SASKATOON — Tyler Wenzel once taught high school students how the body works. Now, the former biology teacher is growing “mini-brains” in a University of Saskatchewan laboratory as he searches for new ways to treat pediatric brain diseases.
Before researching and developing the latest treatments for pediatric brain diseases, Wenzel was a high school biology teacher in the Fraser-Cascade School District in Hope, B.C., teaching about the functions of human organs. He taught about the heart being the main muscle that pumps blood that continuously circulates inside the body and how it flows through blood vessels, carrying oxygen and other nutrients where they are needed. He also taught about the lungs, which inflate and exchange gases with every breath.
However, Wenzel became more fascinated by the brain, since it functions by storing thoughts, emotions, memories and other sensory information, all of which arise from the organ's electrical activity. From there, Wenzel found himself searching for answers that had yet to be found.
“We know a lot about the brain, but there are still fundamental questions about how electrical signals and chemicals create all of our experiences. When students asked how the brain worked, I didn't feel satisfied with the answers we had. When students asked how the brain worked, I didn’t feel satisfied with the answers we had. We know a lot about the brain, but there are still fundamental questions about how electrical signals and chemicals create all of our experiences, thoughts and senses,” said Wenzel.
Those questions sparked Wenzel’s curiosity, eventually leading him to walk away from teaching and move into scientific research. He decided to change the course of his career, leaving the classroom to pursue graduate studies focused on neuroscience. His teaching background had prepared him and, like every science researcher, he used the scientific method he taught his students as the foundation: developing hypotheses, testing one variable at a time and carefully documenting results, skills that he had already spent years reinforcing in the classroom.
His doctoral research examined the brain’s immune system, a little-known network of specialized cells that reside within brain tissue itself, revealing important differences between human and commonly used laboratory animal immune systems and reinforcing his desire to focus on human-centred research. That interest coincided with major advances in stem cell research, a field that, for years, has been a topic of ethical debate because it relies on embryonic cells. Today, scientists can create stem cells from adult tissues, such as blood, which can then be transformed into virtually any cell type in the body.
Wenzel saw an opportunity. After completing his PhD, he focused on developing methods to create human brain tissue in the laboratory. His team can now grow “mini-brains” — tiny models that mimic aspects of the human brain and replicate specific genetic diseases. Wenzel, now an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan, is at the forefront of research that could transform how some childhood brain disorders are treated, potentially eliminating the need for chemotherapy and radiation while shortening recovery times.
His innovative research earned him the Rising Star Award from Canada’s Stem Cell Network, which recognized exceptional promise and growing impact in regenerative medicine by testing a concept involving the transplantation of healthy brain cells into “mini-brain” copies of patients’ brains. Wenzel is among a handful of the province’s stem cell researchers, but plays a leadership role in building the U of S biomedical team and facilities and in training virtually all other researchers in Saskatchewan to increase capacity for developing regenerative medicine therapies to cure or better manage diseases.
Earlier this year, Wenzel’s project, “Developing a New Technique to Cure Brain Diseases with Limited or No Safe Treatment Options,” was recognized with a Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation Excellence Award at the 2026 Santé Awards as the top project in the biomedical category. The technology allows researchers to study diseases directly in human tissue and test potential therapies before they reach clinical trials. In 2020, Wenzel moved to Saskatchewan after receiving an opportunity to build a stem cell research program from the ground up.
“At the time, Saskatchewan was one of the few places willing to invest in this type of work and allow me to pursue it,” said Wenzel, who, in over five years, established the infrastructure needed for advanced stem cell research and assembled a team of 13 researchers.
That foundation allowed him to launch a new project focused on pediatric brain diseases, many of which are caused by genetic mutations and carry devastating outcomes. Roughly 75 per cent of children with some of these disorders do not survive beyond the age of 10.
Current treatment options often involve bone marrow, or hematopoietic stem cell, transplants. Before receiving a transplant, patients must undergo intensive chemotherapy or radiation to destroy their existing immune system, a process that can be physically and emotionally taxing. Wenzel’s team is developing a drug-based approach designed specifically for diseases affecting the brain and spinal cord. The goal is to enable transplants without chemotherapy or radiation. The treatment could also dramatically reduce the time it takes patients to experience benefits.
Traditional transplants may take 14 to 16 months before improvements are seen, while Wenzel believes his approach could produce results in less than six months. The research is being conducted in collaboration with specialists at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. Because Saskatchewan does not currently perform bone marrow transplants, families must travel to centres in Winnipeg, Calgary or Edmonton. Wenzel said his proposed treatment could be delivered using existing infrastructure in Saskatchewan, reducing the burden on patients and families.
His team is already testing therapies using mini-brains grown from cells donated by patients with rare disorders. Because the laboratory-grown tissue carries the same genetic mutations as the patients, researchers can evaluate potential treatments before seeking approval for clinical trials. Although the work remains in the research phase, Wenzel believes existing approved drugs and technologies could help accelerate development. Even so, he estimates it may take five to 10 years before the treatment reaches patients.
For Wenzel, the work is about more than scientific discovery. His decision to focus on pediatric diseases is rooted in his years as a teacher and special education department head, during which he worked closely with children who needed additional support. The awards validate years of perseverance in a field where rejection and setbacks are common. More importantly, he hopes they shine a spotlight on Saskatchewan’s growing research community.
“That experience never left me. Now I have the skills to study the brain and develop treatments, and I can apply them to helping children who otherwise may not have a chance to live beyond childhood. We can do world-class science here. If our work can improve or extend the lives of children facing these diseases, that’s what matters most,” added Wenzel, who moved to Saskatchewan in 2020 after receiving an opportunity to build a stem cell research program from the ground up at the U of S.
