Michael Sefton, University of Toronto

Research

Vascularization Endothelial Cells Tissue Engineering Biomaterials Host Response Macrophage Adipose Msc Hypoxia

Latest papers

Advancing regenerative medicine with RNA nanotechnology for chronic and end organ diseases.
Communications medicine · 2026
Harnessing cellular therapeutics for type 1 diabetes mellitus: progress, challenges, and the road ahead.
Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2025
The role of insulin growth factor-1 on the vascular regenerative effect of MAA coated disks and macrophage-endothelial cell crosstalk.
Biomaterials · 2017 · senior author

All 5 publications

Latest funding

Peptide Synthesizer & Cell Culture
NSERC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$89,043
Biomaterial-induced neural regeneration to treat diabetic neuropathy
SSHRC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$125,000
Biomaterial-induced neural regeneration to treat diabetic neuropathy
SSHRC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$125,000

All 43 grants and awards

5 publications.

01

Advancing regenerative medicine with RNA nanotechnology for chronic and end organ diseases.

Bakrania A, Nguyen Lefebvre AT, de Vries R, Laflamme MA, Jaeckel E, Hansen He H, Radvanyi L, Hedtrich S, Sahay G, Blakney A, Sefton M, Li B, Zheng G, Bhat M

Communications medicine2026

DOI: 10.1038/s43856-026-01476-y PMID: 41965828

02

Harnessing cellular therapeutics for type 1 diabetes mellitus: progress, challenges, and the road ahead.

Grattoni A, Korbutt G, Tomei AA, García AJ, Pepper AR, Stabler C, Brehm M, Papas K, Citro A, Shirwan H, Millman JR, Melero-Martin J, Graham M, Sefton M, Ma M, Kenyon N, Veiseh O, Desai TA, Nostro MC, Marinac M, Sykes M, Russ HA, Odorico J, Tang Q, Ricordi C, Latres E, Mamrak NE, Giraldo J, Poznansky MC, de Vos P

Nature reviews. Endocrinology2025

DOI: 10.1038/s41574-024-01029-0 PMID: 39227741

03

The role of insulin growth factor-1 on the vascular regenerative effect of MAA coated disks and macrophage-endothelial cell crosstalk.

Talior-Volodarsky I, Mahou R, Zhang D, Sefton M

Biomaterials2017Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.08.019 PMID: 28841464

04

Anti-microRNA-378a enhances wound healing process by upregulating integrin beta-3 and vimentin.

Li H, Chang L, Du WW, Gupta S, Khorshidi A, Sefton M, Yang BB

Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy2014

DOI: 10.1038/mt.2014.115 PMID: 24954475

05

MicroRNA miR-24 enhances tumor invasion and metastasis by targeting PTPN9 and PTPRF to promote EGF signaling.

Du WW, Fang L, Li M, Yang X, Liang Y, Peng C, Qian W, O'Malley YQ, Askeland RW, Sugg SL, Qian J, Lin J, Jiang Z, Yee AJ, Sefton M, Deng Z, Shan SW, Wang CH, Yang BB

Journal of cell science2013

DOI: 10.1242/jcs.118299 PMID: 23418360

Peptide Synthesizer & Cell Culture

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Shoichet, Molly

$89,043

Biomaterial-induced neural regeneration to treat diabetic neuropathy

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Sefton, Michael

Keywords: Diabetic Neuropathy Methacrylic Acid based biomaterials Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Bioactive Hydrogel Regenerative Medicine

$125,000

Biomaterial-induced neural regeneration to treat diabetic neuropathy

Principal investigatorSSHRC2022New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Sefton, Michael

Keywords: Diabetic Neuropathy; Methacrylic Acid based biomaterials; Peripheral Nerve Regeneration; Bioactive Hydrogel; Regenerative Medicine

$125,000

Biomaterials by design

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Sefton, Michael

$456,000

Everyday Tools for Biomaterials for Protein Release

Co-investigatorNSERC2019Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Shoichet, Molly

$150,000

Methacrylic Acid Based Hydrogels for Enhanced Muscle Regeneration

SupervisorCIHR2018Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Principal investigators: Carleton, Miranda M

Keywords: Biomaterials; Fibrosis; Hydrogels; Skeletal Muscle

$105,000

Integrated Nanotechnology and Biomedical Sciences Laboratory

Co-investigatorCIHR2017Foundation Grant

Principal investigators: Chan, Warren C

Keywords: Cancer; Nanotechnology

$2,100,092

Vascularized regenerative biomaterials for medical devices and cell therapy

Principal investigatorNSERC2016Collaborative Health Research Projects

Principal investigators: Sefton, Michael

$235,413

Regenerative biomaterials in vascularized tissue engineering

Nominated PICIHR2016Foundation Grant

Principal investigators: Sefton, Michael V

Keywords: Biomaterials; Endothelial Cells; Host Response; Macrophage; Tissue Engineering; Vascularization

$844,003

Robust vascularization using modular tissue engineering

Nominated PICIHR2015Operating Grant

Principal investigators: Sefton, Michael V

Keywords: Adipose Msc; Endothelial Cells; Hypoxia; Islets; Macrophage Phenotype; Remodeling; Tissue Engineering; Vascularization

$619,244

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering
Michael Smith Laboratories
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Biology
Surgery
Transplant Program
Other

Co-authors at University of Toronto, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Gregory Korbutt

Surgery

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Mamatha Bhat

Transplant Program

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Sarah Hedtrich

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Anna Blakney

Michael Smith Laboratories

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Bowen Li

Pharmaceutical Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Chun Peng

Biology

1 shared papers, latest 2013

Gang Zheng

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2022

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Vascularization Dear Professor Sefton, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Advancing regenerative medicine with RNA nanotechnology for chronic and end organ diseases." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Biomaterial-induced neural regeneration to treat diabetic neuropathy" (2022), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]