Teams

Over the past five years, the MIF has supported over 30 unique teams. See our current and past teams on this page.

Current Teams

Cellterix logo

Provide better treatment for type 1 diabetes patients
Stage: Deploy  |  Cohort: 2026
Team: Jonathan Brassard, Corinne Hoesli, Demetry Prezelj, Michael Chuang
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Exsia logo

Safe water, through clean technology
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2026
Team: Kevin Kelly, David Villegas
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Hydral logo

Delivering hydrogen and heat on-site from aluminium to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries
Stage: Discover  |  Cohort: 2026
Team: Oliver Fernie, Jocelyn Blanchet, Prof. Jeff Bergthorson

 

 

 

 

Kuiper Logo

Blending AI strengths with human expertise to redefine how humans interact with heavy machines
Stage: Discover  |  Cohort: 2026
Team: Ehsan Yousefi, Inna Sharf

NanoPHast Logo

Clog-free and calibration-free miniaturized pH probe technology
Stage: Discover  |  Cohort: 2026
Team: Garvit Bhatt, Prof. Bhushan Nagar

 

 

Past Teams

Healthcare

Early detection and prevention of ovarian and endometrial cancer
Stage: Desjardins Deploy  |  Cohort: 2025
Team: Lucy Gilbert, Ava Slotman, Lawrie Shahbazian, Andrew Arthur, Dzaner Dzafik, Maite Skowronski
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ocuvista logo

Replacing eye drops with contact lenses to deliver medicine directly to the eye
Stage: Discover  |  Cohort: 2025
Team: Bishakh Rout

histurn logo

Genome-based fertility treatment for men using sperm epigenome analysis
Stage: Discover, Develop and Deploy  |  Cohort: 2022–2024
Team: Sarah Kimmins and Bryan Martin

 

 

 

 

Long-term support technology for human cell culture research
Stage: Develop and Deploy  |  Cohort: 2022 and 2023
Team: Timothy Kennedy and Kean Pierre Clement
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Bio-adhesive alternative to compressed gauze for severe bleeding
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2023
Team: Jianyu Li
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Rapid and automated saliva-based molecular diagnostics for infections
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2022
Team: Sara Mahshid
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Technology for illness diagnostics
Stage: Develop and AMR Winner  |  Cohort: 2025
Team: Sripadh Guptha Yedire, Sara Mahshid and Tamer Abdelwahab

Surface functionalization technology to improve vascular tissue repair

Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2023
Team: Hugo Level

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Simpler and faster cell contractility quantification for research and industry
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2022
Team: Allen Ehrlicher
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Mosers logo

MoSERS

Non-invasive handheld cancer monitoring using a tiny blood sample
Stage: Discover  |  Cohort: 2023
Team: Mahsa Jalali

Physio Biometrics Inc.

Gait-improving sensor and rehabilitation tools for walking support
Stage: Deploy  |  Cohort: 2022
Team: Nancy Mayo
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Tissue Tinker

3D-bioprinted tumor models that better capture human physiology
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2025
Team: Benjamin Ringler, Madison Santos, and Isabelle Dummer
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Additional Lifescience Teams

Itaconate

Molecules to re-sensitize bacteria to itaconate produced in macrophages as a new treatment for infections.

Team: Karine Auclair and Andéanne Lupien

Stage: Discover, Develop and AMR Winner

Cohort: 2024 and 2025

 

Bruxism

Oscillating device for non-invasive correction of Bruxism

Team: Natalie Reznikov and Vinay Ashok Kumar 

Stage: Discover

Cohort: 2025

BubbleSense

Advancing bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP), a non-invasive respiratory support therapy for preterm infant lung development.

Team: Amanda Gross, Emily Campbell and Wissam Shalish

Stage: Discover

Cohort: 2025

Bit Healix

The traditional medical approach is "one size fits all", leading to resource inefficiency, extended delays, and prolonged treatment for patients. Bit Healix tackles this problem by leveraging genetic information and the power of AI to personalize diagnostic treatment, so patients can receive the right care the first time.

Team: Yannis Trakadis, Bill Qi, Sameer Sardaar

Stage: Discover

Cohort: 2024

Patholyzer

A first of its kind device for real-time detection of viruses and bacteria​, offering on-site diagnostics in milliseconds. Patholyzer is a smaller, portable Nano-digital inline holographic microscope used to identify and measure airborne pathogens. This project has enormous potential to fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which poses one of the largest threats to human health in the coming century.

Team: Devendra Pal, Parisa Ariya, and Robert Panetta

Stage: Develop and AMR Winner

Cohort: 2024

BioOptic

BioOptic™ seeks to offer a quick and easy way to measure one’s intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) which is shown to influence spinal stability and hence linked to back pain. Specifically, the device design and methods employed will be refined towards improving the accuracy, reliability, and usability of the device to get fully ready for market.

Team: Mark Driscoll 

Stage: Develop

Cohort: 2022

Ion Channel Target

Activation of peripheral pain sensing neurons (nociceptors) is central to the experience of pain, and several chronic pain conditions are caused by the sensitization of nociceptors to mechanical stimuli, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis pain. We have identified an ion channel expressed in nociceptors and involved in sensing mechanical pain which represents a potential therapeutic target in chronic inflammatory pain. Determining a small molecule inhibitor to specifically target this ion channel would prevent the pain signal and may have valuable therapeutic potential in OA and RA patients, as well as other inflammatory pain conditions. Watch this video to learn more.

Team: Reza Sharif 

Stage: Discover

Cohort: 2022

Invicare

INVICARE develops an innovative biomedical technology to address infections around implants, with a two-fold approach to include prevention and more effective treatment. The company's core technology is a proprietary two-dimensional nanocrystalline hydrogel; the outcome of seven years of collaborative research between McGill scientists and researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of Montreal.

Team: McGill Researchers 

Stage: Deploy

Cohort: 2022


CleanTech and Engineering

Real-time nutrient ion-sensor technology for hydroponics and vertical farming
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2024
Team: Minh Tran and Thomas Szkopek
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Nano-graphite battery technology with faster recharge times and longer life cycles
Stage: Discover  |  Cohort: 2023
Team: Yee Wei Fong
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Low-cost reusable metal-powder based energy storage for intermittent renewables
Stage: Develop  |  Cohort: 2023
Team: Samson Bowen-Bronet
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Characterization devices for 2D materials-based electronics and MEMS
Stage: Discover and Develop  |  Cohort: 2022, 2024
Team: Changhong Cao
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Low Cost Water Treatment

Conventional water filtration techniques rely on high amounts of chemicals used in large volume tanks that leaves behind a toxic sludge that can later pose serious environmental problems related to its disposal. The project proposes a low-cost, easy-to-manufacture solution that utilizes fibrous materials to act as a filtration mechanism. The solution would greatly simplify treating water, and would be more adaptable to both large and small-scale filtration systems.

Team: Nathalie Tufenkji

Stage: Develop

Cohort: 2023

Programmable Shellular Metamaterials

Few would doubt the value of shock-absorbing materials such as those found in safety helmets or automobile bumpers. However, in practice they are disposable items that are thrown away after each major collision, thus creating significant environmental impact. The team is developing a bio-mimetic material that can reform after impact, enabling objects to withstand repeated impacts, which can lengthen the service life of the item, and reduce the volume of material that ends up in landfills.

Team: Hamid Akbarzadeh 

Stage: Discover

Cohort: 2023

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