Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2020-2021)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the world. Specifically, in 2012,x000D
CVD was responsible for ~17.5 million deaths globally and 62,000 deaths in Canada, costingx000D
the Canadian economy more than $21.2 billion. Myocardial infarction or heart attacksx000D
represent the main cause of CVD-related deaths, resulting in irreversible heart musclex000D
damage due to the limited regenerative capacity of the heart. This can ultimately lead to endstagex000D
heart failure, which is currently treated using heart transplantation and ventricular assistx000D
devices (VADs). However, a shortage of donor organs as well as the high cost of VADs andx000D
their lack of long-term suitability for all patient types are significant limitations of thesex000D
standard treatments. Tissue engineering and the development of cardiac tissue has becomex000D
a promising method for the repair and replacement of damaged myocardium and a means ofx000D
preventing end-stage heart failure. In this project, and utilizing the biomaterial expertise ofx000D
Santerre lab and the cardiovascular biology expertise of the Bendeck lab (both at thex000D
University of Toronto) and clinical expertise of the Dr. Epelman lab at the University Hospitalx000D
network, a novel degradable polyurethane scaffold, using a biomaterial platform that has beenx000D
shown to modulate the early immune response upon implantation, will be combined withx000D
cardiac cells, which will be derived from adipose stem cells, in order to develop a functionalx000D
and vascularized cardiac patch. The properties, performance and survival of the resultingx000D
engineered patch will studied for their in vivo benefit.