Faculty Profile - Dr. Boris Hinz

Dr. Boris Hinz	Dr. Boris Hinz Associate Professor Laboratory of Tissue Repair and Regeneration Group in Matrix Dynamics University of Toronto Room 241, Fitzgerald Building 150 College Street Toronto, ON M5S 3E2 Canada Tel: (416) 978-6685 Fax: (416) 978-5956 boris.hinz@utoronto.ca http://ltrr.matrixdynamics.ca
Current academic / hospital appointments
01/2009 to present - Associate Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto 06/2009 to present - Associate Professor, cross-appointed Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto 06/2002 to present - Associate Professor, cross-appointed Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
Education
2006 – 2008 Maître d'enseignement et de recherche (MER), Laboratory of Cell Biophysics, School of Basic Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 2002 - 2006 Senior Research Scientist, Laboratory of Cell Biophysics, EPFL, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 1999 – 2002 Post-Doctoral Assistant of Prof. Giulio Gabbiani, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology, CMU, University of Geneva, Switzerland 1995 – 1998 Ph.D. thesis Cell Biology / Theoretical Biology 1994 Diploma thesis (Master equivalent) in Cell Biology
Courses
Biological basis of oral health and disease for first year dentistry students (BBOHD 121Y1) - Immunity lecture Graduate course‚ DEN1080 Biology of Connective Tissues, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto Core Faculty group of the Oral Health Seminar Series for dentistry students (DEN1001/1100Y)
Research interests
Pathobiology and Biophysics of fibroblasts Fibrocontractive diseases, wound healing, tissue remodeling, repair and regeneration Cell Biology, Bioengineering, Cell Biophysics and Biomechanics, Experimental Pathology, Experimental Dermatology, Theoretical Biology, Biomedical Imaging The Cytoskeleton: cell contraction and motility; actin isoforms and actin-associated proteins; cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts, mechano-transduction
Recent publications
For a complete list, please click here Buscemi, L., Ramonet, D., Klingberg, F., Formey, A., Smith-Clerc, J., Meister, J.-J., and Hinz, B. (2011) The single-molecule mechanics of the latent TGFβ1 complex. Current Biology 22 (in press) Follonier Castella, L., McCulloch, C.A., Gabbiani, G., and Hinz, B. (2010) Regulation of myofibroblast activities: calcium pulls some strings behind the scene. Experimental Cell Research 316(15): 2390-2401 Hinz, B.: (2010) The myofibroblast - paradigm for a mechanically active cell. Special Issue on Cell Mechanobiology, J Biomechanics 43 146-155 Modarressi, A., Pietramaggiori, G., Vigato, E., Godbout, C., Pittet-Cuenod, B., and Hinz, B. (2010) Hypoxia impairs skin myofibroblast differentiation and function. J Invest Dermatol, 130, 2818–2827 Follonier Castella, L., Buscemi, L, Godbout, C, Meister, J.-J., and Hinz, B. (2010) A new lock-step mechanism of matrix remodelling based on subcellular contractile events J. Cell Sci. 123: 1751-1760 Majd, H., Wipff, P.-J., Quinn, T., and Hinz, B. (2009) A Novel Method of Dynamic Culture Surface Expansion Improves Mesenchymal Stem Cell Proliferation and Phenotype. Stem Cells 27: 200-209 (Cover Page) Wipff, P.-J., J., Rifkin, D.B., Meister, J.-J., and Hinz, B. (2007): Myofibroblast contraction activates TGFβ1 from the ECM. J Cell Biol 179: 1311-1323
Editorships and Board Memberships
President of the European Tissue Repair Society (ETRS) Associate Editor of the Journal Wound Repair and Regeneration (WRR) Associate Faculty Member of the ‘Faculty of 1000’
Students
Dr. Anne Koehler, Research Associate Melissa Chow, Research Assistant Dr. Jenna Balestrini, Post-Doc Dr. Charles Godbout, Post-Doc Dr. Vincent Sarrazy, Post-Doc Dr. Elena Zimina, Post-Doc Franco Klingberg, MSc, PhD student Nilesh Talele, MSc, PhD student Sidharth Chaudhry, MSc, PhD student Grace Chau, Master Student YongGyun Kwon, Master Student *Presently accepting students for supervision in the areas of cell biology, bioengineering, biochemistry, cell biophysics
Current research grants
10/2010-09/2015 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Operating Grant Title: Fate-determining mechanisms in the epithelium during fibrogenesis: role of cell contacts Principle Investigators: Andras Kapus (St. Michaels Hospital, U of T), B. Hinz 12/2010-11/2014 Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), material investment grant #26653, Title: Controlling the fibrogenic activity of myofibroblasts as a crucial step in successful tissue repair and regeneration Principle Investigator: B. Hinz 03/2010-03/2013 Collaborative Health Research Projects CHRP (CIHR/NSERC) Title: New technologies and methods for growth of artificial cartilage and skin Principle Investigators/collaborators: Thomas Quinn (McGill), B. Hinz; and Paul Marineau (McGill) 06/01/2010 - 05/30/2012 Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada (Grant in Aid) Title: Mechanical activation of a pro-fibrotic growth factor in cardiac myofibroblast differentiation and heart fibrosis Principle Investigator: B. Hinz 04/2010 – 03/2015 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Operating Grant Title: Mechano-chemical signal transduction in myofibroblasts during skin wound healing and fibrosis Principle Investigator: B. Hinz 05/2009 – 09/2014 EU Marie Curie Initial Training Network, Operating Grant Title: Common themes in tissue remodeling and cell transmigration in fibrosis and tumor progression Principle Investigator: B. Hinz 09/2009 – 09/2011 Gebert Rüf Foundation, Switzerland, Operating Grant Title: Cell culture substrates with tailored stiffness for enhanced cell growth Principle Investigators: B. Hinz, Pierre-Jean Wipff (EPFL), Jeffrey Hubbell (EPFL) 0