Michael Kallos, Professor and Head, Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary

Dr. Kallos is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering and Inaugural Department Head, as well as an Adjunct in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in the Cumming School of Medicine, and the Associate Director of the Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF), all at the University of Calgary. Since 2016, he has been the Director of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Calgary Initiative, as he is also a full a member of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. He is a Professional Engineer registered with APEGA.

A chemical engineer by training, he performs research in stem cell bioprocess engineering – a key element in the clinical implementation of regenerative medicine and cell therapies. He uses a strong foundation of mass transfer, reactor design, reaction kinetics, fluid dynamics and experience in both experimental and modeling approaches. His research includes working with mouse, equine and human cells including pluripotent, mesenchymal and neural stem cells. This work is key to the industrial/clinical scale-up and production of cell and biomaterial therapies.  His lab is NSERC and CIHR funded, and over the last 22 years at the University of Calgary, he has brought in over $20.6 million in research funding, from local, national and international funding agencies and industry.  He has published quality research in top bioengineering and regenerative medicine journals.  He also received an Alberta Science and Technology ASTech “Leader of Tomorrow” Award, was named one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40, and has delivered several invited presentations internationally.

Dr. Kallos was the Director of the multi-faculty BME Graduate Program for 12 years and was also Associate Director of the Center for Bioengineering Research and Education (CBRE), in the Schulich School of Engineering. He led, along with the BME Calgary Steering Committee, and working closely with Vice President Research Office, a cross-campus team initiative to develop and write the Engineering Solutions for Health (ESH): Biomedical Engineering (BME) Research Strategy for the University. This was a major initiative, given the multi faculty nature of BME and the extensive consultation that was done to develop the strategy over a 2-year period. The BME Research Strategy brought together internal and external stakeholders, including researchers and industry participants, to benefit from a team-based approach for tackling current and future BME challenges in Alberta, Canada and world-wide. The strategy now brings together over 340 researchers from multiple faculties across campus to solve problems in human and animal health and wellness.  This includes a critical mass of researchers working on human mobility, advanced biomedical imaging, regenerative medicine, precision biodiagnostics, health monitoring and management, and novel medical technologies. Through this initiative, our activities have led to increases in multiple areas including cross-campus collaboration, trainees, funding, research impact, international publications, and translation elements including disclosures to Innovate Calgary, legal agreements, patents and spin-off companies. BME research, graduate and undergraduate activities are now co-led out of the new Department of Biomedical Engineering, of which Dr. Kallos is the inaugural Department Head. Dr. Kallos co-led the development of the new Department over the last 2 years and played a large role in the development and launch of the new Biomedical Engineering BSc in Fall 2021.