UNBREAKABLE – The OC Podcast
Osteoporosis Canada | Toronto, Ontario

UNBREAKABLE – The OC Podcast from Osteoporosis Canada features evidence-based information from healthcare providers and subject matter experts, as well as personal stories from those affected by osteoporosis.

The woman behind Canada’s first high-resolution 3D printer
VoxCell BioInnovation | Victoria, British Columbia

VoxCell BioInnovation is a biotechnology start-up located in Victoria, BC, focused on the development of a high-resolution bioprinter capable of creating human tissue models with vasculature. These tissues will disrupt the drug development industry by proving complex models for in vitro drug testing. With VoxCell’s bioprinter and tissue models, they aim to dramatically reduce the time and resources spent in pre-clinical trials and increase the successful translation between pre-clinical trial data and clinical trial results.

Ground-breaking technology by Micellae, a University of Toronto spinout, set to revolutionize cannabinoid delivery
Micellae Delivery Systems | Toronto, Ontario

While cannabinoids can have immense therapeutic benefits, there are several barriers to their use and formulation. O2W is the next generation drug delivery system that was shown to significantly enhance the potency, bioavailability, and shelf-stability of cannabinoids while achieving an unparalleled speed of onset.

Les solutions d’aujourd’hui. Les fondations de demain.
BIOTECanada | Ottawa, Ontario

Dès le début de la pandémie, ce sont la science et l’innovation du secteur des biotechnologies qui ont démontré l’énorme importance des solutions biotechnologiques. C’est l’un des rares secteurs à avoir fait preuve de résilience tout au long de la pandémie et est maintenant prêt pour un autre bond en avant.

Also available in English

Funding research is the key to understanding neurological conditions
Canadian Association for Neuroscience | Victoria, British Columbia

There’s an urgent need to develop innovative treatments and cures for hundreds of diseases and injuries that affect millions of Canadians. Understanding how the brain works is key to addressing this, and it’s a challenge that Canadian researchers from coast to coast are working to overcome.

Combat a deadly fungal pathogen with gene-editing technology
Banting Research Foundation | Toronto, Ontario

“For us it’s about the fundamental level of developing tools we can use to study the biology of the organism. Understanding more about this at the biological level will ultimately, we hope, help inform how we treat it,” Dr. Shapiro says of the research being done in her lab.

Indigenous-led HIV research centre opens in Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

“A lot of Indigenous ways of knowing and doing are very preventative, and I think that if we are allowed to and provided the resources to go back to our original teachings, even in this modern world, and update it with some of the great new things, I think that you will see much better health and wellness for Indigenous people.”

It’s all in the sweat: New equipment helps detect cystic fibrosis
Health Sciences North | Sudbury, Ontario

Health Sciences North in Sudbury is hoping to keep its littlest patients closer to home with a newly acquired chloridometer. The instrument is used in the HSN laboratories to diagnose children, as young as newborns, with cystic fibrosis by measuring the amount of the chloride in their sweat.

Unleashing potential: A Canadian service dog industry & marketplace study
Canadian Foundation for Animal-Assisted Support Services | Ottawa, Ontario

Like other evolving industries, Canada’s Service Dog Industry has its share of growing pains such as fragmentation, gaps, and systemic issues. Nonetheless, the industry shows much promise, but the potential is not enough to revolutionize the industry – collaborative efforts must be deliberate and strategic to succeed.

La recherche, c’est l’avenir : Bourses pour la relève scientifique au féminin
Société de recherche sur le cancer | Montréal, Québec

« La Société est très heureuse de s’associer à BMO pour appuyer les femmes scientifiques dans le domaine du cancer. Il est primordial de faire une plus grande place aux jeunes chercheuses, car la diversité des genres dans une équipe est une plus-value inestimable pour l’avenir de la recherche. »

Also available in English

What happens to our brains when we get depressed?
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) | Toronto, Ontario

If neuroscientists are to someday understand the biological mechanisms behind mental illness, they will need to pool their resources. “There’s not going to be a single person who figures it all out,” he says. “There’s never going to be an Einstein who solves a set of equations and shouts, ‘I’ve got it!’ The brain is not that kind of beast.”

Designing the future of long-term care and retirement homes
Bruyère Research Institute & Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) | Ottawa, Ontario

If steps to minimize the spread of pathogens in our environment can become routine, chances are we would have much fewer outbreaks of infectious diseases. Let’s start designing our environments to keep healthy routines at top of mind.

Solving blood supply shortage with glycomics
GlycoNet | Edmonton, Alberta

For blood transfusions to be safe, the donor and patient blood types must match. Now GlycoNet researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have identified a new, more powerful group of enzymes that can turn any type of blood into the universally usable type O—expanding the pool of potential blood donors and making blood matching safer and easier.

Across the continuum: Why flexible technology is key to extending clinical surveillance beyond the ICU
GE Healthcare Canada | Mississauga, Ontario

A virtual ICU is often the first clinical surveillance system a hospital implements, but it shouldn’t be the last: clinical surveillance brings the greatest value when it’s deployed across the care continuum.

Inventing a smart mattress that will monitor your cardiovascular health
École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) | Montreal, Quebec

Imagine for a moment an electrocardiograph that’s built into your bed and measures your heart health. No need for a medical professional to be there to attach electrodes to your skin or read the data. This new device might save millions of lives by detecting early signs of heart disease even before any symptoms appear.

Can we speed up the healing process for slow-healing wounds?
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute | Vancouver, British Columbia

“When spinal cord patients develop pressure ulcers, it can have significant negative impact on their quality of life. Many can’t go out and socialize or work. Some of them say the ulcers are worse than the paralysis because they are in so much pain and unable to heal. MeshFill may be a cost-effective answer to improve their situation.”

L’avenir de la santé mentale : Une étude prospective stratégique
Institute for Advancements in Mental Health | Toronto, Ontario

« En cette période d’incertitude profonde et continue, notre objectif a été de mieux comprendre l’évolution du système de santé mentale au Canada grâce à une démarche collective et créative visant. »

Also available in English

Research shows connection between low income, iron deficiency
Kingston Health Sciences Centre | Kingston, Ontario

“There’s a lot of research that supports the importance of addressing low income and the benefits of child health, and this adds to that picture,” Bayoumi said. “If we want to try to reduce the likelihood of children being iron deficient and give them a better chance in life, then providing the families better income is a good way to do that.”

Michener to create new programs in Digital Health and Data Analytics
Michener Institute of Education at UHN | Toronto, Ontario

Significant investments and advances in health care technologies and practices have created a need for digital- and data-literate health care professionals. “Keeping pace with rapid change requires new ways of learning, and Michener has a long history of preparing graduates and the current workforce to embrace new technologies.”

Hope for people living with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder
The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, affiliated with the University of Ottawa | Ottawa, Ontario

Across the mental health landscape, clinicians, researchers and patients are all becoming increasingly aware that there is an urgent need for new, alternative therapies for mental health disorders,” says Dr. Tremblay. “Neuromodulation offers us a whole new way of looking at mental health treatment.”

How the pharmaceutical industry helps Canadians every day
Pfizer Canada | Kirkland, Quebec

Medicines and vaccines do more than prevent and cure disease: they bring hope. World-class researchers in Canada are constantly working to offer renewed hope to patients like Shannon Gaudette.

‘Inside-the-box’ technology solves organ and vaccine transport issue
Western University | London, Ontario

“It is truly exciting to participate in a project that has this much potential to finally change the current problems facing organ and vaccine transportation, using technology developed right here in London, that will help patients in Canada and globally.”

Integrated Youth Services: A pan-Canadian movement critical to addressing youth mental health
Graham Boeckh Foundation | Montreal, Quebec

We know that 75 per cent of mental illnesses begin before age 25, and that more than a million children, youth, and young adults will need mental health support every year, but they face a fragmented system with large service gaps and long wait times. How can we ensure that young people get the support they need? The answer is to deliver a holistic suite of easily accessible and evidence-informed services to youth close to where they live.

Exploiter le pouvoir et le potentiel de la médecine régénératrice au Canada
Réseau de cellules souches (RCS) | Ottawa, Ontario

« J’ai été particulièrement impressionné par l’excellence des demandes présentées dans le cadre du programme Chercheurs en début de carrière. Cela m’inspire une grande confiance de savoir que nous avons établi une solide relève de chercheurs de pointe dans le secteur des cellules souches et de la médecine régénératrice au Canada », a ajouté M. Rudnicki.

Also available in English

HHS physician leads deal to expand brain cancer research in Canada
Hamilton Health Sciences | Hamilton, Ontario

“I’m proud that we were able to attract this gold-star American company with an incredible amount of investment in developing new immunotherapies for cancer,” said Singh. “And the fact that this investment is happening in Canada is even better because we’re keeping the science here.”

Un petit pas pour le traitement des cancers du sang, un pas de géant pour le traitement de tous les types de cancer
BioCanRx | Ottawa, Ontario

« Nous avons entrepris de développer l’infrastructure de recherche, pour mettre les résultats de nos travaux de recherche à la disposition des Canadiens », dit-elle. « Les patients canadiens atteints de cancer ne devraient pas avoir à attendre que la recherche soit effectuée ailleurs; ils devraient pouvoir participer à des essais cliniques innovants ici, chez eux. »

Also available in English

UCalgary researchers discover new tactic to stop the growth of a deadly brain cancer
University of Calgary | Calgary, Alberta

“New findings like this one advances our fundamental understanding of how we can potentially re-program our immune system precisely to attack and destroy glioblastoma and other cancers.”

Queen’s researchers develop new blood test for earlier cancer detection
Queen’s University | Kingston, Ontario

“Having a test like mDETECT available means that the response to chemotherapy can be determined in real time allowing for therapy to be optimized as much as possible. It will also allow for the early detection of relapse as the results of therapy are much better if the disease is caught earlier.”

Gene therapy provides a potential breakthrough in brain cancer treatment
Lady Davis Institute | Montreal, Quebec

In the fight against cancer, scientists have long grappled with the ambiguous nature of stem cells. Glioblastoma tumours, the most aggressive form of brain cancer in adults, consist of these cells, which have the notable ability to self-renew. A Montreal-based research group has now put the invincibility of tumour stem cells into question.

Un nouvel essai clinique évalue un médicament courant contre le diabète pour améliorer la fonction cérébrale chez les jeunes qui survivent au cancer du cerveau
Société canadienne du cancer & Institut de recherche SickKids | Toronto, Ontario

« Nous passons vraiment d’un modèle où nous tentons d’aider les survivants à gérer et à pallier les effets des lésions à un autre où nous traitons réellement ces lésions en exploitant la capacité du cerveau à se réparer. »

Also available in English

Dr. Jonathan McGavok: A strengths-based approach to preventing diabetes in Indigenous Youth
Diabetes Canada | Toronto, Ontario
University of Manitoba | Winnipeg, Manitoba

“Every single child coming in for treatment of type 2 diabetes was Indigenous and living in a Northern community,” says Dr. McGavock. “I had no idea what to do, but I knew that if we could make a research impact, it would be working with these communities, with youth, to develop strategies that could lead to meaningful change.”

With renewed investment in diabetes research, Canada can be home to the next breakthrough again
JDRF | Toronto, Ontario

As Banting once said, “insulin is not a cure.” We are facing a moment in time that can change the future of those living with T1D, as better treatments and cures are on the horizon. To give Canadians freedom from this disease, we need to combine the power of innovative ideas and strategic partnerships.

Toronto endocrinologist Lorraine Lipscombe to lead ‘powerhouse’ diabetes research network
Women’s College Research Institute | Toronto, Ontario

“Much research has been done to recognize root causes of diabetes and its consequences and to identify effective interventions. We must now act on this evidence, by shifting our focus from describing what might work to showing what does work.”