Media Releases
Below is a selection of recent press releases. For all the latest news please visit www.utoronto.ca/news
General Inquires +1 (416) 978-0100 Email media.relations@utoronto.ca
Antibody Network, Celgene partner to develop cancer drugs
Toronto, ON - A new collaboration between Celgene Corp. and the Recombinant Antibody Network (RAN), a consortium comprising research groups from UC San Francisco, the University of Chicago, and the University of Toronto, will support the development of next-generation, antibody-based cancer therapies. In this first industry partnership for the RAN, Celgene will provide $25 million in funding over the next three years and will have the option to enter into an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialize promising therapeutic…
Outsourcing Canadian data to the ‘cloud’? Think again.
TORONTO, ON – Thinking of outsourcing Canadians’ personal data to the cloud? Finding the apparent cost savings and convenience of large US cloud service providers like Microsoft and Google increasingly irresistible? Already taken this step, believing that the privacy risks of doing so are comparable to the data remaining in Canada? Think again. Researchers from the University of Toronto have found that if you are storing, processing and/or routing data in the cloud outside of Canadian jurisdiction, that data loses…
The refugee crisis: what can Canada do?
TORONTO, ON – The Munk School of Global Affairs is hosting a panel discussion on Wednesday, September 16 to answer what Canada can do as world attention turns to the plight of millions of Syrian refugees fleeing from conflict. Admission is free but registration required through the Munk School of Global Affairs website. The event will also be live webcast. Members of the media should contact Kelley.teahen@utoronto.ca to reserve a spot. Where: Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School of Global Affairs,…
New Engineering MOOC to teach 100,000 students how to build Swift-based iOS9 apps
Toronto, ON - Mobile developers around the world have been scrambling to master Apple’s newest mobile operating system (iOS9) and the company’s latest app programming language since they were announced earlier this year. The new app language, called Swift, was designed to help novice developers start building their own applications for mobile devices — and Parham Aarabi (ECE) aims to help get more than 100,000 new programmers up to speed. On Sept. 15, he launches a new MOOC (short for…
Ralph Nader to speak on Inequality in the United States at public lecture
TORONTO, ON – U.S. consumer advocate, lawyer and author Ralph Nader will give a public lecture in Toronto on September 12 sponsored by the Centre for the Study of the United States at the Munk School of Global Affairs. Mr. Nader, who provided the introduction for the just-released book Life After Harper, will speak on Inequality in the United States. Nader’s career began as a lawyer in Hartford, Connecticut in 1959, and from 1961‐63, he lectured on history and government…
University of Toronto announces first JLABS life sciences incubator in Canada
TORONTO, ON – The University of Toronto has taken another step forward in city-building and fostering a growing community of entrepreneurs, with a collaboration announced today that will see the Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s life sciences incubator, JLABS, expand for the first time to Canada. Called JLABS @ Toronto, the incubator will occupy one of the University of Toronto’s four floors in the MaRS West Tower, and will house up to 50 life science startups. The initiative is supported by…
University of Toronto expands research facilities through partnership with MaRS
TORONTO, ON – The University of Toronto today announced it has acquired four floors in the new west tower of MaRS and will take a 20 per cent equity share in the building. This new space will provide much-needed laboratories and research facilities. “This is a big step in our overall commitment to support our students, faculty and researchers in their work solving the most complex and devastating diseases of our time,” said Scott Mabury, vice-president of university operations. “U…
Why we’re smarter than chickens
TORONTO, ON – Toronto researchers have discovered that a single molecular event in our cells could hold the key to how we evolved to become the smartest animal on the planet. Benjamin Blencowe, a professor in the University of Toronto’s Donnelly Centre and Banbury Chair in Medical Research, and his team have uncovered how a small change in a protein called PTBP1 can spur the creation of neurons – cells that make the brain – that could have fuelled the evolution…
Aird & Berlis partners with University of Toronto to offer legal advice to early-stage startups
Toronto, ON - Aird & Berlis LLP (A&B) has become the sponsoring legal partner to the University of Toronto Early-Stage Technology Program (UTEST). UTEST is a 12-month incubation and acceleration program co-managed by the University of Toronto (U of T) and MaRS Innovation that allows selected U of T-affiliated early-stage startup companies to incorporate, use office space, receive mentorship and access $30,000 in funding, with opportunities for follow-on funding from MaRS Innovation. UTEST was recently named one of Canada’s most…
Ranier Blatt wins Bell Prize for trailblazing quantum research
TORONTO, ON - On August 20th, 2015, world-renowned quantum physicist Rainer Blatt will be awarded a prestigious prize for his contributions to the development of quantum information technologies, during the Conference on Quantum Information and Quantum Control being held at the Fields Institute at the University of Toronto. The fourth biennial John Stewart Bell Prize for Research on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and Their Applications, administered by U of T's Centre for Quantum Information & Quantum Control, has been awarded…