Engineering Living Systems for Better Health
Join us on campus as we celebrate Dr. Milica Radisic, ‘99 Chemical Engineering alumna and recipient of the 2026 McMaster Engineering L.W. Shemilt Distinguished Alumni Award, and explore her groundbreaking work in biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine.
When and where
Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Wilson Concert Hall, McMaster University and Livestreamed (link coming soon)
Reception to follow
About the Speaker
Dr. Milica Radisic is a Professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and a globally recognized leader in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. An internationally recognized pioneer in organ‑on‑a‑chip engineering, her work has enabled the creation of microscopic, functional human tissues, including beating heart, kidney, lung and vascular models, derived from human stem cells. She leads a multidisciplinary research program integrating stem cell biology, microfabrication, biomaterials, biosensors, artificial intelligence and robotics to produce human‑relevant tissue models for drug testing and disease modelling.
Her research is driving major advances in how engineered tissues mimic the human body, including the development of innovative approaches to grow blood vessels within lab‑engineered heart tissue using immune cell–derived particles. These breakthroughs are helping make tissue models more physiologically accurate and clinically relevant, accelerating a global shift away from animal testing toward human‑based preclinical models and aligning with evolving drug development and regulatory frameworks.
Dr. Milica Radisic holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Organ‑on‑a‑Chip Engineering and has published more than 260 peer‑reviewed papers with tens of thousands of citations, significantly shaping her field. Her contributions have earned numerous prestigious honours, including the Governor General’s Innovation Award and election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. A proud McMaster Engineering alumna, she is being recognized with the L.W. Shemilt Distinguished Alumni Award for her transformative impact on biomedical innovation and global health.