Our 2023-24 Innovation Fund Award Winners

With a mission to support novel approaches to managing and preventing heart failure, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research uses its Innovation Fund to propel emerging research with great potential. The 2024-25 Innovation Fund Seed Grants are currently open and you can learn more here.

In our 2023-24 Innovation Seed Grant competition, the Centre funded four such projects that span our three partners: The Hospital for Sick Children, University Health Network and the University of Toronto.

Through these grants, research teams receive up to $100,000 a year – which is renewable for one year –  if their projects show the greatest potential to transform cardiac care and have a clear path to actually serve patients in the clinic in not-distant future.

Introducing the winning projects in our 2023-2024 seed grant competition:

Heart failure (HF) is a growing issue in Canada, affecting over 700,000 people and often requiring advanced treatments like ventricular assist devices (VAD) or heart transplants (HTx). While lifesaving, these therapies are costly and risky, making it crucial to select the right patients and timing. Current decisions rely on clinical judgment, but a Canadian study revealed that HF specialists tend to overestimate patient mortality, potentially recommending advanced therapies too early and increasing risks. Preliminary research at Toronto General Hospital found that many patients were inaccurately classified by clinicians, suggesting the need for better tools. Predictive models showed much greater accuracy in forecasting outcomes. Machine learning (ML) models, which outperform traditional methods in predicting HF outcomes, could provide more precise assessments by incorporating extensive clinical data. This study by Dr. Alba and her team aims to develop and evaluate ML-based tools to improve patient selection for advanced HF therapies, potentially enhancing outcomes and care efficiency. 

Restoring heart function in damaged tissue using stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes is a key goal in treating ischemic heart failure, but there are still challenges like poor survival and integration of transplanted cells. Current approaches often overlook the role of supportive cells, such as macrophages, which are helpful for repair and regeneration in the heart. Dr. Epelman and his team used bioengineered human cardiac tissues to study how stem cell-derived macrophages improve heart cell function by reducing stress, clearing damaged mitochondria, and enhancing metabolism. They explore a novel signaling pathway involving mitochondrial DNA and interferon (IFN-I), which may help macrophages protect heart cells. By understanding and leveraging these interactions, the research aims to make stem cell therapies for heart failure more effective and reliable. 

This research focuses on improving remote monitoring for HF patients, a condition affecting 40 million people annually and costing billions in healthcare. Current remote platforms, like the Medly app, which asks patients to log daily blood pressure and weight, have reduced hospital readmissions by over 50%. However, these systems rely heavily on patient-reported data, which can be inconsistent and infrequent. To address this, Dr. Franklin and his team propose integrating smart wearables, such as a novel smart ring developed by the Franklin Research Lab. The ring uses multiwavelength technology to measure local blood vessel activity, accurately and continuously. Combining this technology with platforms like Medly could provide more detailed cardiovascular data, enabling better monitoring, early intervention, and more effective management of HF in remote care settings.

Advances in cardiovascular surgery (CVS) are critical for improving outcomes in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). In Canada, over 3,700 babies are born with a CHD with more than half needing surgery to survive. The complexity of pediatric CVS can be classified using the Risk Adjusted Classification for Congenital Heart Surgery score (RACHS-1 to -6), where higher scores indicate greater risk. At SickKids, 30-40% of cases are >RACHS-3, with evidence correlating increasing risks of cardiac dysfunction and complications following these complex operations. Despite these risks, there is little research on myocardial protection strategies tailored to this high-risk setting. Current methods, namely cardioplegia solutions, lack standardization and often fail to adequately prevent heart damage. Innovative research from our team supported by the TRCHR in the past has demonstrated promise in using GLP-1 metabolites, such as GLP-1(28-36) and GLP-1 receptor agonists as metabolic modulators for myocardial protection in small animal models. However, using GLP-1 receptor agonists, like Exenatide, in pediatric patients has potential downsides particularly due to side effects of activating the GLP-1 receptor. This highlights the need to explore GLP-1 receptor independent therapies as a safer means to enhance myocardial protection in pediatric CVS, which represents current work that Dr. Honjo and his team are doing to test GLP-1(28-36) in a newly developed model of long heart surgery in pigs.

2024-25 Innovation Fund

Our Innovation Fund is open to bench research, proof-of-concept development and the clinical assessment of new innovations – meaning it can play a key role in propelling great ideas forward.

The Innovation Fund seed grants for 2024-25 are open, and the deadline to apply is January 16, 2025. To learn more about this year’s applications, visit our Innovation Fund page.