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RIGHT NOW, ULLI KRULL IS REGARDED AS A WORLD
LEADER IN BIOTECH- But it could have all gone very differently. If it wasn’t for a chemistry professor named Mike Thompson, who had recently joined U of T when Krull was a senior undergraduate student in 1978, it might not be Dr. Krull the chemist, but Dr. Krull, DDS – as in the guy filling a cavity for you. The change resulted from a childhood interest in insects and a meeting with Thompson, a specialist in analytical chemistry, which Krull describes as the application side of chemistry. “He opened my eyes to this field. His work intrigued me. I was already interested in how insects operated and he was working on the premise that you might be able to build artificial cell membranes and create sensing devices with them. That is, you could artificially replicate a moth’s ability to detect a few molecules over a 10-kilometre distance.” Krull became one of the students in Thompson’s
lab and had his first taste of research success. “We had a
number of companies interested in our technology and eventually
attracted the largest research grant – worth over $2 million
– that had ever been Shift forward almost 20 years and today Krull, 46, has built on that impressive start in spades. Since becoming a full-time faculty member in 1985,
he has taught 17 different courses, co-edited four books, published
more than 170 research papers and won His work has been recognized with a number of major awards, including the university’s Faculty Award in 2000 for excellence in research and teaching, the 2001 Landsdowne Lectureship Award from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Victoria and the Canadian Society for Chemistry’s 2002 Maxxam Lecture Award, the top prize for analytical chemistry research in Canada. He’s also been active in building UTM into one of the country’s key biotech research centres. In addition to his work as the AstraZeneca Chair, one of his most important efforts in this regard is as the principal investigator of the Centre for Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology (CABB), which opened officially in the fall of 2002. Krull is also making important progress in his own research focus – the development of biosensors. With the increased threat of bioterrorism since 9/11, refining technology that can analyze substances to sniff out dangerous bacteria and viruses has become an extremely hot topic in the biotech world. Biosensors are also used to great advantage in other areas. Diabetic care, for example, has been revolutionized by the diabetes test strip – a biosensor in itself – which enables diabetics to monitor their own glucose levels. Krull’s team at UTM has developed a DNA hybridization detection system that combines the precision of DNA chemistry with fibre optics to provide on-the-spot testing for organic molecules. “Most existing equipment needs long periods of time to work, but we can achieve a determination in seconds to minutes,” says Krull. One application Krull has tested successfully in the lab involves rapid screening for genetic material associated with fast-moving fungal infections, a leading cause of death in people with weakened immune systems. Similar technology could be the foundation for disposable diagnostic devices that would make screening for drinking water and food safety, strep infections, hepatitis or HIV as easy as current home pregnancy tests. As for the evolution of biotechnology, Krull says,
“Biotech is self-defining as time goes on. There is no one
discipline that ‘does biotech.’ In fact, now that we
have this term ‘biotechnology,’ a lot of people in disciplines
that wouldn’t normally be considered biological or in the
life sciences are realizing that what they’re doing is actually
under the biotech banner. So this creates a wealth of new knowledge
that gives us great insight into the workings of living systems
and the huge diversity of positive impacts we can make.” |
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TO PUSH THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AT MISSISSAUGA TO THE FOREFRONT of the world’s great biotechnology centres, Ulli Krull led a UTM team in developing a state-of-the-art facility that would capitalize on collaboration and innovation. The result – the new Centre for Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology (CABB). “UTM has always had research collaboration between disciplines as the core of our operating style. CABB is the perfect embodiment of this approach,” says Krull. “It’s a splendid example of Canada’s Innovation Agenda in action, since it provides the basis for integration of fundamental and applied interests across the life sciences, physical sciences and social sciences, with industry and government as active partners.” CABB has received $11 million in funding from a variety of public and private sector investors, including GlaxoSmithKline Inc., AstraZeneca Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust, the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Krull says CABB also symbolizes the achievements of the first phase of UTM’s goal of establishing BIOTECC, a “Biotechnology Convergence Centre” that will build on the City of Missisauga’s ranking as Canada’s third largest biocentre. There is strong support and partnership with the City of Mississauga and industry to achieve this goal. “UTM is in the heart of a biotechnology corridor that could span a geographic area from Ottawa and Kingston to Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Guelph, Waterloo and London. BIOTECC would be a significant component of developing this corridor, which would in turn be a huge boon to Ontario and Canada.” |
“That
was the family business,” he says in his lab at UTM. “Both
of my parents were dental technicians. In fact, my father taught
in the Faculty of Dentistry, where he was head of a prosthodontics
laboratory that produces dental work like crowns and bridges. My
mother was also a dental technician and her mother was a dentist.
So I was always encouraged to look at dentistry as a career choice.
But when I got more deeply into chemistry at U of T, that changed
dramatically.”
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