Acceleration Consortium
U of T receives $200-million grant to support Acceleration Consortium's ‘self-driving labs’ research
The University of Toronto has been awarded a $200-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) to revolutionize the speed and impact of scientific discovery through its Acceleration Consortium. The funding – the largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university – will support the consortium’s work on “self-driving labs” that combine artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced computing to discover new materials and molecules in a fraction of the usual time and cost.
Experts say $200-million grant awarded to U of T will drive ‘big science’ via the Acceleration Consortium
The Acceleration Consortium will use the funding to commercialize ethically designed technologies and materials to benefit society and train today’s scientists with the skills they need to advance the emerging field of accelerated materials discovery. It will also examine critical issues regarding the application of the technology, including from environmental and Indigenous perspectives.
AI could develop cancer treatments in less than a month
In less than a month, researchers from University of Toronto’s Acceleration Consortium, in partnership with Insilico Medicine, have designed a potential treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), an aggressive and common form of liver cancer that claims approximately 700,000 lives each year. The study is the first to use AlphaFold — an AI-powered protein structure database — in an end-to-end AI drug discovery platform called Pharma.AI.
U of T scientists use AI to fast-track drug formulation development
In a bid to reduce the time and cost associated with developing promising new medicines, U of T scientists have successfully tested the use of artificial intelligence to guide the design of long-acting injectable drug formulations. The study was led by Profs. Christine Allen and Alán Aspuru-Guzik.
'No small feat': U of T's Anatole von Lilienfeld is using AI to explore the vastness of 'chemical space'
Anatole von Lilienfeld navigates space – but rather than exploring the depths of the universe, his artificial intelligence-powered work focuses on “chemical space” and the untapped potential of undiscovered chemical combinations. U of T news recently spoke with von Lilienfeld about the digitization of chemistry and what the future holds.
Two U of T professors named Canada CIFAR AI Chairs
University of Toronto professors Gillian Hadfield, director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology & Society, and Anatole von Lilienfeld, of the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science, have been named Canada CIFAR AI Chairs in recognition of their global leadership in artificial intelligence research.
Gift from Schmidt Futures to spark a revolution in AI-based STEM research at the University of Toronto
With the goal of accelerating scientific research through the application of artificial intelligence, Schmidt Futures is investing $148-million in nine global universities, including U of T, the only Canadian university chosen for the program. “As the home of deep learning, the University of Toronto is proud to partner with Schmidt Futures on this forward-looking program, which will accelerate humanity’s ability to meet some of the most important challenges of our time,” said Meric Gertler, president of U of T.
Acceleration Consortium cements partnership with global technology leader Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
The Acceleration Consortium recently welcomed a visit from one of its new industry partners: Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The collaboration aims to advance the emerging field of accelerated discovery using self-driving labs, which combine artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced computing to rapidly design new materials and molecules. Self-driving labs can reduce the time and cost associated with bringing advanced materials to market from an average of 20 years and $100 million to as little as one year and $1 million.
U of T partners with Moderna to advance research in RNA science and technology
U of T and Moderna, Inc. – known for its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine – plan to work together to develop new tools to prevent and treat infectious diseases. Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, said U of T is excited to work alongside Moderna to protect society from current and future health threats.
Arij Al Chawaf
Arij provides leadership and guidance during the development and scaling of high priority strategic initiatives, develops partnerships with industry, public sector research institutes and innovation and commercialization government agencies, and establishes and directs the administrative and organizational structures required to support these initiatives. Before joining the ISI portfolio, she served as Director of Strategic Alliances and […]
Anatole von Lilienfeld appointed inaugural Clark Chair
Machine learning and physical chemistry specialist Anatole von Lilienfeld has been named the inaugural holder of the Clark Chair in Advanced Materials at the Vector Institute and the University of Toronto, becoming a pivotal faculty member at the Acceleration Consortium Read more about the appointment, the Clark Chair and U of T donor Edmund Clark → A leading expert in […]
Groundbreakers: U of T’s Acceleration Consortium rethinks the laboratory to optimize the discovery-to-commercialization process
What does the lab of the future look like? When it comes to advanced materials, can we accelerate the process of discovery to commercialization from 25 years to 10, five or even one? These are some of the issues explored by Alán Aspuru-Guzik, director of the Acceleration Consortium at the University of Toronto, and polymer […]