Recognizing Impact: Daniyil Svystonyuk

Daniyil Svystonyuyk is a MD/PhD student in the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences and Leaders in Medicine programs.  His research utilizes the principles of tissue engineering to provide a surgical intervention where we implant a biologically active material on the surface of damaged heart muscle in order to promote its functional recovery and prevent its progressive deterioration.

Daniyil believes that “when it comes to cardiovascular therapies, we have found ourselves to be the victims of our own success.”  While advances in medical therapy have allowed more people to survive their initial heart attacks, the irreversible loss of heart muscle may predispose these individuals to eventually develop heart failure.

At present, heart failure affects approximately 600,000 Canadians and has a global 5-year survival rate of about 50%.  Current therapies can prolong survival but unfortunately are not curative.  Daniyil’s research has identified that we can augment and better leverage the heart’s inherent repair programme by using an implantable patch biomaterial that itself possess regenerative factors. 

The field of cardiovascular tissue engineering is particularly exciting because it provides the promise of regenerating an organ that is otherwise incapable of any regeneration on its own.  Working with Dr. Fedak, Daniyil has been fortunate to be involved with a project that has encompassed each stage of the translational research process: from cells in a dish, to animals models, and finally to human clinical trial.   Seeing his contributions translate to potential tangible benefits in people inspires him to continue to pursue this type of work in his future career as a clinician-scientist.

Outside of research, Daniyil has really gotten into road cycling and is training to participate in a few local events this coming summer.  Most recently, he and his girlfriend have had their hands full with our new little puppy, June.