Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Microfluidic device reveals how tumour shapes can predict cancer aggressiveness

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 15:46:03 +0000

Microfluidic device reveals how tumour shapes can predict cancer aggressiveness

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 12/18/2024 - 10:46

Cutline

Associate Professor Edmond Young of �Թϱ��'s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (left) and PhD alum Sina Kheiri co-developed the Recoverable-Spheroid-on-a-Chip with Unrestricted External Shape – or "ReSCUE" – platform (photos courtesy of Edmond Young and Sina Kheiri)

Safa Jinje

Topic

Breaking Research

department of mechanical and industrial engineering

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Subheadline

The platform, developed by �Թϱ�� researchers, allows for unprecedented control and manipulation of tumour shapes

Researchers in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering have designed a microfluidic platform that can be used to predict cancer cell behaviour and aggressiveness, opening up new avenues for personalized and targeted cancer treatment.

The Recoverable-Spheroid-on-a-Chip with Unrestricted External Shape (ReSCUE) platform, developed by a team led by Edmond Young, an associate professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering, gives researchers the ability to recover and release tumoroids – tumour cells derived from patients – to perform downstream analysis and characterization.

This allows for unprecedented control and manipulation of tumour shapes, a largely unexplored area in cancer research.

“While there are several platforms for in vitro modelling of spheroids – three-dimensional aggregates of cells that can mimic tissues and mini tumours – a challenge in the cancer research field has been the inability to control the shape, recovery and location of these cancer organoids,” says Sina Kheiri, a PhD alum and co-lead author of the study, which was published in Advanced Materials.

“So, researchers end up with these tumours-on-a-chip that can’t be easily characterized because they are stuck on the device and can only be observed through optical microscopy.”

The platform also enables researchers to grow cancer organoids in different shapes. This is important, Kheiri says, because much of the current research on cancer cell in vitro modelling is focused on spherical tumours, but tumours in a body can take many different shapes.

“In many invasive cancers, the tumour shape is not spherical. For example, in a recent study of 85 patients with breast cancer, only 20 per cent of tumours were spherical,” he says. “If modelling studies are limited to spherical tumour shapes, then we are not looking at the full parametric space and scale of tumours that are seen in real life. We are only looking at a small portion of the whole answer to understand cancer cell behaviour.”

Kheiri’s PhD research was co-supervised by Young and Eugenia Kumacheva, a professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of chemistry who is cross-appointed to the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Kumacheva’s lab developed a biomimetic hydrogel that is used as a scaffold in the multi-layer ReSCUE platform, allowing the patient-derived cancer cells to grow and organize the way they would inside human tissue.

The platform was developed in collaboration with David Cescon, a clinician scientist and breast medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and associate professor in the Institute of Medical Science at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Cescon’s team provided access to the cancer cells that were used to form breast cancer organoids.

This image shows culture, release and transfer of tumoroids from the ReSCUE platform, as well as the released breast cancer disk-, rod-, and U-shaped tumoroids cultured in biomimetic hydrogel over zero, seven, 14 and 21 days (image courtesy of Young Lab)

The idea that tumour shapes determine cancer cell behaviour was a serendipitous discovery for Kheiri: while optimizing and developing the microfluidic platform, he discovered that some of the patient-derived tumoroids were forming positive curvatures because of the shape of the microwell. 

“I was playing with the aspect ratio of the microwells and observed that when the wells had a more rod-like or elongated shape, rather than a circular or disc shape, the tissues formed cellular strands at the regions with positive curvature,” he says. “I didn’t see that in tumoroids from the same cancer-cell sample that formed a spherical shape.

"So, we started to make different shapes and analyze the effects of shape or curvature on cancer behaviour."

The team looked at disk-, rod- and U-shaped tumoroids; they found higher cell activity and higher proliferation at the positive curvatures – where the tumour shape is convex and outward curving.

This could mean that the growth of cells in these areas is more invasive compared to areas of the tumour that have a flat curvature.

“Understanding the relationship between tumour shape and cell behaviour is important for predicting tumour aggressiveness and planning appropriate treatment strategies, such as targeted radiation therapy or drug delivery,” says Kheiri. “We want to open this door and give researchers a platform that they can use to study how different tumour shapes respond in anti-cancer drug treatment, in radiotherapy and chemotherapy.”

Now a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Kheiri continues to provide support to the Young lab on development of the ReSCUE platform. The researchers recently submitted a U.S. patent and are looking to build on their results.

“We hope that these uniquely shaped mini tumours can help biologists and cancer researchers better understand the biology of cancer cells and how they respond to drugs,” says Young.

“We’re going to add even more complex features, such as surrounding vasculature. The more control we have over the features we can include in our models, the more realistic they become, and the more accurate our drug testing will be.”

Researchers at �Թϱ��, partner hospitals receive $35 million in provincial support

lanthierj — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 18:57:47 +0000

Researchers at �Թϱ��, partner hospitals receive $35 million in provincial support

lanthierj Wed, 12/11/2024 - 13:57

Cutline

The performance of lithium ion batteries that power electric vehicles, like the ones plugged into these chargers, can be degraded by temperature fluctuations – a limitation researchers at �Թϱ�� Engineering are working to change (photo by koiguo/Getty Images)

Tyler Irving

Topic

Our Community

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

Leah Cowen

Sinai Health

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Unity Health

Cell and Systems Biology

Anthropology

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Biochemistry

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Chemistry

Computer Science

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Hospital for Sick Children

Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Mathematics

Physics

Psychology

Research & Innovation

University Health Network

UTIAS

Subheadline

From better batteries to preventing memory loss, nearly four dozen projects at �Թϱ�� and its partner hospitals are being supported by the Ontario Research Fund

Researchers in the University of Toronto’s Thermal Management Systems (TMS) Laboratory are working to improve the way battery systems handle heat and develop structural battery pack components. 

“Whether 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,” said Carlos Da Silva, senior research associate at the TMS Lab in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and executive director of �Թϱ��’s Electrification Hub.

“Unfortunately, today’s 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.”

The battery-related research is among nearly four dozen projects at �Թϱ�� and its partner hospitals that are receiving almost $35 million in support through the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence (ORF-RE) and the Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrastructure (ORF-SIF). (See the full list of projects and their principal researchers below).

"Research at the University of Toronto and at all universities and colleges across Ontario is the foundation of the province’s competitiveness now and in the future,” said Leah Cowen, �Թϱ��’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

“This 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’s top talent."

At �Թϱ�� Engineering’s TMS Lab, researchers led by Cristina Amon, a University Professor 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.

Senior Research Associate Carlos Da Silva, left, and University Professor Cristina Amon, right, chat in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering's Thermal Management Systems Laboratory (photo by Aaron Demeter)

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.

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 direct current electric vehicle fast chargers with integrated battery energy storage systems, one of which was recently unveiled on the �Թϱ�� campus.

“We 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,” Amon said.

“As 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.” 

Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence:

Cristina Amon in the department of mechanical & industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Powering Ontario’s grid transformation and electric vehicle fast charging with thermally resilient battery energy storage & Next-gen electric vehicle battery systems: Lightweight, thermally performant and fire safe for all climates
Morgan Barense in the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science – HippoCamera: Digital memory rehabilitation to combat memory loss
Aimy Bazylak in the department of mechanical & industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering – RECYCLEAN: Critical minerals recycling & re-manufacturing for the energy transition
Ian Connell at University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – MRI-compatible innovations for neuromodulation
Simon Graham at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Technological innovations for clinical MRI of the brain at 7 tesla
Clinton Groth in the Institute for Aerospace Studies in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Hydrogen as a sustainable aviation fuel – combustion research to remove impediments to adoption in gas turbine engines
James Kennedy at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Clinical utility and enhancements of a pharmacogenomic decision support tool for mental health patients
Shaf Keshavjee at University Health Network and the department of surgery in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Advanced solutions to human lung preservation and assessment using artificial intelligence
Aviad Levis in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science – AI and quantum enhanced astronomy
JoAnne McLaurin at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of laboratory medicine & pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Conversion of astrocytes to neurons to treat neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and the eye
R. J. Dwayne Miller in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science – PicoSecond InfraRed Laser (PIRL) “cancer knife” with complete biodiagnostics via spatial imaging mass spectrometry
Javad Mostaghimi in the department of mechanical & industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – A new generation of compact, transportable mass spectrometers for rapid, in-field sample analysi
Xiao Yu (Shirley) Wu in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy – Molecular dynamics modeling and screening of excipients for designing amorphous solid dispersion formulations of poorly–soluble drugs

Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrastructure Fund:

Celina Baines in the department of ecology & evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Impacts of environmental change on organismal movement
Sergio de la Barrera in the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Facility for quantum materials and device assembly from atomically thin van der Waals layers
Michelle Bendeck in the department of laboratory medicine & pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – 4D quantitative cardiovascular physiology centre
Laurent Bozec in the department of laboratory medicine & pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – 21st Century challenge for Dentistry: Breaking the cycle of irreversible dental tissue loss
Mark Chiew at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Next generation computational MRI for rapid neuroimaging and image-guided therapy
Haissi Cui in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science – A molecule to mouse approach to study the intracellular localization of genetic code interpretation in mammalian cells
Andy Kin On DeVeale at the University Health Network and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health – Sarcopenia and musculoskeletal interactions (sami) collaborative hub
Ali Dolatabadi in the department of mechanical & industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Advanced cold spray facility
Spencer Freeman at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Imaging biophysical determinants of the innate immune response
Liisa Galea at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Institute of Medical Science in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Sex and sex-specific factors influencing brain health across the lifespan
Maged Goubran at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – AI platform for mapping, tracking and predicting circuit alterations in Alzheimer’s disease
Eitan Grinspun in the departments of computer science and department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts & Science – A computer graphics perspective on entanglement of slender structures
Levon Halabelian in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Enabling a high-throughput drug discovery pipeline for targeting disease-related human proteins
Ziqing Hong in the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Ultra-sensitive cryogenic detector development for dark matter and neutrino experiments
Eno Hysi at the Unity Health Toronto and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Structural and functional assessments of diabetic skin microvasculature using photoacoustic imaging
Lewis Kay in the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Helium recovery system for the biomolecular NMR facility
Xiang Li in the department of chemistry and the department of physic in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Real-time multi-faceted probes of quantum materials
Qian Lin in the department of cell & systems biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science – 2p-RAM for whole-brain single-neuron imaging of behaving zebrafish to study neural mechanisms of cognitive behaviours
Xilin Liu in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Integrated circuits for wireless brain implants with multi-modal neural interfaces
Stephen Lye at the Sinai Health System and the department of physiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) analytics platform
Caitlin Maikawa in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Biointerfacing materials for drug delivery lab
Emma Master in the department of chemical engineering & applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Accelerating biomanufacturing innovation through enhanced capacity for scale-up and downstream bioprocess engineering
Roman Melnyk at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – The H-SCREEN: A platform for high throughput and high content imaging-based small molecule screens for disease modulation
Juan Mena-Parra in the department of astronomy & astrophysics in the Faculty of Arts & Science – An advanced laboratory to enable novel radio telescopes for cosmology and time-domain astrophysics
Seyed Mohamad Moosavi in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Machine learning for nanoporous materials design
Enid Montague in the department of mechanical & industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Automation and equity in healthcare laboratory
Michael Norris in the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Infrastructure for structural and functional virology research hub
Amaya Perez-Brumer in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health – 3P lab: Centering power, privilege and positionality for health equity research
Monica Ramsey in the department of anthropology at the University of Toronto Mississauga – Ramsey Laboratory for Environmental Archaeology (RLEA): How human-environment interactions shaped plant-food
Arneet Saltzman in the department of cell & systems biology in the in the Faculty of Arts & Science – Heterochromatin regulation in development and inheritance
Mina Tadrous in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy – Developing a centre for real-world evidence to improve the use of medications for Canadians
Shurui Zhou in the department of electrical & computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Improving collaboration efficiency for fork-based software development
Olena Zhulyn at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine – Targeting translation for tissue regeneration and repair
Christoph Zrenner at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Next-generation real-time closed-loop personalized neurostimulation

�Թϱ��’s Geoffrey Hinton delivers Nobel lecture alongside co-laureate

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:48:27 +0000

�Թϱ��’s Geoffrey Hinton delivers Nobel lecture alongside co-laureate

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 12/09/2024 - 15:48

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�Թϱ��'s Geoffrey Hinton, left, and John J. Hopfield of Princeton University, right, who share the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, shake hands after their Nobel lectures in Stockholm (photo by Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Leah Cowen

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Artificial Intelligence

Computer Science

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

In Stockholm for a series of Nobel Week events, the “godfather of AI” will officially accept his Nobel Prize in Physics at a ceremony on Dec. 10

The University of Toronto’s Geoffrey Hinton took to the stage at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm this weekend – two days before he officially accepts his Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in AI – to deliver a lecture on the inventions and discoveries that led to him being given the prestigious award.

“Today, I’m going to do something very foolish – I’m going to try and describe a complicated technical idea for a general audience, without using any equations,” said Hinton, a �Թϱ�� University Professor emeritus of computer science, prompting laughter from the audience.

The “godfather of AI” then proceeded to outline how decades of his fundamental research, and that of his co-laureate John J. Hopfield of Princeton University, enabled the development of artificial neural networks and machine learning – technologies that underpin today’s AI revolution.

The Nobel lectures are among the highlights of Nobel Week, which runs from Dec. 6-12 in Stockholm and Oslo and includes award ceremonies, banquets, media engagements and commemorations at the Nobel Museum. There is also a series of Nobel Week events taking place at �Թϱ��, including watch parties on all three campuses for the livestream of the Dec. 10 award ceremony.

Sunday’s first Nobel Prize lecture in physics was delivered by Hopfield, who shared how his fascination with the workings of the human brain inspired his development of the Hopfield network – an associative memory that can store and reconstruct patterns in data.

“How mind emerges from brain is, to me, the deepest question posed by our humanity,” Hopfield said.

When it was Hinton’s turn to take the stage, he described how he and Terry Sejnowski – one of Hopfield’s students – came upon a novel use of Hopfield nets: “Instead of using them to store memories, we could use them to construct interpretations of sensory input,” Hinton said.

He then went on to discuss the resulting Boltzmann machine, a type of neural network that is capable of recognizing elements within data.

Hinton discusses the significance of the Boltzmann machine (photo by �Թϱ�� staff)

Yet, despite its promise, the original Boltzmann machine was too slow, Hinton said, and it wasn’t until several years later that he came up with “restricted Boltzmann machines,” which impose limitations on connections between neurons in order to increase system efficiency – a development that would prove pivotal in training deep neural networks (Hinton donated an early Boltzmann chip, about the size of a postage stamp, to the Nobel Prize Museum).

Following the lecture, Hinton was joined on stage by Hopfield, with the pair sharing a vigorous handshake and posing for photos.

�Թϱ�� brought together a panel of experts in Stockholm to discuss AI research and development (photo by Jonas Borg)

Separately, �Թϱ�� convened an expert panel in Stockholm on Monday about the direction of AI research and development.

Moderated by Leah Cowen, �Թϱ��’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, the panel included: Eyal de Lara, a professor and chair of the department of computer science in �Թϱ��’s Faculty of Arts & Science; David Lie, director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering; Tony Gaffney, president and CEO of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence; and Amy Loutfi, professor of computer science and pro-vice-chancellor for AI at Örebro University in Sweden.

The conversation touched on areas including the promising applications of AI, how responsible deployment of AI can mitigate the technology’s potential pitfalls and implications of AI’s rise on education.

�Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler said that the AI breakthroughs fostered by Hinton’s research were made possible by Canada’s longstanding support of basic research.

“Geoff was interested in the novel but unproven concept of artificial neural networks, an area that was sometimes described as the ‘unpromising backwater’ of AI research,” President Gertler said in his remarks introducing the panel, noting that Hinton joined �Թϱ�� in 1987 and was one of the first scholars to receive support from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

“Canada was investing in brilliant people, their ideas and their students – and those investments have paid off many years later.”

Canada was also the first country to launch a national AI roadmap, President Gertler said, in the form of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy – which funds three national AI institutes including the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which is now housed in �Թϱ��’s new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. The state-of-the-art building also hosts the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, which is at the forefront of research and thought leadership on AI safety and responsible development, with Hinton one of its advisory board members.

“In short, Canada has played a key role in launching and driving the AI revolution and we’re a world leader in understanding and promoting safe, human-centred AI,” President Gertler said.

The theme of responsible AI was also brought up during a Q-and-A with Hinton, who revealed that the remarkable information-sharing abilities of large language models played a big role in sparking his now oft-repeated concerns around the current pace of the technology’s development.

“That’s when I came to realize that the fact that they’re so much better at sharing probably means that digital intelligence is just a better form of intelligence than us – and that’s what got me so worried,” he said.

Asked what responsible AI regulation looks like, Hinton said there must first be a consensus around solving the problem from a scientific standpoint – not unlike the scientific consensus that has emerged around climate change.

“Like the early days of climate change, the first thing to do is figure out what’s causing it and get scientific agreement on how you can fix it. Then, the second thing to do is get the politicians to do something about it … but here, we haven’t finished the first thing yet.”

�Թϱ�� marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with tri-campus event

davidlee — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:49:21 +0000

�Թϱ�� marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with tri-campus event

davidlee Fri, 12/06/2024 - 15:49

Cutline

Students read the names of the 14 women killed during the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre during a Dec. 6 event held at Hart House (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Hart House

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Undergraduate Students

Subheadline

"Seeing our students here today and recognizing the impact they are having on research and action is important to acknowledge and celebrate”

Members of the University of Toronto community came together to commemorate the 14 women who lost their lives in the violent attack at École Polytechnique 35 years ago – and to honour all those impacted by gender-based violence.

Students, faculty, staff, librarians and alumni from across �Թϱ��’s three campuses marked the Dec. 6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with an event held at Hart House on Friday, while others attended virtually by livestream.

A tri-campus ceremony at Hart House commemorates the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (photo by Johnny Guatto)

A group of students in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering also unveiled an interactive sculpture on the front steps of the Galbraith building on the St. George campus. The design featured 14 candles surrounding a central flame with each candle representing a victim of the 1989 tragedy.

“Each candle has a button; when you press the button, it makes the central flame brighter,” Rebecca Ing, a fourth-year student in materials science and engineering and a member of the design team, told �Թϱ�� Engineering News.

“This represents our individual role in taking action against gender-based violence”

The student group also organized a memorial ceremony on Friday that took place in front of Galbraith.

Students in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering created an interactive sculpture (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Inside Hart House’s Great Hall, students walked across a stage to read aloud the names and ages of the 14 women killed in the attack (which also left another 10 women and four men were injured): Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte.

The reading of the names was followed by a moment of silence.

The event also featured roundtable discussions, a musical performance by artist Jenny Blackbird, a resource centre and programs co-ordinator at First Nations House Indigenous Student Services and performances by the Skule String Quartet Orchestra.

Jenny Blackbird performs at the Hart House event (photo by Johnny Guatto)

During the ceremony, two �Թϱ�� students were recognized for their dedication to addressing violence against women, girls, transgender and non-binary individuals with �Թϱ��’s Award for Scholarly Achievement in the Area of Gender-Based Violence.

The undergraduate recipient of the annual award was Yunchi "Hex" Li, who is pursuing a double major in sociology and women and gender studies with a minor in sexual diversity studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Li’s academic pursuits focus on dismantling patriarchal and heterosexist systems.

Sandy Welsh and Yunchi "Hex" Li pose for a photo (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Roberta Silveira Pamplona, a PhD candidate in the department of sociology with a collaborative degree in women and gender studies, was the graduate recipient. Pamplona is analyzing the criminalization of feminicides in Brazil in her PhD dissertation.

“As Hex and Roberta’s work illustrates, there is such an impressively broad range of work happening at �Թϱ��, and we also saw this diversity of topics in our award applications overall,” said Sandy Welsh, �Թϱ��’s vice-provost, students, who presented the award to this year’s winners.

Sandy Welsh and Roberta Silveira Pamplona have their picture taken (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Often this work happens quietly and behind the scenes – we know this is difficult work, and the conversations surrounding the work can be challenging to share – but seeing our students here today and recognizing the impact they are having on research and action, is important to acknowledge and celebrate.”

Marisa Sterling, assistant dean and director, diversity, inclusion and professionalism in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, reflected on how the tragedy spurred a personal exploration of feminism.

The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Marisa Sterling reflected on how the tragedy spurred a personal exploration of feminism (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“What would change after Dec. 6 is the open acknowledgement that engineering has been an unsafe profession for women for years,” she said, highlighting the importance of efforts such as the inclusion of harassment in the definition of professional misconduct under the Professional Engineers Act, the establishment of programs like Go Code Girl, and the 30 by 30 campaign to increase the representation of women in the field.

She then called for continued remembrance and action to combat gender-based violence and discrimination.

After the award presentation and remarks, attendees were invited for a campus walk to visit the fire at Ziibiing Indigenous garden and to lay a white rose in commemoration of the lives lost.

This year’s hybrid event was co-hosted by the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Hart House and the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre.

�Թϱ�� shines a spotlight on exceptional educators at Excellence in Teaching reception

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:02:53 +0000

�Թϱ�� shines a spotlight on exceptional educators at Excellence in Teaching reception

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 11/27/2024 - 13:02

Cutline

�Թϱ�� Vice-President and Provost Trevor Young (centre) poses with Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Award recipients, from left to right: Jasty Singh, Spyridon Kotsovilis, S. Trimble and Roberta K. Timothy (photo by Polina Teif)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Trevor Young

Early Career Teaching Award

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Teaching

�Թϱ�� Mississauga

�Թϱ�� Scarborough

Women and Gender Studies

At the University of Toronto, teaching is about much more than just imparting knowledge – it’s an engaging, dynamic and creative process that expands and enriches the way students think, preparing them for future success in academics and their careers.

The recent Excellence in Teaching reception hosted by �Թϱ��’s Office of the Provost recognized the fundamental importance of teaching to the university’s mission. In particular, it honoured five faculty members who received Cheryl Regehr Early Career Teaching Awards, which were recently renamed in honour of Cheryl Regehr – Young’s predecessor as vice-president and provost, a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and a longtime champion of teaching excellence and innovation at �Թϱ��.

“These awards recognize burgeoning talent among our most junior faculty. We expect – and we know from experience – that these recipients will continue to lead and excel in teaching,” Trevor Young, �Թϱ��’s vice-president and provost said at the Nov. 4 event held at the Faculty Club.

The event also featured the presentation of the Global Educator Award, which recognizes a faculty member who exemplifies �Թϱ��’s global mission by incorporating intercultural and international perspectives.

“I’m extremely proud of �Թϱ�� for many reasons,” Young said, “and one of them is what’s evident here today, which is the immense talent and experience of our faculty as well as their deep commitment to our university, to our students, to knowledge [and] to research. All that you’re doing is really incredible.”

�Թϱ�� spoke with all six award winners about their approach to educating students: