Grant: Foundation Grant

We have recently developed two exciting new technologies for applications in healthcare. The first was a portable and low cost system for detecting the Zika virus (< $1 per test) and the second was the manufacture of protein therapeutics outside of the laboratory in a system that, much like instant noodles, just requires water to be added. Here we propose to extend our demonstrated and upcoming technologies to pioneer a new generation of distributed and low cost health care applications. These efforts are organized into three objectives: 1) Portable diagnostics: With the development of portable tests for Influenza, Hepatitis C and antibiotic resistance, we aim to demonstrate how our technology can reduce the cost of molecular testing, respond to public health emergencies, and improve patient access to clinical-grade diagnostics through point-of-care tools. 2) Therapeutic manufacturing: Here we will demonstrate the potential for distributed cell-free manufacturing of multicomponent influenza vaccines for national emergency preparedness. 3) Global health applications: The portability and low cost of these technologies lend themselves to applications in remote and low resource environments. Here we will build sensors to help in selecting drugs to treat malaria, tools to address the global shortage of anti-venom, and an open source tool box for low cost diagnostics. Together these disease-specific applications will extend our proof-of-concept work and technology development to meet real world needs at home and abroad. These applications were chosen to serve unmet needs and thus will develop new research capacity in Canada and ultimately have the potential to improve care. It is with great anticipation that our lab begins to translate these technologies here in Canada, where we can help shape and contribute to the health research community, its trainees and research translation.