Congratulations to SBME’’s Director, Dr. Peter Zandstra, who has been awarded the Killam Prize in Engineering. The prize is awarded to researchers who embody research excellence by furthering Dorothy Killam’s vision of building Canada’s future through advanced study. This prize is accompanied by an award of $100,000.
“I am grateful for this recognition. The Killam Award allows us the time and the space to advance research in our lab. It provides us the resources to develop new therapies for immune disorders and cancers, such as leukaemia,” comments Dr. Zandstra.
Dr. Zandstra’s research focuses on stem cell-derived tissue development and therapeutic applications. His work has led to innovative therapeutic strategies, particularly in harnessing blood-forming cells to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. By integrating engineering design principles, computational modeling and stem cell biology, Zandstra’s research explores the mechanisms that govern cell fate decisions. He is renowned in his field for his contributions to stem cell bioengineering and regenerative medicine and is a strong advocate for advancing growth and research in the biotech sector. He is a leader in both the School of Biomedical Engineering and Michael Smith Laboratories where he merges technological innovation with biology to shape future biotech leaders.
In addition to the groundbreaking research that his lab is working on to engineer the human immune system, he is the driving force behind the first purpose-built biomedical engineering building in Canada at the School of Biomedical Engineering, slated to open this spring. “The new School of Biomedical Engineering building provides space for collaborations with researchers both at UBC and beyond. It has given us space to incubate more ventures that will spin off into the Vancouver biotech sector. It also provides us with more resources to develop therapies locally that will ultimately help the patient’s health and the Canadian economy.”
The research and support that the building will provide the Canadian ecosystem is certain, but with the current economic and political situation in the United States, Dr. Zandstra takes his role in advocating for advancing research seriously, “In Canada we need stable funding, nationally coordinated initiatives, and strategic global partnerships to work on these technologies that ultimately affect patient care.” Dr Zandstra states.
“Ultimately, we have an opportunity to become a leader in the biotech sector and we need resources and support to be able to do this. By crafting new policies to ensure health innovations are developed, tested and deployed locally and strengthening location manufacturing of medical supplies, diagnostics and therapeutics we will benefit national health security, industry growth and innovations.”
In addition to his leadership at UBC and advocacy for advancing research, Dr. Zandstra is the Chief Scientific Officer of CCRM, a Toronto not-for-profit organization focused on accelerating the development and commercialization of regenerative medicine technologies, and also co-founded ExCellThera and Notch Therapeutics. He is a Fellow in the Multiscale Human (MHU) program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Bioengineering and is appointed to the Order of Canada.