Braulio Marfil-Garza
Braulio Marfil-Garza was born in Monterrey, Mexico. He graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León and then completed a residency program in internal medicine at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico City. The last year of his residency, he served as Chief Resident in the hospital. During this time, he developed an interest in translational research. He spent a year as a research fellow working on the molecular interactions between obesity and hypertension under the supervision of Prof. Gerardo Gamba. While working on these endeavors, he found a research platform that encompassed both his clinical and experimental research interests, pancreatic islet transplantation. He completed a PhD in Surgery from the University of Alberta under the supervision of Prof. James Shapiro in 2022 developing strategies to optimize pancreatic islet transplantation, mainly through generating data to inform clinical shared-decision making and by working on enabling immunosuppression-free pancreatic islet transplantation. He then complemented his training with a Clinical Fellowship in Islet Transplantation at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada under the supervision of Prof. Peter A. Senior. Braulio Marfil-Garza is working on extending his research into patient-centered outcomes and understanding how the lives of people undergoing pancreatic islet transplantation and whole pancreas transplantation are affected in collaboration with the University of Alberta. He is now the Director of Pancreatic Islet Transplantation of the first clinical transplant program in Mexico at the Tecnologico de Monterrey.
The future application of designer cells and bioengineered tissues in clinical settings holds immense promise for revolutionizing regenerative medicine and transplantation, yet it also confronts significant feasibility challenges. The ability to precisely tailor cells and tissues for therapeutic purposes can have significant impact in transplantation opening avenues for personalized medicine and access to ‘off-the-shelf’ tissues and organs. However, the translation of these cutting-edge technologies from the laboratory to clinical practice requires overcoming formidable hurdles, including safety concerns, ethical considerations, community acceptance and the need for robust regulatory frameworks. Technical challenges such as the scalability and cost-effectiveness of producing designer cells and tissues also present major logistical challenges. As research continues to push the boundaries of synthetic biology and tissue engineering, the ultimate success and integration of designer cells and bioengineered tissues in the medical landscape will require close collaboration from scientists, clinicians, and policymakers; and importantly communication with patient communities, some of whom, will be future recipients of these new therapeutic modalities.
This session is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Session Chairs:
- Dr. Golnaz Karoubi (Senior Chair) – University Health Network, University of Toronto
- Ms. Aisha Adil (Junior Chair) – University Health Network, University of Toronto
Panelists:
- Dr. Siba Haykal - University Health Network/University of Toronto
- Dr. Ian Rogers – Sinai Health Systems/University of Toronto
- Dr. Braulio Marfil-Garza – University of Alberta
- Mr. Sean Delaney – University of Alberta
Speakers: Siba Haykal, Golnaz Karoubi, Aisha Adil, Braulio Marfil-Garza, Sean Delaney, Ian Rogers
Log In
