Award & Investment Overview
McGill University’s McGill Innovation Fund (MIF) has awarded more than $1 million across multiple early-stage ventures in its fifth round, providing targeted gap funding ranging from $25,000 (Discover) to $50,000 (Develop) to $100,000 (Deploy), with supplemental support for antimicrobial resistance research. This cohort reflects McGill’s portfolio-based model for accelerating research-based innovations toward real-world impact.
Approach & Ecosystem Context
The MIF allocates staged awards that align financial support with project maturity and commercialization readiness. Discover awards support laboratory validation and proof-of-concept, Develop awards back projects with implementation potential, and Deploy awards go to ventures already active in the market that seek to expand impact. McGill pairs funding with mentorship, training, and ecosystem engagement to increase the likelihood of downstream capital or licensing outcomes.
Innovation & Technology
Round 5 recipients span medical diagnostics, digital health, biomechanics, fertility diagnostics, advanced characterization tools, and more — each rooted in academic research with near-term pathways to commercialization. These projects combine scientific novelty with defined application use cases, demonstrating McGill’s emphasis on translational innovation.
Potential Market Applications (Project-Level Detail)
• $100,000 Deploy – PhysioBiometrics Inc.: Led by a McGill team advancing the Heel2Toe gait sensor to improve mobility and rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with movement impairments.
• $50,000 Develop – Pattern-based Contractile Screening (PaCS), Prof. Allen Ehrlicher: A platform that quantifies cellular contractile forces for use in biomedical research and disease diagnostics.
• $50,000 Develop – BioOptic Device, Prof. Mark Driscoll: Non-invasive measurement of intra-abdominal pressure to support spinal health and back pain assessment.
• $50,000 Develop – Salivera, Prof. Sara Mahshid: Rapid, cost-effective molecular diagnosis of respiratory infections using saliva-based colorimetric detection.
• $25,000 Discover – HisTurn, Dr. Sarah Kimmins: Developing a sperm epigenome-based diagnostic to improve male fertility assessment and clinical decision-making.
• $25,000 Discover – ‘Multimeter’ of the Nano-Age, Prof. Changhong Cao: MEMS tools for industrial characterization of ultra-thin materials critical to advanced electronics and IoT device markets.
Read the Full Story:
https://www.mcgill.ca/innovation/article/5th-round-mif-sees-cleantech-medtech-and-ai-winners
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Related Topics:
university gap fund programs, startup accelerators, technology commercialization, medtech innovation, digital health, translational research, portfolio gap funding
