Two CellCAN partners, the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine and C3i Centre have announced the two projects selected by their Innovation Investment Program.   

The Innovation Investment Program was established in 2021 to transform promising experimental cell and gene therapies into treatments for serious diseases. With targeted funding of $100,000, selected technologies will be able to carry out crucial experiments that will increase their chances of attracting early-stage investment and building valuable intellectual property.

The winners
Dr. Maryam Faiz, Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto, and her team are studying a new approach to reprogramming brain support cells to become cells that repair and regenerate lost myelin in the brain. When damaged in conditions such as multiple sclerosis or following acute brain injury, this can result in significant cognitive and physical impairments.

Dr. Carol Schuurmans, Senior Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and her multidisciplinary team of researchers are working to repair damage to the central nervous system caused by stroke or neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or Lou Gehrig's disease). They have already demonstrated in preclinical studies a gene therapy and cell conversion approach to replace lost brain neurons.

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