McEwen News

November 14, 2017
UHN Research Develops Insulin-Producing Cells; Next Stop Clinical Trials​
Dr. Cristina Nostro and other researchers at UHN believe that within a few years they will be able to start clinical trials on insulin-producing cells from stem cells.

November 2017
A Steady Stream of Innovations Point to the Day When Electronic Pacemakers May be Obsolete
Dr. Gordon Chong may have dedicated his career to fixing teeth, but his golden years have included an unexpected education in cardiac care – specifically, his own. A retired dentist, Dr. Chong has been the recipient of four pacemakers since being diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2011. His pacemaker has since been fitted with a defibrillator to keep his heart functioning in the event of a major cardiac incident.

August 24, 2017
UHN Scientists Creating Beta Cells Safely and Efficiently for Future Diabetes Treatments
Scientists at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI) and the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine have used a novel method to identify and purify cells that develop into insulin-producing cells from human stem cells, paving the way for new therapies and safer transplants in patients with type 1 diabetes.

July 27, 2017
McEwen Centre Collaboration Leads to World First​
Based on research started in Dr. Gordon Keller’s lab at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, a team of scientists has achieved a world’s first: developing a human atrial fibrillation (AF) disease model in a petri dish. At the McEwen Centre, Dr. Keller and his team have the unique ability to produce a number of the specific heart cells from stem cells that make up the human heart, including atrial cells.

June 20, 2017
Stem Cell Scientists Receive International Recognition
Last week, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) honoured the recipients of its 2017 awards at their annual meeting held in Boston. Dr. Elaine Fuchs received the McEwen Award for Innovation. Her research has transformed understanding of skin stem cells and their application to regenerative medicine, genetic syndromes and cancers.

​December 21, 2016
Two UHN Researchers Win Awards to Advance Their Work
Two UHN researchers have won awards from Medicine by Design at the University of Toronto.

December 14, 2016
McEwen Centre Scientists Produce Functional Heart Pacemaker Cells
Scientists from the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network, have developed the first functional pacemaker cells from human stem cells, paving the way for alternate, biological pacemaker therapy.

December 12, 2016
Work of UHN Scientists Among First Projects for New Stem-Cell Research Company
In one of the largest investments ever seen in the bio-tech industry, two multinational firms are investing US$225 million to launch a Toronto-based stem-cell therapy company, BlueRock Therapeutics, which will initially focus on the work of two UHN scientists.

September 14, 2016
Stem Cells and New Implantable Device to Take Us One Step Closer to Finding Cure for Type 1 Diabetes​
UHN’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and JDRF are pleased to announce innovative research that will improve transplantation of insulin producing cells – a key step forward in finding a cure for T1D. Dr. Cristina Nostro has been awarded a grant for $722,350 (USD) to study and perfect a new implantable device that creates an ideal environment for the survival of transplanted insulin-producing stem cells.

August 29, 2016
University of Toronto Funding Recognizes UHN Research Teams
Eight teams led by University Health Network scientists are amongst 20 teams who have received Medicine by Design Team Project Awards, an initiative created by the University of Toronto.

May 18, 2016
Stem Cell Technologies: Charting a New Course Towards a Cure for Heart Disease
Despite many breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine, heart attacks and congestive heart failure remain among the most prominent global health challenges of our time. Unlike most organs in our body, the heart is very poor at repairing itself after sustaining injury. What if scientists could use a special kind of stem cell to produce new heart muscle and inject those new cells into a patient’s heart as a fix?

January 13, 2016
One step closer to stem cell breakthrough for diabetes​
Dr. Cristina Nostro, holder of the Harry Rosen Chair in Diabetes Regenerative Medicine Research at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, is on a mission to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

November 4, 2015
11th Annual Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival Raises $3 Million And Still Climbing for McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at UHN
The 11th annual Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival, Canada's premier wine and culinary fundraiser for medical research and innovation, presented by BMO Wealth Management, raised $3 million net and still climbing for the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network (UHN). Since its inception in 2005 the Festival has now raised over $21.2 million.

September 1, 2015
Disease in a Dish: Turning Stem Cells into Bile Duct Cells
Dr. Shinichiro Ogawa, Dr. Gordon Keller and Dr. Mina Ogawa look at the human bile duct cells they produced from human stem cells for the first time. Stem cell technology allows us to develop and test new treatments by studying diseases in the Petri dish.

May 11, 2015
McEwen Centre Researchers Unlock Ability to Create Human Articular Cartilage​
A team of scientists, led by Drs. Gordon Keller and April Craft from University Health Network's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Toronto has been able to generate articular chondrocytes and cartilage tissue from human pluripotent stem cells in a Petri dish.

September 26, 2013
Scientists Move One Step Closer to Producing Blood-Forming Stem Cells
Stem cell scientists have moved one step closer to producing blood-forming stem cells in a Petri dish by identifying a key regulator controlling their formation in the early embryo, shows research published online today in Cell.

June 12, 2013
Stem cell pioneer Dr. James Thomson receives 2013 McEwen Award For Innovation
One of the world’s most renowned scientists, Dr. James A. Thomson, has been selected as th​e 2013 recipient of the McEwen Award for Innovation.

October 12, 2012
McEwen Award Scientist Wins Nobel Prize
Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, winner of the 2011 McEwen Award for Innovation was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine, jointly with British researcher, Dr. John B. Gurdon at ceremonies in Stockholm on Monday. The Prize recognizes contributions leading to the discovery that mature, specialized cells can be reprogrammed to become cells capable of developing into a wide variety of body tissues.

August 23, 2012
New Partnership to Drive Mass Production of Life-Saving Stem Cells: Commercialization Impact Prize is First of Its Kind in Canada
Stem cells hold great promise for treating and curing numerous diseases; however, a major challenge facing scientists is how to produce stem cells in the massive quantities required for clinical use. The McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine (McEwen Centre) and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) are partnering to establish a fund that will drive research in this area.

June 15, 2011
McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine Launches Stem Cell City
Today, the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine launched Stem Cell City, a virtual community designed to inform people about stem cell research and allow them to articulate their support of using regenerative medicine to defeat the major diseases of our time.

February 1, 2011
Toronto Scientists Till, McCulloch Honoured as Fathers of Stem Cell Research on 50th Anniversary of Ground-breaking Discovery that Created New Field of Science
Fifty years ago today, two young, unknown scientists at the fledgling Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) published accidental findings that proved the existence of stem cells – cells that can self-renew repeatedly for different uses.

January 20, 2011
UHN Mourns Passing of Dr. Ernest McCulloch, One of the Fathers of Stem Cells
We are very sad to report that Dr. Ernest McCulloch, one of our most respected scientists, died January 20, 2011.

2008

April 24, 2008
Heart Progenitor Cells Developed From Embryonic Stem Cells
New hope for testing drugs and treating heart failure patients.

2007

April 20, 2007
UHN Receives a Second $10 Million Gift to Support McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine
Following their original gift of $10 million in 2003, Rob and Cheryl McEwen have donated a second $10 million to support breakthrough research at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at University Health Network (UHN). This $20 million represents the largest cumulative gift in regenerative medicine and stem cell research in Canada.

2006

December 11, 2006
Congratulating UHN’s Five Latest Research Chairs
Drs. Gordon Keller, Igor Jurisica, Thomas Kislinger, Shuzo Sugita and Elisabeth Tillier were awarded a total of $3.4M on December 7 from the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program – a strategy initiated by the government of Canada to attract and retain the world's most accomplished and promising minds.

October 25, 2006
Global Health Humanitarian Sir Bob Geldof Celebrates Opening of University Health Network’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine
The potential to repair injured spinal cords, replace damaged heart tissue, grow new insulin-producing cells and target cancerous cells are some of the exciting areas of research for University Health Network's (UHN) McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine (MCRM), announced Dr. Gordon Keller, founding Director and leading stem cell scientist at the official opening in the Toronto Medical Discovery Tower at MaRS.

October 25, 2006
McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine Scientific Symposium Highlights Stem Cell Research
The emerging field of regenerative medicine aims to use the power of stem cells to repair, replace or regenerate damaged or injured tissues or organs, offering great promise for the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases for which there are limited or no treatments, say McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicinee scientists who will speak Wednesday, October 25, 2006 at an afternoon symposium that launches the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

2003

January 22, 2003
Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation Announces $10 Million Gift - Funds Will Support the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine
Today, Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation announced a gift of $10 million. The funds, donated by Robert R. McEwen, Chairman and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., will be used to establish the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at University Health Network.