The Spirit of Invention
Each year, we host a showcase of student inventions and ingenuity. Each year, I leave inspired and awed by the creativity and drive that make such creations possible. Not only does it display the promise of our Faculty — to do what can’t be done — but it’s evidence of our commitment to innovation.
In viewing each exhibit, I was struck by the impact these inventions can have on health and wellbeing, and I found myself reflecting on the evolution of our programs. For example, the development of the joint MD/MEng program is delivering unparalleled clinical innovation by twining medical education with the engineering insights of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering.
Creating these collaborative programs allows us to leverage the many strengths of the University of Toronto for the benefit of our students, and ultimately, our society. MD/MEng student Sachin Doshi offers a case in point: working with Professor Michael Dinsmore, he has found a way to use 3D printing to make intubation safer, less expensive and more sustainable.
I am also struck by how familiar technology can be applied in new ways. Analyssa Cardenas, a graduate student at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI), created an exergame — which combines a stationary bike with a video game — to encourage children with cerebral palsy to exercise and socialize. MD/PhD students Tomas Saun and Sydney McQueen are helping physicians and residents practise mindfulness using virtual reality, while MD/MEng students Austin Pereira and Bill Shi are using smartphones to monitor glaucoma.
What unites these examples is the combination of creativity and scholarship that brings about unique solutions. Our research often helps us get from “A to B.” It’s typically necessary to take our steps in sequential order and research, to be sure, requires a high degree of creativity in addition to logic. But we should also be ready to think imaginatively about how to apply the lessons we learn from research. This is why the Faculty has identified “groundbreaking imagination” as a pillar of our strategic plan. Our students remind us that imagination sparks the spirit of invention and ingenuity; let’s continue to embrace both logic and imagination in the work we do and celebrate the success it inspires.
Trevor Young
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions
