Author Archives: cmlweb

22 Feb

Congrats to Bahram!

Congratulations to Bahram on winning the best poster award for the Valve Imaging, Engineering, and Design Session at the Heart Valve Society 2024 Annual Conference in Boston!

28 Jan

Mirani Bahram, Mathew Sean O, Latifi Neda, Labrosse Michel R, Amsden Brian G, Simmons Craig A. Programmable Melt Electrowriting to Engineer Soft Connective Tissues with Prescribed, Biomimetic, Biaxial Mechanical Properties. Advanced Functional Materials. 2023 | Wiley

28 Jan

Chung Jennifer C-Y, Eliathamby Daniella, Seo Hijun, Fan Chun-Po, Islam Rifat, Deol Karamvir, Simmons Craig A, Ouzounian Maral. Biomechanical properties of the aortic root are distinct from those of the ascending aorta in both normal and aneurysmal states. JTCVS Open. 2023 | Elsevier

11 Jul

Congrats to Hayley!

Congratulations to Hayley on receiving the Centennial Senior Project Award for Mechanical Engineering for her 4th year thesis!

09 Jun

Eliathamby Daniella, Keshishi Melanie, Ouzounian Maral, Forbes Thomas L., Tan Kongteng, Simmons Craig A., Chung Jennifer C-Y. Ascending aortic geometry and its relationship to the biomechanical properties of aortic tissue. JTCVS open. 2023 | Elsevier

09 Jun

Sebastian Joseph A., Strohm Eric M., Baranger Jerome., Villemain Olivier, Kolios Michael C., Simmons Craig A. Assessing engineered tissues and biomaterials using ultrasound imaging: In vitro and in vivo applications. Biomaterials. 2023 | Elsevier

12 Jan

Sebastian Joseph A., Strohm Eric M., Chérin Emmanuel, Mirani Bahram, Démoré Christine, Kolios Michael C., Simmons Craig A. High-frequency quantitative ultrasound for the assessment of the acoustic properties of engineered tissues in vitro. Acta Biomaterialia. 2022 | Elsevier

12 Jan

Eliathamby Daniella, Keshishi Melanie, Ouzounian Maral, Forbes Thomas L., Tan Kongteng, Simmons Craig A., Chung Jennifer. Ascending aortic geometry and its relationship to the biomechanical properties of aortic tissue. JTCVS Open. 2022. Elsevier

12 Jan

Bergevin Michele d., Boczula Anna E., Caruso Laura-lee., Persson Henrik., Simmons Craig A., Moriarty Tara J. A live cell imaging microfluidic model for studying extravasation of bloodborne bacterial pathogens. 2022. Cellular Microbiology. Wiley

29 Jun

Dou Wenkun, Malhi Manpreet, Cui Teng, Wang Minyao, Wang Tiancong, Shan Guanqiao, Law Junhui, Gong Zheyuan, Plakhotnik Julia, Filleter Tobin, Li Renke, Simmons Craig A., Maynes Jason T., Sun Yu. A carbon-based biosensing platform for simultaneously measuring the contraction and electrophysiology of iPSC-cardiomyocyte monolayers. ACS Nano. 2022 | American Chemical Society

29 Jun

Wong Edwin KY., Parvin Nejad Shouka, D’Costa Katya A., Machado Siqueira Nataly, Lecce Monica, Santerre Paul, Simmons Craig A. Design of a mechanobioreactor to apply anisotropic, biaxial strain to large thin biomaterials for tissue engineered heart valve applications. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2022 | Springer

30 May

Nouri Shahrzad, Holcroft James, Caruso Laura-lee, Vuong Thu V., Simmons Craig A., Master Emma R., Ganss Berhnhard. An SCPPPQ1/LAM332 protein complex enhances the adhesion and migration of oral epithelial cells: Implications for dentogingival regeneration. 2022 | Elsevier.

28 Feb

Dou Wenkun, Malhi Manpreet, Zhao Qili, Wang Li, Huang Zongjie, Law Junhui, Liu Na, Simmons Craig A., Maynes Jason T., Sun Yu. Microengineered platforms for characterizing the contractile function of in vitro cardiac models. 2022 | Springer Nature

06 Jan

Persson Henrik, Park Siwan, Mohan Michael, Cheung Ka Kit, Simmons Craig A., Young Edmond WK. Rapid assembly of PMMA microfluidic devices with PETE membranes for studying the endothelium. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical. 2021 | Elsevier

06 Jan

McClarty Davis, Ouzounian Maral, Tang Mingyi, Eliathamby Daniella, Romero David, Nguyen Elsie, Simmons Craig A., Amon Cristina, Chung Jennifer C-Y. Ascending aortic aneurysm haemodynamics are associated with aortic wall biomechanical properties. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. 2021 | Oxford Academic

22 Oct

Anthonyshyn Jeremy A., Mazzoli Vienna, McFadden Meghan J., Gramolini Anthony O., Hofer Stefan O. P., Simmons Craig A., Santerre, Paul. Mitigating the non-specific uptake of immunomagnetic microparticles enables the extraction of endothelium from human fat. Communications Biology. 2021 | Nature Publishing Group

09 Oct

Tang Mingyi, Eliathamby Daniella, Ouzounian Maral, Simmons Craig A, Chung Jennifer C.-Y. Dependency of energy loss on strain rate, strain magnitude and preload: Towards development of a novel biomarker for aortic aneurysm dissection risk. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. 2021 | Elsevier

17 May

Liu Haijao, Usprech Jenna F., Parameshwar Prabu K., Sun Yu, Simmons Craig A. Combinatorial screen of dynamic mechanical stimuli for predictive control of MSC mechano-responsiveness. Science Advances. 2021 | AAAS

10 Mar

Dou Wenkun, Wang Li, Malhi Manpreet, Liu Haijao, Zhao Qili, Plakhotnik Julia, Xu Zhensong, Huang Zongjie, Simmons Craig A., Maynes Jason T., Sun Yu. A microdevice platform for characterizing the effect of mechanical strain magnitudes on the maturation of iPSC-Cardiomyocytes. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2021 | Elsevier

29 Dec

Maleki Hoda, Doyle Matthew G., Chehade Moussa, Liu Qian, Simmons Craig A. The focal mechanical properties of normal and diseased porcine aortic valve tissue measured by a novel microindentation device. Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. 2020 | Elsevier.

29 Dec

Dou Wenkun, Wang Li, Malhi Manpreet, Liu Haijao, Zhao Qili, Plakhotnik Julia, Xu Zhensong, Huang Zongjie, Simmons Craig A., Maynes Jason T., Sun Yu. A microdevice platform for characterizing the effect of mechanical strain magnitudes on the maturation of iPSC-Cardiomyocytes. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2020 | Elsevier

29 Dec

Fitzsimmons Ross E.B., Ireland Ronald G., Zhong Aileen., Soos Agnes, Simmons Craig A., Assessment of fibrin-collagen co-gels for generating microvessels ex vivo using endothelial cell-lined microfluidics and multipotent stromal cell (MSC)-induced capillary morphogenesis. Biomedical Materials. 2020 | IOP Science.

25 Aug

Chung Jennifer C-Y., Wong Edwin, Tang Mingyi, Eliathamby Daniella, Forbes Thomas L., Butany Jagdish, Simmons Craig A., Ouzounian Maral, Biomechanics of Aortic Dissection: A Comparison of Aortas Associated With Bicuspid and Tricuspid Aortic Valves. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2020 | Wiley 

25 Aug

Callaghan Neal I., Lee Shin-Haw, Hadipour-Lakmehsari Sina, Lee Xavier A., Siraj M. Ahsan, Driouchi Amine, Yip Christopher M., Husain Mansoor,Simmons Craig A., Gramolini Anthony O., Functional culture and in vitro genetic and small-molecule manipulation of adult mouse cardiomyocytes. Communications Biology. 2020 | Nature Publishing Group 

25 Aug

Ireland Ronald G., Kibschull Mark, Audet Julie, Ezzo Maya, Hinz Boris, Lye Stephen J., Simmons Craig A., Combinatorial extracellular matrix microarray identifies novel bioengineered substrates for xeno-free culture of human pluripotent stem cells. Biomaterials. 2020 | Elsevier

25 Aug

Gellner Bryan, Xin Liming, Ribeiro Roberto V.P., Bissoondath Ved, Lu Pengzhoi, Adamson Mitchell B., Yu Frank, Paradiso Emanuela, Zu Jean, Simmons Craig A., Badiwala Mitesh V., The implementation of an adjustable afterload module during ex situ heart perfusion. Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology. 2020 | Springer

25 Aug

Gellner Bryan, Xin Liming, Ribeiro Roberto V.P., Bissoondath Ved, Adamson Mitchell B., Yu Frank, Lu Pengzhou, Paradiso Emanuela, Hondjeu Arnaud R.M., Simmons Craig A., Badiwala Mitesh V., The implementation of physiological afterload during ex situ heart perfusion augments prediction of posttransplant function. American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2020 | American Physiological Society

25 Aug

Wong Jeremy F., Mohan Michael D., Young Edmond W.K., Simmons Craig A., Integrated electrochemical measurement of endothelial permeability in a 3D hydrogel-based microfluidic vascular model. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2020 | Elsevier

23 Aug

Hadipour-Lakmehsari Sina, Driouchi Amine, Lee Shin-Haw, Kuzmanov Uros, Callaghan Neal I., Heximer Scott P., Simmons Craig A., Yip Christopher M., Gramolini Anthony O., Nanoscale reorganization of sarcoplasmic reticulum in pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy visualized by dSTORM. Scientific Reports. 2019 | Nature Publishing Group 

22 Jan

Joseph awarded CRAFT fellowship

Congratulations go out to Joseph who was selected to recieve a 2020 CRAFT Fellowship Award. The award is provided by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to help cover salary and research costs.

 

18 May

Jenna joins UBC

This summer, Jenna will move to Vancouver to join University of British Columbia as Instructor in the School of Biomedical Engineering. A loss for us but a valuable gain for UBC. Congratulations Jenna!

25 Mar

Rachel wins Lorne Phenix award

Congratulations to Rachel on winning the 2018-2019 “Lorne Phenix Graduate Award” from the Cardiovascular Sciences Collaborative Specialization (CSCS)! This award is given on the basis of research and academic excellence for cardiovascular research related to women.

19 Feb

Callaghan Neal, Hadipour-Lakmehsari Sina, Lee Shin-Haw, Gramolini Anthony O., Simmons Craig A., Modeling cardiac complexity: Advancements in myocardial models and analytical techniques for physiological investigation and therapeutic development in vitro. APL Bioengineering. 2019 | AIP

28 Jan

Neda receives fellowship

Congratulations Neda  on recieving First Rank in the Multidisciplinary Committee of the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec-Nature et Technologies Postdoctoral Fellowship Award.

01 Sep

Alan rewarded a travel award

Congratulations to Alan on winning the Cardiovascular Sciences Collaborative Specialization Travel Award to cover his expenses for the  8th Biennial Heart Valve Biology & Tissue Engineering Meeting in London, England.

22 Aug

Lam Alan Y, Simmons Craig A., Cell and Extracellular Matrix Interactions in a Dynamic Biomechanical Environment: The Aortic Valve as an Illustrative Example. In: Labrosse MR, eds. Cardiovascular Mechanics. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2018. | Book Chapter

29 Jun

Fitzsimmons Ross EB, Aquilino Mark S., Quigley Jasmine, Chebotarev Oleg, Tarlan Farhang, Simmons Craig A. Generating vascular channels within hydrogel constructs using an economical open-source 3D bioprinter and thermoreversible gels. Bioprinting: 2018; 9:7-18 | ScienceDirect

29 Jun

Zhong, Aileen, Mirzaei, Zahra, Simmons, Craig A. The Roles of Matrix Stiffness and ß-Catenin Signaling in Endothelial-to- Mesenchymal Transition of Aortic Valve Endothelial Cells. Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology. 2018;9:158-167|Springer

31 May

Agnes wins best poster at iARC 2018

Congratulations Agnes, to receiving the award for best poster in the category Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at IBBME’s annual research conference, iARC 2018. For more info on the event and to see the other winners, follow this link.

 

 

01 Mar

CIHR grants for TBEP

Last week, a delegation from Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) visited our department (TBEP, Translational Biology and Engineering Program). The visit served as a public announcement for the 2017 CIHR grants (awarded April last year), 10 of which went to UofT and 4 to TBEP, including the Simmons lab for Engineering Pulmonary Valve Tissue for Pediatric Patients with Tetralogy of Fallot and Development of a physiological cardiac microtissue platform for drug development.

Read more about it on UofT‘s, Ted Roger’s or IBBME‘s websites.

16 Jan

Bowmanville Heart and Stroke rally

Bailey, Shouka, and Craig described the lab’s research in heart valve disease and heart valve tissue engineering to Heart and Stroke Foundation canvassers and other volunteers at the Bowmanville Heart Rally.

Shouka, Bailey and Craig together with Susan at the Bowmanville Heart&Stroke rally.

29 Nov

Craig awarded Engineering Medal – Research and Development

At the 2017 Ontario Professional Engineers Awards, Craig was awarded the Engineering Medal for Research and Development. This medal is awarded “for using new knowledge in developing useful, novel applications, or advancing engineering knowledge or applied science, or discovering or extending any of the engineering or natural sciences.”

Read more about it at Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) or in the news at UofT, MIE, IBBME or at StartUp HERE Toronto .

Also, definitely don’t miss the award video Craig by PEO on .

30 Oct

Zhang Xiaoqing, Battiston Kyle, Simmons Craig A, Santerre J Paul. Differential regulation of extracellular matrix components by using different vitamin C derivatives in mono-and co-culture systems. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. 2017 | ACS

30 Oct

Leung General, Kirpalani Anish, Szeto Stephen G, Deeb Maya, Warren Foltz,  Simmons Craig A, Yuen Darren A. Could MRI Be Used To Image Kidney Fibrosis? A Review of Recent Advances and Remaining Barriers. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2017;12(6):1019-1028 | PubMed

30 Oct

Zhang Xiaoqing, Battiston Kyle G, Labow Rosalind S, Simmons Craig A,Santerre J Paul. Generating favorable growth factor and protease release profiles to enable extracellular matrix accumulation within an in vitro tissue engineering environment. Acta Biomaterialia. 2017;54:81-84 | PubMed

30 Oct

Wen Jun, Tao Hirotaka, Lau Kimberly, Liu Haijiao, Simmons Craig A, Sun Yu, Hopyan Sevan. Cell and Tissue Scale Forces Coregulate Fgfr2-Dependent Tetrads and Rosettes in the Mouse Embryo. Biophysical Journal. 2017;112(10):2209-2218. | PubMed

30 Oct

Zhang Xiaoqing, Bendeck Michelle P, Simmons Craig A, Santerre, J Paul. Deriving vascular smooth muscle cells from mesenchymal stromal cells: Evolving differentiation strategies and current understanding of their mechanisms. Biomaterials; 2017;145:9-22 | PubMed

30 Oct

Safaee Helia, Bakooshli Mohsen A, Davoudi Sadegh, Cheng, Richard Y, Martowirogo Aditya J, Li Edward W, Simmons Craig A, Gilbert, Penney M. Tethered Jagged-1 Synergizes with Culture Substrate Stiffness to Modulate Notch-Induced Myogenic Progenitor Differentiation. Cellular and molecular bioengineering. 2017;10(5):501-513. | SpringerLink

30 Oct

Usprech Jenna, Romero David A, Amon Cristina H, Simmons Craig A. Combinatorial screening of 3D biomaterial properties that promote myofibrogenesis for mesenchymal stromal cell-based heart valve tissue engineering. Acta Biomaterialia. 2017;58:34-43. | PubMed

18 Oct

Moraes C*, MacQueen LA*, Sun Y, Simmons CA. Microscale generation of dynamic forces in cell culture systems. In: Sun Y, Kim D-H, Simmons CA. (eds.) Integrative Mechanobiology: Micro and Nano Techniques in Cell Mechanobiology. Cambridge University Press, 2015. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Battiston KG, Santerre JP, Simmons CA. Mechanobiological stimulation of engineered vascular tissues. In: Sun Y, Kim D-H, Simmons CA. (eds.) Integrative Mechanobiology: Micro and Nano Techniques in Cell Mechanobiology. Cambridge University Press, 2015. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Blaser MC, Simmons CA. Mechanical and matrix regulation of fibrosis. In: Dixon IAC and Wigle J (eds.), Mechanisms of Cardiac Fibrosis and Heart Failure. Springer, 2015. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Srigunapalan S, Simmons CA. Valvular endothelial mechanobiology. In: Aranda-Espinoza H (ed.), Mechanobiology of the Endothelium. CRC Press, 2015. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

MacQueen L, Moraes C, Sun Y, Simmons CA. Dynamic mechanical environments to quantify and control cellular dynamics. In: Cuerrier CM, Pelling AE (eds), Cells, Forces, and the Microenvironment. Pan Stanford Publishing, 2015. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Blaser M, Simmons CA. Mechanobiology of cardiac and valvular fibrosis. In: Layton B (ed.), Molecular and Cellular Biomechanics. Pan Stanford Publishing, 2015. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Moraes C, Sun Y, Simmons CA. Micro and nano-technologies for studies in cellular mechanics and mechanobiology. In: Gefen A (ed.), Cellular and Biomolecular Mechanics and Mechanobiology. Springer-Verlag, 2011. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Chen WLK, Simmons CA. Mesenchymal stem cell mechanobiology. In: Nagatomi J (ed.), Mechanobiology Handbook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2011. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Yip YYC*, Chen JH*, Simmons CA. Engineering substrate mechanics to regulate cell response. In: Khademhosseini et al. (eds.) Micro- and Nanoengineering of the Cell Microenvironment: Technologies and Applications. Artech House Publishing Inc., 2008. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Simmons CA, Mooney DJ. Regulation of cellular response to mechanical signals by matrix design. In: Guilak, F. et al. (eds.) Functional Tissue Engineering. Springer-Verlag, Inc., New York, 2003. | Book Chapter

18 Oct

Pilliar RM, Simmons CA. Mechanical factors and osseointegration: Influence of implant design. In: Zarb, G. et al. (eds.) Aging, Osteoporosis and Dental Implants. Quintessence, Chicago, 2001. | Book chapter

18 Oct

Simmons CA, Pilliar RM. A biomechanical study of early tissue formation around bone-interfacing implants – The effect of implant surface geometry, In: Davies, J.E. (ed.) Bone Engineering. em squared, Inc., Toronto, 2001 | Book Chapter

21 Apr

Wong Jeremy F., Simmons Craig A., Young Edward W.K. Modeling and Measurement of Biomolecular Transport and Sensing in Microfluidic Cell Culture and Analysis Systems, In: Becker, S. (ed.)  Model. Microscale Transp. Biol. Process. 1st ed. 2017; Elsevier, pp. 41–75. | Book Chapter

27 Feb

Loai S, Haedicke I, Mirzaei Z, Simmons CA, Zhang XA, Cheng HL. Positive-contrast cellular MRI of embryonic stem cells for tissue regeneration using a highly efficient T1 MRI contrast agent. J Magn Reson Imaging, 2016; 44:1456-1463| PubMed

27 Feb

Niu CJ, Fisher C, Scheffler K, Wana R, Maleki H, Liu H, Sun Y, Simmons CA, Birngruber R, Lilge L. Polyacrylamide gel substrates that simulate the mechanical stiffness of normal and malignant neuronal tissues increase protoporphyin IX synthesis in glioma cells. Journal of Biomedical Optics, 2015;20:98002. | PubMed

27 Feb

Kheradvar A, Groves EM, Falahatpisheh A, Mofrad MK, Alavi SH, Tranquillo R, Dasi LP, Simmons CA, Grande-Allen KJ, Goergen CJ, Baaijens F,  Little SH, Canic S, Griffith B. Emerging trends in heart valve engineering: Part IV. Computational modeling and experimental studies. Ann Biomed Eng, 2015;43:2314-33. | PubMed

27 Feb

Battiston KG, Ouyang B, Honarparvar E, Qian J, Labow RS, Simmons CA, Santerre JP. Interaction of a block-co-polymeric biomaterial with immunoglobulin G modulates human monocytes towards a non-inflammatory phenotype. Acta Biomaterialia, 2015; 24:35-43. | PubMed

27 Feb

Battiston KG, Labow RS, Simmons CA, Santerre JP. Immunomodulatory polymeric scaffold enhances extracellular matrix production in cell co-cultures under dynamic mechanical stimulation. Acta Biomaterialia, 2015;24:74-86. | PubMed

27 Feb

Lau K, Tao H, Liu H, Wen J, Sturgeon K, Sorfazlian N, Lazic S, Burrows JTA, Wong M, Li D, Deimling S, Ciruna B, Scott I, Simmons CA, Henkelman RM, Williams T, Hadjantonakis AK, Fernandez-Gonzalez R, Sun Y, Hopyan S. Anisotropic stress orients remodelling of mammalian limb bud ectoderm. Nat Cell Biol, 2015;17:569–579. | PubMed

27 Feb

Kheradvar A, Groves EM, Dasi LP, Alavi SH, Tranquillo RT, Grande-Allen KJ, Simmons CA, Griffith BE, Falahatpisheh A, Goergen CJ, Mofrad MRK, Baaijens FPT, Little SH, Canic S. Emerging trends in heart valve engineering: Part I. Solutions for the future. Ann Biomed Eng, 2015;43:833-43. | PubMed

27 Feb

Kheradvar A, Groves EM, Goergen CJ, Alavi SH, Tranquillo RT, Simmons CA, Dasi LP, Grande-Allen KJ, Mofrad MRK, Falahatpisheh A, Griffith BE, Baaijens FPT, Little SH, Canic S. Emerging trends in heart valve engineering: Part II. Novel and standard technologies for aortic valve replacement. Ann Biomed Eng, 2015;43:844-57. | PubMed

27 Feb

Kheradvar A, Groves EM, Simmons CA, Griffith BE, Hamed Alavi S, Tranquillo RT, Dasi LP, Falahatpisheh A, Grande-Allen KJ, Goergen CJ, Mofrad MRK, Baaijens FPT, Canic S, Little SH. Emerging trends in heart valve engineering: Part III. Novel technologies for mitral valve repair and replacement. Ann Biomed Eng, 2015;43:858-70. | PubMed

25 Jan

Craig is named U of T Distinguished Professor of Mechanobiology!

Major congratulations to Craig who has been appointed University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Mechanobiology by the University of Toronto Office of the Vice-President and Provost for his exceptional career accomplishments and promise, his excellence in research, education and leadership!

Please join us to congratulate Craig on this well-deserved distinction!

02 Sep

Jenna wows Cheryl Regehr, U of T Vice President & Provost in lab tour

Jenna thoroughly impressed Cheryl Regehr, Vice President & Provost of the University of Toronto by leading her on a tour of the lab and describing her work in identifying environmental conditions that enable bone marrow MSCs to develop tissue that could act as a functional, regenerative replacement for diseased heart valves.

jennalab.400x400

06 Jun

Craig appointed as Associate Director, Research of IBBME

Congratulations to Craig, who was appointed as Associate Director, Research of the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) for a term of three years beginning July 1, 2014. This appointment follows his one year in the position as an acting associate director.

03 Jun

Craig elected as Fellow of CSME

Congratulations to Craig, who was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineers for excellence in mechanical engineering and active contribution to the progress of the profession and of the society.

01 Jun

Team Heart Valve completes the 50-km Ride for Heart!

Congratulations to Team Heart Valve, who completed the 50-km Becel Heart & Stroke Ride for Heart on June 1. The team, comprised of 17 lab members and friends, raised $5200 for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. This amount is the most we’ve ever raised in the 7 years we’ve participated as a lab team. Thanks to all of our generous sponsors!

team_heart_valve_2014

ride_for_heart_2014

01 Apr

Mark named recipient of the 2013-14 Lorne Phenix Graduate Award

Mark Blaser has been selected as the 2013-2014 “Lorne Phenix Graduate Award” recipient by the Cardiovascular Sciences Collaborative Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. This award is made possible by a generous donation in the memory of Mr. Lorne Phenix by the Phenix family. It is given on the basis of research and academic excellence and consists of a cash prize and a certificate.

07 Mar

Xiao Y, Zhang B, Liu H, Miklas JW, Gagliardi M, Pahnke A, Thavandiran N, Sun Y, Simmons CA, Keller G, Radisic M. Microfabricated perfusable cardiac biowire: a platform that mimics native cardiac bundle. Lab Chip, 2014;14:869-82. | Pubmed

01 Mar

Battiston KG, Ouyang B, Labow RS, Simmons CA, Santerre JP. Using monocytes/macrophages and their cytokine activity to promote vascular smooth muscle cell growth on a degradable polyurethane scaffold. Acta Biomaterialia, 2014;10:1146-55.| PubMed

03 Dec

Thavandiran N, Dubois N, Mikryukov A, Masse S, Beca B, Simmons CA, Deshpande V, McGarry P, Chen CS, Nanthakumar K, Keller G, Radisic M, Zandstra PW. Design and formulation of functional pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac microtissues. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013;110:E4698-707.| PubMed

07 Jul

Chen MB, Srigunapalan S, Wheeler AR, Simmons CA. A 3D microfluidic platform incorporating methacrylated gelatin hydrogels to study physiological cardiovascular cell–cell interactions. Lab Chip, 2013;13:2591-8.| PubMed

01 May

Linda, Jessica, Kathak, and Aileen awarded undergraduate research scholarships

Congratulations to our new group of undergraduate research students who received scholarships for the summer. Linda received an NSERCUndergraduate Student Research Award, Jessica received a CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis Studentship, Kathak received a Dental Research Institute Summer Research Program Award, and Aileen received a University of Toronto Undergraduate Research Opportunity Award. Congratulations to all!

13 Sep

Lab alumnus, Chris Moraes, awarded a prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship!

Congratulations to lab alumnus, Chris Moraes, who is the recipient of a two-year Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships are Canada’s most prestigious awards for postdoctoral fellows. Only 70 fellowships are awarded annually across all three federal granting agencies. Chris won one of only 26 awarded by NSERC. More details are available here: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=695009

07 Aug

Craig is named a recipient of the McLean Award

Congratulations to Craig, who was named a recipient of a prestigious McLean Award, part of the Connaught Fund. The award honours emerging leaders in basic research in the fields of physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, engineering sciences and statistics. The full story is available here.

01 May

Michelle, Xiaofan, Moussa, Kathak, and David receive undergraduate research scholarships

Congratulations to several undergraduate students in the lab who received scholarships to perform research in the lab this summer. Michelle, Xiaofan, and Moussa all received NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs); David received a UROP Summer Researcher Award; and Kathak received an award from the Dentistry Summer Student program.

05 Apr

Mark selected for the CIHR Canadian Student Health Research Forum

Congratulations to Mark, who was selected to attend the CIHR Canadian Student Health Research Forum (CSHRF) in Winnipeg, MB from June 12-14, 2012. The CSHRF provides a venue for health research trainees from across Canada to present their work, network and be recognized for the excellence of their contributions. More details are available here:http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/research_days/index.html. Mark was selected as one of the top 5% of doctoral students at the University of Toronto.

18 Oct

Rajamannan NM, Evans FJ, Aikawa E, Grande-Allen KJ, Demer LL, Heistad DD, Simmons CA, Masters KS, Mathieu P, O’Brien KD, Schoen FJ, Towler DA, Yoganathan AP, Otto CM. Calcific aortic valve disease: not simply a degenerative process: A review and agenda for research from the National Heart and Lung and Blood Institute Aortic Stenosis Working Group Executive Summary: Calcific aortic valve disease – 2011 update. Circulation,2011;124:1783-91.| PubMed

18 Aug

Xiaofan, Meena, Michelle, and Mike win research awards at UnERD

Our undergraduate researchers showed exceptionally well at Undergraduate Engineering Research Day (UnERD), with Meena, Michelle, Mike, Vanessa, and Xiaofan all doing outstanding presentations and earning high praise for their talks and posters. Xiaofan was awarded best oral presentation in his session, and Meena, Michelle, and Mike all were runners-up in their poster sessions. Congratulations!

01 Jul

Sharifpoor S, Simmons CA, Labow RS, Paul Santerre J. Functional characterization of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells under cyclic mechanical strain in a degradable polyurethane scaffold. Biomaterials,2011;32:4816-4829.| PubMed

04 May

Suthan cleans up at MMB 2011!

Congratulations to Suthan, who won *two* best poster awards at The 6th International Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine and Biology (MMB 2011) in Lucerne, Switzerland! Suthan’s posters were on digital microfluidics for primary cell culture and a membrane microfluidic device to mimic the vascular microenvironment.

22 Mar

Chris receives the 2010 John Leyerle-CIFAR Prize for Interdisciplinary Research!

Congratulations to Chris, who was awarded the 2010 John Leyerle-Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Prize for Interdisciplinary Research. This prize recognizes a doctoral dissertation from the University of Toronto that makes unusually significant and original contributions to its academic field, and is presented to one excellent graduate student who performed outstanding interdisciplinary research. Chris was selected as the clear winner.

01 Nov

Sharifpoor S, Simmons CA, Labow RS, Santerre JP. A study of vascular smooth muscle cell function under cyclic mechanical loading in a degradable polyurethane scaffold with optimized porosity. Acta Biomaterialia, 2010;6:4218-4228. | PubMed

20 Oct

Congratulations to Chris, who received the Norman F. Moody Award!

Chris was awarded the 2010 Norman F. Moody Award. The Moody award was established in 1974 on the occasion of the retirement of the founder and first director of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. It is awarded annually to a graduate student inIBBME in recognition of his or her academic excellence.

20 Sep

Aleks wins a MATCH Scholarship!

Congratulations to Aleks who was awarded an NSERC CREATE Program in Microfluidic Applications and Training in Cardiovascular Health (MATCH) Scholarship for 2010-11.

12 Aug

Chien wins Best Podium Presentation at UnERD!

Congratulations to Chien, who won Best Podium Presentation in the Biomedical Engineering session at the 2010 Undergraduate Engineering Research Day (UnERD) for his talk titled “Wnt3A inhibits TGF-beta1-induced apoptosis in aortic valvular endothelial cells”.

15 Jul

TENURE!!! Congratulations, Craig!

Congratulations to Craig, who received tenure in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Faculty of Dentistry, and the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.

01 Jul

Yuen A, Laschinger C, Talior I, Lee W, Chan M, Birek J, Young EWK, Sivagurunathan K, Won E, Simmons CA, McCulloch CA. Methylglyoxal-modified collagen promotes myofibroblast differentiation. Matrix Biology, 2010;29:537-48. | PubMed

10 May

Moraes C, Wyss K, Brisson E, Keith BA, Sun Y, Simmons CA. An undergraduate lab (on-a-chip): Probing single cell mechanics on a microfluidic platform. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 2010;3:319-330. | PubMed

01 May

Fiddes LK, Raz N, Srigunapalan S, Tumarkan E, Parkharenko V, Simmons CA, Wheeler AR, Kumacheva E. A circular cross-section PDMS microfluidics system for replication of cardiovascular flow conditions. Biomaterials,2010;31:3459-3464. | PubMed

01 Feb

Young EWK, Watson ML, Srigunapalan S, Wheeler AR, Simmons CA. Technique for real-time measurements of endothelial permeability in a microfluidic membrane chip using laser-induced fluorescence detection. Anal Chem,2010;82:808-816.| PubMed

01 Jan

Rask F*, Mihic A*, Reis L, Dallabrida SM, Ismail NS, Sider KL, Simmons CA, Rupnick MA, Weisel RD, Li R, Radisic M. Hydrogels modified with QHREDGS peptide support cardiomyocyte survival in vitro and after sub-cutaneous implantation. Soft Matter,2010;95:105-117.| PubMed

15 Oct

Congratulations to Edmond, who received the Norman F. Moody Award!

Edmond was awarded the 2009 Norman F. Moody Award. The Moody award was established in 1974 on the occasion of the retirement of the founder and first director of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. It is awarded annually to a graduate student inIBBME in recognition of his or her academic excellence.

06 Jul

Congratulations to Andrea, who successfully defended her M.Sc. thesis

Congratulations to Andrea, who successfully defended her M.Sc. thesis in the Orthodontics Graduate Specialty Program! Andrea’s thesis, co-supervised by Dr. Siew-Ging Gong and Craig, is titled “Development of a three-dimensional in vitro model system to study orthodontic tooth movement”. Andrea also passed her board exams earlier this year and will be opening her own orthodontics practice in Toronto in the fall. Congratulations, Andrea!

20 May

Congratulations to Bogdan, Jennifer, Lina, and Joyce! All were awarded summer student scholarships!

Congratulations to all the new summer research students who received scholarships for the summer. Bogdan was awarded a John D. Schultz Science Student Scholarship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Jennifer received an NSERC USRA. Lina was awarded a University of Toronto Life Sciences Scholarship. And Joyce received a scholarship from the Dentistry Summer Student Program.

01 Jan

Young EWK, Simmons CA. “Student lab”-on-a-chip: Integrating low-cost microfluidics into undergraduate teaching labs to study multiphase flow phenomena in small vessels. Chem Eng Educ, 2009;43:232-240.| PubMed

11 Dec

Edmond is now Dr. Young!

Congratulations to Edmond, who successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis today! Edmond will be moving to the University of Wisconsin in the New Year to start an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship in the lab of Dave Bebbe.

01 May

Congratulations to Ali, Billy, Bogdan, Catherine, Ian, Rachel, and Suthan, who all received summer research fellowships!

Congratulations to Ali, Billy, Bogdan, Catherine, and Ian, who receivedNSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards! Congratulations to Suthan, who received a John D. Schultz Science Student Scholarship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario! And congratulations to Rachel, who received an Engineering Science Research Opportunity Program Fellowship!

01 Apr

Pho M, Lee W, Watt DR, Laschinger C, Simmons CA, McCulloch CA. Cofilin is a marker of myofibroblast differentiation in cells from porcine aortic cardiac valves. Am J Physiol Heart Circ, 2008;294:H1767-1778.| PubMed

27 Nov

Congratulations to George, who was awarded a research grant!

Congratulations to George, who was awarded a Golden Key Fall Undergraduate Research Grant from the Golden Key International Honour Society to support his thesis research! Bravo on an impressive accomplishment, George! Watch this space for the latest news, including a pending Golden Key press release featuring George’s headshot…

30 Sep

Craig and Edmond participated in the 2007 BMES conference in Los Angeles

The 2007 BMES conference took place in Los Angeles from September 26 – 29, and Craig and Edmond from the lab were there to participate. Craig (below) gave a sterling lecture on high-throughput mechanobiology, and presented current developments in that area that are being pursued within his own lab. Edmond presented his poster on matrix-dependent adhesion of vascular and valvular endothelial cells in microchannels. Also representing the University of Toronto was Irena Barbulovic-Nad (below) from the Wheeler Microfluidics Laboratory, who presented a poster on her novel work with droplet microfluidics and cell assays.

Craig-BMES 2007

Craig wraps up his talk on high-throughput mechanobiology to a round of applause.

Irina-BMES

Irena Barbulovic-Nad from the Wheeler Microfluidics Laboratory discusses her work on droplet microfluidics and cell assays to a crowd of very enthusiastic and interested BMES attendees.

16 Mar

Chong SA, Lee W, Arora PD, Laschinger C, Young EWK, Simmons CA, Manolson M, Sodek J, McCulloch CA. Methylglyoxal inhibits the binding step of collagen phagocytosis. J Biol Chem, 2007; 282:8510-8520.| PubMed

08 Jan

Congratulations to Jan for his appointment as the new UTCML social Coordinator!

Congratulations to Jan for his appointment as the new UTCML social coordinator! “Jan has been a very vocal member of the lab when it comes to social activities, so I think this appointment is perfect for him”, said Cindy, the former social coordinator. “I’m pleased to be passing a fun job onto such capable hands.” And with that, the new social coordinator was crowned. UTCML looks forward to the social calendar of 2007!

01 Sep

The website will be undergoing some changes

The webpage has undergone some major work in the last days performed by Moritz, mainly to eliminate literally more than a thousand errors in the code, to make the code easier to maintain and more structured, but also for some small design changes. With the exception of the photo albums in the intranet pages (which will have to be tackled in the next days), all pages should now be truly valid XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS – a prerequisite for having the pages displayed as similarly as possible in different browsers! Each page contains a link in the footer that can be used to validate the current page; if you do find errors, please report them to Edmond.

25 Aug

Goodbye students!

The Simmons Lab had a farewell lunch to thank the summer students for all their hard work in the past few months. Everyone indulged themselves with General Tao’s Chicken. By the end of the meal, we had Derek saying, “General Tao is my new best friend.

22 Aug

The 1st annual Simmons Lab Day at Centre Island

What a great event this turned out to be! Thanks to Craig for authorizing this day off, and to Cindy for organizing and carefully deciding on the delegation of tasks. There was frisbee, kite-flying, beach volleyball, soccer, and of course the food. All in all, a major success!!!

1st Annual Simmonslab day1st Annual Simmonslab day (2)

24 Feb

Hello Rosebrugh!

We officially moved into our new facilities in the Rosebrugh Building! Everyone is anxious to get organized and to settle into the new digs. Check back for new updates and pictures of our move-in.

27 Jan

Congratulations to Cindy!

Congratulations are in order to Cindy Yip, who has just received her Master of Applied Science degree here at the University of Toronto (IBBME)!

04 Dec

Get ready for the Christmas Dinner which will be organized by Cindy!

The University of Toronto Laboratory of Cellular Mechanobiology (UTLCM) has planned a Christmas dinner for members and friends at the Old Spaghetti Factory on Friday, December 16th at 8:00pm. The members of the lab would like to thank Prof. Simmons for the invitation. (Event organized by Cindy Yip, social coordinator.)

01 Mar

Huang YC, Simmons CA, Kaigler D, Rice KG, Mooney DJ. Bone regeneration in a rat cranial defect with delivery of PEI-condensed plasmid DNA encoding for bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4). Gene Ther, 2005;12:418-426.| PubMed

01 Oct

Simmons CA, Nikolovski J, Thornton AJ, Matlis S, Mooney DJ. Mechanical stimulation and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling independently regulate osteogenic differentiation and mineralization by calcifying vascular cells. J Biomech,2004;37:1531-1541.| PubMed

01 Aug

Simmons CA, Alsberg E, Hsiong S, Kim WJ, Mooney DJ. Dual growth factor delivery and controlled scaffold degradation enhance in vivo bone formation by transplanted bone marrow stromal cells. Bone, 2004;35:562-569.| PubMed

01 Aug

Simmons CA, Matlis S, Thornton AJ, Chen S, Wang CY, Mooney DJ. Cyclic strain enhances matrix mineralization by adult human mesenchymal stem cells via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) signaling pathway. J Biomech,2003;36:1087-1096.| PubMed

01 Nov

Simmons CA, Valiquette N, Pilliar RM. Osseointegration of sintered porous-surfaced and plasma spray-coated implants: An animal model study of early postimplantation healing response and mechanical stability. J Biomed Mater Res, 1999;47:127-138.| PubMed