Grant: Alliance Grants

This project will advance solid-state nanopore signal processing and analysis capabilities toward automated denoising and characterization of nanopore signals using AI/ML approaches. It is a critical part of the roadmap to enabling downstream healthcare applications of solid-state nanopores via single-molecule proteomics. Scientific instrumentation for life sciences is undergoing a revolution. New technologies are emerging that can detect individual molecules to enable important new opportunities in biotechnology and healthcare. Nanopores are molecular-sized holes in thin membranes that enable purely electrical sensing for single molecule detection. A core part of realizing the potential of this technology to disrupt healthcare is the development of analysis that automate complex related signal processing tasks. The University of Ottawa previously developed a key technology that overcomes one of the challenges to realizing solid-state nanopore potential: the controlled breakdown method, which automates fabrication of individual nanopores down to 1-nm in size with unmatched precision. This innovation has already been productized by our partner, Northern Nanopore Instruments. This project aims to build on recent advances in AI/ML approaches to data processing to address one of the other challenges: automating complex signal processing tasks that currently represent a barrier to rapid progress. In the course of this work, we will develop novel methods to denoise and fit nanopore signals, as well as use the latest advances in generative AI to augment the quality and quantity of data available, tools which will also be commercialized as part of Northern Nanopore's enabling solid-state nanopore research platform. Ultimately, this project will help Canada strengthen its position as a global leader in the development of new health and nanotechnologies.