Members’ Portal
Welcome to the iBEST member portal.
As a member of iBEST, you have access to a suite of services. Use this membership portal to navigate a wide range of resources and opportunities, including trainees, facilities, equipment and institutional support.
New Members
If you are a new member, please be sure to review all the information in the member’s portal and submit your request for research facilities.
Hiring Student Trainees
If you are interested and able to hire a student trainee to support your iBEST research, please fill out this job posting form. This form allows you to easily post opportunities to the iBEST website. Positions will be posted on the iBEST Opportunities page.
Once the form is approved, the iBEST team will email you to let you know the position is posted. Researchers are responsible for hiring and managing the student.
Quick Links
St. Michael’s Hospital Access for iBEST Staff and Trainees
New Access Request
Get step-by-step instructions on how to access St. Michael’s Hospital Research Facilities.
Access Renewal
Fill out Bar Code Identification Form (electronically), noting your name, new end date and Principal Investigator (PI).
Send the completed Bar Code Form to Dalbir Singh (dalbir.singh@unityhealth.to).
An email confirmation will be sent, which will include a link to renew access online (this is then sent to the managing PI for approval).
Website Profile
Please email the iBEST team (ibest@torontomu.ca or ibest@smh.ca) to set up a time in the St. Michael’s Hospital photo studio to get your portrait taken, which will be uploaded to the “iBEST Members” page.
Please also include a link to your research website so that your research profile can be added.
Ethical Approval For iBEST Toronto Metropolitan University Members
If Toronto Metropolitan University researchers are conducting studies at St. Michael’s Hospital, ethics approval needs to be obtained from both the Unity Health Research Ethics Board (REB) and the Toronto Metropolitan University Research Ethics Board (REB).
Toronto Metropolitan University iBEST Volunteers Can Apply to Work at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS)
All Toronto Metropolitan University iBEST volunteers are treated the same as Toronto Metropolitan University students in terms of gaining access and getting registered with the Office of Research Administration (ORA) at St. Michael’s. To register as a volunteer at St. Michaels, the iBEST PIs need to complete the registration package and submit it to the ORA. For more information, please visit the St. Michael’s Research website.
Please note that volunteers are given access to St. Michael’s research facility for one year at a time, after which point they will need to apply for an extension.
Exit Protocol for iBEST Members/Trainees
Please notify the iBEST Coordinator at ibest@torontomu.ca or ibest@smh.ca when an iBEST member/trainee ceases to be affiliated with the institution (graduation, leave of absence, etc.). For security purposes, this information will need to be relayed to the Office of Research Administration at St. Michael’s Hospital to ensure appropriate access.
Research Core Facilities
iBEST members have access to the latest tools to address and answer research questions. With their oversight of resources and infrastructure, Research Core Facilities (RCF) help enable much of the research within iBEST, including professional training. RCF specialize in flow cytometry, histology, genomics, bioimaging and microfabrication. For more information on RCF, please visit the Core Facilities page.
If you don’t find what you need here, or if you have any questions on iBEST policies and procedures, collaborations or access to facilities, please contact the iBEST team at ibest@torontomu.ca.
Frequently Asked Questions
iBEST Membership
Q. How to I get access to the iBEST research space?
Proceed to the Research Space and Access Requests Page.
Q: As an iBEST Resident, how do we pay for Research Core Facilities (RCF), BioImaging and Vivarium fees?
Research Core Facilities (RCF) fees are incorporated in the Toronto Metropolitan University rent.
The BioImaging and the Vivarium facilities operate on a ‘fee for service’ model and iBEST members pay preferred academic rates. View the fee schedule (pdf). Invoices are billed monthly after charges are incurred.
For additional information on bioimaging please contact:
Caterina Di Ciano-Oliveira
Bioimaging Specialist
7 East, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Microscope room 552 Ext. 77434
Email: DiCianoOlivC@smh.ca
For additional information regarding vivarium please email your questions to vivarium@smh.ca
Q: When conducting research with collaborators from Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s, how should the affiliations be cited on any papers, posters or other academic documents?
Q: For iBEST Toronto Metropolitan University members, when conducting research at St. Michael’s hospital, are ethics approvals required from both Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s?
Q: What is required by researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael's when arranging for material transfers?
When transferring materials outside of Toronto Metropolitan University or St. Michaels to another institution, or between researchers at St. Michaels and the university, a Material Transfer Agreements (MTA) should be put in place. Both Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s have standard form MTAs.
St. Michael’s researchers can find additional information on the MTAs by contacting researchcontracts@smh.ca for questions or to initiate a MTA.
Toronto Metropolitan University researchers please contact Lisa Leung, Manager, Collaborations, Programs & Initiatives, in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) at lisa.leung@torontomu.ca.
Q. What is the shipping address for iBEST?
Keenan Research Centre, iBEST
209 Victoria Street,
Toronto, ON M5B 1T8
Canada
The loading dock entrance is at Victoria St Ln (entrance from Shuter Street).
The loading dock hours are between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.
Q: How do Toronto Metropolitan University iBEST students/volunteers apply for an extension to have access to the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science?
Q: For all Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s collaborations, who should the collaborators contact to discuss the development of their intellectual property (IP)?
Prior to commencing any commercialization activities, researchers (from Toronto Metropolitan University and from St. Michael’s) should disclose the IP to their respective institutions, which will conduct due diligence to ensure that they have freedom to operate (i.e. no obligations to third parties).
St. Michael’s researchers should contact Samar Saneinejad, Director, Strategy & Commercialization, Office of the Vice-President, Research (VPR) Office at saneinejadS@smh.ca.
Additional information can be found on St. Michael’s Research Intellectual Property page.
Toronto Metropolitan University researchers should contact Crystal Kim, Senior Legal Counsel and Senior Director, Applied Research & Commercialization, in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) at crystalkim@torontomu.ca.
Additional information can be found on Toronto Metropolitan University’s Innovation to Market page.
Researchers interested in pursuing commercialization on their own via a start-up company can apply to the Biomedical Zone after obtaining approval from the OVPRI office at the university and the VPR office at St. Michael’s. If the researchers’ project is accepted by the Biomedical Zone, and the freedom to operate has been confirmed by their institutions, St. Michael’s and/or Toronto Metropolitan University will assign IP to the inventors/researchers.
If the researchers do not wish to launch a start-up company, Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s will conduct due diligence and see if they can move the joint project forward as an institutional project.
Q: How do Toronto Metropolitan University iBEST volunteers apply to work at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science?
To register as a volunteer at St. Michael’s, please have your iBEST PI complete the registration package and submit it to the ORA. For more information, please visit St. Michael’s Research website for details on the volunteer process.
Please note that volunteers are given access to St. Michael’s research facility for a period of twelve months (one year). If you need your access to the facilities extended beyond this period, please see the below instructions on how to complete an extension.
Q. Is there a research MRI for use?
Media and Communications
Q. As an iBEST member, what should I do when a journalist asks me for a comment, an interview (phone or on-camera), an audio-visual recording (such as photo or video) or any other aspect of a media story?
All requests made by media to iBEST members should be directed to both St. Michael’s and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Communications teams BEFORE a member agrees to the request.
Q. Who should I contact if I have an interesting story related to my research or work with iBEST that I think would be of interest to media or other public audiences?
If you have an interesting research story or result that you think media might be interested in, you should notify St. Michael’s and Toronto Metropolitan University’s communications teams. The two teams will work together to determine suitability for various media.
Q. How do I know if I should contact either Toronto Metropolitan University or St. Michael’s Hospital communications and public affairs departments or both?
As this is an inter-institutional partnership, contact both Toronto Metropolitan University and St. Michael’s in one email.
Q. What is St. Michael’s Hospital policy for photographing and filming on site, and when should communications & public affairs be notified about this?
The St. Michael’s Communications and Public Affairs team must be consulted before any requests for audio-visual recording within St. Michael’s property are scheduled or granted—including requests in the Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and iBEST. Any requests for audio-visual recording at Toronto Metropolitan University should be directed to Toronto Metropolitan University’s Communications team.
For any communication that involves a St. Michael’s patient, consent and other arrangements must be made by St. Michael’s Communications and Public Affairs team to ensure compliance with provincial privacy legislation and to protect patient privacy and personal health information.
Q. As an iBEST member, what should I do when an external organization (such as a funder, not-for-profit or journal) asks to include me on a news release or to take part in a photo or video shoot?
All requests for iBEST members to be part of a news release, photo or filming should be directed to both St. Michael’s and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Communications teams BEFORE a member agrees to the request.
Q. I just had a high-impact paper accepted by a high-profile academic journal; is this something that can be highlighted? If so, when should I contact communications and public affairs?
You should notify St. Michael’s and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Communications teams the moment the paper has been accepted. The two teams will work together to determine the paper’s suitability for various media.
Notice should happen when the paper is accepted, not when it is published. By the time the paper is published, it is too late.
© 2023 iBEST | Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology