Dr. Sean Andrew Tsandelis, DMD

As a clinical research assistant, I am responsible for assisting in Sernova's current clinical trial as described below: The Cell Pouch™ is a novel implantable device, that is transplanted with therapeutic cells such as insulin producing islets. This combination product is designed for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) with hypoglycemia unawareness and a history of severe hypoglycemic episodes. Upon implantation, the Cell Pouch™ is designed to form a natural environment, rich in tissue and microvessels for the transplant and function of therapeutic cells. The Cell Pouch™ is designed as a scaffold made of non-degradable polymers, formed into small cylindrical chambers which, when placed in the subcutaneous site, becomes incorporated with tissue and microvessels to the circumference of removable plugs within as early as two weeks as demonstrated in preclinical studies. After the tissue incorporation, the plugs are removed, leaving fully formed tissue chambers with central void spaces for the transplantation of therapeutic cells including Islets of Langerhans (islets). The Cell Pouch™ forms a natural environment, rich in microvessels that allows the transplanted islets to engraft with intravascular microvessels. It is believed this engraftment will enable long-term survival and function of transplanted islets. This study aims to demonstrate the safety and tolerability of islet transplantation into the Cell Pouch™ for the treatment of T1DM in subjects with hypoglycemia unawareness and a history of severe hypoglycemic episodes. The study also aims to establish islet release criteria that accurately characterize the islet product and are predictive of clinical transplant outcomes into the Cell Pouch™, which will be demonstrated through defined efficacy measures.

Throughout university, I was a teaching assistant for a wide discipline of science courses including cell biology, microbiology, human physiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and toxicology. Responsibilities include: -Weekly meetings with instructors to discuss the pre-lab -Giving pre-lab presentation to 32 students per lab and assisting them in conducting experiments -Holding office hours to answer questions for students regarding course material -Grading lab reports and giving constructive feedback to students -Proctoring and grading exams

Research in the synthesis and study of cyclic lipodepsipeptide antibiotics through my accomplishment in achieving a NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA).