The Master’s in Translational Biomedical Engineering is now in its 3rd year and continues to grow. Benjamin Ringler recently graduated from the program and is a co-founder of º«¹úÂãÎè spin-off . We reached out to Benjamin to ask about his experience in the non-thesis program and how it impacted his journey to TissueTinker.
1. First of all, congratulations on completing the program! Could you tell us a bit about why you chose to study at º«¹úÂãÎè and why you decided to apply to the Master’s in Translational BME program?
I was completing my Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering at º«¹úÂãÎè, so I was already familiar with the culture and I knew I wanted to stay in Montreal for further education. My original interest in the Master’s program started in my final year in undergrad, when I decided I wanted to move away from traditional chemical processing and material sciences, as most of my actual work experience was with medical devices. I had already worked for 3-4 medical device startups during my undergrad. I ended up taking the course Regulatory Affairs in Medical Devices (BMDE 654), which was originally part of the Graduate Certificate in Translational Biomedical Engineering, and it was fantastic! That summer, one of my friends from the Bioengineering department forwarded to me an email about the new Master’s in Translational Biomedical Engineering, and the program matched exactly what I wanted to do. I really wanted to learn the ropes from the experts.
- What was your favourite part about the program?
Learning from the experienced professionals! My engineering undergrad was very theory heavy, especially with the move to online learning during the pandemic. I really wanted to acquire the key skills that would be needed in industry, and not just learn about the theory.
- Was there one particular class that stood out to you?
From the core courses of the program, the Patents in Biomedical Engineering (BMDE 653) is phenomenally taught and I must say it was super cool that it takes place in a law office in Place Ville Marie. I had read some patents before but didn’t know what to look for. It’s so important for industry, and especially the medical field industry. From the complimentary courses in the program, the Health Startups and Entrepreneurship (BMDE 558) course taught by Ela Borenstein was great. It was honestly a key driver of getting started with TissueTinker. I’d worked with all these startups before but I had not been the decision maker. It was nice to be on the other side of the table. After taking this course, I got the two other co-founders of TissueTinker to take it, as it is so fundamental to what we are doing.
- What was the most challenging part of the program? Was there anything you felt you had to adapt to?
I was working on starting TissueTinker at same time. We were working with the º«¹úÂãÎè Engine Centre and then the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship. This was somewhat of an added challenge. In terms of the complimentary courses in the program – I knew a lot about medical devices but not a lot about pharmaceuticals, so I took a lot of courses more focused on that. For example, I enrolled in Engineered Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications (BIEN 510). My lack of background in this area required some adjustment to dedicate more time to these courses.
- Where did you carry out your program internship and how was that experience?
I had committed to TissueTinker early on, so I asked the Graduate Program Director, Prof Ahmad Haidar, if I could continue my work with the startup as my internship in the program. Our 3rd co-founder acted as my supervisor and I worked full-time on this internship throughout the summer.
- Could you tell us a bit more about TissueTinker and your specific role?
Sure! The company was co-founded by myself, Madison Santos, and Isabelle Dummer. TissueTinker generates 3D bioprinted living tumour models (tumor organoids). We use proprietary materials that allow you to develop artificial tissues, and because we print them in 3D, we have specific control over the features to mimic the tumor microenvironment, which is important for modeling growth and metastasis. It turns out, only 3% of cancer therapeutics that start phase 1 clinical trials actually make it to the market, and one major reason for this is that the results from animal models just simply don’t translate to humans. Our 3D human tumoroids can be used for preclinical oncology testing and screening of new drugs and compounds.
The company is pretty young. I started working on it as a concept when I enrolled in the Master’s in TBME. Over the next year, we will be going after grants and acquiring funds. For example, later this week I am traveling to a pitch competition. We have officially moved into our lab at the CLIP (Clinical Innovation Platform) located at the Montreal General Hospital, which is a big step for us. We are entirely independent right now, but we are definitely interested in setting up some partnerships, including with º«¹úÂãÎè.
Just a note that we recently won an award through the º«¹úÂãÎè Innovation Fund, and this will allow us to take on a paid intern this summer, in case any students currently enrolled in the Master’s in TBME program are interested! Students can contact us on our website.
- How would you say the Master’s program prepared you for your journey at TissueTinker?
The Master’s program was critical. I knew enough to get started but coming from a non-pharmaceutical background, I had no formal training. Even though TissueTinker is not a medical device company, per say, we go through a lot of the same procedures in terms of regulatory affairs and generating patents. The program has been vital to keeping us on track and on target. To add to that, the entrepreneurship course was so important for us to develop our pitch and move beyond the lab. I could not have done it if I was not part of the program.
- Is there anything else you would like to add for prospective students?
The program offers a ton of flexibility! If you’re more interested in different tracks, there are options for you. The complimentary course list is extensive, it’s really up to you to find a way to make the most of it. There are also a lot of opportunities to network within º«¹úÂãÎè and get involved (for example, lab research) and gain additional experience beyond just the internship.
Thank you, Benjamin, and best of luck with your endeavors!