The term “nanotechnology” often elicits images of advanced materials, nanoelectronics, medical devices, and powerful imaging tools – a spectrum of complex, high value technologies developed for demanding conditions. Professor Gu heads an interdisciplinary research group that combines chemical engineering principles and nanotechnology to tailor the material design for life sciences and environmental remediation applications. The seminar will also introduce several major activities in our lab for therapeutics and pathogen sensing applications through the use of metallic nanoparticles to generate a “fingerprint”-like interactions with biological structures. This seminar will also showcase our recent development of advanced nanocomposites for photocatalytic treatment of persistent organic water pollutants.
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Frank Gu is an NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair Professor in Nanotechnology Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the University of Toronto in July 2018, Dr. Gu was an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Gu received his Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Canada, where he majored in chemical engineering. Following completion of his graduate program, he pursued postdoctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Gu has established a frontier research program in Nanotechnology Engineering, with important advances in medical and life science applications. Leading-edge projects have produced new materials and tools for targeted drug delivery, rapid pathogen detection, and passive water treatment. His research has had tangible impacts on his field and industry, including mucoadhesive nanoparticles for the treatment of Dry Eye Disease that has led to the creation of MyX Therapeutics, and photocatalytic water treatment technologies that are the core technology of H2nanO Inc, both are Canadian companies. Dr. Gu has authored and co-authored more than 200 journal and conference publications, as well as 25 U.S. and World patents and applications.
Click here for more information on Lectures of the Leading Edge 2019-2020
The Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Toronto invites you to attend its Annual Sustainable Energy Research Symposium. The symposium will feature presentations by sustainable energy thought leaders from Hatch, Ontario Power Generation, and eCamion, as well as U of T faculty members. Poster presentations by the 2019 recipients of the Hatch Graduate Scholarship for Sustainable Energy Research will also be featured.
Eventbrite password: “JoshTaylor”
Host: Yuri Lawryshyn
With the effects of climate change upon us, our global community is focused on the transition to a lower carbon economy as a means of minimizing further climate impacts. The financial sector, as part of the global community, can be leveraged to promote sustainable economic growth. Although finance is not going to solve climate change alone, it has a critical role to play in supporting the real economy through the transition. The emerging field of ‘sustainable finance’ is focused on channelling financial sector expertise, ingenuity and influence towards the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change. This talk will focus on the role that banks, and their multiple business segments, are playing in identifying, assessing, and managing the risks of climate change, and supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.
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Nicole Vadori is AVP and Head of Environment, TD Bank Group. She leads TD’s environmental strategy to deliver on the bank’s vision of creating a sustainable tomorrow so that people and economies can thrive. Leading a team of environmental finance and risk professionals, her mission is to drive positive business results for the bank while increasing the quality of the environment. TD’s environmental efforts include managing environmental and climate risk for the bank and the bank’s business activities, pursuing sustainable finance opportunities to support low carbon economic growth, and building community resilience through philanthropy and strategic investments in green spaces and natural areas. She is a proponent of innovative business solutions to support the planet and profits, and has been a key player in TD’s environmental accomplishments, including the formalization of TD’s Green Bond Program, the development of TD’s $100 billion target towards the low carbon economy by 2030, and the consideration of climate-related risk within TD’s key business segments.
Prior to TD, she was an engineering consultant working across industries and geographies to reduce environmental impacts and advise on climate change. Nicole holds a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto, and a Masters in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Click here for more information on Lectures of the Leading Edge 2019-2020
Presented as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series by the Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, co-sponsored by the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute (UTTRI) and the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR).
Julian Marshall is the Kiely Endowed Professor of Environmental Engineering at University of Washington. Dr. Marshall studies exposure to air pollution, including air pollution health impacts of transportation and electricity-generation; disparities in exposure; and air pollution measurements in low-income countries. He is Associate Editor for Environmental Health Perspectives and for Development Engineering. Dr. Marshall earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with High Honors from Princeton, and an MS and PhD in Energy and Resources from UC Berkeley.Dr. Marshall has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, including several “most-read” / “most-downloaded” articles. Grants he has contributed to during his career total over $30 million. He currently is dual-PI on a $10 million EPA grant supporting the Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions (CACES).
Dr. Marshall teaches classes in Air Quality Engineering, and he runs the Grand Challenges Impact Lab, a UW study abroad program in Bangalore, India.
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE), funded by CIHR’s Environmental Health Signature Initiative, is advancing research on urban living and human health. One of CPTP’s key collaborators, CANUE provides pre-linked environmental exposure data for the cohort to help accelerate research to increase scientific understanding of the interactions among the physical features of the urban environment and health.
This webinar will provide an overview of the CANUE data and research opportunities made possible by linking CPTP’s individual lifestyle, genetic and behavioural data with CANUE’s environmental exposure metrics. This collaboration provides health researchers easy access to standardized urban environmental exposures, allowing them to tackle real-world problems related to exposures and the subsequent health outcomes. Ultimately, new knowledge enabled by the CANUE-CPTP partnership will help identify cost-effective actions that promote healthy childhood development and aging, reduce the burden of chronic disease, and minimize the impact of changing environments.
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Dr. Jeffrey Brook is CANUE’s Principal Investigator and Scientific Director. He is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He has 25 years of experience as an Environment Canada scientist working at the science-policy interface. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in air quality, recognized at all levels of government and academically, including for his substantial contributions in air pollution health research. Dr. Brook has led scientific assessments to inform policy nationally and internationally, and advised multi-stakeholder groups shaping policy.
Webinar registration: http://bit.ly/CPTPwebinarFeb13
BioZone’s Mass Spectrometry Facility is holding our annual meeting for current and future users. The aims of this meeting are:
- To provide users with information on techniques and advancements in the field of Mass Spectrometry
- To determine the sample prep techniques and analysis tools our users are interested in having access to.
Tentative Agenda:
12:00pm – Pizza Lunch (Location to be announced)
01:00pm – Registration
01:05pm – Welcome and Introductions –
01:10pm – Keynote Address 1 – Dr. Elodie Passeport (University of Toronto)
02:20pm – Keynote Address 2 – Dr. Michael Phillips (University of Toronto)
03:30pm – User Results
04:00pm – End of Meeting
Register for the meeting HERE.
Dr. Ryan Wylie
McMaster University, Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Materials to control immune responses can enhance anti-cancer responses or mitigate the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) during life-threatening inflammatory conditions such as sepsis. Our research focuses on the synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates for the controlled delivery of antibodies to improve cancer immunotherapies and bioactive surfaces to detect cytokines in blood or remove deleterious cytokines from circulating blood to improve sepsis survival rates.
Antibodies for immunotherapies have shown great promise in the treatment of several brain tumors but do not readily penetrate the blood brain barrier (BBB), resulting in low efficacy after intravenous injections. To improve efficacy, we are developing injectable hydrogels for the Local Infusion of Immuno-Therapeutics (LIIT) such as Bispecific T cell Engagers (BiTEs) and cytokines to improve T cell effector function. Competitive affinity or displacement affinity release systems are incorporated into low fouling hydrogels, poly(carboxybetaine) to achieve immunotherapeutic release for several days to weeks. Sustained release will yield an antibody steady-state concentration (Css) above the minimum effective concentration (MEC) but below the maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) for extended periods of time. Infusion experiments in a xenograft glioblastoma mouse model are being conducted to determine efficacious infusion rates and durations for BiTEs.
Spsis remains the most common cause of death for intensive care unit (ICU) patients with a 25-50% mortality rate. Fatalities from severe sepsis is due to SIRS, which is manifested by a cytokine storm. The imbalance of specific inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines during SIRS may lead to organ failure and death. To modulate the cytokine storm, specific cytokines must be removed at precise times. To this end, we are developing bioactive polymeric surfaces with improved anti-fouling properties by increasing polymer densities during graft-to polymer immobilization procedures. We have previously demonstrated the selective filtration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) from circulating blood.
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Ryan Wylie received his B.Sc. in biochemistry at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada. Afterwards, he completed a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Prof. Molly Shoichet studying the biochemical patterning of hydrogels. Dr. Wylie was a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow with Profs. Daniel Kohane at Harvard Medical School and Robert Langer at the MIT developing drug delivery strategies and anti-angiogenic therapies for retinal diseases, as well as blood filtration devices for the treatment of sepsis. Currently, Dr. Wylie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster conducting research in the delivery of cancer immunotherapeutics and low-fouling materials. Dr. Wylie’s lab is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF), Prostate Cancer Canada and Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
Snacks and Refreshments will be served
Graduate Super Women Engineers (GradSWE) invites you to “Celebrating Women in Engineering: An Evening of Conversations” on March 5, 6-8pm, in GB 202. This event will be led by some of the biggest names in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Toronto.
Featuring a moderated discussion with a diverse panel of professors who have worked extensively not only as researchers, but also in governance and administration, engineering education, international innovation projects and within industry and other sectors:
- Cristina Amon – Dean Emerita of Engineering; Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
- Yu-Ling Cheng (ChemE) – Distinguished Professor in Centre for Global Engineering; Lead, Reinvent Toilet Challenge by Gates Foundation
- Marianne Hatzopoulou – Canada Research Chair in Transport and Air Quality; Professor, Civil and Mineral Engineering
- Naomi Matsuura – Professor, Material Science and Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering
- Emily Moore – Director, Troost ILead Program in Engineering
Mixer and networking session with complimentary food and drinks to follow the discussion.
Limited RSVPs are now open on Eventbrite. This is a free and public event where everyone is welcome, made possible by the generous support of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. In case of any questions/concerns please reach out to us at gradsweuoft@gmail.com
The next Food for Thought: Teaching Effectiveness lunch topic is “TA training,” featuring guest speaker Prof. Deborah Tihanyi (ISTEP). Lunch provided.
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Deborah Tihanyi has been teaching with the Engineering Communication Program (ECP) since 2001 and is currently an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream. She has taught across all departments in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, from large classes to one-on-one tutoring. In recent years, her focus has been on developing communication curriculum in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, working closely with Engineering faculty and creating training protocols for teaching assistants—all Engineering graduate students—teaching communication. Her research for the past 10 years has focused on engineering education, including the development of professional identity, the creation and use of professional portfolios, the integration of disciplinary knowledge and communication and TA training and professional development.
This lecture was formerly titled Lubricin: Alleviating the Effects of Dry Eye.
Abstract
Dry eye is an affliction where the tear film of the eye is unable to protect the cornea epithelium. One suspected cause of this condition is a deficiency of mucin, a protein that is thought to enhance wettability and reduce friction experienced during blinking. We report on the development of a model for mucin deficient dry eye and an investigation of the ability of lubricin, a heavily glycosylated protein, to restore lubricity and low friction during simulated blink events.
Bio
Gerald Fuller is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. He joined Stanford in 1980 following his graduate work at Caltech where he acquired his MS and PhD degrees. His undergraduate education was obtained at the University of Calgary, Canada. Professor Fuller’s interests lie in studies of rheology and interfacial fluid mechanics. His work has been recognized by receipt of the Bingham Medal of The Society of Rheology, membership in the National Academy of Engineering, election to the American Academy of Arts and Science, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Crete, Greece, and Leuven, Belgium. He presently serves as the General Secretary to the International Committee on Rheology.
View the complete 2020-21 LLE schedule
Should you have any questions or require accommodation to attend the event, please email amanda.hacio@utoronto.ca.