Health Innovation Roundup

Headlines

• A record $93.5-million donation will fund the Women and Children's Health Research Institute at the University of Alberta over the next decade. The funding includes $70 million from the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation and $23.5 million from the Alberta Women's Health Foundation to support research and clinical advances. The institute, which brings together more than 400 researchers, has already driven breakthroughs in areas such as autism screening, gene therapy, and safer pediatric care. The university shared five stories that show what the investment means for patients and researchers across the province.
• The Courage Gala raised $1.6 million for the Glenrose Hospital Foundation on April 18. The Allard Foundation alone donated $1 million of that, securing naming rights for the replacement therapeutic pool that the Glenrose is fundraising for.
• The Cure Cancer Foundation's Toast of the Town gala raised more than $650,000, completing the foundation's $2.5-million fundraising goal for equipment to bring CAR-T cell immunotherapy to the Cross Cancer Institute. The event honoured philanthropist Terry O'Flynn.
• The University of Alberta Hospital has opened the $2.7-million Neuro-Rehabilitation Innovation Centre. The centre includes a rehabilitation gymnasium, research-treatment spaces, and an electrophysiology research suite, allowing clinicians and researchers to treat and observe patients together.
• Misericordia Hospital is home to a one-of-a-kind clinic offering publicly funded mental health support to pregnant people and new mothers.
• The finalists have been announced for the YEG Startup Community Awards, which will be presented in Edmonton on May 7.
• Gummy Nutrition Lab and Innovotech are among the Edmonton companies named as finalists for the 2026 ScaleUP Awards. The awards gala takes place on June 10 in Calgary. ScaleUP will also host a breakfast in Edmonton on June 12.
• FKA's "Time Store" project with the Alberta Cancer Foundation won Best in Show at the 47th Annual ACE Awards, recognizing creative excellence in Edmonton's advertising industry.
• The nomination deadline for the ASTech Awards has been extended to May 25.
• The sold-out Upper Bound conference will feature federal Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon, Prairies Economic Development Canada minister Eleanor Olszewski, provincial Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish, and Canadian Institute of Advanced Research executive director Elissa Strome. The May 19-22 conference put on by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute includes a track on AI and health.
• Edmonton Public Schools hosted more than 300 high school students at its second Student Artificial Intelligence Conference. Breakout sessions featured experts from the University of Alberta, Google, and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, covering topics from robotics to AI in medicine. Meanwhile, the Alberta government committed more than $2.7 million over three years to partner with Amii to develop AI learning kits for K-12 classrooms and resources to help teachers build their AI knowledge.
• NAIT's Advancing Healthcare Through Simulation podcast featured Tara Klassen, innovation lead for Surgical Care Alberta, discussing why simulation should be embedded throughout the healthcare innovation lifecycle, not only for clinical training, but also for testing and scaling new approaches.
• Third-year University of Alberta pharmacy students tested a wildfire disaster simulation designed to prepare Canadian pharmacists to serve communities during emergencies. The scenario, developed by assistant professor Kaitlyn Watson and tested by 130 students, involved power outages and evacuees seeking prescription refills — reinforcing that pharmacists have a duty of care during crises.
• The future of tech in law enforcement was discussed at a Tech Thursday panel featuring operations chief Devin Laforce of the Edmonton Police Service, Trouvay founder Bradley Pierson, and Standard Field Systems CEO Sam Jenkins. The panellists discussed genetic genealogy, facial recognition, AI-assisted police report drafting, and digital sobriety testing, noting that legal frameworks for these tools are still being developed.

Social innovation

• Artist Sam Schembri curated images with patients living with chronic cancer to create an exhibition called LONGEVITI, which is on display online and at the Stanley A. Milner branch of the Edmonton Public Library. Participants worked with art assistants to depict what living with chronic advanced cancer looks like, feels like, and means to them, as part of a study conducted by nursing researchers from the University of Alberta.
• First Nations cultural consultant Miranda Jimmy worked with Barbara Fillion of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO on a project that led to The Changemaker's Compass: Navigating Passion Without Burnout. The resource draws on a youth-led research project about supporting young advocates and protecting their well-being.
• Anatomy students from the University of Alberta took part in a community service-learning program at the Edmonton Down Syndrome Society and Elves Special Needs Society, producing projects such as a book for neurodivergent adolescents, an accessible playground initiative, and an updated digital resource library. "By working with the community rather than just studying it, these students have left a lasting mark on Edmonton's social landscape," says a post from the U of A's department of surgery.
• Family physician Rebecca Saunders discussed her upcoming book project, Eight Saturdays, with the Women in Leadership and Entrepreneurship podcast. Inspired by a friend's terminal cancer diagnosis, the book explores how imagining limited time remaining can help people prioritize what matters most.

More health news

• The Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton has launched its Out in the Open campaign for Sexual Violence Awareness Month, featuring teddy bears representing survivors waiting for specialized support. Nearly half of all Albertans will experience sexual violence in their lifetime, and demand for SACE's free trauma counselling has outpaced available resources.
• An Alberta judge dismissed an attempt by Egale Canada and Skipping Stone Foundation to challenge the province's transgender healthcare restrictions on criminal law grounds, ruling the legislation falls within Alberta's constitutional authority over health and safety. The groups plan to appeal, while their original Charter challenge remains on hold pending a Supreme Court decision on a similar Saskatchewan case.
• Drug overdose deaths in Edmonton are rising even as they fall across Canada, with 764 people dying of drug poisonings in 2025 — nearly matching the previous record. Increased use of carfentanil and reduced harm reduction services are among the factors. Outreach volunteer Angie Staines of the 4B Harm Reduction Society showed a Globe and Mail team what she encounters on the streets. "It used to be that I could go and give somebody one, maybe two doses, and 15 minutes later, they were up and walking away. I would say now, 80% of the time, they are being transported with no level of consciousness," Staines said of the dwindling utility of naloxone as new substances gain hold.
• The Alberta government is spending $2 million to plan an expansion of Strathcona County Hospital that would add up to 120 inpatient beds, with space for 32 more in the future. Health Minister Matt Jones said the project aims to reduce the need for more than 100,000 Sherwood Park-area residents to travel to Edmonton for inpatient care. The proposed expansion would also include surgical suites, diagnostic imaging, endoscopy rooms, and expanded lab, pharmacy, and mental health services.
• Alberta unions and government marked the National Day of Mourning on April 28 in Edmonton, remembering 144 workers who died from work-related illness or injury in 2025. This year, the event highlighted psychological health in the workplace, addressing stress, harassment, and burnout. Gil McGowan of the Alberta Federation of Labour said that psychological injuries are preventable and should be seriously addressed, noting that only 44% of psychological injury claims are accepted by the Workers' Compensation Board.
• Edmonton Police Service officers were among nearly 80 officers from across Alberta honoured by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for their efforts to prevent impaired-driving fatalities in 2025. Impaired driving remains the leading cause of death for drivers aged 16 to 25, Supt. Matt Hart told the gathering.
• The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has opened an inquiry into the Alberta government's refusal to release records related to a 2024 land deal involving healthcare entrepreneur Sam Mraiche. Postmedia requested documents concerning a property at 14425 124 Avenue NW in Edmonton, which a numbered company linked to Mraiche purchased in June 2024 and sold to the Alberta government for $300,000 more just 12 weeks later. The government withheld the records, citing an auditor general investigation, but Postmedia argues that the investigation began months after its Freedom of Information request.

Happenings

Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:

• May 6: Connected Care in Alberta: Optimizing Digital Health Across Agencies starting at 8am at Holiday Inn - Gateway Blvd
• May 6: ScaleUP Coffee Community Takeover starting at 9am at Edmonton Unlimited
• May 7-8: Nursing with Purpose: Turning Insight into Impact at Evario Events Centre
• May 8: Dark Matters: Science is Dope starting at 7pm at TELUS World of Science - Edmonton
• May 8-10: natIgnite: Competition at University of Alberta (Donadeo Innovation Centre For Engineering)
• May 9: Helping Kids When Things Feel Hard: Community Information Fair & Symposium starting at 11am at Edmonton Public Library (Stanley A. Milner)
• May 11: TEDxUAlberta 2026: RegeneraTED starting at 5pm at Horowitz Theatre

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• May 13: Health Innovation Networking Event at Bison Lodge
• May 14: SUSTAINABILITY SOCIAL: Expert Panel + Networking + Activities at The Bell in Scona
• May 21: From Point A to Point Care: Creating Seamless Paths to Support for Rural Caregivers online

Visit the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.