The provincial agency recently promoted the work of the AICE-funded Northernmost, a company working to revolutionize kidney transplant technology. Founder and CEO Ron Mills told Taproot in May that his company's advanced machine perfusion technology is a vast improvement on the ubiquitous LifePort Kidney Transporter, which he worked on ahead of its launch around 2003. Mills is now working on a Series A funding round following investments by the UA Innovation Fund and Innovobot Resonance Ventures. Another AICE success story is Pacylex Pharmaceuticals, which received funding for clinical trials of its cancer drug, an oral therapy called zelenirstat. So is Nanostics, whose ClarityDX prostate cancer test offers highly accurate screenings that can prevent needless and invasive procedures. The Alberta Cancer Foundation featured the company and the role philanthropy played in getting it started in the latest edition of Leap.
A healthy amount of AICE funding goes to lab work at the University of Alberta. John Lewis — who is the CEO of Nanostics in addition to his role at the U of A — received funding to find an improved way to screen for bladder cancer in 2022. Last year, AICE funded a number of researchers with early-stage projects, including Milad Nazarahari for MotionInsight, an AI tool for post-stroke care personalization; Daniel Charlebois for a machine-learning-driven tool that identifies clinically important yeast; and Xuehua Zhang for an ML-powered tool for personalized gout management.
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Headlines
The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund has invested up to $368,000 in Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation to expand the company's Calgary team and establish a life sciences commercialization centre at the Biohubx facility. The funding is expected to support 16 companies and create two high-skilled jobs over two years, and will also establish a graduation-pathway partnership with the Life Sciences Innovation Hub.
University of Alberta researcher Valerie Carson will lead the SUNRISE Coordinating Centre, overseeing data collection on the movement behaviours of more than 24,000 preschoolers across 24 countries. The project measures physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep in three- and four-year-olds, with findings expected to inform a 2030 update of World Health Organization guidelines.
The University of Alberta has profiled an initiative where dental hygiene and dentistry students in their final two years complete rotations serving Edmonton's city-centre community through a partnership with Radius Community Health & Healing. The clinic serves people with unstable housing, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders.
On the one-year anniversary episode of The Dementia Collective podcast from blueBell Village, founder Andrew Karesa looked back at what he's learned from conversations with caregivers, people living with dementia, researchers, advocates, clinicians, and others. He also discussed his plans for Year 2.
Sage Seniors Association has named Christie Lavan as its next executive director. Lavan brings experience in strategic partnerships, governance, and financial stewardship, and has worked in primary prevention, addressing violence against women, economic empowerment, and food security. Current executive director Karen McDonald will remain in a part-time project support role through August.
The Devon community raised $27,000 during Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Week, taking first place in the Edmonton region. Proceeds benefit the Devon General Hospital Foundation, funding lab equipment, a multipurpose hygiene chair, and a hospital courtyard designed to support mental health and recovery.
End Poverty Edmonton has refocused on its roots as a movement builder after city council voted in 2024 to wind down funding by the end of 2026. The organization has hired three staff and published a new Theory of Change, while pursuing revenue through the Affordability Futures coworking space at 10110 107 Street NW. Funding from the City of Edmonton is "still up for conversation," with council set to decide on the 2027-2030 budget this fall.
Skills Society has released its 2026 annual report, detailing its support of 400 people with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, or complex medical and service needs. Its theme is "We Build the Path by Travelling It," and reflects on how a year of transition in the organization's work was steered by values and relationships.
A three-year, $34-million renovation project has been completed, upgrading nearly 2,000 subsidized homes across Edmonton. Mayor Andrew Knack and federal minister Eleanor Olszewski toured the renovated properties, which include subsidized townhomes and apartments. The project was supported by $19.6 million from the federal government and $14 million from the City of Edmonton, modernizing buildings with improved insulation, windows, and accessibility features. However, more than 10,000 families remain on Civida's waiting list for housing, according to CEO Bree Claude.
Action Lab has released the third episode of its Wicked Complex podcast, featuring a conversation with Mark Cabaj on navigating disruption and systems change. Cabaj, president of Here 2 There Consulting Inc. and an internationally recognized leader in developmental evaluation, explores the adaptive cycle and discusses how change-makers can find hope and agency as established systems unravel. "Being playful about thinking creatively about things takes the temperature down and reinforces that we're just trying to be a little bit smarter than we are now by playing with some frameworks," he said.
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A document from Recovery Alberta obtained by the Investigative Journalism Foundation reveals that Edmonton's Henwood Treatment Centre and the Addiction Recovery Centre at Alberta Hospital Edmonton are among the sites under consideration as interim locations for Alberta's involuntary addiction treatment program this fall. Converting those facilities would require closing voluntary programs — a plan that critics say will produce a "net loss" in an already-strained system. The province plans to build two 150-bed facilities in Edmonton and Calgary, but they won't be ready until 2030. It had previously stated that community-based voluntary treatment beds at those sites would not be used for involuntary programs.
The Stelmach Community Health Centre, the first facility in the Covenant Wellness Community in southeast Edmonton, officially opened. Named after former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, the centre offers health services, including primary care and diagnostic imaging. Patrick Dumelie, CEO of Covenant Health, said the centre will ease hospital pressure by relocating clinics from Grey Nuns Community Hospital. Future expansions include a senior care centre and residential housing.
The expansion of the Strathcona Community Hospital will only be successful if the province takes into account the staffing needs, says a commentary published in The Gateway. "If Alberta expands Strathcona, it has to be a capacity plan, not just a construction plan," wrote Sara Sunderji.
The Alberta Medical Association has released its latest State of Health Care report, finding that 82% of Albertans surveyed saw a family doctor in the past year and 81% rated their experience as high quality — but only 53% could get a timely appointment. The percentage without a family doctor has dropped slightly to 16%, though nearly three in 10 in that group say no physicians are accepting new patients in their community.
The Alberta government and the Alberta Medical Association have reached an agreement awarding $172.3 million in retroactive pay for the past fiscal year, following an arbitrator's ruling that doctors should receive a 3% salary increase. Some specialists could see pay increases of up to 70% under modernized clinical alternative relationship plans. The deal also includes a framework for triage liaison physicians in emergency rooms, though none have yet been deployed months after the province first promised the role.
Canada's ombudsman for veterans reports that up to 80,000 of Canada's 400,000 veterans cannot find a primary care physician, calling it the most acute issue facing veterans today. Ombudsman Nishika Jardine spoke to Postmedia during a visit to Edmonton and outlined the 2025-2026 annual report, which also flagged unclear decision letters, rising complaint volumes, and a 2021 mental health benefit recommendation for veterans' family members that remains unaddressed.
Alberta's Court of Appeal has refused to hear an appeal by William Makis, a former doctor who promoted alternative cancer treatments in Edmonton, leaving in place a permanent court order barring him from representing himself as a licensed physician. The court rejected arguments that his activities constituted "health coaching" rather than the practice of medicine and that he is beyond Alberta's jurisdiction after moving to Florida.
When Damien Uzelman stopped visiting his Sherwood Park gym after more than a year of regular attendance, Planet Fitness staff noticed — and gave him a signed card when he returned during a difficult period with depression and anxiety. Uzelman shared the story on social media to highlight the impact of small gestures on men's mental health; the suicide rate among men is nearly three times that of women, according to Statistics Canada.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:
This roundup was sponsored by Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation.
API is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit life sciences commercialization organizations. We catalyze growth in the life sciences sector by addressing key challenges that hold companies and innovators back.
