Alison P. McGuigan

Professor Alison P. McGuigan, holding the Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and Disease Modelling at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, specializes in creating artificial tissues to advance drug discovery and personalized medicine. Her work focuses on 3D cell organization, disease modeling, and systems biology.

• MEng (Oxford), PhD (Toronto), Post-Doc (Harvard, Stanford)

Her research explores how 3D tissue environments influence cellular behavior, addressing challenges in mimicking dynamic in vivo conditions for regeneration and disease studies. She leads the McGuigan Lab, which develops platforms to study tissue self-assembly and disease mechanisms.

Recent publications highlight her lab's contributions to obesity modeling, cancer therapy response, lung progenitor differentiation, and hypoxia-driven tumor metabolism. Her team uses biomaterials and engineering technologies to create artificial tissues that accurately replicate human physiology.

• Canada Research Chair recipient

She actively mentors graduate students and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams of biologists, engineers, and clinician scientists. The lab accepts applications from individuals seeking to innovate in tissue engineering and drug screening.