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Carl-Éric Aubin appointed Executive and Scientific Director of TransMedTech Institute

April 5, 2017 - Source : NEWS

A professor of Mechanical Engineering and a researcher specializing in biomechanics and biomedical engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, Carl-Éric Aubin heads the TransMedTech Institute, a new initiative dedicated to development of next-generation medical technologies.

Professor Aubin was recently appointed Executive and Scientific Director of the TransMedTech Institute, which was established to speed innovation and implementation of medical technologies, using interdisciplinary approaches, among others, for the treatment of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases as well as various types of cancer. The TransMedTech Institute also promotes design and adoption of these technologies to suit patients’ and users’ needs.

The TransMedTech Institute is a transdisciplinary, inter-sector, open-innovation ecosystem—otherwise known as a “living lab”—distributed across several university campuses and teaching hospitals, with its operational headquarters located at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre (CHU Sainte-Justine) and its management team at Polytechnique Montréal.

Thanks to institutional and industry partnerships, engineers, interdisciplinary science teams, administrators and staff responsible for technology implementation in the healthcare system, companies, clinicians and students are collaborating within this entity, with the focus on ensuring that technology users and patients alike benefit from the innovations. The TransMedTech Institute thus plays a catalyzing role, providing the platform needed to accelerate and support the various phases leading to final implementation of the product as part of healthcare delivery.

“The TransMedTech Institute is a one-of-a-kind initiative,” says Professor Aubin, describing it as “an extraordinary opportunity to consolidate and amplify our positioning as a sector-based centre of excellence in biomedical engineering and medical technologies, leading to innovations that can transform the lives of patients and have a significant impact on our healthcare system and the medical industry.”

The TransMedTech Institute is among the projects chosen in 2016 by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, an initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The Institute operates thanks a $35.6-million Canada First grant from the federal government as well as a further contribution of $60 million from partners.

A high-profile academic and scientific career

After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnique Montréal in 1991, Carl-Éric Aubin went on to complete a PhD in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in Biomedical Engineering at Polytechnique in 1995.

Professor Aubin began his teaching and research career the following year, as an assistant professor in the Polytechnique Department of Mechanical Engineering. He was promoted to associate professor in 1999 and full professor in 2004. He teaches aspects of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM), biomechanical modelling techniques, mechanical systems modelling, and research methodology. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Université de Montréal.

Professor Aubin’s research interests at Polytechnique Montréal and at CHU Sainte-Justine include the study and biomechanical modelling of various spinal deformity pathologies and degenerative pathologies, as well as evaluation, design and optimization of orthopedic treatments.

Carl-Éric Aubin holds both the NSERC-Medtronic Industrial Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and the Canada Research Chair in Orthopedic Engineering, and is Co-director of the Groupe de recherche en sciences et technologies biomédicales at Polytechnique Montréal. He is also chief of the Musculoskeletal Pathologies and Movement Sciences research axis at CHU Sainte-Justine.

A member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec since 1996, Professor Aubin is a Fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society, Scientific Director of the Québec Scoliosis Society, and a founding member of the International Society for Computer-Assisted Orthopedic Surgery. He has published some 230 articles in scientific journals and books, along with more than 590 abstracts in conference proceedings.

The many distinctions he has received during his career include the 2016 Award of Excellence in Research and Innovation from Polytechnique Montréal and the 2015 Jacques-Rousseau Prize in Multidisciplinarity from the Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS).

We wish Carl-Éric Aubin the best of luck in his duties at the TransMedTech Institute.

Car-Éric Aubin, Executive and Scientific Director of the TransMedTech Institute.

To learn more

Expertise profile de Carl-Éric Aubin
 

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