UBC researchers to further stem cell and regenerative medicine research through projects awarded over $2.8 million

Canada's Stem Cell Network has announced $33 million in funding for 36 regenerative medicine research projects and clinical trials that will drive ground-breaking research across 14 disease areas, including diabetes, brain disorders, heart and lung disease, cancer, and much more.

Seven projects led by UBC researchers were awarded $1.85 million in combined funding through this initiative. A further three projects involving UBC researchers as co-investigators and collaborators were awarded a combined $1.03 million. 

This announcement supports researchers from UBC and across Canada to push the boundaries of what is possible in health care and to develop therapies designed not only to manage symptoms, but to stop or even reverse the course of disease.

See the Stem Cell Network's announcement

UBC-Led Projects

Early Career Researcher Jump Start Awards

1. Dr. Nika Shakiba (School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Lead Investigator
   Dr. Carl de Boer (School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Co-Investigator 
   Expanding the quality control toolbox: a machine-learning approach to detecting genetically aberrant pluripotent stem cells  

Fueling Biotechnology Partnership Awards

1. Dr. Timothy Kieffer (Cellular & Physiological Sciences / Surgery)
   Role: Lead Investigator
   Vascularized, Stem Cell-Derived Islet Organoids for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

Impact Awards

1. Dr. Fabio Rossi (Medical Genetics / School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Lead Investigator
   Engineering hPS derived myogenic progenitors to deliver anti-fibrotic molecules
    
2. Dr. Kelly McNagny (School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Lead Investigator 
   Dr. Peter Zandstra (Medical Genetics / Michael Smith Laboratories / School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Co-Investigator 
   Dr. Calvin Roskelley (Cellular & Physiological Sciences / School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Co-Investigator
   Dr. Laura Evgin (Medical Genetics / BC Cancer Research Institute)
   Harnessing Stem Cell-Derived Tissue-Resident Innate Lymphoid Cells to Target and Eliminate Solid Tumors
    
3. Dr. Megan Levings (School of Biomedical Engineering / Surgery / BC Children's Hospital Research Institute)
   Role: Lead Investigator 
   Dr. Bruce Verchere (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine / Surgery / BC Children's Hospital Research Institute)
   Role: Co-Investigator
   Dr. Francis Lynn (Cellular & Physiological Sciences / School of Biomedical Engineering / Surgery / BC Children's Hospital Research Institute)
   Role: Co-Investigator 
   Dr. Peter Zandstra (Medical Genetics / Michael Smith Laboratories / School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Co-Investigator 
   Leveraging stem cells to create an engineered model of type 1 diabetes
    
4. Dr. Nika Shakiba (School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Lead Investigator 
   Bioreactor bottlenecks: selection for aberrant cells in pluripotent stem cell expansion
    
5. Dr. Peter Zandstra (Medical Genetics / Michael Smith Laboratories / School of Biomedical Engineering)
   Role: Lead Investigator
   Automating Systems Biology and Machine Learning for Multiscale Regulatory Network Discovery in Stem Cell Differentiation

See all projects

See the news release from the School of Biomedical Engineering

See the news release from the Faculty of Medicine