PhD, P.Eng., FCSME
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
U of T Distinguished Professor of Mechanobiology
Scientific Director, Translational Biology and Engineering Program (TBEP), Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research
Email: simmons@mie.utoronto.ca
Tel: 416-946-0548
Office: 661 University, 14th floor
Research Group: Simmons Lab for Cellular Mechanobiology
Research Areas
Mechanics & Design
Materials
Research Interests
Cellular mechanobiology; cell, tissue and biomaterial micromechanics; design and application of microdevices that mimic complex physiological environments.
Bio
Craig Simmons is the University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Mechanobiology in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. He also serves as the Scientific Director of the University of Toronto Translational Biology and Engineering Program in the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.
Craig received his B.Sc. (Eng.) from the University of Guelph (1991), S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1994), and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (2000). He then completed an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan (2000-2002) and an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania (2002-2004) before returning to the University of Toronto faculty in 2005.
Craig leads a talented group of researchers and students to discover new treatments for heart valve, heart muscle, and blood vessel diseases, including strategies to regenerate cardiovascular tissues using stem cells and biomaterials. His group also creates novel microfluidic platforms to model vascularized tissues and organs for improved drug testing.
Craig is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical Biomedical Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering and serves on the editorial boards of ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering and Cardiovascular Engineering & Technology. He is the recipient of numerous research awards, including the Canada Research Chair in Mechanobiology, the Ontario Early Researcher Award, the McCharles Prize and McLean Award from the University of Toronto, the CP Has Heart Cardiovascular Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Professional Engineers of Ontario Research & Development Engineering Medal. He has also been recognized for exceptional teaching by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering with the 2009 Early Career Teaching Award, the 2015 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Teaching Award, and the 2016 Faculty Teaching Award, and with the 2017 Northrop Frye Award awarded by the University of Toronto for excellence in linking teaching and research.
