Regenerative Medicine at McGill

Importance of developmental biology for disease and regeneration. Topics: advanced developmental biology principles; molecular basis for stem cells and their potential applications; organogenesis and its applications to various diseases.

Prerequisite(s): ANAT 381 or BIOL 303 or special permission of instructor.

Applications of animal biotechnology in agriculture, biomedicine and environmental preservation, including culture, manipulation and transformation of somatic cells, isolation of stem cells, reproductive biotechnologies, animal cloning by nuclear transplantation, production of transgenic animals, and cell and gene therapies.

Prerequisites: AEBI 202 or LSCI 202 and MICR 230 or LSCI 230.

The history, scope, challenges, ethical considerations, and potential of tissue engineering. In vitro control of tissue development, differentiation, and growth, including relevant elements of immunology compared to in vivo tissue and organ development. Emphasis on the materials, chemical factors, and mechanical cues used in tissue engineering.

Prerequisite(s): BIEN 200, BIOL 112, BIOL 200, and CHEM 212, or permission of instructor.

Basic principles of cell culture engineering, cell line development and cell culture products; genomics, proteomics and post-translational modifications; elements of cell physiology for medium design and bioprocessing; bioreactor design, scale-up for animal cell culture and single use equipment; challenges in downstream processing of cell-culture derived products; process intensification: fed-batch, feeding strategies and continuous manufacturing; scale-down and process modeling; Process Analytical technologies and Quality by Design (QbD) concept.

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

Discussions of all aspects of nervous system development including pattern formation, cell lineage, pathfinding and targeting by growing axons, and neural regeneration. The basis for these discussions will be recent research papers and other assigned readings.

Prerequisites: BIOL 303 or BIOL 306 or permission of instructor.

Application of the principles of engineering, physical, and biological sciences to modify and create cells and tissues for therapeutic applications will be discussed, as well as the industrial perspective and related ethical issues.

Restriction: graduate and final year undergraduate students from physical, biological, and medical science, and engineering.

This is a practical course on patents with emphasis on biomedical engineering applications. The course offers an overview of intellectual property, patents, and the patenting process. The course also provides insights into the strategies relating to commercialization and exploiting of patents, as well as enforcing patents. This course is designed to help biomedical engineers who will encounter patents in their work and needs to understand the nature and the scope of the patent system, how patents are obtained, and how to commercially exploit a patent.

Regulatory strategies and quality management systems are critical for medical device development. This course provides an overview of regulatory requirements, and familiarize students with the important ISO and IEC standards pertaining to medical device development. This course will provide biomedical engineers with an understanding of the regulatory and quality requirements to translate a medical device idea into a commercial product, and will draw upon the expertise of invited speakers currently working in the medical devices industry.

This course will train biomedical engineers to understand the clinical and business aspects of transferring a medical device idea into a commercial product. This course provides an overview of the pre‐clinical and clinical testing of medical devices, clinical trials, reimbursement systems, market analysis, sales models, and business models, as pertaining to medical devices. This course will also cover the design of randomized trials, including statistical principles, hypothesis postulating, bias minimization, and randomization methods.

Introduction to stem cell biology. Cell growth models applicable to stem cells and their progeny. Upstream processing (cell culture systems, bioreactors), downstream processing (cell separation, purification) and quality management (current good manufacturing practice, regulations) applied to therapeutic cells.

Prerequisite(s): MATH 262 and CHEE 370 or BIOL 200, or Permission of Instructor.
Restriction: Course open to U3 Chemical Engineering undergraduate students and graduate students registered with Chemical Engineering and the McGill Graduate Certificate in Regenerative Medicine program, M.Eng. in Biological and Biomedical Engineering program.

Course participants will develop a thorough knowledge on the fundamental process and principles of stem cell translational research. This course will provide advance training in the development of clinical application of new technologies and new findings through the required rigorous clinical standard procedures in the different field of regenerative medicine.

This reading course gives students space to explore the literature pertaining to a proposed field of their research involving Stem Cell Biology and/or Clinical Translation. Course requirements will include written assignments based on primary research and analytical reasoning.

Different molecular methods used in biomedical research, including chromatography, purification and analysis of proteins and nucleic acids, various techniques in molecular biology, transgenic technology, and stem cells. Lectures, some demonstrations, and short seminars given by the students.

An overview of multidisciplinary research that bridges significant gaps between basic, clinical medicine and public policy that enables a translation of knowledge to practice.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor if graduate student is outside the department
Restriction(s): Open to graduate students in the Department of Family Medicine

This course will deal with ethical issues in the gathering, dissemination, and use of genetic information for decisions concerning reproduction, health care, and research.

Introduction to the field of stem cell research. Definition of stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells and reprogramming. Adult stem cells, niche and asymmetric division. Clinical applications of stem cells. Cancer stem cells. Ethical issues surrounding stem cell research and clinical treatment.

Prerequisites: HGEN692 or equivalent Minimum grade attained by student must be: B+

Key definitions, clinical need, desired materials properties, current and future materials, materials assessments and performance. Materials of the body. Characterisation techniques for bulk and mechanical properties of biomaterials. Engineering processing and design of biomaterials.

Prerequisite: MIME 261 or equivalent. Permission of instructor.

A survey of the functional organization of nerve cells, signalling in the nervous system, and principles of neural development. Topics include cell polarity, neurotransmitters, neurotrophins, receptors and second messengers, cell lineage, guidance of axon outgrowth, and nerve regeneration. Emphasis will be placed on analysis of neurons at the molecular level.

Prerequisites or Corequisites: BIOL 201, or PHGY 209, or PHGY 210; and one of ANAT 321, ANAT 322, BIOL 306, PHGY 311.

The design of biologically-relevant drug screens for molecular targets in a cell, tissue, and in vivo setting. Explore the use of stem cells and tissue-based disease models for the understanding of disease and for drug discovery. Situate modern pharmacology into broader medical and societal issues such as personalized medicine and the ethics associated with research.

Prerequisite(s): PHAR 301 (PHAR 503 or PHAR 505 are also highly recommended)
Restriction(s): Open to U3 students in the minor, major or honours program in Pharmacology.
Not open to students who have taken PHAR 558.

The main concepts in stem cell biology: embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, cancer stem cells, stem cells populations of many adult tissues, applications of stem cell biology and ethical issues surrounding stem cell use in research and medicine. The major experimental methods and laboratory techniques in stem cell biology.

Prerequisite(s): PHGY 313 or by permission of instructor.
Restriction(s): Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Restriction(s): Not open to students who are taking or have taken ANAT 416.

Bone marrow hematopoiesis, with emphasis on regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiation along hematopoietic pathways. Formation and differentiation of red and white blood cells and some of the diseases associated with hematopoiesis will be covered. Emphasis will be given to the molecular mechanisms involved in the normal and pathological conditions.