ECHO Discovery Fireside Chat: Medly Therapeutics

ECHO Discovery Fireside Chat: Medly Therapeutics

In December 2022, Dr. Heather Ross and Dr. Joseph Cafazzo were named University Health Network’s Inventors of the Year in recognition of their development and commercialization of Medly– a remote heart failure care tool powered by software and AI. As part of #ECHODiscovery’s Fireside Chat speaker series, Heather and Joe joined us to talk all things Medly – from what’s required for a successful collaboration to what’s in store for the future of Medly Therapeutics as it spreads, scales, and integrates new features.

Playing the Future of Digital Health by Ear

Playing the Future of Digital Health by Ear

When it comes to digital innovation, Alex Mariakakis and his team are all ears! Meet our 2023 Seed Grant recipient, who’s aiming to make blood pressure monitoring more accessible using earbuds.

Earbuds have the potential to remove the cost of blood pressure cuffs, increase the ease of at-home monitoring, and could even out-perform smartwatches! Alex views earbuds as one of the next big platforms – not just for blood pressure monitoring, but for digital health in general.

Collaborating Coast-to-Coast for Health Equity

Collaborating Coast-to-Coast for Health Equity

By supporting members of the TRANSFORM HF community in the development of new projects, our Collaboration Starter Grants aim to advance our mission of digital innovation for equitable heart failure care.

Another key objective of these grants is to foster new research partnerships and expand our network – something Dr. Jay Shaw has been able to do on a national scale through his pan-Canadian policy analysis of virtual care technologies.

New U of T Program Offers Foundational Cardiovascular Health Entrepreneurship Training

New U of T Program Offers Foundational Cardiovascular Health Entrepreneurship Training

Learning about entrepreneurship is an ongoing process that should start with a program like ECHO Discovery.

Together, the Translational Biology & Engineering Program and TRANSFORM HF designed ECHO Discovery to introduce trainees to the world of ideation, research translation, and entrepreneurship.

ECHO Discovery provides an advantage to trainees who choose to pursue either a start-up or career in industry, health care, or government.

On the Land Indigenous Education Program: May 2022

On the Land Indigenous Education Program: May 2022

TRANSFORM HF members had the opportunity to participate in the On the Land Indigenous Education Program led by Dr. Angela Mashford-Pringle In May 2022.

Participants explored culturally-safe, strengths-based, and healing-informed clinical and research practices through hands-on, land-based learning.

TRANSFORM HF is very grateful to Dr. Angela Mashford-Pringle, her team, and the Elders and Cultural Knowledge Keepers and Helpers who made On the Land such an impactful experience.

3 Ways to Support Patient-Caregiver Pairs through Equitable Virtual Care

3 Ways to Support Patient-Caregiver Pairs through Equitable Virtual Care

In a Canadian population of older ethnic adults living with heart failure, what is the impact of engaging family caregivers in a model of shared virtual care to support technology use and symptom management?

This is the question Dr. Quynh Pham and her team set out to answer as they build Medly Caretown, a family-centered shared virtual care model for patient-caregiver pairs.

TRANSFORM HF, UHN & Weeneebayko Area Health Authority Collaborate for Equitable Access to Heart Failure Care

TRANSFORM HF, UHN & Weeneebayko Area Health Authority Collaborate for Equitable Access to Heart Failure Care

TRANSFORM HF co-lead Dr. Heather Ross (Head, Division of Cardiology UHN-SHS) led a team to Moosonee and Moose Factory in May to continue to deepen our partnership with Weeneebayko Area Health Authority.

Following a COVID-imposed hiatus, the collaboration to address heart failure in the Weeneebayko region was renewed with a visit consisting of in-person clinics, community outreach, and a sharing circle.

Engaging People with Lived Experience in Heart Failure Research

Engaging People with Lived Experience in Heart Failure Research

In recognition of the importance of increasing patient agency in heart failure research, TRANSFORM HF hosted a workshop to introduce and contextualize principles and practices to engage people with lived experience in research.

This recorded workshop will help viewers understand the history and evidence for patient engagement and partnership in research, learn principles and best practices for high-quality engagement, and explore applications in heart failure research in our current Canadian research landscape.