Health Innovation Roundup #2

The Health Innovation Roundup, sponsored by Health Cities, 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.

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Here are some highlights from this week’s Health Innovation Roundup:

Headlines

• Robb Stoddard, the CEO of BioAlberta, welcomed the federal government’s decision to invest $50 million into six VC funds in the life sciences. “Medical technologies used in healthcare, biotech and pharmaceuticals, even nutraceuticals have longer regulatory pathways and approvals that investors from other sectors don’t understand and shy away from,” he posted on LinkedIn, adding that he’d like to see a similar fund at the provincial level via the Alberta Enterprise Corporation.
• PanTHERA CryoSolutions has created a way to protect cells from damage during cryopreservation. The spinoff of a longtime research collaboration between the University of Alberta and the University of Ottawa aims to release its first product by the end of 2023.
• Future Fields was named the Venture of the Year at Foresight Canada’s first Alberta Cleantech Awards. “Cleantech is the present and the future,” the company posted on LinkedIn after the win.
• The Edmonton Police Service and the Edmonton Police Foundation announced the inaugural Safety of Our Cities Conference, to be held in Edmonton from Sept. 18 to 20. The event is intended to address challenges such as houselessness, gun violence, addictions, and mental health with participants from police agencies, healthcare organizations, social services, and representatives of business and government. The conference will also include a pitch competition and the announcement of a Global Innovation Challenge.
• Mahihkan Kamik, which means “wolf den” in Cree, is the new name for the community health hub that Boyle Street Community Services is opening soon at 10119 81 Avenue NW. Elder Eric Daniels gave the name to the harm-reduction facility in the spirit of “protecting our pack,” the organization said.
• Dóchas Psychological Services in Spruce Grove has launched the Lifejacket App, a free tool to help users manage stress, anxiety, depression, mood swings, sleep struggles, self-care, and balance. “It’s really only meant to be used when you are becoming dysregulated and can’t think of the strategies to use,” founder Kim Long said on Instagram. “This app is designed to do that thinking for you.”
• Aurora Cannabis has launched a new program allowing patients using cannabis to track their symptoms and consumption through the Strainprint App. The app is meant to help them understand which strain, ingestion methods, THC and CBD levels, and doses work best.
• Neal Davies and James Stewart, two of the inventors of the SMHeartCard, spoke to The Inner Circle with Carrie Doll about their easy-to-carry kit containing ASA and nitroglycerin for immediate treatment of a heart attack.
• Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has secured a new and refined method of use patent for a protocol to treat lupus nephritis using LUPKYNIS. The company has also teamed up with Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Toni Braxton for the Get Uncomfortable campaign, which focuses on empowering people with lupus nephritis to prioritize kidney health.
• The Black Medical Students’ Association at the University of Alberta hosted its second annual health fair to address issues of access and representation in healthcare.
• The 31st Annual Garlic Festival at Sorrentino’s raised $500,000 for Breathing Space, a $15-million facility to be built by Alberta Lung as a home away from home for lung transplant patients and families travelling to the University of Alberta Hospital.

Events

• May 3, 1pm: Info session: Digital Health Innovation Development Program from ST Innovations
• May 4, 7am: Health Cities Breakfast: Unlocking the Power of Personal Data in Calgary
• May 4, 5:30pm: Top 20 Pitch Night for Startup TNT’s Investment Summit VII
• May 10, 5pm: Prairie BioEconomy Guild: Sarcomere Dynamics, presented by BioAlberta
• May 10-12: 2023 Canadian Glycomics Symposium at the JW Marriott in the ICE District
• May 17-19: Canada-Wide Science Fair at the Edmonton Convention Centre
• May 18: Research Day 2023, presented by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta
• May 23-26: Upper Bound, presented by Amii
• May 25, 5:15pm: Health Innovators Meetup: Perils and Promises of Generative AI at Enterprise Square
• May 30-31: Fit Cities Fit Towns Canada: 3rd Annual Conference, presented by Housing for Health at the University of Alberta
• May 31-June 2: Inventures in Calgary

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