Dr. Wagner’s project is part of a broader portfolio of McGill-led initiatives spanning disciplines from computational genomics to neuroinflammation and climate science, reflecting the university’s leadership in multidisciplinary research.

Read More

Ten McGill research projects receive $42 million from CFI Innovation Fund. Investment supports research infrastructure including biofabrication project led by The Institute’s Darcy Wagner. The Institute News. March 17, 2026

The post Darcy Wagner Co-Leads CFI Advancing Biofabrication Research appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Unlike conventional 3D printing, Dr. Wagner’s approach uses living cells suspended in a liquid polymer: a body-compatible material that solidifies after printing through a controlled chemical trigger. The process mirrors standard 3D printing, but replaces heat and cooling with cell-friendly conditions that keep living tissue viable. Importantly, while 3D bioprinting itself is not new, this is the first time lung-specific materials have been engineered and printed in this way.

The motivation is urgent. Globally, only about 7,000 lung transplants are performed each year, while millions of patients could potentially benefit. Even for those fortunate enough to receive a transplant, lung outcomes remain the poorest among solid organ transplants. Dr. Wagner’s solution aims to bypass this bottleneck entirely.

Her team is developing 3D-printed lung “bridges”, custom tissue patches that reconnect healthy lung regions around damaged areas. This approach could be especially transformative for lung and airway cancers, where disease is often localized. Rather than replacing an entire lung, surgeons could reconstruct only the affected segment, preserving the rest of the organ.

Encouragingly, preclinical mouse studies have shown no signs of tissue rejection, with the printed materials actively promoting new blood vessel growth from the recipient. These findings reinforce the promise of a regenerative, rather than replacement-based, strategy.

While human trials are not yet imminent, the next critical step is scaling up the printed tissues beyond those suitable for animal models. If successful, this work could one day reduce dependence on lung transplantation and offer new hope to patients with otherwise irreversible lung damage.

Read More

3D-printed lung tissue by MUHC researcher could revolutionize respiratory care. CTV News. By Rachel Lau. December 31, 2025.

McGill bioengineer creates lung tissue using 3D printing. Global News. By Phil Carpenter. December 12, 2025.

The post 3D-Printed Lung Tissue: Advancing Personalized Respiratory Care appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Building on over three decades of research on the TC-PTP (PTPN2) gene, this project aims to develop a novel mRNA-based therapeutic platform to precisely modulate immune responses. The team will engineer antibody fragments that can either inhibit or activate TC-PTP inside cells and deliver them using lipid nanoparticle mRNA technology. In preclinical models, TC-PTP inhibitors will be explored for cancer immunotherapy, while activators will be evaluated in inflammatory conditions such as colitis.

This innovative approach lays the groundwork for next-generation intracellular mRNA immunotherapies, with broad implications for immune-mediated diseases.

Read More

Foundational Projects | Cycle 2. The Foundational Projects funding program supports high-risk, early-stage projects with the potential to be game-changers in the fields of D2R’s areas of interest. Nov 6, 2026. D2R News.
Principal Investigator: Caroline Wagner (McGill University)
Co-Investigator(s): Khanh Huy Bui (McGill University), Larry Lands (McGill University), Adam Shapiro (McGill University), Darcy Wagner (McGill University)

The post A New mRNA-Based Approach to Treat Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

At McGill and the Meakins-Christie Laboratories, Darcy Wagner’s team is developing bioengineered human lung tissue that could one day replace damaged air sacs (alveoli) responsible for gas exchange. Using state-of-the-art biomanufacturing methods pioneered in her lab, they aim to create transplantable alveolar tissue units that can be delivered minimally invasively via bronchoscope. Her project focuses on producing clinical-grade biomaterials, generating alveolar cells from stem cells, and assessing tissue functionality using light sheet fluorescence microscopy, advanced 3D imaging, and RNA sequencing.

About the CFI

Bioengineering and monitoring the development of transplantable human lung alveoli using microfluidic-based approaches
Professor Darcy Wagner, Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine
$800,000

Read More

McGill researchers awarded $9.7 million in CFI funding. 32 projects funded through the CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund, matched by Quebec, set to create solutions for global challenges, from innovations in quantum science and technology to biomedical engineering. McGill News. by Robin Koning. October 10, 2025.

CFI investments will equip researchers to advance national priorities and build prosperity. $134 million in research infrastructure support will strengthen Canada’s innovation capacity. CFI News. October 10, 2025.

The post Darcy Wagner Awarded CFI to Advance Lung Tissue Bioengineering appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre is welcoming two recipients of the 2025 Palestinian Quebecer Science Bridge (PQSB) award: Dr. Abdulwhhab Abu Alamrain from Al-Quds University and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital, and Ms. Sondos Odeh from Hebron University.

They will both spend their time at the RI-MUHC working with Dr. Darcy Wagner and her CERC Lung Regenerative Medicine team. Their projects will be:

• Dr. Abdulwhhab Abu Alamrain: Transcription factor activity in the lung epithelium of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Investigating Yap/Taz Transcription factor interactions in the fibrotic lung epithelium.

• Ms. Sondos Odeh: Elucidating the role of ECM components in driving airway cell differentiation

The PQSB program, created in 2017 by the Palestine Academy for Science and Technology and the Fonds de recherche du Québec, promotes international collaboration by funding short-term research exchanges for early-career Palestinian scholars in Quebec.

Read More

The Institute hosts two Palestinian Quebecer Science Bridge awardees. The Institute News. August 8, 2025.

The post Two Palestinian Quebecer Science Bridge Awardees Join Wagner Lab appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

The winners for best oral presentation were:

Sammy Robayo
MSc student with Jonathon Campbell
Consideration of Risks and Consequences of Tuberculosis and Its Prevention in Cost-Utility Analyses Among Immigrants to Low-Incidence Countries: A Systematic Review

Katelyn Liu
PhD student with Simon Rousseau
Investigating OLFM4 and SHC4 in Severe COVID-19: Implications in Immunothrombosis and Disease Progression

Sydney Joy
PhD student with James Martin
GM-CSF-Treated Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages Improve Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Bleomycin Model of Interstitial Lung Disease

The winners for best poster presentation were:

Alexander Ni
Resident with Maxime Cormier
Benralizumab for Life-Threatening Exacerbations of Eosinophilic Asthma: A Case Series

Alyson Deprez
PDF with Basil Petrof
Impact of Trained Immunity on Macrophage and Muscle Stem Cell Function in Dystrophic (mdx) Mice

Jacquelyn Rich
PhD student with Dao Nguyen
Antibiotic tolerance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates from chronic cystic fibrosis infections

Leonor Simoes
PhD student with Darcy Wagner
Reversing ethyl cinnamate based optical clearing for co-registration of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy datasets with multi-dimensional histological analysis

Leonardo Jurado
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
A fungal-derived adjuvant significantly amplifies the antitumoral potency of BCG via training granulopoiesis

Mina Sadeghi
PhD student with Maziar Divangahi
Unraveling the Mechanisms of BCG-Induced Early-Life Protection Against Tuberculosis

Rafael Intrevado
MSc student with Anne-Marie Lauzon
Investigating the Mechanisms Resisting Bronchodilatory Responses in Asthma and Fatal Asthma

Willem Rijnbout St James
MSc student with Carolyn Baglole
Characterizing the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor as a Regulator of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Photos from the Event

Photo Credits: Inga Murawski (top row) and Ari Daghlian (bottom row)
Thank you to the Heisler Family for attending the Seymour Heisler Memorial Lecture

The post 2025 RESP Research Day Poster and Oral Winners appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Dr. Wagner’s team will contribute by constructing specialized chambers for live imaging of human brain tissue organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. This innovation will enable real-time study of amyloid plaque formation and potential treatments. Building on her previous collaboration with Dr. Klementieva, which introduced a non-invasive method for detecting amyloid plaques, her team in Canada will refine this technique using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. This work highlights Canada’s leadership in neurodegenerative disease research and strengthens international efforts to advance scientific understanding, diagnostics, and patient care.

Read More

Darcy Wagner awarded prestigious JPND grant. New funding supports an international collaboration to improve early diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The Institute News. March 11, 2025

The post Darcy Wagner Awarded Prestigious JPND Grant appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

For Wagner, the scarcity of organ donations transcends public health concerns, rooted deeply in personal tragedy.

“When I was young, my best friend needed a kidney transplant,” she recounts, “but he died while waiting on the list.” “It’s the personal driving force behind what I’ve done for my entire career.”

This loss profoundly impacted her, fueling her lifelong dedication to her field. Interestingly, Wagner’s journey into lung regeneration was serendipitous. Initially trained in mechanical engineering, she acquired critical skills in materials, manufacturing, and computational modeling. During her PhD in biomedical engineering, focused on bone tissue, she stumbled upon a lung tissue engineering project. Despite her lack of prior experience with lung tissues, she quickly realized her passion for this area. “And then I never left lung regeneration,” she notes, underscoring her enduring commitment to this vital research field.

Dr. Wagner is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Read more:

Meet Dr. Darcy Wagner, an MUHC bioengineer with big dreams for respiratory care. The Montrealer. by Stefanie Sweeney. July 9, 2024.

After a tragic loss, a career devoted to organ regeneration. McGill Health e-News, July 31, 2024

After a tragic loss, a career devoted to organ regeneration. Darcy Wagner, PhD, leads the charge in advancing bioengineered therapies for acute and chronic lung diseases, centred on advanced 3D bioprinting for precise lung tissue generation. RI-MUHC News. August 8, 2024

The post A Career Devoted to Lung Regeneration appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.

Read More

McGill receives three Canada Excellence Research Chairs. McGill Reporter. November 16, 2023.

The post Canada Excellence Research Chair Program Brings Darcy Wagner to the Meakins appeared first on Meakins-Christie Laboratories.