive shipping.”</p> <p>These freeze-dried pellets last for at least a year at room temperature, making shipping and storage easy and considerably less expensive than traditional means –&nbsp;even to the most remote areas. It also means that the products can be stored on the shelf, ready to be activated when an outbreak occurs or whenever the need arises.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2072 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/Biomolecular%20Manufacturing%20002%20%285%29.gif" style="width: 480px; height: 270px; margin-left: 135px; margin-right: 135px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em> &nbsp;(courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)&nbsp; &nbsp;</em></p> <p>“This technology could even be applied for use in remote Antarctic research bases or for something as fanciful as space travel,” Pardee said. “If deployed in combination with a DNA synthesizer, the gene sequences that encode the manufacturing instructions could be electronically transmitted to remote end users, converted to DNA, and used to guide the cell-free manufacturing platform to produce therapeutics to meet unanticipated needs.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:08:44 +0000 ullahnor 101088 at Rapid, low-cost detection of Zika virus developed by experts at U of T, Harvard, MIT, Cornell and more /news/rapid-low-cost-detection-zika-virus-developed-experts-u-t-harvard-mit-cornell-and-more <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rapid, low-cost detection of Zika virus developed by experts at U of T, Harvard, MIT, Cornell and more</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-05-06-zika-virus-spray-sized.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=gtzdjmiv 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-05-06-zika-virus-spray-sized.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=Q7gGvwki 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-05-06-zika-virus-spray-sized.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=Xf8jpO2i 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-05-06-zika-virus-spray-sized.jpg?h=2fe880c3&amp;itok=gtzdjmiv" alt="photo of little girl trying to avoid inhaling the spray for Zika-carrying mosquitos"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-05-05T16:22:57-04:00" title="Thursday, May 5, 2016 - 16:22" class="datetime">Thu, 05/05/2016 - 16:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"> Health officials fumigate against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Jakarta (photo by Dasril Roszandi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/jef-ekins" hreflang="en">Jef Ekins</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Jef Ekins</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/zika-virus" hreflang="en">Zika virus</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leslie-dan-faculty-pharmacy" hreflang="en">Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/public-health" hreflang="en">Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Researchers hope easy-to-use, paper-based tool will “make a positive impact on public health across the globe” </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It’s a cheap, fast and easy way to detect the Zika virus – using a freeze-dried piece of paper the size of a stamp.</p> <p>And it was created by the Ƶ’s <strong>Keith Pardee</strong> and experts from seven other leading research institutions.&nbsp;</p> <p>Details of the breakthrough were published in <em>Cell</em> on May 6.</p> <p>“We hope that, through this work, we have created the template for a tool that can make a positive impact on public health across the globe,” said Pardee, one of the lead authors of the study and an assistant professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The diagnostic platform developed by our team has provided a high-performing, low-cost tool that can work in remote locations. We have developed a workflow that combines molecular tools to provide diagnostics that can be read out on a piece of paper no larger than a postage stamp.”</p> <p>The collaboration included Wyss Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Arizona State University, Cornell University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Broad Institute. The team used toehold sensors and isothermal RNA amplification to create the diagnostic sensors. The results: a cell-free, paper-based platform that can host synthetic gene networks for use outside the lab.</p> <p>It’s a much-needed solution to the challenge of diagnosing the Zika virus, said Pardee (pictured below).&nbsp;<img alt="photo of Pardee" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__876 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-05-06-pardee-embed.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 300px; margin: 10px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>Right now, reliable diagnosis for patients suspected of the Zika virus involves nucleic acid-based testing. That kind of testing depends on laboratory access, highly specific and expensive equipment and trained technicians – and is unavailable in remote locations where surveillance and containment are critically needed.&nbsp;</p> <p>This new technology, on the other hand, is easy to use, portable, requires little to no training – and costs less than a dollar per test, Pardee said.&nbsp;</p> <p>Specifically tuned to the Zika virus, sensors are applied to small paper samples. A saliva, urine, or blood sample – equivalent to the amount required by blood glucose monitors that test blood sugar levels – is applied to the sensors, triggering a response that provides visually evident results in as little as an hour.&nbsp;</p> <p>If the sample contains the RNA of the Zika virus, the test area turns purple.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2jNpRS5aW08" width="560"></iframe></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Earlier this year, the World Health Organization declared the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern. While the symptoms experienced by most infected patients of this mosquito-borne illness are mild – fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis – recent strains of the disease have demonstrated links to fetal microcephaly, birth defects, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and other neurological disorders.&nbsp;</p> <p>With the onset of nicer weather, this disease is expected to expand to new territories and countries.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Our synthetic biology pipeline for rapid sensor design and prototyping has tremendous potential for application for the Zika virus and other public health threats, enabling us to rapidly develop new diagnostics when and where they are needed most,” Pardee said.</p> <p>While this study demonstrates proof-of-concept, the team is eager to secure the necessary partners and resources to proceed to the product development phase, Pardee said. That would be followed up by scaled-up manufacturing and distribution so that the diagnostic tool can be deployed for use in the field. &nbsp;</p> <p>Ultimately, he added, the development of quick, easy-to-use, in-the-field tests for Zika and similar pathogens could help governments stay ahead of pathogen outbreaks, curbing the spread of disease and lessening the burden on already overtaxed healthcare systems.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The utility of new low-cost diagnostics that can be deployed to combat public health threats like Zika is tremendous,” said U of T’s <strong>Shana Kelley</strong>, an <a href="/news/u-t-breakthrough-allows-fast-reliable-identification-pathogen">expert in rapid diagnostics</a>. “The work of Keith Pardee and his colleagues is a very important step forward as emerging threats appear.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 05 May 2016 20:22:57 +0000 lanthierj 14032 at Federal government backs U of T spinoff company /news/federal-government-backs-u-t-spinoff-company <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Federal government backs U of T spinoff company</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2013-02-25T04:35:18-05:00" title="Monday, February 25, 2013 - 04:35" class="datetime">Mon, 02/25/2013 - 04:35</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Shana Kelley is developing an easy-to-use medical diagnostic device that will lower healthcare costs and reduce wait times (photo by John Loper)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/jef-ekins" hreflang="en">Jef Ekins</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Jef Ekins</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneur" hreflang="en">Entrepreneur</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pharmacy" hreflang="en">Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/commercialization" hreflang="en">Commercialization</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Xagenic Inc. developing diagnostic device</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Xagenic Inc., a healthcare diagnostics company founded by Ƶ professors <strong>Shana Kelley</strong> and <strong>Ted Sargent,</strong> is receiving almost $1 million&nbsp;from the federal government's&nbsp;Investing in Business Innovation initiative.</p> <p>“Infectious disease is an enormous burden on the health care system, and with increasing levels of virulent infections and rising antibiotic resistance rates, we need better solutions for rapid and specific diagnosis,” said Kelley, chief technology officer of Xagenic and a professor with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the Department of Biochemistry.</p> <p>The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced the funding Feb. 19, 2013.</p> <p>Established by Kelley and Sargent, a professor with U of T's Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, Xagenic is a venture capital backed start-up company dedicated to developing diagnostic tools for the healthcare sector.</p> <p>In the United States, an estimated $5 billion is spent each year on excess healthcare costs due to the transmission of infectious diseases while patients wait for the diagnosis of samples that can take hours or days to complete. During that wait time, infectious diseases are spread through hospitals and communities, and antibiotics are improperly prescribed, increasing drug resistance and lowering their long-term efficacy.</p> <p>Xagenic’s technology promises to transform the way infectious diseases are diagnosed by enabling rapid-result molecular diagnostic testing to take place outside of clinical laboratories.</p> <p>The company’s fully automated technology platform will enable widespread decentralized diagnostic testing to be performed&nbsp;outside a laboratory—&nbsp;with results occurring in 20 minutes. Using ultra sensitive microelectrode arrays, Xagenic’s infectious disease diagnostic tests will detect a variety of analytes in samples, quickly identifying diseases and enabling doctors to make immediate treatment decisions while patients are still in the clinic.</p> <p>This easy-to-use and inexpensive device eliminates unnecessary delays, reduces healthcare costs, and will transform the way patients receive care and are treated.</p> <p>“The technology uses electrochemical signals to report on the presence of infectious pathogens in clinical samples,” said Kelley. “It provides a solution that can deliver rapid information about what kind of infection is present on a clinically actionable timescale.”</p> <p>The Investing in Business Innovation initiative is designed to boost private sector investment in start-up businesses to accelerate the development of new products, processes and practices and bring them to market. With this investment from the Government of Canada, Xagenic is one step closer to revolutionizing the way infectious diseases are diagnosed and treated across the globe.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Shana-Kelley-13-2-25.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:35:18 +0000 sgupta 5118 at 2011 Steacie Prize awarded for nanotechnology-enabled disease diagnosis /news/2011-steacie-prize-awarded-nanotechnology-enabled-disease-diagnosis <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">2011 Steacie Prize awarded for nanotechnology-enabled disease diagnosis</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2011-12-13T03:57:05-05:00" title="Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - 03:57" class="datetime">Tue, 12/13/2011 - 03:57</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Pharmacy professor Shana Kelley's creative nanotechnology research has earned her the 2011 Steacie Prize. (Pharmacy photo)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/jef-ekins" hreflang="en">Jef Ekins</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Jef Ekins</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/health" hreflang="en">Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/pharmacy" hreflang="en">Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Pharmacy's Shana Kelley third consecutive U of T professor to win prestigious science and engineering award</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Professor <strong>Shana Kelley </strong>of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is the winner of the 2011 Steacie Prize, marking the third consecutive year that a <strong>Ƶ </strong>professor has received this prestigious award.</p> <p>“It's wonderful and at the same time humbling to get this type of recognition – which is really recognition of the talents of all of the past and present members of my research group,” said&nbsp;Kelley, who is also a professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine and cross-appointed&nbsp;to the Department of Chemistry and the Institute of Biomaterials&nbsp;and Biomedical Engineering.</p> <p>Kelley’s research centres on the development of nanomaterial-based detection systems that can track miniscule quantities of biomolecular analytes [components]. The highly sensitive DNA and RNA detection systems developed by Kelley are powerful new tools for cancer and infectious disease identification, and represent a major advance over the current time consuming and painful methods.</p> <p>Using small, non-invasive samples, Kelley’s diagnostic tool is able to identify minute levels of the biomarkers of disease. This technology is able to provide disease diagnosis at a fraction of the costs and in a fraction of the time of current methods, and is able to do so ten times earlier than current practices allow.</p> <p>“I can think of no other more deserving candidate than Dr. Kelley to receive the Steacie Prize,” said Professor <strong>Henry Mann</strong>, dean of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. “She is a highly creative and interdisciplinary scientist who unites materials chemistry, analytical chemistry and molecular biology to sense biological molecules with unprecedented sensitivity. Her proven track record of executing innovative and groundbreaking research certainly aligns her work with the goals of the prestigious Steacie Prize.”</p> <p>The Steacie Prize recognizes outstanding Canadian research in science and engineering. Winners are selected by a panel appointed by the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fund, a private fund dedicated to advancing science and engineering in Canada.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Professor Kelley’s research has always been on the cutting edge of nanotechnology,” noted Professor <strong>Paul Young</strong>, vice-president (research). “Her work developing fast, low-cost methods for disease detection and diagnosis will save lives across the world. We’ve always been proud to have Professor Kelley as a faculty member at the Ƶ and on behalf of the institution, I extend my congratulations to her on winning the Steacie Prize. It is richly deserved.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Kelley-Pharmacy_11_12_13.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:57:05 +0000 sgupta 3467 at