Donnelly Centre for Cellular &amp; Biomolecular Research

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

Graduate Students

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Ten graduate students at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine have received Cecil Yip Doctoral Research Awards.

The annual award provides financial support to doctoral-stream students whose research interests, proposed work and background align with the Donnelly Centre's mandate to advance innovative and collaborative work that crosses disciplinary boundaries.

It is named in honour of the late Professor Cecil Yip, a former vice-dean, research in the Faculty of Medicine and co-founder of the Donnelly Centre.

“On behalf of the Yip Doctoral Award committee, I congratulate this year’s recipients,” said Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, chair of the Cecil Yip Doctoral Research Award selection committee and son of Cecil Yip.

“Our 2024 recipients represent the diverse range of biomedical research areas that are being tackled at the Donnelly Centre. I believe this new generation of scientific leaders will uphold the Donnelly Centre’s innovative and collaborative spirit in their efforts to help solve the biggest challenges in health and medicine.”

The recipients of 2024 Cecil Yip Doctoral Research Awards are:

Noor El-Huda Bahsoun
Mel Davie
Juliana de Andrade Bolsoni
Zhenfeng Deng
Wenjia Hao
Mingyang Liang
Umayeer Milky
Hadi Tabarraei
Joel Wingrove
Cheng Xing

Read the Donnelly Centre story about the award recipients

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14 U of T researchers awarded new or renewed Canada Research Chairs

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 15:13:49 +0000

14 U of T researchers awarded new or renewed Canada Research Chairs

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 06/26/2024 - 11:13

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

CAMH

Department of Linguistics

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

Faculty of Arts & Science

IHPME

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

University Health Network

Unity Health

Women's College Hospital

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Fourteen faculty members from the ��Ƶ have been awarded Canada Research Chairs in support of their research.

Awarded by the Government of Canada, Canada Research Chair positions are designed to reinforce academic research and training excellence with a view to improving depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthening Canada’s international competitiveness and helping to train the next generation of highly skilled people.

“The ��Ƶ would like to congratulate all the faculty members who have been appointed Canada Research Chairs or had their positions renewed,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “From reproductive mental health to the economics of infectious disease and theoretical particle physics, these researchers are advancing knowledge and innovation in important fields.”

The latest cycle of Canada Research Chair appointees from U of T includes six new and eight renewed positions:

New Canada Research Chairs

Crystal Clark at Women’s College Hospital and the department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Reproductive Mental Health
Janine Farragher at the department of occupational science and occupational therapy in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Life Participation and Kidney Disease
Eno Hysi at Unity Health and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Quantitative Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Imaging
Karen Maxwell at the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 1 in Bacteriophage Biology and Therapeutics
Beate Sander at University Health Network and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health – Tier 1 in Economics of Infectious Diseases
Karla Washington at the department of speech language pathology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Monolingual and Multilingual Paediatric Speech-Language Pathology

Renewed Canada Research Chairs

David Curtin at the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Tier 2 in Theoretical Particle Physics
Philipp Maass at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Noncoding Disease Mechanisms
Julien Muffat at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Synthetic Neuroimmunology and Stem Cell Bioengineering
Meaghan O’Reilly at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Biomedical Ultrasound
Hannes Rost at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 2 in Mass Spectometry-based Personalized Medicine
Sali Tagliamonte at the department of linguistics in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Tier 1 in Language Variation and Change
Ulrich Tepass at the department of cell and systems biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Tier 1 in Epithelial Polarity and Development
Rachel Tyndale at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the department of pharmacology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Tier 1 in Pharmacogenomics

Read the Government of Canada announcement

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Canada Research Chairs

Aaron Wheeler recognized with Chemical Institute of Canada’s Ricardo Aroca Award

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 18:49:53 +0000

Aaron Wheeler recognized with Chemical Institute of Canada’s Ricardo Aroca Award

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 02/05/2024 - 13:49

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

Department of Chemistry

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

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Professor Aaron Wheeler (photo courtesy of NSERC)

Aaron Wheeler, a professor in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, has received the Chemical Institute of Canada’s Ricardo Aroca Award.

The award is given to scientists in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of analytical chemistry while working in Canada. Wheeler, who is cross-appointed to the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, was honoured for his achievements in the field of microfluidics.

Wheeler’s lab has developed microfluidic tools to analyze the chemistry of complex biological samples. His research has an array of potential medical applications ranging from developing procedures to study the most dangerous cells among millions in large tumors to growing organ tissues on devices outside the body to test drugs.

“Virtually every living organism sheds cells,” said Wheeler. “A cancerous tumor, for example, sends innumerable cells out into its host’s body. Of those, most cells will not be metastatic, so identifying and studying the few that can survive the immune system and spread the cancer is vital for understanding how to prevent and treat this disease.”

Wheeler will deliver a keynote address when he accepts the award at the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC) 2024 in Winnipeg in June.

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Kai Slaughter receives Dorrington Award

lanthierj — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 19:52:17 +0000

Kai Slaughter receives Dorrington Award

lanthierj Mon, 06/20/2022 - 15:52

Jennifer Dorrington Award

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

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Kai Slaughter, a third-year PhD student in biomedical engineering, has received a Jennifer Dorrington Graduate Research Award for 2022.

Slaughter is developing novel approaches for the delivery of cancer drugs in high doses using nanoparticles. Unlike conventional methods, which rely on helper compounds that can be toxic to the patient, nanoparticles could be designed to carry large amounts of therapeutics and deliver them directly into cells.

He is supervised by the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research’s Molly Shoichet, a University Professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering who is world renowned for her bioengineering research.

Slaughter is engineering drug-rich formulations by exploiting the natural tendency of some chemotherapy drugs to form aggregates. This results in a nanoparticle composed almost entirely of the active drug, therefore reducing the need for helper compounds.

“This type of drug aggregation was actually discovered as a cause of false hits in drug screening assays, but we’re taking advantage of this phenomenon for more efficacious drug delivery,” said Slaughter, who previously won a Cecil Yip Doctoral Research Award.

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Matthew Osborne receives Dorrington Award

lanthierj — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 19:48:25 +0000

Matthew Osborne receives Dorrington Award

lanthierj Mon, 06/20/2022 - 15:48

Jennifer Dorrington Award

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

Institute for Biomedical Engineering

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Matthew Osborne, a fourth-year PhD student in the institute for Biomedical Engineering (BME), has been awarded a Jennifer Dorrington Graduate Research Award for 2022.

The award is an important recognition for Osborne, who noted that the past winners included alumni from his lab. He described them as “pretty incredible researchers.”

“I am thrilled to be in such company,” he said.

Osborne is working with BME Director Warren Chan, whose lab is located in the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research where he is also a principal investigator. The Chan lab is world renowned for developing nanotechnology-based diagnostics method for rapid detection of pathogens.

Osborne, who has a background in mechanical engineering, was tasked with automating the lab’s diagnostic platform for the detection of Sars-CoV-2 into a portable device with a smartphone readout. The method is similar to PCR and therefore highly sensitive, but it also allows point-of care use similar to rapid tests. Osborne, who envisages its use one day in remote communities, is now keenly awaiting real-world data being collected from patient samples by his collaborators at Public Health Ontario.

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Charlie Boone elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

lanthierj — Fri, 13 May 2022 14:19:03 +0000

Charlie Boone elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

lanthierj Fri, 05/13/2022 - 10:19

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

American Academy of Arts & Sciences

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(photo by Calvin Thomas)

��Ƶ professor of molecular genetics and Donnelly Centre investigator Charles Boone has been elected an international member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences for his contributions to functional genomics.

Founded in 1780, the academy is among the oldest scholarly societies in North America and its members rank among the world’s most accomplished scientists, scholars and artists.

Boone pioneered the field of systematic genetics that has transformed our understanding of how cellular processes are coordinated. Together with University Professor Brenda Andrews, he led the effort to produce the first map of genetic interactions for any cell, which revealed how these interactions form a network to influence trait inheritance. The research has implications for predicting disease risk from an individual’s personal genome – one of the fundamental goals of precision medicine.

“I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Professor Boone on this prestigious and highly deserved honour,” said Stephane Angers, director of Donnelly Centre and Charles H. Best Chair of Medical Research at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. “Professor Boone’s contributions to functional genomics are widely known in the scientific community and they have in no small part shaped the Donnelly Centre as a leading global hub for research in systems biology.”

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Keith Lawson wins Donnelly Thesis Prize

lanthierj — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 18:34:50 +0000

Keith Lawson wins Donnelly Thesis Prize

lanthierj Thu, 07/08/2021 - 14:34

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

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Keith Lawson is the 2021 winner of an annual award recognizing the best doctoral thesis in the ��Ƶ’s Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research.

Lawson completed his PhD in the lab of Jason Moffat, a professor of molecular genetics in the Donnelly Centre, where he investigated how cancer becomes resistant to treatment. The research was part of Lawson’s medical training in the surgeon scientist program at U of T’s department of surgery and it was preceded by three years of residency in the clinic.

“I think it’s important for clinicians to stay engaged in discovery science,” says Lawson. “Having our perspective is important right from the discovery side of things and I think that helps us ask clinically meaningful questions.”

During his PhD, Lawson found a way to starve cancer cells of key nutrients in order to shrink tumours, publishing his findings in the journal Nature Metabolism. In another study, published in Nature, he discovered almost 200 genes which hold clues to making cancer immunotherapy available to more patients.

“Keith was an outstanding student with an incredible drive to use systematic genetics approaches for clinically relevant questions related to cancer,” says Moffat. “He was passionate about kidney cancer and made important discoveries related to lipid metabolism and cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing of cancer cells.”

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Charlie Boone named inaugural Banting & Best Distinguished Scholar

lanthierj — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 14:53:09 +0000

Charlie Boone named inaugural Banting & Best Distinguished Scholar

lanthierj Fri, 11/20/2020 - 09:53

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

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(photo by Calvin Thomas)

Professor Charlie Boone, interim director of the Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, is the recipient of the first Banting & Best Distinguished Scholar award which recognizes top researchers at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine whose discoveries are changing lives.

The award was established to support outstanding researchers who have completed terms as Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, a prestigious appointment by the federal government reserved for scientists and scholars who are world-leading in their fields. It comes as the ��Ƶ celebrates the centenary of insulin discovery – a groundbreaking discovery that launched the Banting & Best Department of Medical Research, forerunner of the Donnelly Centre.

Boone was named Canada Research Chair in Proteomics, Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics in 2007 and held the appointment for the maximum two seven-year terms. Globally renowned for his research on genetic networks, he has made pioneering contributions to understanding the genotype to phenotype relationship, which seeks to explain how genes encode the traits of an organism. With his long-term collaborator Brenda Andrews, University Professor and inaugural director of the Donnelly Centre, Boone has established an automated high-throughput platform for measuring how genetic mutations and drug compounds affect cellular fitness. This research has opened the door to a new way of understanding how genes contribute to disease, with a potential for developing finely-tuned therapies.

2020 Yip Awards recognize early graduate research in biomedicine

lanthierj — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 20:35:20 +0000

2020 Yip Awards recognize early graduate research in biomedicine

lanthierj Fri, 11/13/2020 - 15:35

Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research

Women in STEM

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Ten graduate students have been awarded the Cecil Yip Graduate Research Award – for research projects that range from mapping the liver at the molecular level to improving cancer drug delivery using nanoparticles.

The award was established to honour the late ��Ƶ Professor Cecil Yip, former vice-dean of research at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and co-founder of the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research. Open to all first-year students doing research in the Donnelly Centre, the annual $3,000 prize recognizes cross-disciplinary research in biomedicine.

This year’s winners are:

Zoe Clarke (department of molecular genetics)
Delaram Pouyabahar (department of molecular genetics)
Kenny Rebelo (department of molecular genetics)
Ronald Xie (department of molecular genetics)
Erik Jacques (Institute of Biomedical Engineering)
Elana Sefton (Institute of Biomedical Engineering)
Zahra Sepahi (Institute of Biomedical Engineering)
Kai Slaughter (Institute of Biomedical Engineering)
Chang (Amber) Xue (Institute of Biomedical Engineering)
Daniela Isaacs-Bernal (department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry)

“On behalf of everyone at the award committee I would like to congratulate the recipients of the 2020 Yip Doctoral Research Award,” said Christopher Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and principal investigator in the Donnelly Centre where he also serves as chair of the award committee.

“The awarded projects are at the cutting edge of biomedicine and provide fantastic opportunities for our students to hone a diverse set of skills as we train them to become inventors of tomorrow.”

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Patricia Brubaker receives Diabetes Canada Lifetime Achievement Award

lanthierj — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 17:03:04 +0000

Patricia Brubaker receives Diabetes Canada Lifetime Achievement Award

lanthierj Fri, 11/06/2020 - 12:03