Michael Sefton, Sc.D.

University Professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME, Donnelly Centre) and alumnus Raffaello D’Andrea (EngSci 9T1) have been elected as international members of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The NAE provides engineering leadership in service to the United States and globally; its members rank among the world’s most accomplished engineers.

“On behalf of the Faculty, my warmest congratulations to both Professor Sefton and Professor D’Andrea on this well-deserved honour,” said Christopher Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering. “Their election to the NAE demonstrates the impact our faculty and alumni are making at a global level and the respect in which they are held by their peers worldwide.”

Sefton is a world leader in biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. He was one of the first to combine living cells with polymers with the aim of creating artificial tissues, effectively launching the field now known as tissue engineering… Continue reading.

University Professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s most prestigious recognitions. The new appointees, which also include University Professor Molly Shoichet, were announced today by Governor General Julie Payette (ECE MASc 9T0).

“Professor Michael Sefton is internationally recognized as a pioneer in biomedical engineering. His visionary leadership, both within our Faculty and in the global research community, has been instrumental in the development of this important field, which addresses critical challenges at the interface between engineering and human health,” said Cristina Amon, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto. “On behalf of the Faculty, I extend my warmest congratulations to Michael on this tremendous honour.”

Sefton has made significant contributions to research advances in biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. He was one of the first to combine living cells with polymers, effectively launching the field now called tissue engineering. More recently, his lab has created biomaterials that actively promote the growth of blood vessels. By producing drug-like activity without any drugs or cells included within the material, these materials open a new world of possibilities for applications such as wound healing and the development of lab-grown tissues… Continue reading.

A group of U of T researchers have demonstrated that the space under our skin might be an optimal location to treat type 1 diabetes (T1D).

The new study, led by researchers in the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), involved transplanting healthy pancreatic cells under the skin to produce insulin for blood glucose regulation.

“The skin has the advantage of being readily accessible,” said Michael Sefton, a senior researcher of the study published today in PNAS and a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and IBBME. “It also presents fewer hazards than other transplantation sites.”

University Professor Michael Sefton
University Professor Michael Sefton is the senior author of the study published in PNAS. (Photo: Neil Ta)
In persons with T1D, insulin-making beta cells, located in regions of the pancreas known as pancreatic islets, are damaged. Implanting healthy new cells could restore insulin function, but it’s hard to get them in the right place.

“Pancreatic islets are scattered throughout the pancreas in between other pancreatic cells that secrete digestive enzymes,” said Alexander Vlahos, the lead author of this study and a PhD candidate in IBBME. “This makes it impractical to try and deliver islets to the pancreas: you would most likely be delivering it to a region of the pancreas that is secreting these enzymes… Continue reading.

Engineering professor Michael Sefton has been appointed executive director of Medicine by Design, a University of Toronto initiative that is accelerating discoveries in regenerative medicine research to improve treatments for conditions such as heart failure, diabetes and stroke.

Sefton, a pioneer in tissue engineering and biomaterials, takes over from Peter Zandstra, who is stepping down to lead a new school of biomedical engineering at the University of British Columbia.

“Regenerative medicine is a key priority for the University of Toronto, and Medicine by Design is strengthening our position as a global centre of excellence and innovation in this area,” said Vivek Goel, chair of Medicine by Design’s Executive Committee and U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation. “Michael is an internationally recognized expert in the field, and I am delighted he has agreed to lead the next phase of Medicine by Design.”

Medicine by Design was established in July 2015 with a $114-million grant — the largest single research award in U of T’s history — from the federal government’s Canada First Research Excellence Fund. The initiative builds on U of T’s rich legacy of contributions to stem cells and regenerative medicine, starting in the early 1960s with the identification of blood stem cells by biophysicist James Till and hematologist Ernest McCulloch… Continue reading.

A scar on your skin may be insignificant, but a scar on your heart could be deadly. Scar tissue in muscle can impair its function and lead to long-term damage, from limping to heart failure.

Leading-edge research from U of T Engineering is addressing this challenge. Two multidisciplinary teams consisting of engineers, biologists, physicians and other medical experts are designing implantable materials that activate the body’s innate response to injury, leading to more complete healing and preventing harmful complications.

These projects are made possible through Medicine by Design and the Translational Biology and Engineering Program (TBEP), two major collaborative research initiatives led by U of T Engineering faculty members that have been created in the last three years. Medicine by Design and TBEP unite researchers from U of T Engineering and many other Faculties across University of Toronto, as well as external partners at hospitals and research institutions.

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“We could synthesize all those different proteins and deliver them to the area, but it would be very cumbersome,” says Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME), lead researcher on the collaboration.

Instead, the team aims for a simpler approach. They want to create an implantable material that incorporates the effect of the signaling proteins into its chemical structure. This more elegant solution would still activate the satellite cells, while ensuring that the response stays localized and lasts throughout recovery. “We want a device, not a drug,” says Sefton.

University of Toronto professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) has been presented with a major research award from international diabetes foundation JDRF to advance treatment research for type 1 diabetes (T1D).The funding, valued at approximately $1.1 million ($845,135 USD), supports a three-year study at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) to explore an experimental treatment that involves transplanting healthy pancreatic cells into patients living with the disease. Once successfully implanted, these cells can then produce insulin to help regulate blood glucose levels.Though promising, these cells — known as pancreatic islet cells— are fragile, and current transplantation sites such as the abdominal cavity and liver are “hostile” environments that can increase the likelihood of rejection.Sefton and his team are investigating whether transplanting islet cells under the skin will improve the cells’ survival.“The skin is a less hostile site for islets and has clinical advantages of being more accessible than current sites and possibly be even safer for patients,” said Sefton, who holds appointments in U of T’s Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and IBBME. “However, one of the challenges of using the skin as a transplant site is that it has relatively few blood vessels.”Sefton, a world-renowned tissue engineering pioneer, plans to apply his team’s expertise to creating a “‘pre-vascularized” environment rich in blood vessels under the skin to ensure the survival of the insulin-producing cells before transplantation takes place.

University of Toronto biomedical engineering University Professor Michael Sefton (IBBME, ChemE) has been named this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). The award, issued by the organization’s Americas chapter, recognizes his immense contributions to the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Sefton joins an elite list of renowned recipients, including MIT professor of chemical engineering Robert Langer and founding director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Alan Russell.

Sefton has made significant contributions to research advances in biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. He was one of the first to combine living cells with polymers, effectively launching the field now now called tissue engineering. Recently, his lab has created biomaterials that actively promote the growth of blood vessels — such materials accelerate wound healing and support the development of lab-grown tissues.

Among his numerous awards and accolades, Sefton received the European Society for Biomaterials International Award in April, the Terumo Global Science Prize in January and was named last year to the U.S. National Institute of Medicine. He holds the title of University Professor, the highest academic rank at the University of Toronto, reserved for less than two per cent of tenured faculty.

A leader in his professional community, he served as president of the U.S. Society for Biomaterials in 2005 and has spearheaded several programs to advance the field. From 1999 to 2005, Sefton was director of the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) leading its development into one of the top institutes of its kind in North America.

“This is a terrific recognition of Michael’s outstanding efforts throughout his career in advancing the field of tissue engineering,” said IBBME director Professor Christopher Yip.

University of Toronto biomedical engineering Professor Michael Sefton has been named the 2016 recipient of the International Award from the European Society for Biomaterials. The award recognizes his scientific profile, major contributions to the field of biomaterials and longstanding active collaboration with the European scientific community.

Sefton joins an elite list of internationally renowned recipients, including drug delivery and protein transport pioneer Nicholas Peppas and Case Western Reserve University pathology Professor James Anderson.

Sefton has made significant contributions to biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. He was one of the first to combine living cells with polymers, effectively launching what is now called tissue engineering. Recently, his lab has created biomaterials that actively promote the growth of blood vessels. Such materials accelerate wound healing and support the development of lab-grown tissues.

University of Toronto engineering professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) has been named the 2016 recipient of the Terumo Global Science Prize for his achievements in tissue engineering and novel biomaterials discovery.

This is only the third time the Terumo Foundation for Life Sciences and Arts has awarded the prize. Sefton joins an elite list of internationally-renowned recipients, including MIT professor of chemical engineering Robert Langer and drug delivery research pioneer Sung Wan Kim of the University of Utah.

“The award is a fantastic acknowledgement of the University’s excellence in this area and the contributions of my trainees over many years,” said Sefton. “I am particularly pleased that the Terumo Foundation specifically cited my efforts to ‘develop younger generations’ who are now promising leaders themselves.”

Sefton is a leader in the field of tissue engineering and has made significant contributions to biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. He is well-known in his field for combining living cells and synthetic polymers to create tissue-like materials that could help restore lost function in humans. More recently, his lab has created biomaterials that actively promote the growth of blood vessels. Such materials accelerate wound healing and/or support the development of lab-grown tissues.

A research team led by U of T Engineering Professor Craig Simmons (MIE, IBBME) received $300,000 this week to create a 3D model of the human liver. Funded by Ontario Centres of Excellence and pharmaceutical consortium CQDM, the project could help determine whether or not new drug molecules are safe for use in humans.

Drug developers rely on lab tests and preclinical trials to determine how a potential drug molecule might react when processed by the liver or other organs in the human body. One form of testing is to try the drug on lab-grown cells, but an individual cell can behave very differently to one in its natural environment that is surrounded by blood vessels and other components of tissue.

Simmons, along with Professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) and other team members, have developed a way to grow small amounts of three-dimensional liver tissue in the lab. The team is now incorporating these bits of tissue into a microfluidic platform that simulates the flow of blood through the liver. In this way, they could simultaneously test dozens of chemical compounds to determine what their effect on the liver might be. The system will allow them to screen out drugs with potential negative effects at a very early stage of the drug development process.

“Our improved liver model will identify and eliminate toxic and ineffective drugs earlier in the drug discovery process,” said Simmons. As a result, the liver model will reduce the time, cost and reliance on animal testing for drug development.

Eight members of the U of T Engineering community have been inducted as fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Professors Kamran Behdinan (MIE), Greg Evans (ChemE), Vladimiros Papangelakis (ChemE), Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) and Jim Wallace (MIE), along with alumni Pu Chen (MIE MASc 9T3, PhD 9T8) and Anne Sado (IndE 7T7) are among the Academy’s 50 new fellows. Alumnus Norbert Morgenstern (CivE 5T6) was inducted as an honorary fellow.

The CAE comprises the country’s most accomplished engineers, who have demonstrated their dedication to the application of science and engineering principles in the interests of Canada. Fellows of the Academy are nominated and elected by their peers, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession.

“I am delighted so many of our faculty and alumni have been recognized by the Canadian Academy of Engineering for their extraordinary contributions,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “I would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to our honourees. This recognition demonstrates the depth and breadth of their achievements and confirms that U of T engineers are leaders in their fields, both in Canada and around the world. ”

Professor Sefton is a pioneer in the field of tissue engineering and has made significant contributions to biomaterials, biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine. A leader in his professional community, he served as president of the U.S. Society for Biomaterials from 2005-2006 and has spearheaded several programs to advance the field. From 1999-2005, Professor Sefton was director of IBBME, leading its development into one of the best institutes of its kind in North America. His many honours include the Ontario Professional Engineers Gold Medal, the Engineers Canada Gold Medal and the Killam Prize in Engineering. He was recently inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academies of Science.

This week, University Professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) was invited to join the United States Institute of Medicine (IOM)—a rare honour bestowed upon few Canadian scientists and engineers.

Sefton is a global leader in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. His research tackles a question central to the field: how can scientists construct or grow blood vessels that will keep engineered tissues vital and alive?

Sefton is cross-appointed to U of T’s Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and the Institute for Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), as well as affiliated with the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research (CCBR). He was among the first to demonstrate the significant synergy that was possible between chemical engineering principles and biomedical engineering.

Approximately fifteen years ago, Sefton’s group observed that a particular biomaterial “caused blood vessels to grow [as if] by magic,” he explained. “[But] since we don’t understand why we get blood vessels, it is difficult to exploit this phenomenon.”

He hopes that within the next few years his team will have unraveled the baffling mystery of blood vessel growth, allowing them to develop tissues with strong vascular functions. If successful, his research will significantly advance the field of tissue engineering.

“Professor Sefton has made tremendous contributions to the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine,” said Cristina Amon, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of the Faculty, my heartfelt congratulations for this richly-deserved induction to the prestigious Institute of Medicine.

Canada’s engineering profession is proud to once again honour the accomplishments of remarkable professional engineers during the Engineers Canada Awards Gala on Saturday evening at the Hilton Saint John Hotel.

The Gold Medal Award is the engineering profession’s highest honour, presented for achievement and distinction in engineering. This year’s Gold Medal Award recipient is Michael V. Sefton, P.Eng., FRCS. Professor Sefton of the University of Toronto is being honoured for his groundbreaking work in tissue engineering. He was the first to recognize the importance of combining living cells with synthetic polymers to create ‘artificial’ organs and tissues. His current research into the creation of modular tissue components seeks to create cardiac muscle to treat heart failure and pancreatic tissue for diabetes, among other possibilities.