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. 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 NAIT will receive more than $1.2 million through the Health Innovation Platform Partnerships program (HIPP) from Alberta Innovates to enhance its Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation CAMS. The centre has been used in the past for training and teaching, but the new funding will allow NAIT to extend access to health innovators and job creators across the province. A $450,000 grant from TD Bank Group will help radiologist Jacob Jaremko expand and test his AI-powered portable ultrasound devices. The goal of the project is to make “health care more equitable and improve outcomes for patients” by taking the technology to them rather than making them come to a major hospital, Jaremko told Folio. PBG BioPharma has been awarded $5.39 million by Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) to increase its biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. CEO Dr. John Lewis of Entos Pharmaceuticals wrote about the promise of DNA vaccines and the next generation of genetic medicines in Drug Target Review ahead of his appearance at the Development of Next-Generation Vaccines Online Summit in June. And the company’s chief medical officer, Steve Chen, spoke to PharmaVoice about leading Entos through an inflection point on the heels of its collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly & Co. Among the Edmonton-based companies that made the Investment Summit V Top 20 at Startup TNT are Adewunmi Skincare, Bladeflex, Fairly Staffing, and Naiad Lab. They’ll make their pitches on May 12. Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) has partnered with research scientist Dr. Anil Kumar of the University of Saskatchewan to develop new antivirals with high potential effectiveness against prevalent and emerging coronavirus variants. Alberta Health Services and the University of Alberta are conducting a large-scale survey on the impacts of long COVID. “The more we learn about this … the better we can prepare our health-care workers to support Albertans,” Dr. Chester Ho told CBC. DynaLIFE Medical Labs was presented with the 2020 Northern Lights Award of Distinction at the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce’s Chamber Ball, which returned from a two-year pandemic pause on April 30. Health Cities will be airing an encore presentation of its latest session of Companies Growing Companies on May 4. Fewer medical school grads in Canada are choosing family medicine, based on the number of unfilled residency positions in the Canadian Resident Matching Service, reports the Toronto Star, noting 16 vacant positions at the University of Alberta after the first round of hiring. May 5-6: 8th Annual Undergraduate Research in Science Conference of Alberta at MacEwan University May 12: AccelerateAB Backstage May 12, 4pm: Health Innovators’ Meetup at Enterprise Square May 17: DiscoveryLab Meeting May 24-27: Amii’s AI Week June 1-3: Inventures conference in Calgary and online June 16, 18, and 19: Shining a Light for the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital 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