Meet the world-class researchers who are building the future of regenerative medicine. These are the people of Medicine by Design.
“The technology we are working on is exciting, as is biotech in general. There is great potential to have an impact in improving people’s mental and physical state of health, which motivates me daily.”
Sushant Singh
PhD Candidate
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
University of Toronto
“This is a very exciting time for regenerative medicine. We can make all sorts of cell types from stem cells and potentially use these cells for cell replacement therapy or use them to understand diseases or find new therapies.”
Amy Wong
Scientist
Program of Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Hospital for Sick Children
“It’s an incredibly exciting time in regenerative medicine. It’s a quickly maturing field, where clinical applications are in sight. There are a few hurdles in the way to achieving what we want, but I believe great things that will have a positive impact on society are absolutely possible.”
Michael Garton
Assistant Professor
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
“The infiltration of new technologies into mainstream scientific research is incredible. I mean, synthetic biology, AI, machine learning, resolution at the single cell level. I love interdisciplinary science and I love technology.”
Maryam Faiz
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery,
University of Toronto
“I hope that my work will one day be used across a wide range of applications. I hope to inspire researchers to think outside the box. With all the complexities and unknowns of degenerative diseases, it’s important for us to explore new ideas.”
Katie Lye
PhD candidate
Sinai Health
Co-Chair, Healthy & Inclusive Lab Committee
“I’m really interested in understanding why and how the heart fails, and how we can help the heart to regenerate itself. As a cardiologist who looks after patients with end-stage heart failure waiting for heart transplants and mechanical hearts, it’s really important to me to think outside the box about these questions.”
Dr. Phyllis Billia
Cardiologist and Director of Research
Peter Munk Cardiac Centre,
University Health Network
“Today, I’m applying that model of combining fundamental science and applied engineering to my work. In my lab, we approach regenerative and preventative medicine from a genetic angle. Our goal is to help people’s own cells repair damage and prevent disease.”
Omar F. Khan
Assistant Professor
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Immunology,
University of Toronto
“Science is about interpreting hard numbers and data, but I’ve realized that science is also an exercise in creative storytelling. I love the visual arts and literature, and I can see the drama in science.”
Clinton Robbins
Senior Scientist
Toronto General Research Institute,
University Health Network
“I hope my impact on science is two-fold. It’s enjoyable to mentor young scientists who are getting started and developing their scientific thinking and their love of discovery. I also hope work that I do one day translates into something that helps patients.”
Sarah Crome
Scientist
Toronto General Hospital Research Institute,
University Health Network
“My next career goal is to become a physician-scientist. This role would enable me to practice the two areas I love – applied research and caring for people’s health. My interest is in elucidating mechanisms of cancer growth and invasion using biomaterials.”
Allysia Chin
Lab Technician
Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research
University of Toronto
“I’ve always been fascinated by the brain. It’s such a beautiful object. Along my path of training, I’ve looked at it in different ways. I’m fascinated with questions of basic science, but I’d like my bigger impact to be teaching and educating young scientists.”
Yun Li
Scientist
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Program,
The Hospital for Sick Children
“I’m proud of making discoveries. But my proudest accomplishment is training the future generation of scientists. I see how creative they are and how much they’ve bridged the gap between different disciplines. I can’t wait to see what they discover.”
Melanie Woodin
Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science, and Professor
Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto
“Our lab’s work is a good example of why it’s an exciting time to be in regenerative medicine: tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies enable us to model a disease in the lab, which can help us answer big unknowns.”
Vera Pieters
PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Toronto
“We simplify the problems so we can start nibbling at them. With each step, you contribute to the body of knowledge that we can all use to improve people’s health. I like helping to make that impact.”
Sara Nunes Vasconcelos
Scientist
Toronto General Hospital Research Institute,
University Health Network
“I wanted to be a researcher since I was 14. As I studied more, I became inspired by the idea of developing treatments for challenging diseases that have limited treatment options…like spinal cord injury and abdominal aortic aneurysm.“
Antigona Ulndreaj
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute,
Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network
“We have an aging population. Our biggest problems are degenerative diseases that we need to learn how to stall or turn around. Disease comes in so many forms; it affects all of us. It’s an amazing set of problems to work on because of the potential for impact.”
Shana Kelley
University Professor, Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biomedical Engineering,
University of Toronto
“I didn’t expect to become a regenerative medicine researcher. My background is in nursing and I wanted to stay in the hospital taking care of patients because I wanted to help people. I realized that I would be helping people if I pursued science, and if I did it well, I might help hundreds of thousands of people.”
Arturo Ortín-Martínez
Scientific Associate
Krembil Research Institute
University Health Network
Stayed tuned for more People of Medicine by Design stories. Please visit often to learn more about the remarkable people in our community.
Want to suggest a Medicine by Design-funded researcher or trainee for People of Medicine by Design? Send us an email.