Featured Initiative

Teach the body to repair itself

Medicine by Design is harnessing the game-changing field of regenerative medicine to move health care into the future.

A woman and man in lab coats, gloves and goggles. They are peering at a flask of red liquid that sits on an electronic scale.

Imagine if we could regrow damaged heart muscles or replace diseased tissues with new ones that resist infections or cancer. This is the promise of regenerative medicine, an approach that is transforming the way we treat many of the most urgent and intractable health problems. Regenerative medicine is the future.

When I started this work almost 30 years ago, I never thought that you could take a cell, make a billion heart cells in a dish and treat somebody with them. But it’s not that far away now.
Gordon Keller, Director, McEwen Stem Cell Institute, University Health Network; Professor of Medical Biophysics, U of T

The University of Toronto is leading the way towards this future. Sixty years ago, U of T scientists at the hospital now known as Princess Margaret Cancer Centre were the first to discover stem cells—remarkable building blocks that can transform into every type of human cell. Now, through Medicine by Design, a new generation of researchers is accelerating advances in regenerative medicine. It’s an entrepreneurial approach that brings together Toronto’s leading researchers into a highly effective “design studio,” leveraging the expertise of the University, world-class hospital partners, and a thriving bioinnovation sector, all located within a few city blocks.

Your visionary support will help Medicine by Design’s scientists push the frontiers of regenerative medicine and translate discoveries into next-generation therapies—ultimately creating new treatments that will transform human health.