Nine members of the Faculty have received the Michael Smith Foundation Health Research (MSFHR) Innovation to Commercialization (I2C) Program. The award is designed to help researchers advance discoveries or inventions towards commercialization by supporting commercialization activities that strengthen the value of their intellectual property, facilitate collaboration and attract future investment. Award term is up to four years, with the award valued at up to $150,000/year.
Award recipients and their research projects:
- Caigan Du, Associate Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences
Research: Evaluate a novel organ preservation solution designed to better protect donor organs during the organ transplant process - Aziz Ghahary, Professor, Department of Surgery
Research: Evaluate the safety and functionality of ‘MeshFill’, a shelf ready powdered reconstitutable liquid skin substitute for treatment of large burns and non-healing wounds - David Granville, Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Sciences
Research: Further develop and commercialize a topical treatment for inflammatory skin diseases, including blistering and skin peeling conditions. - Andrei Krassioukov, Professor, Department of Medicine
Research: Further develop a device and algorithm that uses electrical stimulation to control autonomic processes such as blood pressure in patients with spinal cord injury and other conditions associated with autonomic nervous system failure. Partnered award co-funded with iCORD - Brian Kwon, Professor, Department of Orthopaedics
Research: Translate an existing technology (near-infrared spectroscopy) into a monitoring tool to optimize blood supply to the spinal cord after injury to improve neurologic outcomes - Richard Lester, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Research: Advance Smart Text Analytic Tools to analyse large volumes of patient and care provider communications to inform patient-centered improvements in health system responsiveness and preparedness - Andrew Minchinton, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Sciences
Research: Develop treatment regimens to enhance tumour sensitivity to radiotherapy and increase the anti-cancer benefit of radiotherapy treatment - Christopher Ong, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Research: Further develop a novel biotherapeutic for treatment of advanced prostate cancer - Michel Roberge, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research: Test the efficacy of a drug candidate for treating the underlying genetic mutation shared by about 10% of rare diseases (initially focused on inherited skin fragility disorders)