University Health Network / en Researchers at 老司机直播, partner hospitals receive $35 million in provincial support聽 /news/researchers-u-t-partner-hospitals-receive-35-million-provincial-support <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researchers at 老司机直播, partner hospitals receive $35 million in provincial support&nbsp;</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/2024-12/GettyImages-1449330889-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=sbwKCn0m 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-12/GettyImages-1449330889-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=QFxQAWPq 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-12/GettyImages-1449330889-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=jaarW-pD 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/2024-12/GettyImages-1449330889-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=sbwKCn0m" alt="EV cars charging in an underground lot"> </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="2024-12-11T13:57:47-05:00" title="Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - 13:57" class="datetime">Wed, 12/11/2024 - 13:57</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"><p><em>The performance of lithium ion batteries that power electric vehicles, like the ones plugged into these chargers, can be degraded by temperature fluctuations 鈥 a limitation researchers at 老司机直播 Engineering are working to change (photo by&nbsp;koiguo/Getty Images)</em></p> </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/tyler-irving" hreflang="en">Tyler Irving</a></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/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</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/institute-biomedical-engineering" hreflang="en">Institute of Biomedical Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leah-cowen" hreflang="en">Leah Cowen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sinai-health" hreflang="en">Sinai Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6923" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/unity-health" hreflang="en">Unity Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cell-and-systems-biology" hreflang="en">Cell and Systems Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/anthropology" hreflang="en">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/astronomy-astrophysics" hreflang="en">Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/biochemistry" hreflang="en">Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/centre-addiction-and-mental-health" hreflang="en">Centre for Addiction and Mental Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-and-evolutionary-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology and Evolutionary Biology</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/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/laboratory-medicine-and-pathobiology" hreflang="en">Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology</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/mathematics" hreflang="en">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/physics" hreflang="en">Physics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/psychology" hreflang="en">Psychology</a></div> <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/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utias" hreflang="en">UTIAS</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">From better batteries to preventing memory loss, nearly four dozen projects at 老司机直播 and its partner hospitals are being supported by the&nbsp;Ontario Research Fund </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers in the University of Toronto鈥檚&nbsp;Thermal Management Systems (TMS) Laboratory&nbsp;are working to improve the way battery systems handle heat and develop structural battery pack components.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲hether they are being used for electric vehicles or for stationary energy storage systems that reduce strain on the grid, lithium-ion batteries are transforming the way we use electricity,鈥 said鈥<strong>Carlos Da Silva</strong>,鈥痵enior research associate at the TMS Lab in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering and executive director of 老司机直播鈥檚鈥<a href="https://electrification.utoronto.ca/">Electrification Hub</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淯nfortunately, today鈥檚 batteries are still sensitive to temperature: if they get too cold or too hot, it can degrade their performance and even present safety risks. We are working on new technologies that make batteries more resilient to thermal fluctuations.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>The battery-related research is among nearly four dozen projects at 老司机直播 and its partner hospitals that are receiving almost $35 million in support through鈥痶he&nbsp;<a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1005382/ontario-investing-92-million-to-support-made-in-ontario-research-and-innovation">Ontario Research Fund 鈥 Research Excellence (ORF-RE) and the Ontario Research Fund 鈥 Small Infrastructure (ORF-SIF)</a>. (<a href="#list">See the full list of projects and their principal researchers below</a>).&nbsp;</p> <p>"Research at the University of Toronto and at all universities and colleges across Ontario is the foundation of the province鈥檚 competitiveness now and in the future,鈥 said&nbsp;<strong>Leah Cowen</strong>, 老司机直播鈥檚 vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭his investment protects and advances cutting-edge, made-in-Ontario research in important economic sectors and helps ensure universities can continue to train, attract and retain the world鈥檚 top talent."&nbsp;</p> <p>At 老司机直播 Engineering鈥檚 TMS Lab, researchers led by&nbsp;<strong>Cristina Amon</strong>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a>&nbsp;in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering, are working on two funded projects. They are developing advanced computational modelling and digital twin methodologies that predict and optimize how heat flows through battery packs. The methodologies are carefully calibrated and validated through industry-relevant experiments in the lab.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-12/TMSlab-2--33_crop.jpg?itok=yj7xlK64" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Senior Research Associate Carlos Da Silva, left, and University Professor Cristina Amon, right, chat in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering's Thermal Management Systems Laboratory (photo by Aaron Demeter)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>These methodologies will help battery designers anticipate and prevent thermal management challenges before they arise. It can also enable them to optimize the design and deployment of fire mitigation measures, such as ultra-thin heat barriers, within their battery systems.&nbsp;</p> <p>The team is also collaborating with Ford Canada and several other companies in the energy storage space. For example, they have worked with Jule (powered by eCAMION) on the development of鈥痙irect current electric vehicle fast chargers with integrated battery energy storage systems, one of which was鈥<a href="/news/battery-powered-ev-chargers-co-developed-u-t-installed-st-george-campus">recently unveiled on the 老司机直播 campus</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e are grateful for this ORF-RE funding, which will accelerate our research and help us further expand our partnerships, ensuring that battery thermal innovations have a seamless transition from the lab to the marketplace,鈥 Amon said.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淎s a result of this work, the next generation of batteries will be safer and more resilient than ever before, which is especially important in colder climates like ours here in Ontario.鈥濃&nbsp;<a id="list" name="list"></a></p> <hr> <h4>Ontario Research Fund 鈥 Research Excellence:</h4> <ul> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/13404-cristina-amon"><strong>Cristina Amon</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of mechanical &amp; industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥 <em>Powering Ontario鈥檚 grid transformation and electric vehicle fast charging with thermally resilient battery energy storage &amp; Next-gen electric vehicle battery systems: Lightweight, thermally performant and fire safe for all climates</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/23353-morgan-barense"><strong>Morgan Barense</strong></a>&nbsp;in the&nbsp;department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥 <em>HippoCamera: Digital memory rehabilitation to combat memory loss</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/21538-aimy-bazylak"><strong>Aimy Bazylak</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of mechanical &amp; industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering 鈥 <em>RECYCLEAN: Critical minerals recycling &amp; re-manufacturing for the energy transition</em></li> <li><strong>Ian Connell</strong>&nbsp;at University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥 <em>MRI-compatible innovations for neuromodulation</em></li> <li><strong>Simon Graham</strong>&nbsp;at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥 <em>Technological innovations for clinical MRI of the brain at 7 tesla</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/19009-clinton-groth"><strong>Clinton Groth</strong></a>&nbsp;in the Institute for Aerospace Studies in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥 <em>Hydrogen as a sustainable aviation fuel 鈥 combustion research to remove impediments to adoption in gas turbine engines</em></li> <li><strong>James Kennedy&nbsp;</strong>at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥 <em>Clinical utility and enhancements of a pharmacogenomic decision support tool for mental health patients</em></li> <li><strong>Shaf Keshavjee</strong>&nbsp;at University Health Network and the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥 <em>Advanced solutions to human lung preservation and assessment using artificial intelligence</em></li> <li><strong>Aviad Levis</strong>&nbsp;in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥 <em>AI and quantum enhanced astronomy</em></li> <li><strong>JoAnne McLaurin</strong>&nbsp;at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of laboratory medicine &amp; pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥 <em>Conversion of astrocytes to neurons to treat neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and the eye</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/21310-r-j-dwayne-miller"><strong>R. J. Dwayne Miller</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥 <em>PicoSecond InfraRed Laser (PIRL) 鈥渃ancer knife鈥 with complete biodiagnostics via spatial imaging mass spectrometry</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/10412-javad-mostaghimi"><strong>Javad Mostaghimi</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of mechanical &amp; industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥 <em>A new generation of compact, transportable mass spectrometers for rapid, in-field sample analysi</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/12421-shirley-xy-wu"><strong>Xiao Yu (Shirley) Wu</strong></a>&nbsp;in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy 鈥 <em>Molecular dynamics modeling and screening of excipients for designing amorphous solid dispersion formulations of poorly鈥搒oluble drugs</em></li> </ul> <h4>Ontario Research Fund 鈥 Small Infrastructure Fund:</h4> <ul> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/28945-celina-baines"><strong>Celina Baines</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of ecology &amp; evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>Impacts of environmental change on organismal movement</em></li> <li><strong>Sergio de la Barrera</strong>&nbsp;in the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>Facility for quantum materials and device assembly from atomically thin van der Waals layers</em></li> <li><strong>Michelle Bendeck</strong>&nbsp;in the department of laboratory medicine &amp; pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>4D quantitative cardiovascular physiology centre</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/1070-laurent-bozec"><strong>Laurent Bozec</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of laboratory medicine &amp; pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>21st Century challenge for Dentistry: Breaking the cycle of irreversible dental tissue loss</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/45747-mark-chiew"><strong>Mark Chiew</strong></a>&nbsp;at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Next generation computational MRI for rapid neuroimaging and image-guided therapy</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/42705-haissi-cui"><strong>Haissi Cui</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>A molecule to mouse approach to study the intracellular localization of genetic code interpretation in mammalian cells</em></li> <li><strong>Andy Kin On DeVeale</strong>&nbsp;at the University Health Network and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health 鈥&nbsp;<em>Sarcopenia and musculoskeletal interactions (sami) collaborative hub</em></li> <li><strong>Ali Dolatabadi</strong>&nbsp;in the department of mechanical &amp; industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Advanced cold spray facility</em></li> <li><strong>Spencer Freeman</strong>&nbsp;at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Imaging biophysical determinants of the innate immune response</em></li> <li><strong>Liisa Galea</strong>&nbsp;at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Institute of Medical Science in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Sex and sex-specific factors influencing brain health across the lifespan</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/5658-maged-goubran"><strong>Maged Goubran</strong></a>&nbsp;at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>AI platform for mapping, tracking and predicting circuit alterations in Alzheimer鈥檚 disease</em></li> <li><strong>Eitan Grinspun</strong>&nbsp;in the departments of computer science and department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>A computer graphics perspective on entanglement of slender structures</em></li> <li><strong>Levon Halabelian</strong>&nbsp;in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Enabling a high-throughput drug discovery pipeline for targeting disease-related human proteins</em></li> <li><strong>Ziqing Hong</strong>&nbsp;in the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>Ultra-sensitive cryogenic detector development for dark matter and neutrino experiments&nbsp;</em></li> <li><strong>Eno Hysi</strong>&nbsp;at the Unity Health Toronto and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Structural and functional assessments of diabetic skin microvasculature using photoacoustic imaging</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/6634-lewis-kay"><strong>Lewis Kay</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥 <em>Helium recovery system for the biomolecular NMR facility</em></li> <li><strong>Xiang Li&nbsp;</strong>in the department of chemistry and the department of physic in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>Real-time multi-faceted probes of quantum materials</em></li> <li><strong>Qian Lin</strong>&nbsp;in the department of cell &amp; systems biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>2p-RAM for whole-brain single-neuron imaging of behaving zebrafish to study neural mechanisms of cognitive behaviours</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/34676-xilin-liu"><strong>Xilin Liu</strong></a>&nbsp;in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Integrated circuits for wireless brain implants with multi-modal neural interfaces</em></li> <li><strong>Stephen Lye</strong>&nbsp;at the Sinai Health System and the department of physiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) analytics platform</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/52975-caitlin-maikawa"><strong>Caitlin Maikawa</strong></a>&nbsp;in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Biointerfacing&nbsp;materials for drug delivery lab</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/6448-emma-master"><strong>Emma Master</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of chemical engineering &amp; applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Accelerating biomanufacturing innovation through enhanced capacity for scale-up and downstream bioprocess engineering</em></li> <li><strong>Roman Melnyk</strong>&nbsp;at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>The H-SCREEN: A platform for high throughput and high content imaging-based small molecule screens for disease modulation</em></li> <li><strong>Juan Mena-Parra</strong>&nbsp;in the department of astronomy &amp; astrophysics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>An advanced laboratory to enable novel radio telescopes for cosmology and time-domain astrophysics</em></li> <li><strong>Seyed Mohamad Moosavi</strong>&nbsp;in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥<em>&nbsp;Machine learning for nanoporous materials design</em></li> <li><strong>Enid Montague</strong>&nbsp;in the department of mechanical &amp; industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Automation and equity in healthcare laboratory</em></li> <li><strong>Michael Norris</strong>&nbsp;in the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Infrastructure for structural and functional virology research hub</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/18432-amaya-perezbrumer"><strong>Amaya Perez-Brumer</strong></a>&nbsp;in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health 鈥&nbsp;<em>3P lab: Centering power, privilege and positionality for health equity research</em></li> <li><strong>Monica Ramsey</strong>&nbsp;in the department of anthropology at the University of Toronto Mississauga 鈥&nbsp;<em>Ramsey Laboratory for Environmental Archaeology (RLEA): How human-environment interactions shaped plant-food</em></li> <li><strong>Arneet Saltzman</strong>&nbsp;in the department of cell &amp; systems biology in the in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science 鈥&nbsp;<em>Heterochromatin regulation in development and inheritance</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/13279-mina-tadrous"><strong>Mina Tadrous</strong></a>&nbsp;in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy 鈥&nbsp;<em>Developing a centre for real-world evidence to improve the use of medications for Canadians</em></li> <li><a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/25515-shurui-zhou"><strong>Shurui Zhou</strong></a>&nbsp;in the department of electrical &amp; computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Improving collaboration efficiency for fork-based software development</em></li> <li><strong>Olena Zhulyn</strong>&nbsp;at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine 鈥&nbsp;<em>Targeting translation for tissue regeneration and repair</em></li> <li><strong>Christoph Zrenner</strong>&nbsp;at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥&nbsp;<em>Next-generation real-time closed-loop personalized neurostimulation</em></li> </ul> </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> Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:57:47 +0000 lanthierj 310908 at Researchers uncover new role for cell鈥檚 waste disposal system in spread of pancreatic cancer /news/researchers-uncover-new-role-cell-s-waste-disposal-system-spread-pancreatic-cancer <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researchers uncover new role for cell鈥檚 waste disposal system in spread of pancreatic cancer</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/2024-10/group-pancreatic2.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=8gpGPZtC 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-10/group-pancreatic2.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=8iGv4MSx 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-10/group-pancreatic2.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=FVxDwrIW 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/2024-10/group-pancreatic2.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=8gpGPZtC" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-10-22T10:02:57-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 22, 2024 - 10:02" class="datetime">Tue, 10/22/2024 - 10:02</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"><p><em>Associate Professor Leonardo Salmena, post-doctoral researcher Golam Saffi&nbsp;and former master鈥檚 student&nbsp;Lydio To investigated the role of a gene called INPP4B in pancreatic cancer鈥檚 ability to spread (supplied images)</em></p> </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/betty-zou" hreflang="en">Betty Zou</a></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/princess-margaret-cancer-centre" hreflang="en">Princess Margaret Cancer Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cancer" hreflang="en">Cancer</a></div> <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/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A preclinical study is revealing new insights into the molecular machinery that drives the aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>The ability of pancreatic cancer to invade and spread to other parts of the body is a major factor in its poor prognosis, with an overall five-year survival rate of less than 10 per cent.</p> <p>鈥淧ancreatic cancer cells are known to be very metastatic and that鈥檚 a big problem,鈥 says&nbsp;<strong>Leonardo Salmena</strong>, an associate professor of&nbsp;pharmacology and toxicology&nbsp;in the University of Toronto鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine.</p> <p>Salmena is the senior author of a study, <a href="https://rupress.org/jcb/article/223/11/e202401012/276895/INPP4B-promotes-PDAC-aggressiveness-via-PIKfyve" target="_blank">published in the<em>&nbsp;Journal of Cell Biology</em></a>,&nbsp;that investigates the role of a gene called INPP4B in pancreatic cancer鈥檚 ability to spread. Led by post-doctoral researcher <strong>Golam Saffi</strong>&nbsp;and former master鈥檚 student&nbsp;<strong>Lydia To</strong>, the team found that INPP4B exerts its tumour-promoting effects via a cellular organ called the lysosome.</p> <p>鈥淐lassically, the lysosome is a garbage disposal organelle where old and tired proteins and other organelles get degraded to be used for energy and other building blocks for the cell,鈥 says Salmena.&nbsp;</p> <p>In most cells, lysosomes typically cluster around the nucleus. But in pancreatic cancer cells, the researchers found that INPP4B drove the lysosomes from the cell interior to the periphery, where these organelles fuse with the cell鈥檚 outer membrane. In doing so, the enzymes and other lysosomal factors responsible for breaking down cellular waste are dumped into the space surrounding the tumour cells.&nbsp;</p> <p>This space contains a network of proteins and molecules that provides crucial structural support to cells and tissues while also restricting a cell鈥檚 ability to move. The release of the lysosome鈥檚 protein-degrading contents into this extracellular space causes the stabilizing network to fall apart, thus making it easier for pancreatic cancer cells to migrate and invade other tissues.</p> <p>Crucially, Salmena and his team also identified the signalling pathway by which INPP4B drives the movement of lysosomes to the cell edge. INPP4B works with two other proteins 鈥 PIKfyve and TRPML-1 鈥 to modify the lysosome鈥檚 surface structure and alter local calcium levels so that the organelle is propelled to the cell periphery.&nbsp;</p> <p>Based on these findings, the researchers are testing two experimental drugs that target TRPML-1 and PIKfyve in a preclinical model of pancreatic cancer. They are also studying how the release of lysosomal contents can change the immunological environment of the cancer cells, and what effects that might have on the immune system鈥檚 ability to respond to the tumour.&nbsp;</p> <p>Salmena first became interested in INPP4B when, during his post-doctoral research, he found that it was involved in breast cancer. Since then, he and his team have shown that the effects of INPP4B vary depending on the context.</p> <p>For example, in some breast cancer types, INPP4B behaves as a tumour suppressor whereas it has an activating role in other aggressive cancers like pancreatic cancer 鈥 which the Canadian Cancer Society expects&nbsp;to be the third leading cause of cancer death in Canada in 2024, with an estimated 6,100 people dying from the disease.&nbsp;</p> <p>Salmena and his colleagues later showed that among all cancers, INPP4B levels are highest in pancreatic tumours, and that high levels of the protein are associated with decreased overall survival in people with pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>The study was a collaboration between Salmena鈥檚 group,&nbsp;<strong>Roberto Botelho</strong>, a professor of chemistry and biology at Toronto Metropolitan University, and&nbsp;<strong>Steven Gallinger</strong>, a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgical oncologist and clinician-scientist at&nbsp;Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network and&nbsp;a professor of&nbsp;surgery&nbsp;and&nbsp;laboratory medicine and pathobiology&nbsp;in Temerty Medicine. He is also director of the PanCuRx Translational Research Initiative at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.</p> <p>The study was supported by the Cancer Research Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</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> Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:02:57 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 310033 at Congratulations pour in for Geoffrey Hinton after Nobel win /news/congratulations-pour-geoffrey-hinton-after-nobel-win <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Congratulations pour in for Geoffrey Hinton after Nobel win</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/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration-%283%29-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=006T1tnK 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration-%283%29-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=SiTXIeog 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration-%283%29-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=982sYJXx 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/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration-%283%29-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=006T1tnK" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>mattimar</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-10-08T15:43:16-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 8, 2024 - 15:43" class="datetime">Tue, 10/08/2024 - 15:43</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"><p><em>(Photo by Johnny Guatto/University of Toronto)</em></p> </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/mariam-matti" hreflang="en">Mariam Matti</a></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/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</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/alumni" hreflang="en">老司机直播</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/geoffrey-hinton" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Hinton</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/nobel-prize" hreflang="en">Nobel Prize</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/statistical-sciences" hreflang="en">Statistical Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/vector-institute" hreflang="en">Vector Institute</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">鈥淵ou always knew when Geoff had a new idea. The excitement, the joy radiated out of his office down the hall. The air was buzzing with possibility"</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Reactions to <a href="https://discover.research.utoronto.ca/26059-geoffrey-e-hinton"><strong>Geoffrey Hinton鈥檚</strong></a>&nbsp;<a href="/news/geoffrey-hinton-wins-nobel-prize">Nobel Prize win</a> began almost immediately after it was announced Tuesday morning. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Known as the 鈥済odfather of AI,鈥 the <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> Emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto&nbsp;shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with<strong> John J. Hopfield</strong> of Princeton University for groundbreaking work that laid the foundation for machine learning using artificial neural networks.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/GettyImages-2176644097.jpg?itok=FKNW9Os1" width="750" height="481" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>老司机直播鈥檚 Geoffrey Hinton and Princeton鈥檚 John J. Hopfield are pictured during the announcement for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics (photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>At 老司机直播, students, faculty and staff&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSCDoHsqV3E">gathered at an event</a> hosted by the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, which Hinton joined as a professor in 1987.</p> <p>Those in attendance described a revered and beloved figure, citing Hinton鈥檚 determination, playful approach to research and excitement for new ideas.</p> <p>"I really don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anyone more deserving of this recognition," said&nbsp;<strong>Chris Maddison</strong>,&nbsp;assistant professor in 老司机直播鈥檚 departments of computer science and statistical sciences, and one of Hinton鈥檚 former students.</p> <p>"Geoff was a fantastic adviser. He worked really, really hard to remove the barriers for his students and he was laser focused on ideas and building his own understanding."</p> <p>Hinton also received congratulations from universities and other research organizations around the world, including the <a href="https://x.com/royalsociety/status/1843606333490143741">Royal Society</a>, the <a href="https://x.com/turinginst/status/1843690135717892219" target="_blank">Alan Turing Institute</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://x.com/Cambridge_Uni/status/1843614886946861491">Cambridge University</a>, Hinton鈥檚 alma mater.</p> <p>Meanwhile, friends, colleagues and leaders in politics and business took to social media to express their congratulations for Hinton鈥檚 remarkable achievement.</p> <p>Here鈥檚 a snapshot of what some of them said:</p> <hr> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration-%2810%29-crop.jpg?itok=QI98R3aZ" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>From left: Melanie Woodin, Chris Maddison, Nick Frosst, Kevin Swersky and Eyal de Lara (photo by Johnny Guatto)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淐ongratulations to Geoffrey Hinton on this fantastic recognition which is a testament to the importance of supporting basic research and the long journey that can lead to profound discoveries like deep learning that forever change our world. Hinton's phenomenal work has seeded new and innovative research by his former students and many around the world who are using AI to solve global challenges in areas like medicine and climate change.鈥</p> <p>鈥&nbsp;<em><strong>Leah Cowen</strong>, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives&nbsp;at 老司机直播</em></p> <p>鈥淚 would say his approach to science has stuck with me. Everything I know about how to do science, I mostly learned from him. It's his curiosity and playfulness ... that has been most impactful. I would also say his thoughtfulness, thinking about the consequence of the technology and how it affects society is something that we have taken seriously at Cohere as well.鈥</p> <p>鈥&nbsp;<em><strong>Nick Frosst</strong>, 老司机直播 alumnus and&nbsp;co-founder of Cohere</em></p> <p>鈥淵ou always knew when Geoff had a new idea. The excitement, the joy radiated out of his office down the hall. The air was buzzing with possibility. He was famous for bursting into a room and pronouncing that, he now finally, after all these years, understood how the brain worked.&nbsp;Above all, he understood that research was a human endeavor. Research is really hard. It becomes personal. It's intertwined with tragedies and compromises. I saw him go through some of his own when I was a student in the group, and I went through my own. I remember when I was going through some health challenges, I went to him and I said, 'Geoff, sometimes it's really hard to go on.鈥 And he looked at me and he said, 鈥橞ut we're not going to let that slow us down, will we?鈥"</p> <p>鈥 <em><strong>Chris Maddison</strong>,&nbsp;assistant professor in 老司机直播鈥檚 departments of computer science and statistical sciences, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration_2-crop.jpg?itok=fzaxySC5" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>老司机直播 is the only computer science department with a Nobel Prize winner, says Professor Michael Brudno&nbsp;(photo by Johnny Guatto)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淚t's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate an award for somebody who has made huge contributions 鈥&nbsp;obviously in AI broadly, [and] to this department. No other computer science department can say that they have a Nobel Laureate. But I think beyond that, it really goes back to show how the birthplace of modern AI is Toronto, how this is the place where it all started and how it's upon us as the AI faculty in this department to continue this legacy.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥&nbsp;<em><strong>Michael Brudno</strong>, professor in 老司机直播鈥檚 department of computer science, acting vice-dean, graduate education in Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, a chief data scientist at University Health Network and a faculty member at the Vector Institute</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/UofT16991_0J5A1449.jpg?itok=fCQSglO2" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Geoffrey Hinton shares a laugh with fellow AI researcher Raquel&nbsp;Urtasun, left, at the Vector Institute鈥檚 opening in 2017 (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>"Geoff is the most influential person in AI, and our field would certainly not be the same without his immense contributions. He is also a tremendous educator, and has mentored many students and postdocs who have gone on to become very influential in the field of AI. Geoff cares deeply about the Toronto and Canadian ecosystem and was the driving force in the formation of the Vector Institute, which we co-founded together. Through our time as colleagues at the University of Toronto, I've deeply admired his commitment to the advancement of AI for good. This recognition is well-deserved and acknowledges his decades of work leading AI innovation and building the foundation for the AI revolution that is happening today.鈥</p> <p>鈥&nbsp;<em><strong>Raquel Urtasun</strong>, professor in 老司机直播鈥檚 department of computer science, faculty member and co-founder at the Vector Institute, founder and CEO of Waabi</em></p> <p>鈥淚 was the first to call Geoff Hinton 鈥淕odfather of Deep Learning,鈥 which later became 鈥淕odfather of AI.鈥 Thrilled to see him win the Nobel prize together with John Hopfield for AI. Congrats @geoffreyhinton.鈥</p> <p>鈥 <em><strong>Andrew Ng</strong>, co-founder of Coursera, founder GoogleBrain, former chief scientist at Baidu</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/UofT16745_0207BoardofTrade003.jpg?itok=1_YeHbqx" width="750" height="501" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Geoffrey Hinton at a 2019 event (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淒r.&nbsp;Hinton is a stalwart in his field. Celebrated as one of the 鈥楪odfathers of AI鈥, he brings decades of leading expertise in AI research as a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto鈥檚 Department of Computer Science, and the current Chief Scientific Advisor at the Vector Institute in Toronto 鈥 one of our three national AI institutes. Dr.&nbsp;Hinton is also an outspoken advocate for the responsible development and adoption of AI, educating the world about the benefits and challenges this technology poses.</p> <p>鈥淐anada is at the forefront of AI technology thanks to trailblazers like Dr.&nbsp;Hinton. His curiosity for discovery and contributions to innovation will inspire generations to come. On behalf of all Canadians, I congratulate him on his remarkable achievement.鈥</p> <p>鈥&nbsp;<em><strong>Justin Trudeau</strong>, Prime Minister of Canada</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/38021064796_59e963a64e_o-crop.jpg?itok=uMLTY34E" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>A.M. Turing Award winners Yann LeCun, left, Yoshua Bengio, middle, and Geoffrey Hinton at an AI summit in Montreal (photo courtesy of&nbsp;RE鈥ORK)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>"@HopfieldJohn and @geoffreyhinton, along with collaborators, have created a beautiful and insightful bridge between physics and AI. They invented neural networks that were not only inspired by the brain, but also by central notions in physics such as energy, temperature, system dynamics, energy barriers, the role of randomness and noise, connecting the local properties, e.g., of atoms or neurons, to global ones like entropy and attractors. And they went beyond the physics to show how these ideas could give rise to memory, learning and generative models; concepts which are still at the forefront of modern AI research. Their ideas inspired me so profoundly that I decided to choose learning in neural networks for my own research as a graduate student. They motivated me to look for abstract principles that could be as simple as the laws of physics, but could explain biological as well as artificial intelligence. I'm truly delighted for them and for our field."</p> <p><em>鈥&nbsp;<strong>Yoshua Bengio</strong>, professor at Universit茅 de Montr茅al and co-winner of the A.M Turing Award with Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun</em></p> <p>鈥淚t was the first thing I saw in the morning. I opened my phone, and it was the headline of <em>The</em> <em>New York Times&nbsp;</em>and I was like, 鈥榊es!鈥 I was very excited.&nbsp;I saw his perseverance 鈥&nbsp;he always goes with what he believes, not what the flow is 鈥 and it's quite inspirational for me. That鈥檚 what I look for, especially in the health care area. I want to do something meaningful, something big.鈥</p> <p>鈥<em><strong>Tina Behrouzi</strong>, second year PhD student in 老司机直播鈥檚 department of computer science</em></p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/UofT2995_20130312_GeoffreyHinton_A.JPG?itok=-VlB64xm" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Geoffrey Hinton poses with graduate students Ilya Sutskever, left, and Alex Krizhevsky, right, in 2013 (photo by Johnny Guatto)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淐ongratulations to @geoffreyhinton for winning the Nobel Prize in physics!!鈥</p> <p><em>鈥&nbsp;<strong>Ilya Sutskever</strong>, 老司机直播 alumnus, co-founder of OpenAI and&nbsp;co-founder and chief scientist at Safe Superintelligence</em></p> <p>鈥淕oing to Geoff鈥檚 office was always fun. Normally when you go to a supervisor's office, you give them a progress update. You go through what your latest results are, you talk about a couple of your ideas and you get some feedback.&nbsp;Going to Geoff鈥檚 office was a completely different story. He would be telling you what his latest idea was. He would show you his latest results. And his whole thing was just that he was really excited about it, and his hope was to inspire you enough to start running with it.鈥</p> <p>鈥<em>&nbsp;<strong>Kevin Swersky</strong>, 老司机直播 alumnus and research scientist at Google DeepMind</em></p> <p>鈥淸Hinton's] pioneering research at the University of Toronto not only revolutionized the field of AI but has also been instrumental in establishing Canada as a global powerhouse in AI research and innovation."</p> <p><em>鈥 <strong>Tony Gaffney</strong>,&nbsp;president and CEO of the Vector Institute</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/UofT93629_2023-10-04-Geoffrey-Hinton-and-Fei-Fei-Li_Photo-Polina-Teif-14-crop.jpg?itok=BApNudhs" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Fei-Fei Li and Geoffrey Hinton speak at a 2023 event in Toronto (photo by Polina Teif)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淭his is beyond exciting! #AI鈥檚 far reaching impact is just beginning.鈥</p> <p>鈥&nbsp;<em><strong>Fei-Fei Li</strong>,&nbsp;professor of computer science at Stanford University and co-director of Stanford鈥檚 Human-Centered AI Institute</em></p> <p>鈥淐ongratulations to @geoffreyhinton, University Professor Emeritus at@UofT, on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics! Widely regarded as the 鈥済odfather of AI,鈥 Hinton鈥檚 pioneering work in artificial neural networks has transformed the global AI landscape. Dr. Hinton鈥檚 achievement highlights the best of #Ontario鈥檚 world-class talent and thriving AI ecosystem, driving innovation and shaping the future of critical #technology!</p> <p>鈥 <em><strong>Victor Fedeli</strong>,&nbsp;Ontario鈥檚 minister of economic development, job creation and trade</em></p> <p>"On behalf of the Department and the University, we are very&nbsp;proud to acknowledge Geoff's global achievements and this international recognition. His contributions to machine learning and artificial intelligence have benefited virtually every discipline in science, engineering, social sciences and medicine.&nbsp;&nbsp;As we celebrate the department鈥檚 60th anniversary, this award embodies six decades of impact and innovation in computer science and technology.鈥</p> <p><em>鈥 <strong>Eyal de Lara</strong>, professor and chair of 老司机直播鈥檚 department of computer science, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</em></p> <p>鈥淗eartfelt congratulations to Geoff Hinton @geoffreyhinton on winning the Nobel Prize! What an incredible honor! I feel deeply privileged to have had the opportunity to be your PhD student, work with you, and learn from you.鈥</p> <p><em style="font-size: 1rem;">鈥&nbsp;<strong>Russ Salakhutdinov</strong>, professor of computer science at&nbsp;Carnegie Mellon University</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-10/2024-10-08-Hinton-Nobel-Celebration_1-crop.jpg?itok=tX-OUnuz" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Hinton approached his research with an 鈥渁lmost childlike playfulness,鈥 says Graduate student Ujan Sen&nbsp;鈥嬧(photo by Johnny Guatto)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淲aking up today, seeing that news, just motivates me even more and reaffirms the decision that coming to 老司机直播 was the absolutely the best decision I could have taken. I think one of the people who had previously worked with him mentioned something along the lines of: Geoff didn't really care too much about pedigree. He cared about ideas, regardless if you have a master's or PhD. And the way he approached his research and the almost childlike playfulness and innocence he had with sort of getting to the answer is something that I really resonate with.鈥</p> <p><em>鈥 <strong>Ujan Sen</strong>, master鈥檚&nbsp;student in 老司机直播鈥檚 department of computer science, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</em></p> <p>"I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Geoffrey Hinton on winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. His groundbreaking work in machine learning has made Canada world-renowned in the field of AI. He is a true inspiration for the next generation of Canadian researchers!"</p> <p><em>鈥&nbsp;<strong>Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne</strong>, Canada鈥檚 minister of innovation, science and industry</em></p> <p>鈥淚鈥檓 originally a chemist. It was a surprising thing for me that a Nobel Prize is being awarded to a computer scientist. This is a big moment for computer science. I think it will bring recognition to physics-based approaches and core thinking.</p> <p>鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great that some universities like 老司机直播 are willing to believe in crazy ideas. People need to encourage outside-the-box thinking.鈥</p> <p>鈥<strong> </strong><em><strong>Ella Rajaonson</strong>, PhD student in the Matter Lab with 老司机直播 professor <strong>Al谩n Aspuru-Guzik</strong>&nbsp;</em></p> <p>鈥淐ongratulations!鈥</p> <p><em>鈥&nbsp;<strong>Olivia Chow</strong>, mayor of Toronto</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&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> Tue, 08 Oct 2024 19:43:16 +0000 mattimar 309813 at Researchers develop new method for delivering RNA and drugs into cells /news/researchers-develop-new-method-delivering-rna-and-drugs-cells <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researchers develop new method for delivering RNA and drugs into 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/2024-09/Shoichet-Slaughter-Advanced-Materials-2024-1155x770-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=auQcU1nm 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-09/Shoichet-Slaughter-Advanced-Materials-2024-1155x770-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=EsanzQ7A 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-09/Shoichet-Slaughter-Advanced-Materials-2024-1155x770-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=YVhRYZXI 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/2024-09/Shoichet-Slaughter-Advanced-Materials-2024-1155x770-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=auQcU1nm" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-09-16T11:02:15-04:00" title="Monday, September 16, 2024 - 11:02" class="datetime">Mon, 09/16/2024 - 11:02</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"><p><em>PhD candidate Kai Slaughter, left, and University Professor Molly Shoichet are exploring how ionizable drugs can be used to co-formulate small interfering RNA (siRNA) for more effective intracellular delivery (supplied images)</em></p> </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/qin-dai" hreflang="en">Qin Dai</a></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/institute-biomedical-engineering" hreflang="en">Institute of Biomedical Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/princess-margaret-cancer-centre" hreflang="en">Princess Margaret Cancer Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/donnelly-centre-cellular-biomolecular-research" hreflang="en">Donnelly Centre for Cellular &amp; Biomolecular Research</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/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</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">"This could be a game-changer for treating complex conditions where targeting multiple pathways is beneficial, such as cancer and viral infections"</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers at the University of Toronto and its hospital partners have developed a method for co-delivering therapeutic RNA and potent drugs directly into cells, potentially leading to a more effective treatment of diseases.</p> <p>The research, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202403701" target="_blank">published recently in the journal <em>Advanced Materials</em></a>, explores how ionizable drugs can be used to co-formulate small interfering RNA (siRNA) for more effective intracellular delivery.</p> <p>The team 鈥&nbsp;including <strong>Molly Shoichet</strong>, the study鈥檚 corresponding author and a <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a>&nbsp;in 老司机直播鈥檚 department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering 鈥 specifically targeted drug-resistant cells with the delivery of a relevant siRNA.&nbsp;The siRNA&nbsp;was&nbsp;discovered study co-author and collaborator&nbsp;<strong>David Cescon</strong>, a clinician scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and an associate professor in 老司机直播鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine.</p> <p>鈥淲e found that our co-formulation method not only potently delivered siRNA to cells but also simultaneously delivered active ionizable drugs,鈥 said research lead author&nbsp;<strong>Kai Slaughter</strong>, a PhD candidate in Shoichet鈥檚 lab.</p> <p>鈥淭his could be a game-changer for treating complex conditions where targeting multiple pathways is beneficial, such as cancer and viral infections.鈥</p> <p>siRNA is a powerful tool in medicine, capable of silencing specific genes responsible for disease, but delivering these molecules into cells without degradation remains a significant challenge. While recent innovations in ionizable lipid design have led to efficiency improvements, traditional nanoparticle formulations are limited in the amount of small molecule drugs they can carry.</p> <p>When therapeutic formulations are absorbed by cells, small molecule drugs and siRNA are often trapped in small compartments called endosomes, preventing them from reaching their target destination and reducing their effectiveness.</p> <p>The research team discovered that combining siRNA with ionizable drugs 鈥 compounds that change their charge based on pH levels 鈥 enhances the stability and delivery efficiency of siRNA inside cells, helping both the siRNA and drug escape the endosome and more effectively reach their destination. This novel method utilizes the protective properties of lipids to safeguard siRNA during its journey through the body and ensure the release of RNA and the drug together within the target cells.</p> <p>鈥淥ne of the biggest hurdles in siRNA therapy has been getting these molecules to where they need to go without losing their potency,鈥 Shoichet says.</p> <p>鈥淥ur approach using ionizable drugs as carriers marks a significant step forward in overcoming this barrier, while also showing how drugs and RNA can be delivered together in the same nanoparticle formulation.鈥</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, 16 Sep 2024 15:02:15 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 309438 at 老司机直播 researchers integrate crucial immune cells onto heart-on-a-chip platform /news/u-t-researchers-integrate-crucial-immune-cells-heart-chip-platform <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">老司机直播 researchers integrate crucial immune cells onto heart-on-a-chip platform</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/2024-08/heart-on-a-chip-group.jpg?h=d295d48f&amp;itok=vZ_Hbw6N 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-08/heart-on-a-chip-group.jpg?h=d295d48f&amp;itok=x6SIHfgQ 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-08/heart-on-a-chip-group.jpg?h=d295d48f&amp;itok=wvJ2WogZ 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/2024-08/heart-on-a-chip-group.jpg?h=d295d48f&amp;itok=vZ_Hbw6N" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-08-23T08:56:51-04:00" title="Friday, August 23, 2024 - 08:56" class="datetime">Fri, 08/23/2024 - 08:56</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"><p><em>L-R: 老司机直播 post-doctoral fellow Shira Landau, PhD alum Yimu Zhao and Professor Milica Radisic are three of the primary authors of a study that could lead to advancements in the creation of more stable and functional heart tissues (supplied images)</em></p> </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/qin-dai" hreflang="en">Qin Dai</a></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/institute-biomedical-engineering" hreflang="en">Institute of Biomedical Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/toronto-general-hospital" hreflang="en">Toronto General Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/donnelly-centre-cellular-biomolecular-research" hreflang="en">Donnelly Centre for Cellular &amp; Biomolecular Research</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/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</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">The immune cells, known as primitive macrophages, were found to enhance heart tissue function and vessel stability<br> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered a novel method for incorporating primitive macrophages 鈥 crucial immune cells 鈥 into heart-on-a-chip technology, in a potentially transformative step forward in drug testing and heart disease modeling.</p> <p>In a study&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(24)00208-X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS193459092400208X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue#secsectitle0020">published in <em>Cell Stem Cell</em></a>, an interdisciplinary team of scientists describe how they integrated the macrophages 鈥 which were derived from human stem cells and resemble those found in the early stages of heart development 鈥 onto the platforms.&nbsp;These macrophages are known to have remarkable abilities in promoting vascularization and enhancing tissue stability.</p> <p>Corresponding author <strong>Milica Radisic</strong>, a senior scientist in the University Health Network's Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and professor in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at 老司机直播鈥檚 Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, says the approach promises to enhance the functionality and stability of engineered heart tissues.</p> <p>鈥淲e demonstrated here that stable vascularization of a heart tissue in vitro requires contributions from immune cells, specifically macrophages. We followed a biomimetic approach, re-establishing the key constituents of a cardiac niche,鈥 says Radisic, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Functional Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering</p> <p>鈥淏y combining cardiomyocytes, stromal cells, endothelial cells and macrophages, we enabled appropriate cell-to-cell crosstalk such as in the native heart muscle.鈥</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_550_width_/public/2024-08/85432scr_c9eecd836bb8daa.jpg?itok=7cIgKMpm" width="550" height="367" alt="Milica Radisic lab" class="image-style-scale-image-550-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Professor Milica Radisic's research team have worked on developing a miniaturized version of cardiac tissue on heart-on-a-chip platforms for a decade (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>A major challenge in creating bioengineered heart tissue is achieving a stable and functional network of blood vessels. Traditional methods have struggled to maintain these vascular networks over extended periods, limiting their effectiveness for long-term studies and applications.</p> <p>In their study, researchers demonstrated that the primitive macrophages could create stable, perfusable microvascular networks within the cardiac tissue, a feat that had previously been difficult to achieve.</p> <p>Furthermore, the macrophages helped reduce tissue damage by mitigating cytotoxic effects, thereby improving the overall health and functionality of the engineered tissues.</p> <p>鈥淭he inclusion of primitive macrophages significantly improved the function of cardiac tissues, making them more stable and effective for longer periods,鈥 says&nbsp;<strong>Shira Landau</strong>, a post-doctoral fellow in Radisic鈥檚 lab and one of the study鈥檚 lead authors.</p> <p>The breakthrough has far-reaching implications for the field of cardiac research. By enabling the creation of more stable and functional heart tissues, researchers can better study heart diseases and test new drugs in a controlled environment.</p> <p>Researchers say this technology could lead to more accurate disease models and more effective treatments for heart conditions.</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> Fri, 23 Aug 2024 12:56:51 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 309001 at Researchers propose biologically based classification system for Parkinson鈥檚 disease /news/researchers-propose-biologically-based-classification-system-parkinson-s-disease <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researchers propose biologically based classification system for Parkinson鈥檚 disease</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/2024-08/GettyImages-1397344056-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=4kEZmHCy 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-08/GettyImages-1397344056-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=PBaMvAYm 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-08/GettyImages-1397344056-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=CgfomEuh 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/2024-08/GettyImages-1397344056-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=4kEZmHCy" alt="An adult holds the hand of an elderly person"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-08-20T12:17:45-04:00" title="Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 12:17" class="datetime">Tue, 08/20/2024 - 12:17</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"><p><em>The "SynNeurGe" classification system for Parkinson's disease, proposed by researchers led by Professor Anthony Lang of the University Health Network and 老司机直播, is based on three key biomarkers (photo by FG Trade/Getty Images)</em></p> </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/eileen-hoftyzer" hreflang="en">Eileen Hoftyzer</a></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/department-medicine" hreflang="en">Department of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/tanz-centre-research-neurodegenerative-diseases" hreflang="en">Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/parkinson-s" hreflang="en">Parkinson's</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</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">The classification system could enable advancements in the development of tailored treatments for Parkinson's disease</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A team of researchers led by <strong>Anthony Lang</strong> of the University Health Network and the University of Toronto have proposed a novel classification system for Parkinson鈥檚 disease that considers biological features and not just clinical symptoms.</p> <p>The "SynNeurGe" system, described by Lang and collaborators in a paper <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(23)00404-0/abstract">published in <em>The Lancet Neurology</em></a>, classifies Parkinson鈥檚 disease based on three biomarkers: presence or absence of misfolded alpha synuclein protein, which is believed to cause or contribute to the underlying neurodegeneration; evidence of neurodegeneration using imaging techniques; and presence of gene variants that increase disease risk.</p> <p>The researchers argue that such a classification system is necessary to advance the development of tailored treatments for Parkinson鈥檚 disease.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2024-08/Anthony-Lang.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Professor Anthony Lang (supplied image)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>鈥淭his is a complex group of disorders that may cause similar symptoms, but biologically they're very different,鈥 says Lang, a senior scientist and Lily Safra Chair in Movement Disorders at UHN and a professor in the department of medicine and the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease at 老司机直播鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine,&nbsp;where he holds the Jack Clark Chair for Parkinson鈥檚 Disease Research</p> <p>鈥淚f we cannot find ways to subdivide patients biologically, then applying a therapy designed to affect one biological pathway may not be effective in another group of patients that doesn't have that same pathway involved 鈥 and we won鈥檛 really have precision or personalized medicine for Parkinson鈥檚 disease.鈥</p> <p>Currently, Parkinson鈥檚 disease is classified based on clinical presentation and symptoms, but the disease can affect the brain for years, possibly even decades, before symptoms appear. For future therapies to treat the underlying disease rather than just the symptoms, patients will need early intervention and treatments tailored to the biological features of the disease, researchers say.</p> <p>Similar approaches are being used for other diseases 鈥 cancer treatments vary not only by the location of tumors but also their molecular features, and the development of drugs for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease is increasingly guided by the specific biological mechanisms involved in the disease.</p> <p>The SynNeurGe classification system, while based on the three key biomarkers, also considers whether clinical features are present. The different combinations of biomarkers classify the disease into various sub-types.</p> <p>Lang and co-authors note that such a classification should only be used for research at present, although it will almost certainly have clinical applications.</p> <p>鈥淓ventually we will see a biological approach influencing clinical care, particularly when we finally have effective disease-modifying therapies,鈥 says Lang. 鈥淲e currently don鈥檛 know how important these biomarkers actually are.</p> <p>"We need large-scale prospective studies of biomarkers, imaging and clinical features to interpret the results, give patients accurate information about their diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment.鈥</p> <p>Lang鈥檚 team plans to start conducting such studies of cerebrospinal fluid, skin and blood to look for biomarkers of different sub-types of Parkinson鈥檚 disease that will help inform the classification system and the development of tailored therapies.</p> <p>鈥淣ow is the time to think about these diseases not solely based on their clinical manifestations, but to look at the biology and try to separate different biological subtypes so we can ultimately improve treatment for this disease,鈥 Lang says.</p> <p>Professor <strong>Graham Collingridge</strong>, director of the Tanz Centre, says Lang and his team鈥檚 鈥渓andmark paper鈥 is poised to have a significant impact on clinical practice around Parkinson's. 鈥淚 am delighted that our researchers have played such a key role in this important biological classification,鈥 Collingridge says.</p> <p>Lang says research by Tanz Centre scholars has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge used to develop the proposed biological classification.</p> <p>For example, Professor&nbsp;<strong>Ekaterina Rogaeva</strong>鈥檚 research on the genetics and epigenetics of Parkinson鈥檚 disease has shown that multiple genes and environments can influence Parkinson鈥檚 risk, highlighting the need to tailor therapies based on a patient鈥檚 genetic makeup.</p> <p>Other researchers&nbsp;<span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt; line-height:107%;font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;,sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family: Lato;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:EN-CA;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">鈥</span> including&nbsp;<strong>Anurag Tandon</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Joel Watts</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Martin Ingelsson</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Gabor Kovacs&nbsp;</strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;,sans-serif">鈥</span></span></span>&nbsp;have been studying the role of misfolded alpha synuclein in neurodegeneration as well as cases of Parkinson鈥檚 disease where alpha synuclein is absent 鈥 which informed how Lang鈥檚 team included the protein in the classification.</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> Tue, 20 Aug 2024 16:17:45 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 309050 at 老司机直播 community members recognized with Order of Canada /news/u-t-community-members-recognized-order-canada-1 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">老司机直播 community members recognized with Order of Canada</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/2024-07/GG05-2016-0448-002-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=jYW8P-by 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-07/GG05-2016-0448-002-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=ZxNzYrl8 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-07/GG05-2016-0448-002-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=Y37ZameF 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/2024-07/GG05-2016-0448-002-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=jYW8P-by" alt="order of canada medals on a black background"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>bresgead</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-07-04T12:49:13-04:00" title="Thursday, July 4, 2024 - 12:49" class="datetime">Thu, 07/04/2024 - 12:49</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"><p><em>(photo by Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall, OSGG-BSGG)</em></p> </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/adina-bresge" hreflang="en">Adina Bresge</a></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/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</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/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/unity-health" hreflang="en">Unity Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institute-health-policy-management-and-evaluation" hreflang="en">Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">老司机直播</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</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/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-music" hreflang="en">Faculty of Music</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</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/order-canada" hreflang="en">Order of Canada</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-michael-s-college" hreflang="en">St. Michael's College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-college" hreflang="en">University College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/victoria-college" hreflang="en">Victoria College</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">"The Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada or who have brought honour to our country abroad"</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>An innovator in chemical catalyst development. A global leader in cardiac surgery and care. And a public health expert who led the rollout of Canada鈥檚 first colon cancer screening program.</p> <p>These are a few members of the University of Toronto community who were recently honoured with appointments or promotions within the Order of Canada.</p> <p>The Governor General <a href="http://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2024/order-canada-june">recently announced 83 new appointments</a> to the Order of Canada, including two promotions within the Order.</p> <p>They include <strong>Doug Stephan</strong>, a<a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/"> University Professor</a>&nbsp;of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science; <strong>Lee Errett</strong>, a professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 department of surgery, and&nbsp;<strong>Linda Rabeneck</strong>, a health executive and&nbsp;professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.</p> <p>Established in 1967, the Order of Canada is one of the country鈥檚 highest honours, recognizing extraordinary contributions across all sectors of society.</p> <p>鈥淭he Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada or who have brought honour to our country abroad,鈥 Gov. Gen. <strong>Mary Simon</strong> said in a statement.</p> <p>Here is a list of 老司机直播 faculty, alumni and supporters who were appointed to, or promoted within, the Order of Canada in the latest round of honourees.</p> <hr> <h4>Current and former faculty</h4> <p><strong>Edward Cole</strong>, a staff nephrologist at Toronto General Hospital and professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 department of medicine, was named a Member of the Order for his dedication to advancing and delivering care to people living with kidney disease, his instrumental role in establishing a globally impactful kidney-paired donation program and his leadership as former physician-in-chief at the University Health Network.</p> <p><strong>Lee Errett</strong>, a&nbsp;professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 department of surgery, was appointed a Member of the Order for his transformative leadership in cardiac research and care, including his role in establishing St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital as a world-class centre for cardiac surgery, his dedication to educating future medical leaders and providing care in underserved areas worldwide.</p> <p><strong>Franklyn Griffiths</strong>, a professor emeritus and George Ignatieff Chair Emeritus of Peace and Conflict Studies in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, was appointed a Member of the Order for his scholarship on Russian affairs which has advanced the Western world鈥檚 understanding of Soviet politics. An expert in Arctic international relations, Griffiths helped create the Arctic Council and pushed for Indigenous voices to play a central role in the council鈥檚 workings.</p> <p><strong>Beverley Johnston</strong>, an internationally renowned percussionist who is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Music, was appointed an Officer of the Order for her work developing and promoting Canadian music to audiences around the world. Working in a male-dominated field, Johnston鈥檚 unconventional performances combine classical transcriptions, contemporary music and an element of theatre.</p> <p><strong>Daphne Maurer</strong>, a professor emeritus of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour at McMaster University who holds a status appointment at 老司机直播鈥檚 Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, was appointed an Officer of the Order for her research on visual and cognitive development in early childhood.</p> <p><strong>Linda Rabeneck</strong>, a gastroenterologist, health executive and&nbsp;professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, was named a Member of the Order for her leadership in colorectal cancer screening and prevention. Formerly the director of the Division of Gastroenterology at 老司机直播, she led the rollout of ColonCancerCheck, Canada鈥檚 first province-wide screening program.</p> <p><strong>Stephen Randall</strong>, who earned his master's degree and doctorate at 老司机直播 and taught at the university from 1971 to 1974, was named a Member of the Order for his academic contributions and advisory role in international relations. A professor emeritus at the University of Calgary, Randall鈥檚 expertise in myriad issues affecting the United States and Latin America, notably Colombia, has informed Canada鈥檚 foreign policy.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Bibudhendra Sarkar</strong>, senior scientist emeritus at the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children and professor emeritus at 老司机直播鈥檚 department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, was named a Member of the Order for his achievements in advancing medical research in Canada and abroad. He discovered a novel treatment for patients with Menkes disease, a rare genetic condition, and led international efforts in South and Southeast Asia to address public health crises from contaminated groundwater.</p> <p><strong>Jonathan Scott Rose</strong>, a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, was named a Member of the Order for his pioneering work in architecture and software used in field-programmable gate arrays. Rose served as the chair of the department from 2004 to 2009 and received his PhD degree in electrical engineering from 老司机直播 in 1986.</p> <p><strong>Doug Stephan</strong>, a <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, was named an Officer of the Order in recognition his world-leading research in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. His many achievements include discovering 鈥 and commercializing 鈥 a new class of catalysts that is now used in one of the largest chemical manufacturing facilities in the world. He also achieved global renown for founding the field of 鈥淔rustrated Lewis Pair鈥 chemistry.</p> <h4>老司机直播 and friends</h4> <p>Sleight-of-hand artist <strong>David Ben</strong>, who graduated from University College in 1983, was named a Member of the Order for his four decades of dedication to the exploration, development and preservation of magic, including penning several books on the subject and co-founding the Magicana organization.</p> <p><strong>William Fox</strong>, a research fellow and adjunct professor at Trent University who earned his honours bachelor of arts and master of arts in archeology at 老司机直播, was named a Member of the Order for his distinguished contributions to Canadian archeology, his leadership in the Ontario Archaeological Society, and his steadfast advocacy for the involvement of Indigenous communities in preserving their material heritage.</p> <p><strong>Martha Friendly</strong>, who founded the Childcare Resource and Research Unit at 老司机直播鈥檚 Centre for Urban and Community Studies in the early 1980s, was appointed an Officer of the Order for her work with the now-independent non-profit and her advocacy for accessible, publicly funded early childhood education and care, and women鈥檚 equality.</p> <p><strong>Rosemary Ganley</strong>, a writer, activist, teacher and an alumna of St. Michael鈥檚 College, was named a Member of the Order for her lifelong advocacy for human rights, gender equity, and social justice, including co-founding Jamaican Self Help, an organization of Canadians working to support the development of healthy Jamaican communities.</p> <p><strong>Arnie Gelbart</strong>, a member of the Chancellors鈥 Circle of Benefactors, was named a Member of the Order for his decades-long leadership in independent film and television in his role as founder, executive producer and CEO of Galafilm Productions Inc.</p> <p><strong>Judy Kent</strong> was named a Member of the Order for championing sport as a catalyst for social change, her advocacy for gender equality and inclusion and her leadership in international support. Among her achievements: She was the first woman to serve as both president of Commonwealth Sport Canada and Canada鈥檚 chef de mission for the Commonwealth Games, and her paper on sport for international development laid the foundation for the SportWORKS program.</p> <p><strong>James David Meekison</strong>, with a 45-year career spanning investment banking, cable television and private equity, was named a Member of the Order for his extensive philanthropy. The Jim Meekison and Carolyn Keystone Foundation supported 老司机直播鈥檚 Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy鈥檚 efforts to launch the Discovery Pharmacy on the St. George campus.</p> <p><strong>Michael Perley</strong>, a 老司机直播 alumnus who completed a master鈥檚 degree in French language and literature, was named a Member of the Order for his lifelong dedication to tackling environmental and health challenges. He has been an advocate for tighter tobacco control laws, reducing second-hand smoke exposure and has led coalitions on acid rain and air pollution.</p> <p><strong>Dan Poenaru</strong>, a pediatric surgeon and professor at McGill University who earned two degrees at 老司机直播, was named a Member of the Order for his contributions to pediatric surgery in Africa, including establishing a surgical unit and training program in Kenya, co-founding three medical schools and leading initiatives for children's surgery globally.</p> <p><strong>Vaira Vike-Freiberga</strong>, an alumna of Victoria College and the first woman to serve as Latvia鈥檚 president, was named an honorary Officer of the Order for her work enriching Canada-Latvia relations and for reflecting Canadian values abroad.</p> <p><em>鈥 with files from Mariam Matti and Rahul Kalvapalle</em></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, 04 Jul 2024 16:49:13 +0000 bresgead 308380 at Hospitals with higher ratio of female surgeons, anaesthetists have better patient outcomes: Study /news/hospitals-higher-ratio-female-surgeons-anaesthetists-have-better-patient-outcomes-study <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Hospitals with higher ratio of female surgeons, anaesthetists have better patient outcomes: Study </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/2024-05/GettyImages-1735865000-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=KwcoUQIY 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-05/GettyImages-1735865000-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=OnzOHR5m 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-05/GettyImages-1735865000-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=BwJ3r0R_ 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/2024-05/GettyImages-1735865000-crop.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=KwcoUQIY" alt="two female surgeons in an operating room"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-05-22T10:48:30-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 22, 2024 - 10:48" class="datetime">Wed, 05/22/2024 - 10:48</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"><p><em>Reaching a critical mass of more than 35 per cent female anesthesiologists and surgeons was linked to lower odds of severe post-operative complications,&nbsp;according to a study from ICES,&nbsp;Sunnybrook Research Institute&nbsp;and 老司机直播 (photo by&nbsp;Shannon Fagan/Getty Images)</em></p> </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/misty-pratt" hreflang="en">Misty Pratt</a></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="/taxonomy/term/6923" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <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/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</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">"These results are the start of an important shift in understanding the way in which diversity contributes to better quality care around the time of surgery"</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Greater sex diversity in hospital anaesthesia-surgery teams is associated with better post-operative outcomes for patients, according to a study from&nbsp;ICES,&nbsp;Sunnybrook Research Institute&nbsp;and the University of Toronto.&nbsp;</p> <p>The study, published in the&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjs/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/bjs/znae097"><em>British Journal of Surgery</em></a>, found that teams with more than 35 per cent female anesthesiologists and surgeons were associated with a three per cent reduction in odds of post-operative complications in the three months following surgery.</p> <p>This is one of the first studies to focus on sex diversity of operating room teams, building on past work that has compared the impact of individual surgeon and anesthesiologist characteristics on patient outcomes.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e wanted to challenge the binary approach of comparing female and male clinicians and rather highlight the importance of diversity as a team asset or bonus in enhancing quality care,鈥 says&nbsp;lead author&nbsp;<strong>Julie Hallet</strong>, a scientist with ICES and Sunnybrook Research Institute, and associate professor of&nbsp;surgery&nbsp;at 老司机直播鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine.</p> <p>The study includes population-based, health-care data on 709,899 adult patients undergoing major in-patient surgeries in Ontario between 2009 and 2019.&nbsp;</p> <p>Sex diversity of surgical teams was defined as the percentage of female anesthesiologists and surgeons among all anesthesiologists and surgeons working in the hospital each year. The primary outcome was 90-day major morbidity, which the researchers analyzed with a standardized classification scale to identify severe post-surgical complications.</p> <p>The findings showed that reaching a critical mass of more than 35 per cent female anesthesiologists and surgeons was linked to lower odds of severe complications.</p> <p>The association between greater sex diversity and reduced post-surgical complications was even greater for patients treated by female anesthesiologists and female surgeons 鈥 which aligns with previous studies comparing outcomes of male to female surgeons.</p> <p>鈥淭hese results are the start of an important shift in understanding the way in which diversity contributes to better quality care around the time of surgery,鈥 says Hallet. 鈥淓nsuring a critical mass of female anesthesiologists and surgeons in operative teams is crucial to performance. Below a critical mass, female clinicians may withhold their perspectives, such that the benefits of diversity can only be achieved once minimum representation is reached.鈥</p> <p>One limitation of the study is that the data did not include gender as a social construct. It is possible that gender roles, behaviours and attitudes would have influenced the strength of the association.</p> <p>The study鈥檚 authors noted further research is also needed to explore diversity based on other sociodemographic variables, including but not limited to race and ethnicity.</p> <p>Nevertheless, this study is the first to show a robust positive association between team sex diversity, patient outcomes and quality care.</p> <p>鈥淲e hope that these results will encourage hospitals to intentionally foster sex diversity in operating room teams to reduce poor health outcomes, which, in turn, can improve patient satisfaction and promote sustainability of health systems,鈥&nbsp;says&nbsp;<strong>Gianni Lorello</strong>, staff anesthesiologist at&nbsp;Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network and an associate professor in Temerty Medicine鈥檚&nbsp;department of anesthesiology and pain medicine.</p> <p>鈥淓nsuring sex diversity in operative teams will require intentional effort for recruitment and retainment policies for female physicians, structural interventions such as minimum representation on teams, and monitoring and reporting of teams鈥 composition to build institutional accountability in existing systems.鈥&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> The research was supported by the Sunnybrook Alternate Funding Plan Innovation Fund.</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> Wed, 22 May 2024 14:48:30 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 307901 at Researchers uncover DNA repair mechanism that could yield treatments for cancer, premature aging /news/researchers-uncover-dna-repair-mechanism-could-yield-treatments-cancer-premature-aging <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Researchers uncover DNA repair mechanism that could yield treatments for cancer, premature aging</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/2024-05/20240318_dsbNET-paper_3I8A5165.jpg?h=782ba1fc&amp;itok=mT0O2VKy 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-05/20240318_dsbNET-paper_3I8A5165.jpg?h=782ba1fc&amp;itok=Bp1xdmfs 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-05/20240318_dsbNET-paper_3I8A5165.jpg?h=782ba1fc&amp;itok=m4yEv56C 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/2024-05/20240318_dsbNET-paper_3I8A5165.jpg?h=782ba1fc&amp;itok=mT0O2VKy" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-05-08T10:03:08-04:00" title="Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - 10:03" class="datetime">Wed, 05/08/2024 - 10:03</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"><p><em>From left to right: researchers Mia Stani膰, Razqallah Hakem, Mitra Shokrollahi, Karim Mekhail and Anisha Hundal (photo by Erin Howe)</em></p> </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/erin-howe" hreflang="en">Erin Howe</a></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/princess-margaret-cancer-centre" hreflang="en">Princess Margaret Cancer Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/resarch-innovation" hreflang="en">Resarch &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cancer" hreflang="en">Cancer</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/laboratory-medicine-and-pathobiology" hreflang="en">Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</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">鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to think about where these findings will lead us next鈥</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers at the University of Toronto and partner hospitals have discovered a DNA repair mechanism that advances understanding of how human cells stay healthy 鈥 a finding that could lead to new treatments for cancer and premature aging.</p> <p>The&nbsp;study, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-024-01286-7">published in the journal&nbsp;<em>Nature Structural and Molecular Biology</em></a>, also sheds light on the mechanism of action of some existing chemotherapy drugs.</p> <p>鈥淲e think this research solves the mystery of how DNA double-strand breaks and&nbsp;the nuclear envelope connect for repair in human cells,鈥&nbsp;said&nbsp;<strong>Karim Mekhail</strong>, co-principal investigator on the study and a professor of&nbsp;laboratory medicine and pathobiology&nbsp;in 老司机直播鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine.</p> <p>鈥淚t also makes many previously published discoveries in other organisms applicable in the context of human DNA repair, which should help science move even faster.鈥</p> <p>DNA double-strand breaks arise when cells are exposed to radiation and chemicals, and through internal processes such as DNA replication. They are one of the most serious types of DNA damage because they can stall cell growth or put it in overdrive, promoting aging and cancer.</p> <p>The new discovery, made in human cells and in collaboration with&nbsp;<strong>Razqallah Hakem&nbsp;</strong>鈥 a senior scientist at UHN鈥檚 Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and a professor in Temerty Medicine鈥檚 department of medical biophysics and department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology&nbsp;鈥 extends prior research on DNA damage in yeast by Mekhail and other scientists.</p> <p>In 2015, Mekhail and collaborators&nbsp;<a href="https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news/scientists-discover-first-dna-ambulance">showed&nbsp;how&nbsp;motor proteins&nbsp;deep inside&nbsp;the&nbsp;nucleus of yeast cells transport double-strand breaks to 鈥淒NA hospital-like鈥 protein complexes embedded in the nuclear envelope at the edge of the nucleus</a>.</p> <p>Other studies uncovered related mechanisms during DNA repair in flies and other organisms. However, scientists exploring similar mechanisms in human and other mammalian cells reported little to no DNA mobility for most breaks.</p> <p>鈥淲e knew that nuclear envelope proteins were important for DNA repair across most of these organisms, so we wondered how to explain the limited mobility of damaged DNA in mammalian cells,鈥 Mekhail says.</p> <p>The answer is both surprising and elegant.</p> <p>When DNA inside the nucleus of a human cell is damaged,&nbsp;a specific network of microtubule filaments&nbsp;forms in the cytoplasm around the nucleus and pushes on the nuclear envelope. This prompts the formation of tiny tubes, or tubules, which reach into the nucleus and catch most double-strand breaks.</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 like fingers pushing on a balloon,鈥 says Mekhail. 鈥淲hen you squeeze a balloon, your fingers form tunnels in its structure, which forces some parts of the balloon鈥檚 exterior inside itself.鈥</p> <p>Further research by the study authors detailed several aspects of this process. Enzymes called DNA damage response kinases and tubulin acetyltransferase are the master regulators of the process, and promote the formation of the tubules.</p> <p>Enzymes deposit a chemical mark on a specific part of the microtubule filaments, which causes them to recruit tiny motor proteins and push on the nuclear envelope. Consequently, the repair-promoting protein complexes push the envelope deep into the nucleus, creating bridges to the DNA breaks.</p> <p>鈥淭his ensures that the nucleus undergoes a form of reversible metamorphosis, allowing the envelope to temporarily infiltrate DNA throughout the nucleus, capturing and reconnecting broken DNA,鈥 says Mekhail.</p> <p>The findings have significant implications for some cancer treatments.</p> <p>Normal cells use the nuclear envelope tubules to repair DNA, but cancer cells appear to need them more. To explore the mechanism's potential impact, the team analyzed data representing over 8,500 patients with various cancers. The need was visible in several cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer, which is highly aggressive.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭here is a huge effort to identify new therapeutic avenues for cancer patients, and this discovery is a big step forward,鈥 says&nbsp;Hakem.</p> <p>鈥淯ntil now, scientists were unclear as to the relative impact of the nuclear envelope in the repair of damaged DNA in human cells. Our collaboration revealed that targeting factors that modulate the nuclear envelope for damaged DNA repair effectively restrains breast cancer development,鈥 Hakem says.</p> <p>In the aggressive triple-negative breast cancer, there are elevated levels of the tubules 鈥&nbsp;likely because they have more DNA damage than normal cells. When the researchers knocked out the genes needed to control the tubules, cancer cells were less able to form tumours.</p> <p>One medication used to treat triple-negative breast cancer is a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors. PARP is an enzyme that binds to damaged DNA and helps repair it. PARP inhibitors block the enzyme from performing repair, preventing the ends of a DNA double-strand break in cancer cells from reconnecting to one another.</p> <p>The cancer cells end up joining two broken ends that are not part of the same pair. As more mismatched pairs are created, the resulting DNA structures become impossible for cells to copy and divide.</p> <p>鈥淥ur study shows that the drug鈥檚 ability to trigger these mismatches relies on the tubules. When fewer tubules are present, cancer cells are more resistant to PARP inhibitors,鈥 says Hakem.</p> <p>Mekhail says the work underscores&nbsp;the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration.</p> <p>鈥淭he brain power behind every project is crucial. Every team member counts. Also, every right collaborator added to the research project is akin to earning another doctorate in a new specialty 鈥&nbsp;it鈥檚 powerful,鈥 he says.</p> <p>Mekhail notes the discovery is also relevant to premature aging conditions like progeria. The rare genetic condition causes rapid aging within the first two decades of life, commonly leading to early death.</p> <p>Progeria is linked to a gene coding for lamin A. Mutations in this gene reduce the rigidity of the nuclear envelope. The team found that expression of mutant lamin A is sufficient to induce the tubules, which DNA damaging agents further boosted. The team thinks that even weak pressure on the nuclear envelope spurs the creation of tubules in premature aging cells.&nbsp;</p> <p>The findings suggest that in progeria, DNA repair may be compromised by the presence of too many or poorly regulated tubules. The study results also have implications for many other clinical conditions, Mekhail says.</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to think about where these findings will lead us next,鈥 says Mekhail. 鈥淲e have excellent colleagues and incredible trainees here at Temerty Medicine and in our partner hospitals. We鈥檙e already working toward following this discovery and using our work to create novel therapeutics.鈥</p> <p>The research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Royal Society of Canada, 老司机直播 and Princess Margaret Hospital.</p> <h3><a href="http://lmp.utoronto.ca/news/team-effort-reveals-cells-reshape-their-nucleus-repair-dna-impacting-cancer-and-aging">Read more at the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology</a></h3> </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> Wed, 08 May 2024 14:03:08 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 307804 at 老司机直播, hospitals launch pilot program to boost commercialization of medical innovations /news/u-t-hospitals-launch-pilot-program-boost-commercialization-medical-innovations <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">老司机直播, hospitals launch pilot program to boost commercialization of medical innovations</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/2024-04/UofT84617_u-of-t-engineering-artificial-skin-3d-printer_crop.jpg?h=b5967229&amp;itok=9qImMz4G 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-04/UofT84617_u-of-t-engineering-artificial-skin-3d-printer_crop.jpg?h=b5967229&amp;itok=8_1yH6uj 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-04/UofT84617_u-of-t-engineering-artificial-skin-3d-printer_crop.jpg?h=b5967229&amp;itok=DjeSv2ck 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/2024-04/UofT84617_u-of-t-engineering-artificial-skin-3d-printer_crop.jpg?h=b5967229&amp;itok=9qImMz4G" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-04-24T10:19:19-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 24, 2024 - 10:19" class="datetime">Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:19</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"><p><em>(photo by Daria&nbsp;Perevezentsev)</em></p> </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/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></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/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</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/acceleration-consortium" hreflang="en">Acceleration Consortium</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institutional-strategic-initiatives" hreflang="en">Institutional Strategic Initiatives</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6923" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/department-chemistry" hreflang="en">Department of Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/department-computer-science" hreflang="en">Department of Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-art-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Art &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</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/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The University of Toronto is collaborating with the University Health Network, the Hospital for Sick Children and Sunnybrook Research Institute on a new program that aims to leverage the expertise of entrepreneurs and business leaders to advance commercialization of emerging medical technologies and regenerative medicine research.</p> <p>Funded by the Government of Ontario, the Entrepreneur-In-Residence program will support projects that display high potential for clinical impact and spin-off company formation, spanning areas ranging from regenerative therapies and medical devices to AI-powered clinical tools and apps for patient care.</p> <p>The one-year pilot program is being launched with the help of a $300,000 grant from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/intellectual-property-ontario" target="_blank">Intellectual Property Ontario</a> (IPON), a provincial agency that was established in 2022 to provide IP resources and supports to researchers and businesses.</p> <p>鈥淭he Entrepreneur-in-Residence program will help take medical innovations developed in academic and hospital environments and translate them into the commercial arena, generating economic opportunity for the region and expanding clinical impact globally,鈥 said&nbsp;<strong>Leah Cowen</strong>, 老司机直播鈥檚 vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.</p> <p>鈥淭he University of Toronto is grateful to IPON for its support of this initiative, which stands to strengthen existing networks of knowledge exchange and collaboration between the university and its partner hospitals.鈥</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-04/1712597781040-crop.jpg?itok=m5KpLqHM" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>&nbsp;Jill Dunlop, left,Ontario鈥檚 minister of colleges and universities, said post-secondary institutions are critical incubators of innovation and commercialization&nbsp;(photo courtesy of IPON)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>The program will see Entrepreneurs-in-Residence 鈥 individuals with a track record of launching science-based ventures and shepherding projects from proof-of-concept to incubation, acceleration and seed funding 鈥 liaise with 老司机直播鈥檚 Innovations &amp; Partnerships Office and IPON to generate and protect IP.&nbsp;It is designed to add capacity and scope to 老司机直播鈥檚 thriving entrepreneurship and commercialization ecosystem, including existing Entrepreneur-in-Residence initiatives such as those offered by the&nbsp;<a href="https://rhse.temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/entrepreneur-residence-eir#:~:text=The%20Temerty%20Faculty%20of%20Medicine,stages%20of%20their%20entrepreneurial%20journey.">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://mbd.utoronto.ca/news/expands-eir-program/">Medicine By Design</a>, an&nbsp;<a href="https://isi.utoronto.ca/">institutional strategic initiative</a>&nbsp;(ISI).</p> <p>鈥淚n today鈥檚 global knowledge-based economy, Ontario鈥檚 post-secondary institutions are critical 鈥&nbsp;&nbsp;not just as centres of learning, but as incubators for innovation and commercialization,鈥 said&nbsp;<strong>Jill Dunlop</strong>, minister of colleges and universities, in a recent announcement of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ip-ontario.ca/media/ontario-investing-46-million-to-fuel-made-in-ontario-innovations-at-colleges-and-universities">new IPON-funded initiatives</a>.</p> <p>鈥淭hrough the province鈥檚 support of IPON, our government is ensuring the social and economic benefits of publicly funded research stay in our province, so that Ontarians and the Ontario economy benefit from these new discoveries and innovations.鈥</p> <p>Dunlop also spoke at an April 8 event with&nbsp;<strong>Christine Allen</strong>, a professor in 老司机直播鈥檚 Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy who has an extensive track record of translating and commercializing lab discoveries.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2024-04/Junction-38---Panel-%281%29-crop.jpg?itok=hsDEv8Tt" width="750" height="434" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Christine Allen, far right, is a professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and the founder and CEO of Intrepid Labs (photo courtesy of IPON)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>At the event, Allen highlighted the growth of her startup,&nbsp;<a href="https://intrepidlabs.tech/" target="_blank">Intrepid Labs Inc.</a>, which she co-founded with&nbsp;<strong>Al谩n Aspuru-Guzik</strong>, a professor in the departments of chemistry and computer science in 老司机直播鈥檚 Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/">Acceleration Consortium</a>. The company marries Allen鈥檚 prowess in drug formulation and development with Aspuru-Guzik鈥檚 expertise in AI and advanced computing in order to accelerate the development of next-generation medicines. In the fall, the company closed a pre-seed round of US$4 million.</p> <p>鈥淭he availability of top-notch talent in AI and life sciences made Toronto a great place to launch our company,鈥 says Allen, who is Intrepid鈥檚 CEO, noting all four of the startup鈥檚 co-founders are from 老司机直播.</p> <p>She added that 老司机直播 is a powerhouse for entrepreneurship and intellectual property, ranked second in North America for university-based startups, and that companies with founders or co-founders from 老司机直播 make up a significant percentage of some of the fastest-growing companies in Ontario.</p> <p>鈥淭his is the beauty of being at the University of Toronto and having the MaRS Discovery District across the street and all the hospitals around us. It鈥檚 such a rich environment,鈥 she says.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淲e can do this in Toronto.鈥</p> <p>Allen stressed that a thriving lab-to-market ecosystem is critical to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淪tudents are increasingly seeking out roles in the private sector,鈥 she says. 鈥淔or them to see other students and faculty members [found startups] helps them realize that it鈥檚 possible for them to start companies, too.鈥</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> Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:19:19 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 307620 at