Top finalists pitch for prestigious awards
By Diane Weidner, Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning
Photo credit: Joni Dufour and Owen Egan
The McGill Clinical Innovation Competition (CLIC) was created to inspire innovative thinkers within the Faculty of Medicine and across McGill to imagine new devices, diagnostics, platforms, programs and processes that will improve health care, in Canada and globally.
The second edition of the McGill CLIC roused overwhelming interest across the McGill-affiliated network, inciting forty-five teams to submit proposals with the potential to have a real and lasting impact on patient care.
On May 22, finalist teams pitched their innovative projects before a full room of enthusiastic supporters and an esteemed panel of judges at the 2019 McGill CLIC Awards Ceremony, presided over by Dr. David Eidelman, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of Medicine. “Once again this year, the quality of the proposals clearly demonstrates that we have the potential to make a tremendous impact, with the right vision and supports in place,” remarked Dr. Eidelman.
Dr. Jake Barralet, Director of Innovation at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning (SCSIL), has developed a robust mentorship network through partnerships with McGill faculty and industry leaders. “We are in a unique age, where accessibility of technology means that there is almost no facet of medicine that is not being transformed by it; this is a great time to be building networks to support medical innovation,” said Dr. Barralet.
Dr. Raymond Hakim, Mrs. Marika Zelenka Roy (in partnership with the Montreal General Hospital Foundation), Dr. Kevin Lachapelle, Interim Executive Director of the SCSIL, and Dr. Don Sheppard, Director of the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4), assisted during the conferring of the awards for their respective prizes. In addition to cash prizes, the winning teams will be provided with access to start-up support and expertise, thanks to our generous sponsors and partners, BCF, CENTECH, Fasken, NOVO, and the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship.
We are grateful to our esteemed judges for their tremendous enthusiasm, expertise, time and support.
Top row: Dan Roden, Demetra Kafantaris, Elaine Wang, Jake Barralet, Raymond Hakim, Carmela De Luca
Photo credit: Joni Dufour and Owen Egan
And the winners are…
Photo credit: Joni Dufour and Owen Egan
RE3 Therapeutics
Winner of the Hakim Family Innovation Prize
McGill alumnus Dr. Raymond Hakim was the inspiration for the McGill CLIC. He created the Hakim Family Innovation Prize because he believes that, “when it comes to patients’ health care, we should always try to do better – by innovating and creating new products, programs and procedures, or novel health care delivery models.” This award recognizes ideas, new processes or devices in health care with potential to have a tangible and meaningful impact on the patients entrusted to our care.
This prize was awarded to Professor Uri Saragovi of RE3 Therapeutics. He has developed a simple blood-test for quantitative detection of ovarian cancer tumor markers that would allow for earlier detection and offer greater opportunity for curative therapy.
Photo credit: Joni Dufour and Owen Egan
BetaSense
Winner of the Marika Zelenka Roy Innovation Prize
Marika Zelenka Roy, one of the first female students to graduate from electrical engineering at McGill, believes that “by working in collaboration, innovative solutions to better patient care will emerge.” This award, offered in collaboration with the Montreal General Hospital Foundation, recognizes the best solution to an unmet clinical need for the care of a patient and the highest likelihood of success in being translated.
This prize was awarded to BetaSense. This team has developed a high performing detector that would allow nuclear medicine imaging techniques to be performed non-invasively in a greater number of clinics.
Photo credit: Joni Dufour and Owen Egan
Antibiotic Sentinel
Winner of the MI4 Innovation Prize
Dr. Don Sheppard, Director of the MI4, presented this award to Antibiotic Sentinel. This team has developed a web-based application that provides up-to-the-minute information to help doctors select the best antibiotic to maximize the chance of curing an infection while minimizing harmful side effects.
Photo credit: Joni Dufour and Owen Egan
FemTherapeutics
Winner of the Steinberg Centre Simnovation Prize
This award is sponsored by the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning (SCSIL), and recognizes a trainee-led (student, resident or fellow) clinical innovation that has the greatest promise to develop into a truly competitive value proposition.
Dr. Kevin Lachapelle, Interim Executive Director of the SCSIL, presented this award to FemTherapeutics. This team has developed a solution to treat Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) a condition that 1 in every 10 women is diagnosed with, through a customized pessary.
Congratulations to all of the participants for their exceptional projects. For more information on the teams and finalists, please visit our website.
Until next year, we encourage you to keep innovating for better patient care.
May 24, 2019