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Dr. Slava Epelman to receive the 2024 Till & McCulloch Award for his research creating an improved model of human heart development
October 9, 2024 (OTTAWA, ON) – Dr. Slava Epelman has been named the 2024 Till & McCulloch Award recipient, recognized for his paper published in Nature Cardiovascular Research entitled, Primitive macrophages induce sarcomeric maturation and functional enhancement of developing human cardiac microtissues via efferocytic pathways.
The Till & McCulloch Award is presented annually to a Canadian-based researcher who has made an exceptional contribution to global stem cell research in that year. Dr. Epelman, who is a Clinician-Scientist in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology at the University of Toronto, Peter Munk Cardiac Center; a Scientist at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network; and the Loretta Rogers Chair in Immunobioengineering for the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, was nominated by his peers and selected by the Till & McCulloch Meetings Scientific Program Committee to be the 2024 recipient.
Following the notification of his award, Dr. Epelman stated, “I am deeply honoured to receive the 2024 Till & McCulloch Award on behalf of my lab and co-authors. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Scientific Program Committee for recognizing the hard work and dedication of my talented research team. I look forward to joining the stem cell and regenerative medicine community at TMM2024 in Montreal in November.”
In the study, Dr. Epelman and colleagues explored the role of early, or “primitive”, macrophages, termed yolk sac macrophages, in the development of the human heart. Since human tissue in the developing heart is inaccessible, they used stem cells to create primitive macrophages and heart-like tissues in the lab. These lab-grown macrophages helped the heart cells mature and improved the tissue’s ability to contract and relax. The macrophages did this by removing dying cells, reducing stress, and promoting healthier heart development. Overall, this research provides a new model for studying how the human heart develops and reveals a major beneficial role for primitive macrophages in enhancing early heart tissue function.
Also being awarded at the Till & McCulloch Meetings this year is the Drew Lyall Award of Excellence for the highest-ranked abstract in the TMM2024 abstract competition. This year the Drew Lyall Award is being presented to
Dr. Shenghui Liang for his work as lead author on Stem cell-derived islet models generated with a tunable differentiation strategy.
Dr. Liang is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Timothy Kieffer Lab at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on creating methods to produce functional insulin-producing beta cells from human pluripotent stem cells. He also designs models of stem cell-derived islet cells to better understand how the pancreas develops and to study diseases that affect it. Additionally, he works on developing new ways to make these stem cell-derived islet cells safe and able to avoid immune system attacks, which could lead to improved diabetes treatments.
Dr. Epelman and Dr. Liang will accept their awards and each will respectively present the Till & McCulloch Award lecture and the Drew Lyall Award of Excellence talk on November 5th at the 2024 Till & McCulloch Meetings in Montreal.
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About the Till & McCulloch Award
The Till & McCulloch Award was created in honour of Canadian scientists and stem cell pioneers Drs. James Till and Ernest McCulloch, whose pioneering work established the field of stem cell research. The Till & McCulloch Award is presented annually to one researcher in Canada in recognition of their exceptional contributions to global stem cell research in that year. For a list of past awardees, visit www.tillandmcculloch.ca.
About the Drew Lyall Award of Excellence
The Drew Lyall Award of Excellence was created to honour the memory of the Stem Cell Network’s inaugural Executive Director, Drew Lyall, who died in January 2016 a few days shy of his 50th birthday after an eight-year battle with melanoma. To learn more about Drew and to view a list of past awardees, visit www.tillandmcculloch.ca.
About the Till & McCulloch Meetings
The Till & McCulloch Meetings are Canada’s premier stem cell research and regenerative medicine conference, attracting attendees from across the country and internationally since 2012. Hosted by the Stem Cell Network, the conference brings together world-class scientists, post-graduate students, industry experts and legal and policy scholars who will share the latest research advances and techniques in the field. To register or learn more about the conference visit www.tillandmcculloch.ca.
About the Stem Cell Network
The Stem Cell Network (SCN) is a Canadian not-for-profit that supports stem cell and regenerative medicine research; training the next generation of highly qualified personnel; and knowledge mobilization and transfer of stem cell and regenerative medicine research. From the lab to the clinic, SCN’s goal is to power life-saving therapies and technologies through regenerative medicine research for the benefit of all. Created in 2001, with support from the Government of Canada, the Network has grown from a few dozen labs to more than 270 world-class research groups, supporting over 250 research projects and 30 clinical trials. Since its inception, over 25 biotech companies have been catalyzed or enhanced and more than 7,000 highly qualified personnel have been trained. In 2023, the Government of Canada announced additional funding for SCN through the Strategic Science Fund that will support SCN activities and research through to the end of the decade.