Innovative Projects Realized

Lab2Market Validation / Québec Autonomne 2025 / Biosynthèse industrielle de molécules anticancer

Le cancer touche en moyenne deux canadiens sur cinq, et chaque personne atteinte du cancer a une chance sur quatre d’en mourir. La recherche contre le cancer est l’une des plus actives dans le monde, et des traitements sont déjà mis à la dispositions des malades. Mais tous les cancers ne sont pas encore curables et la recherche de molécules à fort potentiel thérapeutiques est toujours critique. Parmi les molécules prometteuses, l’acide bétulinique et l’inotodiol sont étudiées car elles pourraient permettre la guérison de cancers encore difficiles à traiter aujourd’hui. Seulement ces molécules sont extraites d’un champignon appelé le Chaga, qui est un champignon parasite. Il est donc très difficile de le cultiver pour en extraire les molécules actives. L’entreprise que je cherche à développer essaie de le faire pousser en laboratoire dans différentes conditions pour obtenir ces molécules actives à moindre prix, de façon stable et durable. Nous développons les protocoles de croissance, de contrôle de l’environnement, et d’extractions afin de rendre les molécules accessibles au monde hospitalier et aux centres de recherche anticancer. De plus le champignon étant riche en minéraux, vitamines, et antioxydants, peut-être ensuite transformé pour faire des suppléments alimentaires, voire des farines nutritives. Le projet viserait donc à rentabiliser l’entièreté du champignon pour améliorer différents pans de la santé humaine.

L2M – Smart Sock

This project aims to explore the commercial potential of the Smart Sock, a wearable medical device developed at University of British Columbia that provides comfortable, at-home compression therapy for people at risk of blood clots. Unlike bulky or hard-to-use devices currently on the market, the Smart Sock is soft, portable, and designed to help patients, especially the elderly, to improve blood flow in their legs. Through this project, we will conduct market research, study how the product can fit into patient care, and develop a plan to bring it to market. The expected benefit to the partner organization is a clear strategy for launching the Smart Sock, including a defined target market, a strong business model, and a roadmap for future growth.

L2M – InspiroMark

This project will support the advancement of a new medical device designed to assist cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists during and after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures. When patients receive bypass grafts, clinicians often need to perform follow-up angiograms to assess whether the grafts are functioning properly. The new device being developed is designed to help cardiac teams quickly identify grafts, supporting faster, safer, and more accurate follow-up care. For the partner organization, this work will help de-risk key aspects of the product’s development, strengthen relationships with early adopters, and accelerate the pathway to hospital adoption. It will also provide critical market and operational insights needed to guide commercialization and scale the impact of the technology.

L2M Validation / Qc Automne 2025 / Ready, Set, Swim: Application of spectrofluorophotometry (FEEM) for better pathogen detection in Quebec’s recreational waters

Municipal beach managers across Canada face an impossible dilemma every summer: close beaches preventively and lose tourism revenue, or risk exposing swimmers to dangerous sewage contamination from aging infrastructure that overflows during heavy rainfall. Current water testing takes 24-48 hours and measures bacteria that poorly indicate actual health risks from viruses, forcing managers to make decisions with outdated, unreliable information. This project will validate the commercial potential of a revolutionary water monitoring system that uses light-based technology to detect viral contamination in real-time, enabling immediate decision-making about beach safety. Through 100+ interviews with municipal managers, public health officials, and regulatory bodies, the intern will assess market demand, understand procurement processes, and develop viable business models for this innovation. The technology could transform reactive, costly emergency testing (currently $28,000 annually per small beach) into proactive risk management, protecting both public health and tourism economies. For partner organization V1 Studio, this project validates their mission to commercialize university research that addresses critical societal challenges while demonstrating their expertise in guiding complex environmental health technologies through market validation in highly regulated sectors, positioning them as leaders in Canadian cleantech commercialization.

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Chachacha

Au Québec, plus de 170 000 personnes vivent avec un trouble neurocognitif majeur, souvent sans accès à des ressources adaptées pour préserver leur bien-être et maintenir des liens significatifs avec leurs proches. Le projet Distraire pour le bien-être, porté par Les Éditions Chachacha, répond à ce besoin urgent par le développement d’outils concrets, ludiques et validés, conçus pour favoriser la stimulation cognitive, les interactions sociales et le plaisir partagé.

Né d’une double expertise – personnelle et professionnelle –, ce projet repose sur une approche humaine, rigoureuse et collaborative. En tant que proche aidante d’une mère atteinte d’Alzheimer, la fondatrice a constaté le manque d’activités adaptées à la réalité des familles. Soutenue par une équipe interdisciplinaire (orthophonistes, gériatres, neuropsychologues), elle a conçu des jeux et du matériel d’intervention simples, esthétiques et accessibles, testés avec des personnes atteintes, leurs proches et des intervenants du réseau de la santé.

Les produits s’accompagnent de formations et de services-conseils pour les milieux de vie, les professionnels et les organismes communautaires.
En plaçant la dignité, l’estime de soi et le lien humain au cœur de sa démarche, Distraire pour le bien-être vise à transformer les pratiques d’accompagnement des personnes vivant avec un trouble neurocognitif. Le projet s’ancre dans une volonté de co-construction, de transfert de connaissances et de bientraitance, avec pour ambition de soutenir le maintien à domicile et de favoriser une société plus inclusive et bienveillante.

L2M Validation / Qc Automne 2025 / Validating Market Fit for a Cardiac Fibrosis-Preventing Drug

This project aims to explore the market potential of a new drug screening approach by Telescope Therapeutics that uses human stem cells to create a more accurate model for studying and testing treatments for heart scarring, known as cardiac fibrosis. By better understanding the needs and interests of potential users like pharmaceutical companies and research organizations, the project will help Telescope refine its business strategy and find the best path to bring this innovative technology to market. Ultimately, this will support the company’s goal to develop effective new therapies/drug that could improve the lives of patients with heart disease and strengthen Telescope’s position in the biotech industry.

L2M – DeepFault AI: Advanced Geoscience Software Solution

This project will validate the commercial potential of DeepFault AI, an advanced geoscience software solution that automates seismic fault interpretation using deep learning, with integrated uncertainty quantification and quality control (QC). In energy sectors such as oil and gas, geothermal, and carbon storage, reliable subsurface interpretation is essential. Traditional fault detection methods are slow, subjective, and lack mechanisms to quantify confidence.

DeepFault AI addresses these gaps by combining high-performance fault segmentation with real-time uncertainty estimation, allowing users to assess the reliability of each prediction. This is critical in high-stakes environments where interpretation errors can lead to costly drilling decisions. The system also includes a QC workflow that flags low-confidence areas, helping interpreters prioritize review.

The technical foundation is a deep neural network tailored for seismic data, using Monte Carlo Dropout, concrete dropout, and ensemble methods for uncertainty, along with patch-based training and transfer learning for broader applicability.

Through Lab2Market Validate, we aim to:

Engage industry stakeholders (e.g., oil & gas operators, CCS developers) to validate demand for uncertainty-aware interpretation;

Interview 75+ potential users to assess business viability, value proposition, and pricing;

Evaluate integration with industry tools (Petrel, OpendTect, RMS) for seamless adoption;

Validate use cases where uncertainty/QC maps guide decisions in exploration, reservoir modeling, and fault connectivity;

Assess IP, regulatory, and data management needs for on-prem or cloud deployment.

Deliverables include:

A validated business model and commercialization roadmap

Feedback from end users and early adopters

Prioritized customer segments and use cases

Demonstrated value of uncertainty/QC outputs in practice

This project supports the transition of research into scalable innovation, enabling safer, more automated, and interpretable subsurface workflows.

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Technologies MicroMea inc.

Dans le cadre de ce projet, le stagiaire mènera des entrevues avec des entreprises agroalimentaires et d’autres organisations qui produisent de grandes quantités de déchets organiques. L’objectif est de mieux comprendre leurs besoins, leurs défis et leur intérêt pour une solution locale qui transformerait ces déchets en biogaz renouvelable, pouvant remplacer une partie du gaz naturel utilisé. Le projet permettra aussi d’identifier les obstacles à l’adoption d’une telle technologie, ainsi que les attentes des entreprises en matière d’accompagnement. En parallèle, une étude du marché et des solutions existantes sera réalisée pour estimer le potentiel de la technologie. Une attention particulière sera portée à la réglementation qui encadre la micro-méthanisation au Québec.

Anthropology, social media management, analysis and the development of strategy – Year two

This project will expand the research and development capacity of Treefrog for the creation of a social media strategy and analysis department offering unique, cutting-edge and anthropologically informed services for corporate clients.
Anthropologically informed analysis goes beyond a superficial reporting of unanalysed numerical data to provide contextualized understandings based on broader social trends and cultural practices. Using Treefrog as a case
study, I will develop a set of durable processes and services that will be refined for application for Treefrog clients, who are companies that represent well-known Canadian brands.

Etude de rémunération des auteurs en contexte évènementiel

Dans le cadre de ce projet, un étudiant à la maîtrise en lettres, spécialisé en culture et numérique, effectuera un stage à l’Association québécoise des Salons du livre (AQLS). Il aura pour mandat de recueillir et d’analyser des données sur la façon dont les auteur·rice·s sont rémunéré·e·s pour leur participation à des activités numériques organisées par les Salons du livre, comme des captations vidéo ou des diffusions en ligne. Les conditions associées à la diffusion seront également examinées. Le but de l’enquête est de mettre en place une grille tarifaire commune, adaptée aux nouvelles réalités numériques, qui servira de base pour de futures ententes entre l’AQSL et l’Union des écrivains du Québec. Ce travail aidera l’AQSL à mieux encadrer ces pratiques, à assurer une rémunération plus équitable pour les auteur·rice·s et à proposer des standards clairs à l’ensemble du secteur littéraire. Le stage permettra aussi de renforcer les liens entre l’AQSL et le milieu universitaire, tout en offrant une expérience concrète et formatrice à l’étudiant.

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Flexible Intra-Oral Device for Continuous Salivary Biomarkers Monitoring to Diagnose Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders like insomnia and circadian rhythm disruptions affect millions, leading to health problems such as fatigue, difficulty to concentrate, depression, various ailments including heart disease and cancer. Diagnosing these issues is challenging because current methods, such as overnight lab tests, are expensive, uncomfortable, and often unable to accurately perform real-time measurements. Wearable devices help, but mostly track movement or heart rate, missing key hormonal clues, such as melatonin levels, which are critical for pinpointing sleep disorders. There is a clinical need for a better way to monitor the individual fluctuations of hormones or biomarkers at home, without invasive lab tests. Our solution is a smart intra-oral device with a built-in biosensor that tracks melatonin levels in saliva in real-time. Because it can be wireless, will allow patients to sleep normally in the comfort of their home while collecting data. Clinicians can use this information to accurately diagnose sleep disorders and personalize treatments, like adjusting the timing of their administration and of their amount (i.e. of melatonin supplements or light therapy timing). This could reduce misdiagnoses, increase efficiency of care, and improve outcomes. We have developed a lab bench-top prototype and are currently testing its various components, which will be further miniaturized to be integrated into the device. The Lab2Market program will help us understand market needs, refine our business model towards bringing this product to the people who need it most, whether through clinics, wellness centres, or direct sales.

L2M Launch / Qc Fall 2025 / Empowering Social Workers Through Smart Technology

A survey conducted in 2024 revealed that up to 16% of Quebec’s social workers are considering leaving their profession due to cumbersome administrative tasks and intense workloads. Many of the social workers must conduct home visits as part of their job which sometimes can be challenging and risky, especially when dealing with abuse, addiction, homelessness and mental health support situations.
The loss of social workers could have devastating consequences, leaving vulnerable populations without critical support and putting additional strain on healthcare, social services, and public safety. As a society, we cannot afford to lose social workers, which is why we aim to conduct research and validate our business idea by understanding the reasons behind their decision to leave the profession.
Our proposed solution is to create a mobile and web application designed to enhance the safety during home visits and increase efficiency of social workers on their daily work activities. By leveraging AI and real-time monitoring, we aim to reduce risks, improve reporting accuracy, and provide immediate support when needed.
Our platform offers proactive protection through features such as a one-tap emergency panic button (SOS), live location tracking, and pre-visit risk assessments, ensuring social workers feel secure before and during their visits. Additionally, AI-powered incident reporting, emotional state real-time detection, and automatic voice & video recording with secure cloud storage streamline documentation, will reduce administrative burdens.
Unlike traditional reporting systems, our solution integrates real-time safety measures with AI-driven insights, allowing agencies to detect patterns, allocate resources effectively, and ultimately prevent dangerous situations before they escalate.
By providing data-driven reports and a peer-support network, our application not only improves safety but also enhances overall job satisfaction, helping retain social workers in a field where burnout and high turnover are growing concerns.