Self-Driving Lab Supports Human Tissue Models

The University of Toronto is now home to a self-driving lab that will support cellular models of human tissues.

The Self-Driving Laboratory for Human Organ Mimicry at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research was funded by a $200,000,000 grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund to the Acceleration Consortium, a self-driving lab initiative at the University of Toronto.

The self-driving lab functions nearly self-sufficiently as robots execute 90 percent of the work.

The lab focuses on innovating cellular models of human tissues including the heart, liver, brain, and kidneys.  

Traditionally animal testing was used to determine molecular safety for humans, however, the lab uses stem-cell-driven organoids and organs-on-chips. 

AI also assists with determining toxicity, and efficiency with medical treatments to discover cancer treatments in partnership with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. 

The lab is headed by a team of University of Toronto professors, Vuk Stambolic and Milica Radisic.

Stambolic is a senior scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and a medical biophysics professor, and Radisic is a Canada Research Chair in Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering and a biomedical engineering professor. 

The lab is one of six self-driving labs at the university.