Savanna Tippe

I’m Savanna, a third-year honours pharmacology student at the University of Alberta. I am interested in how stem cell biology, tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting and organ-on-a-chip technology can be leveraged to develop innovative therapies for endocrinological, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. At my home institution, I have been working in the MacDonald lab for over a year, focusing on optimizing stem cell-derived beta-cells as a potential treatment for type 1 diabetes.

This summer, I am honoured to join the Amgen Scholars Program at the University of Toronto. I am excited to be working in the Rocheleau lab, where I will be utilizing islet-on-a-chip microfluidics and live-cell imaging to further investigate islet biology in the context of diabetes. I look forward to learning from the scientists in the Rocheleau lab and connecting with my fellow scholars in this year’s cohort.

Outside of the lab, I serve as the Vice President External for Students in Machine Learning and I am an active volunteer for WISEST and UA-WISE. In my free time, I am a harpist and enjoy playing badminton, reading and crafting.