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November 2, 2022
Dear member,
Isn’t fresh snow beautiful? It is the first snow of the season in Edmonton, and while I write this column, I feel so motivated by all that is happening in the health and life sciences community. It is such an exciting time, with so much happening all around, that it is next to impossible to cover everything in the digest. For our member companies - the HIH has a Slack channel where we collate and share all the ecosystem news, funding opportunities, international and trade opportunities, community events, and more. If you are a member, I would strongly encourage taking advantage of the wealth of information that is shared almost daily through Slack. If you want to find out more or become a member, check out our website. As Catalina, Co-founder and COO of Nanostics mentions, the HIH has provided them with “funding opportunities, development and partnership options, host events, provide valuable space, and walk the path alongside (them) to assist in the process”. Thank you Catalina for your kind words and for your constant support. Just like Nanostics, we hope to assist many more health and life sciences innovators and entrepreneurs in their commercialization pathways. So, please help us to share the word about the HIH by forwarding the digest to your network.
For innovation enthusiasts, there are several Events happening in the community in November. Check out the ASTech Awards and the Rainforest Summit. The HIH will be present at these events, and we hope to see you there. The next Health Innovators’ Meetup is happening on November 10 and you will get an opportunity to interact and network with a panel of investors who are coming to talk to our community. Also, don’t forget to check out the Resources section to learn more about other opportunities to showcase your innovations. If you are interested in clinical trials, check out the impact of technology on changing the future of clinical trials in the Articles section.
Thank you for being such an awesome member of our health and life sciences innovation community. If there is any news or updates that you would like us to feature in the digest, please email us at healthub@ualberta.ca. Until next time, stay safe and enjoy the fresh snow.
News from the Hub
Health Innovators' Meetup - October Highlights
We had another successful Health Innovators' Meetup in October. We learned so much from our panel with representation from Future Fields, Token Naturals, and Pulse Medica.
Health Innovators' Meetup - Get To Know Your Investors
Join us for another discussion around raising capital during our Meetup on Nov 10. This time we invited several investors to talk about their expectations, strategies and due diligence processes.
New member at the Hub - Vibrome Ltd.
Vibrome Ltd., which is part of the umbrella company Level42 AI, is a Med-tech startup that has developed a breakthrough technology platform that offers superhuman hearing for early, rapid, accurate, and affordable diagnostics.
Call For Volunteers
Our team is looking to recruit some volunteers to help us coordinate the next Health Innovators' Meetup on Nov 10. The candidates should be available between 3 pm and 6:30 pm and will help us with set up and tear down. For whoever is interested, please email us by Nov 7.
Ruth won the Purolator's 2022 True North Small Business Grant
This Grant will allow Ruth to continue their mission of making sustainable periods accessible. Part of this grant is winning a $5,000 Pay It Forward Grant which they will be donating to their partner organizations. Congratulations to our Hub member!
UofA Library Entrepreneurship and Innovation Survey
The UofA Library Entrepreneurship and Innovation Team is conducting a comprehensive needs assessment of the campus community. If you consider yourself an entrepreneur and/or innovator, please complete this survey to win fabulous prizes from the bookstore.
Our Companies are Hiring
Cell Sciences Research Technician. The candidate will play an integral role in supporting the Cell Sciences department in their innovative work to validate new products in the pipeline.
Associate Research Scientist. The successful candidate will be part of the Innovation/R&D teams at Entos Pharmaceuticals and will report directly to the team Lead Scientists.
If you are a student looking for jobs and networking opportunities, join our Talent Hub here.
Meet our Community
Co-Founder and COO at Nanostics Inc.
1. What does health innovation/ innovation in health mean to you?
The ideation, development, and/or implementation of ideas that can lead to the improvement of a person's health, their healthcare experience, and/or quality of life.
2. In your opinion, what is the state of the health innovation ecosystem in Alberta, Canada and globally?
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the evolution of healthcare ecosystems across the globe and that is also true in Alberta. Health care is universal and touches all ages and socioeconomic statuses. This became more apparent during the past years and as a result, we have seen a paradigm shift in the way healthcare innovations are funded, developed, tested, approved, and commercialized. Healthcare innovation became the priority for many governments and this led to efficiencies and to the improvement of disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes. It's been hard to ignore the increased appetite for investment in biotech during the past couple of years and that is shaping the ecosystem in unexpected ways. An additional change witnessed is the faster and more efficient regulatory process implemented by many countries to adapt to the state of emergency the planet has lived in for the last 2.5 years. Lastly, we are living through a paradigm shift in areas that include genetic medicine and Artificial Intelligence. Canada and Alberta placed their bets on AI some years ago supporting talent, training, research, and implementation and that is paying off. There are multiple AI-based healthcare applications developed in Alberta that will be in the market in Alberta and North America in the coming quarters. I am very excited to see the way Alberta is diversifying and biotech's potential to improve the care of our people. These are exciting times!
3. What motivated you to join the Health Innovation Hub?
Being immersed in the HIH is ideal for a startup. As one of the participating companies, we have found support, guidance and an open network willing to share experiences and learning to help us be successful. The Health Innovation Hub has been a tremendous help to the ecosystem. The community informs us of funding opportunities, development and partnership options, they host events, provide valuable space, and walk the path alongside us to assist in the process.
4. How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
I am a passionate person working with multiple teams to contribute to the improvement of health and learning as much as possible in the process.
5. What is the one thing you are most excited about right now?
To make the ClarityDX Prostate test available to patients in North America in the coming year! We started this project many years ago and results from a recent validation study support the implementation of the test to refine the prediction of clinically significant prostate cancer. This promises to help many men navigate through their diagnosis process in a better-informed way. I am hopeful that this test will help improve the care of men first in Alberta and Canada, and later in North America and globally.
Funding & Wage Subsidies
Skilled Newcomer Internships for the Bio-economy
The program covers 75% of a participant’s salary up to a maximum of $20,000 for bio-economy employers to hire, accommodate and train IEPs for a three-to-nine-month work placement.
Japan Smart Healthy Aging QuickFire Challenge
Innovators from across the globe are invited to submit promising science or technologies that aim to potentially increase healthy life expectancy - to help people live longer, happier lives.
Resources & Opportunities
Lab2Market Health
The Lab2Market Program is a 16-week program to help researchers validate their ideas with the purpose of finding business/commercial value. The application deadline is November 4.
INVENTURES Startup Pitch Event
Don't miss this incredible opportunity to pitch your product or service to a stellar panel of VCs, angel investors and industry heavyweights, live in Calgary at the annual Inventures conference, May 31–June 2, 2023.
Community News & Events
33rd Annual ASTech Awards 2022 by Technology Alberta
Friday, November 4 | 4:00 p.m. MST | The 2022 ASTech Awards will showcase and celebrate these remarkable people, their ingenuity and their businesses – collectively championing Alberta’s dynamic Science and Technology Community.
The Rainforest Summit - Fall 2022
Thursday, November 24 | 8:30 a.m. MST | Join the 7th Annual Edmonton Rainforest Alberta Summit. Please fill in the Rainforest Scorecard before November 7 to win FIVE FREE tickets. There is also an Early Bird Challenge to win Tim Horton’s gift cards.
Leading in Learning Forum
November 2 - December 2 | Join Alberta Innovates and their Accelerator partners as they share a real-world roadmap for growth that bridges the Scale-up Gap. You’ll learn about a practical systems approach to accelerate growth at an entrepreneur ecosystem level.
Articles
The article dives into the evolution of clinical trials and where the space is going next.
Find out about considerations using AI in health systems from a panel of experts.
Responsibility, mindset and passion are the three secrets to entrepreneurial success. Embrace them and you will find the success you’re looking for.
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