老司机直播

老司机直播 inventor-entrepreneur honoured with Governor General鈥檚 Innovation Award

The award recognizes outstanding Canadians who contribute to the country鈥檚 success and inspire the next generation
santerre
Professor Paul Santerre (left) with PhD candidates Yasaman Delaviz (centre) and Meghan Wright (right) in his lab. He is among the six recipients of the 2017 Governor General鈥檚 Innovation Awards (photo by Neil Ta)

The molecules he works with may be small, but Professor Paul Santerre is using them to solve some of the world's biggest and most pressing medical challenges.

One of Santerre鈥檚 most successful inventions is Endexo鈩, a surface-modifying material that can be applied to medical tubing to prevent blood from sticking and clotting, one of the major reasons for catheter failure. His 老司机直播 startup Interface Biologics (IBI) has three distinct molecule-based technology platforms, which can be applied to hundreds of different products and are estimated to be worth billions. He is a leader in engineering smart scaffolds to repair heart tissue. 

Today, Santerre is one of six awardees being honoured with the 2017 Governor General鈥檚 Innovation Award. He'll will be recognized at a special ceremony at Rideau Hall on May 23.

One of the world鈥檚 leading biomaterials researchers, Santerre is a professor in the Faculty of Dentistry and the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. He is also a lead researcher at the , part of the . 

鈥淲e鈥檇 like to congratulate Professor Santerre for winning the University of Toronto鈥檚 first-ever Governor General鈥檚 Innovation Award,鈥 said Vivek Goel, the university鈥檚 vice-president of research and innovation. 鈥淭his is a wonderful recognition of his cutting-edge research and his efforts to bring those innovations to market, enabling Canadians and others to lead healthier lives.鈥

For example, with Endexo, the flexible material used in medical tubing, it avoids the need for blood-thinning drugs. Santerre commercialized Endexo and other surface-modifying molecules through Interface Biologics, now in its sixteenth year.

Useful for far more than medical devices, Santerre鈥檚 surface-modifying technologies are designed to work in harmony with the body鈥檚 natural repair processes.

With a collaborative team at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, Santerre was recently awarded a three-year, $600,000 Collaborative Health Research Project grant to continue to develop a biodegradable cardiac patch. Adapted from the same basic concepts underlying his surface modifying molecules, the patch persuades damaged cardiac tissues to re-form while it slowly degrades into materials that the body can easily flush. Importantly, the materials in the patch will calm immune responses 鈥 preventing fibrotic scar tissue from forming on the heart 鈥 and reduce the risk of heart failure.    

Yet another application of the technology could revolutionize how complicated craniofacial fractures are repaired. Rather than surgically inserting plates and metal screws into the head and face, a ceramic-based 鈥渂one tape鈥 that promotes bone growth could be applied to fracture sites. Surgeons will be able to apply this ceramic-based bone tape directly to fractures without the added need for glue, screws or pins. Like with the heart patch, the materials are designed to calm immune responses and slowly biodegrade as new bone forms, ensuring better cosmetic outcomes as well as faster healing times. 

鈥淭his is invention spinning off invention,鈥 Santerre said, crediting his success as a researcher in part to the collaborative and cross-disciplinary culture being fostered by the university and its partnerships, such as that formed between Sick Kids, UHN, and 老司机直播 to create the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, where Santerre鈥檚 lab is located. 鈥淚t鈥檚 truly amazing to watch. When visitors come here they can鈥檛 believe its collaborative nature,鈥 he added. 

In addition to his own growing company, Santerre has been guiding his students in commercializing their discoveries through start-up companies, such as the recently founded Polumiros, which is developing its first product for market: a non-inflammatory, biodegradable 鈥渢issue filler鈥 for replacing breast tissue after breast cancer surgeries. Santerre also helps to mentor more than 70 trainee-based startup companies across 老司机直播 in his role as co-director of the Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 . 

For Santerre, the H2i Hub and the other nine accelerators presently active on campus points to a seismic shift in Canada鈥檚 intellectual institutions, as the university aligns itself with entrepreneurship. It鈥檚 a move he views as critical to Canada鈥檚 economic development and its ability to compete in the global health care and innovation industries. 

Health care represents the world鈥檚 largest and fastest growing economic market, contributing as much as $1 out of every $5 to the GDP in North America. But while Canada 鈥 Toronto in particular 鈥搃s poised to become a world leader in this growth industry, Santerre points out that this can鈥檛 be accomplished without major investment from Canadian universities. 

鈥淭he argument that academia should steer away from contributing to applied knowledge with an entrepreneurial perspective is no longer as tenable as it once was,鈥 said Santerre, who was awarded the NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation in 2012, the Principal Award in 2014, and 老司机直播鈥檚 prestigious Connaught Innovation Award earlier this year.

鈥淚 extend to Paul my most sincere congratulations on this well-deserved honour,鈥 said Daniel Haas, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry. 鈥淭his award is a recognition of Paul鈥檚 ingenuity and drive to bring the University of Toronto, and by extension, Canada, to the forefront of the innovation industries through its applied and clinical research, and a direct reflection of his enormous impact.鈥 

鈥淧rofessor Santerre鈥檚 outstanding research and inventions are a brilliant example of how multidisciplinary collaboration can address complex challenges and help people live longer, healthier lives,鈥 said Cristina Amon, aean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. 鈥淥n behalf of the Faculty, my warmest congratulations to him on this richly deserved and prestigious recognition.鈥

Now in its second year, the Governor General Innovation Awards program recognizes 鈥渢railblazers and creators鈥 who contribute to a culture of innovation in Canada.

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