UHN''s 2011 Inventor of the Year Award has been presented to OCI Scientist Dr. Aaron Schimmer. This award, sponsored through UHN''s Technology Development and Commercialization Office and presented by VP Research Dr. Christopher Paige, is in recognition of a UHN researcher who has made an outstanding and inventive contribution to patient-oriented biomedical research.

Dr. Schimmer was acknowledged for his efforts in advancing therapeutics from the lab to the bedside clinic. Known drugs are screened by Dr. Schimmer''s research team to identify compounds that impact molecular targets responsible for cancer malignancies and thus have previously unrecognized anti-cancer activity. Through this approach, current drugs can be ''repurposed'' and moved into clinical trials at a fraction of the time and resources typically needed for developing cancer medicine.

Fourteen patents have been applied for as a result of the successes of this research initiative. Dr. Schimmer’s work has led to new insights into molecular pathways and novel treatments that continue to benefit patients at UHN and around the world. Congratulations Dr. Schimmer!