Biomaterials and tissue engineering

Dr. Emmanuel Ho is a Professor in the School of Pharmacy. The Ho Research Group is interested in the development and characterization of innovative drug delivery strategies including nanomedicines, medical devices and biomaterials for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, cancer, and chronic wound healing.

Lyndon Jones is a Professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, University Professor and director of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) at the University of Waterloo. He has authored over 500 refereed and professional papers, one text-book and given over 1200 invited lectures at conferences worldwide, in over 40 countries. 

Veronika Magdanz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering.

She obtained her doctorate from the University of Dresden in 2016 for the development of sperm-driven microrobots performed at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research IFW Dresden in Germany. Subsequently, she conducted research in metabolic and kinetic studies of sperm as well as sperm-templated microrobots at the Applied Zoology department of the TU Dresden. During her time as Humboldt Fellow at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia she explored medical applications of flexible magnetic small-scale robots and the 3D bioprinting of muscle tissue. 

Her main research interest is in microrobotics for medical applications. This includes biohybrid approaches, such as harnessing functionalities of cells and other bio logical components for innovative solutions in medicine. Further, she works on the development of bioinspired artificial microrobots that are wirelessly controlled by magnetic fields. 

Dale Martin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology.

The research in the Martin Lab focuses on identifying and characterising therapeutics that reduce levels of mutant huntingtin, the causative agent of the neurodegenerative disease Huntington disease (HD), by repairing the protein clearance pathway of autophagy and gene silencing. Our approach is highly collaborative and multi-faceted involving the identification of human SNPs, population genetics, protein characterization, chemical biology and high-resolution microscopy. Various aspects of these studies are performed in yeast, cell culture or mice.

Elisabeth Prince is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Her research interests lie at the interface of soft matter design, polymer chemistry, biomimetic materials, and sustainability.

Elisabeth started her education at the University of Toronto, where she received her undergraduate degree in Biological Chemistry. In 2021 she received her PhD in Polymer and Materials Chemistry from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Eugenia Kumacheva. During her PhD, she designed nanostructured hydrogels that mimic the architecture and mechanical properties of native biological tissues. In collaboration with the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, she developed new hydrogel matrices for growing patient-derived microtumors, which are an emerging platform for developing personalized cancer therapies.

Her research group designs the molecular architecture of polymer networks, including hydrogels, elastomers, and thermosets. They develop biomimetic hydrogels for applications in tissue engineering and in-vitro modeling of disease. They also develop new tools for addressing the global plastic waste crisis.
 

Roderick Slavcev is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy. His research specializes in bacteriophage-based biotechnology and exploits phage genetic systems and phage themselves in the generation of novel therapeutic platforms. With particular focus on coliphages, his lab’s research designs and constructs vectors for novel vaccines, gene delivery systems and immunotherapeutics. In addition his team identifies and applies novel phage genomic anti-bacterial genes with potential phage therapy applications. Research in the Slavcev lab is heavily multidisciplinary, integrating genetics, molecular biology, microbiology, gene therapy, virology, therapeutic design, and synthetic in vivo biology. 

Thomas Willett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems Design Engineering.

His research interests concern the mechanics and engineering of skeletal biomaterials and tissues.  

His lab summarizes their efforts as interdisciplinary investigation and innovation for improved bone health and repair. A great deal of what they do concerns structure-function-property relationships, how these change with aging and disease in bone, and how they can be optimized in the development of superior structural biomedical materials. We specialize in mechanical testing of biomedical and biological materials. 

Evelyn Yim is the Canada Research Chair in Nanomaterials for Regenerative Medicine (Tier 1) Professor and an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. She is experienced with nanofabrication technologies and stem cell culture. Evelyn and her Regenerative Nanomedicine Lab group are interested to apply the knowledge of biomaterial-stem cell interaction to direct stem cell differentiation and tissue regeneration for neural, vascular and corneal tissue engineering. Evelyn is one of the pioneers in studying stem cell-topography interactions and related applications in tissue engineering. She is one of the leading researchers studying the use of synthetic materials for altering stem cell behavior and differentiation.