Till & McCulloch Award

Till & McCulloch Award

Till & McCulloch Award

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Drs. James Till & Ernest McCulloch

In 2005, the Stem Cell Network inaugurated the Till & McCulloch Award in honour of Canadian scientists James Till and Ernest McCulloch, whose pioneering work established the field of stem cell research.

The Till & McCulloch Award recognizes the most impactful peer-reviewed article of the year by a stem cell or regenerative medicine researcher working in Canada. In exceptional cases, the selection committee may consider granting a Lifetime Achievement Award to honour a researcher who has made outstanding contributions to the Canadian stem cell and regenerative medicine field throughout their career.

The 2026 Till & McCulloch Award will be presented to a researcher in Canada in recognition of their publication of a highly impactful research article in the field of stem cells and/or regenerative medicine between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.

The Till & McCulloch Award is presented at the annual Till & McCulloch Meetings. The Award winner receives a commemorative framed edition of their publication and delivers the Till & McCulloch Lecture.

Eligibility

  • The focus of the publication must be on stem cell and/or regenerative medicine research.  
  • The award is open to any Principal Investigator working in Canada in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine. 
  • Candidates must be the senior corresponding author on the nominated peer-reviewed research article published in a journal between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.  
  • The award cannot be shared; where a publication has multiple corresponding authors, the corresponding author who is listed last in the author list is considered the senior author and will be the sole recipient of the award.
  • A Principal Investigator may only receive the Till & McCulloch Award once.

Nomination Process

The call for nominations opens in April, 2026, and closes on July 31, 2026. Nominations are submitted through SCN’s Till & McCulloch Award nomination portal. Nomination submitters are asked to describe the merit and impact of the publication they are nominating. 

Any researcher working in Canada in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine is eligible to submit one or more nominations. Principal Investigators who are the senior corresponding author on a qualifying publication are permitted to self-nominate their own publication.

Selection of the Till & McCulloch Award Recipient

The TMM Scientific Program Committee is responsible for the selection of the Till & McCulloch Award winner. The committee will meet in August 2026 to rank nominations based on the novelty, significance and impact/expected impact of the research described in the publication. The winner will be selected by a majority decision.

Till & McCulloch Award Winner Announcement

SCN will directly notify the selected recipient of the Till & McCulloch Award after the selection process is completed. Public announcement of the Till & McCulloch Award winner will be made through SCN’s communication channels.  

2025 Till & McCulloch Award Winner

Dr. Maria Cristina Nostro was presented with the 2025 Till & McCulloch Award for her groundbreaking research on how immune cells support human pancreas development.

Dr. Maria Cristina Nostro, Senior Scientist at the McEwen Stem Cell Institute at University Health Network, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, and Harry Rosen Chair in Diabetes Regenerative Medicine Research, was recognized at TMM2025 for her paper published in Cell Stem Cell entitled, Embryonic macrophages support endocrine commitment during human pancreatic differentiation.

In this study, Dr. Nostro and colleagues explored how certain immune cells, called embryonic macrophages, influence the development of the human pancreas. Because it isn’t possible to study these processes directly in the developing human body, the team recreated pancreatic development in the lab using stem cells. They showed that these immune cells help guide the formation and survival of insulin-producing cells and improve their ability to grow after transplantation. This research reveals how immune cells support pancreas development and opens the door to new stem cell–based treatments that could one day provide more effective cell therapies for people with diabetes.

Dr. Nostro accepted her award and presented the Till & McCulloch Award lecture on November 4 at the 2025 Till & McCulloch Meetings in Ottawa.

Past Recipients of the Till & McCulloch Award