The Health Innovation Roundup, sponsored by Health City, is written and published weekly by Taproot Edmonton to bring you the latest news and events in research, technology, companies and people changing health for the better in Edmonton. Sign up to get the full edition delivered directly to your inbox. Use the code HEALTHCITY & you’ll get 10% off the first year. Here are some highlights from this week’s Health Innovation Roundup: Headlines Alberta Innovates and Innovate Calgary announced the third cohort of their Life Sciences Fellowship program. The program helps researchers navigate the commercialization process and create a successful start-up. Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) announced that the U of A’s Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute director Dr. Michael Houghton has joined its scientific advisory board. Inventures 2021 Startup Pitch Competition is awarding $10,000 to startups in four categories, including Innovation of Work, AgTech Meets BioTech, The AI Datasphere, and Co-Designing Healthier Living. The application deadline is May 14. Edmonton Global published an article about Future Fields and the company’s mission to unleash the full potential of cellular agriculture. U of A post-doctoral fellow James Benoit is pioneering the first mobile health app to improve health decision-making for acute childhood illness among parents in Canada. U of A researchers created a machine learning model that helps identify subtle early signs of bipolar disorder. U of A researchers discovered a protein that could potentially be targeted to help treat prostate cancer. According to a new study, a pediatric heart transplant method led by U of A doctors has been shown to be at least as effective as the traditional approach. The study’s principal investigator Simon Urschel said the results should allow more countries around the world to use the method. Edmonton mountaineer Leo Namen is planning to climb Mount Everest and raise $500,000 for two U of A’s studies on women’s health, reported CBC News. Edmonton-based GlycoNet has recently announced a new partnership with BioTalent Canada to improve career prospects in the biotechnology and life sciences sector in Canada. GlycoNet investigator and U of A professor Dr. Simonetta Sipione was recently awarded $1.04 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to treat the root cause of neurodegenerative disease. GlycoNet investigator and nuclear medicine researcher Chris Phenix has been awarded US$150,000 by the Michael J. Fox Foundation to develop diagnostic radiotracers for early detection of Parkinson’s Disease. The School of Public Health at the U of A and the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention (APCCP) have launched an online survey to support a pan-Canadian strategy for chronic disease prevention. The survey is open until April 6. The first Indigenous president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Dr. Alika Lafontaine spoke to CMAJ News about his plans to open the profession to new possibilities. U of A professor Tim Caulfield discussed the importance of fighting misinformation and building public trust in science in a new episode of On the Mic with Mike from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Events March 31, 12pm: Virtual Care in Canada One Year After COVID-19 March 31, 4pm: Alberta Indigenous Mentorship in Health Innovation March 31, 7pm: Pharmacy on the Frontlines: Starting a Conversation about Mental Health April 12, 1pm: Taking Academic Drug Discoveries to the Clinic: What is missing? April 13-June 1: Celebrating 100 Years of Insulin Seminar Series April 14, 12pm: WaiTALK : Inside Look at Career Journeys in Applied AI April 20, May 18, & June 15, 11am: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Grand Rounds April 22-May 27 (Thursday): DNA testing in pregnancy April 30, 8:30am: Alberta Respiratory Centre’s First Annual Education Update May 12-June 2 (Wednesday): Diabetes Updates – From Guidelines to Practice May 18-19: Promoting Healthy Brain Aging and Preventing Dementia International Symposium Sept. 22-24: Inventures 2021 Startup Pitch Event Have a suggestion for a future edition? Send it to hello@taprootedmonton.ca for consideration. Become a “Roundup Cultivator” and sponsor Taproot Edmonton to help them chronicle health innovation in Edmonton. Learn more