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ECHO Discovery 2024 Pitch Competition
June 6 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT
Join us to celebrate the graduation of our 2024 ECHO Discovery cohort!
Four teams from this year’s ECHO Discovery program will pitch their innovative cardiovascular health solutions to a multi-sectoral judging panel for a chance to win $500.
Then, we will hear from Dr. Abhinav Sharma, a cardiologist, assistant professor, and clinician-scientist in the Division of Cardiology at McGill University.
Don’t miss out, register today!
Pitch Competition
Let’s meet our teams and judging panel!
Aortic Avengers
Aortic Avengers invite you to experience the future of medical education!
Isuru Herath will be pitching an explainable AI model offering a transformative approach to ECG education for medical students.
This model empowers learners to grasp complex concepts with ease and fosters a dynamic learning experience, equipping students with the knowledge and confidence to excel in interpreting ECGs and delivering lifesaving care.
HeartWare
Did you know that rehab patients often have invasive and bulky sensors for detecting cardiac heart health?
Ryan Li, Ruben Castillo Barberi, Chris De Luca, and Noor Al Kaabi will be pitching an inexpensive, comprehensive, and easy to use non-invasive patch to offer continuous monitoring of rehab patients’ biometrics.
The team will be partnering with cardiac rehab groups to dispense their patch, thus assisting rehabilitation programs by generating more comprehensive data on patients health status, disease progression, and health outcomes.
U-MATTER
Patients requiring a heart valve replacement are often anxious about recovering to their previous quality of life.
Fernando Valencia and Alex Jucan will be pitching a novel biomaterial that reduces fibrosis and helps improve patient recovery.
HeartMark
HeartMark envisions a world where patients can obtain simple and easy access to prognostic tools, allowing for earlier heart failure prediction.
Michael Dewar, Daryn Browne, Aled Blundell, Yasaman Mostafaie, Fahad Ehsan, and Sam Neumark will be pitching their novel biomarker for HF detection in low-resource seetings where standard diagnostic imagine techniques are inaccessible.
This technology will provide patients with a quicker prognosis to mitigate cardiovascular complications, leading to an overall improved quality of life for them and their families.
Judging Panel
Many thanks to our esteemed judging panel, who will be drawing from their diverse perspectives to award the winning team.
Craig Simmons is the University of Toronto (UofT) Distinguished Professor of Mechanobiology in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. His research group studies the role of mechanical forces in cardiovascular disease and regeneration, aided by novel microfluidic platforms to model vascularized tissues and organs with high physiological fidelity. Craig also serves as the Scientific Director of the UofT Translational Biology and Engineering Program and as co-lead of TRANSFORM HF, a UofT Strategic Initiative. Together with partners in the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, these bold initiatives aim to dramatically improve heart health for all through discovery science, regenerative medicine, and digital health.
Karina Gasbarrino brings over a decade of comprehensive experience in basic and clinical research within the fields of cardiovascular medicine, and vascular biology and pathology. She earned her doctorate degree in Experimental Medicine from McGill University and subsequently undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in Human Genetics. Karina transitioned into the realm of health entrepreneurship in 2019 and has since co-founded two start-ups. Currently, she takes on the role of Chief Operating Officer at her most recent venture, Sonaro Inc. As an entrepreneur she combines her passion for the cardiovascular sciences with artificial intelligence to develop computer-aided diagnostic tools to enhance the accuracy of cardiovascular disease diagnoses through ultrasound imaging. Recognizing her impactful contributions, she has been honored with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Scholarship from the City of Montréal, the prestigious Mitacs Social Entrepreneur Award, and an entrepreneurship award from the Ontario Brain Institute.
Julie Vizza is a Patient Partner at the University Health Network. Her lived experience as an individual with chronic and complex care needs has strengthened her conviction that perspectives of and collboration with patients are fundamental in establishing and delivering optimal patient-centred care. Living with and managing her health needs while also constantly adapting to and navigating our healthcare system has led Julie to pursue a PhD in Health Science. Her research explores the lived experience of self-management among individuals with multiple chronic conditions and within team-based care settings.
Fireside Chat: Dr. Abhinav Sharma
This Fireside Chat introduces us to a leader at the intersection of cardiology, digital health, and patient-centered care.
Dr. Abhinav Sharma is a cardiologist and an assistant professor in the division of cardiology at McGill University.
He completed his medical school and internal medicine from McMaster University and his cardiology fellowship from the University of Alberta. He completed his PhD in epidemiology with a thesis focusing on the intersection of diabetes and heart. He conducted a research fellowship at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (2015-2017). After his Advanced HF and cardiac transplant fellowship (Stanford University; 2017-2018), he was a visiting scholar at Stanford focusing on digital technologies in patients with HF.
He is a Fonds De Recherche Santé Quebec chercheurs-cliniciens junior 1 scholar at McGill University where he focuses on the use of digital health and artificial intelligence to improve outcomes in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
