Dalhousie University will welcome 18 research teams from across Atlantic Canada to its fall 2023 Lab2Market Validate program. Lab2Market is a pioneering national initiative that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship in Canada’s academic community. The teams comprised of students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members focused on science and technological innovation will explore the commercial potential of their research-driven ideas by conducting interviews with potential customers to validate the market need.
Since its inception in 2020, 330 teams from across Canada have participated in the Lab2Market Validate program, raising over $10.7 million in funding. This includes more than 100 students who have gone through Dalhousie’s offering of the program.
Dr. Alice Aiken, Dalhousie’s vice president of research and innovation, whose leadership includes the Dal Innovates ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation programs, will participate as a Technical Lead in this cohort of Lab2Market Validate, working with PhD student Lynette Peters. This is the second time Dr. Aiken has taken on this role.
“It is a great pleasure to see firsthand how Lab2Market Validate is empowering our academic community to take their ideas beyond the lab to build enterprises that are having a positive impact in the world,” said Dr. Aiken. “Lab2Market Validate is an important part of our Dal Innovates ecosystem of programs that provide support at every step of the venture creation journey. From the initial spark of an idea, to establishing a market need, to sourcing investment, we’re there to help.”
Peters, whose venture aims to help veterans create a sense of community through the arts, decided to get involved with Lab2Market Validate because of the potential to transform her research into a tangible commercial solution.
“I’m most excited about the opportunity to bridge the gap between academia and the market, seeing my work have a real-world impact, and building a network of mentors and industry experts who can guide me along this transformative journey,” said Peters.
Meet the Teams:
| Description | University | Team |
| Sensing a cleaner and healthier future: SensoFluidix offers precise, cost-effective, and resilient solutions for environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. | York University | Dr. Alireza Zabihihesari Dr. Pouya Rezai |
| Improving silicon-based technology within electronic devices by utilizing new-age materials to improve scalability and reduce noise. | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Brad McNiven Dr. James LeBlanc |
| AutoNiTech aims to alleviate the frustration and waste in the crop packaging process while offering a seamless and user-friendly implementation. | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Hamidreza Shiri Dr. Stephen Butt |
| Utilizing artificial intelligence to develop a smart wearable device that makes elite sport training accessible to the average user. | Dalhousie University | John Wang Dr. Jason Gu |
| PlastiCore Technology: Exploring the future of advance lightweight composites to create safer, greener products for the aerospace industry. | Dalhousie University | Ke Wang Dr. Farid Taheri |
| Developing a compressed air energy transmission system as an alternative to the current electrical energy transmission system. Compressed air has the potential to be an efficient and cost-effective solution for storing energy from renewable sources like wind and solar. | Western University | Leila Bakhtiari Dr. Dimitre Karamanev |
| BravoZulu Create is a novel platform that seeks to provide access, community, and a sense of connection between Veterans and others through art and craft. | Dalhousie University | Lynette Peters Dr. Alice Aiken |
| Developing a digital health mobile application that uses arts-based interventions to improve emotional mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression. | Dalhousie University | Marcel Nazabal Amores Dr. Jim Barker |
| Developing an automated and streamlined software quality management platform that improves productivity and reduces software-related risks in the workplace. | Dalhousie University | Mayank Madan Tushar Sharma |
| Exploring major cloud migration challenges in industries to deliver secure, cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly cloud solutions. | Dalhousie University | Mohammad Ramezani Dr. Lu Yang |
| Revolutionizing the process of collecting ocean sound speed profiles. Implementing cutting edge-technology to gather the speed of sound in water, faster than ever. | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Mohammad Reza Mousavi Len Zedel |
| Producing compounds for the sensing of TNT in aqueous solutions. The compounds will selectively detect TNT and can be used as sensors for the importance of public health safety and environmental pollution. | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Monther S. Zreid Dr. Yuming Zhao |
| Re-Life: The digital platform for parents to easily share gently used kids’ items. Connect, give, and save together! | Saint Mary’s University | Muge Avci Kiziltepe Dr. Claudia De Fuentes |
| Addressing surface adhesion challenges with advanced coatings to minimize reliance on temporary solutions in the tire curing process, meaning less downtime and prolonged equipment lifespan. | Dalhousie University  | Pooya Nikbakhsh Dr. George Jarjoura |
| “Ingredients for Health” transforms fruit leftovers into powerful antioxidants, promoting well-being, stability, and sustainability in your favorite products. | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Renan Danielski Dr. Fereidoon Shahidi |
| Developing a growing method that increases the yield while heightening the quality of greenhouse-grown microgreens that offer a variety of health benefits including antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial and more. This makes the plants more economical to grow, and of better quality. | Dalhousie University  | Roksana Saleh Dr. Lord Abbey |
| Inventing a new tool for the oil, mining, and geothermal market: a vibration-reducing attachment, to improve efficiency and safety. | Memorial University of Newfoundland  | Sampath Liyanarachchi Dr. Geoff Rideout |
| TumorTraverse is a platform aimed at transforming how doctors identify and treat tumors. The platform will remove geographic and cost barriers while improving patient outcomes and simplifying the treatment process. | Dalhousie University  | Shadi Dorosti Jeremy Brown |
Fast Facts:
- Lab2Market Validate is a 16-week program that supports research teams to validate their ideas through customer discovery by identifying a problem with commercial value that they can solve.
- Participants will be provided with hands-on support, access to mentorship, a tailored curriculum, and the opportunity to receive $15,000.00 in funding.
- Each research team includes three participants: a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow, the applicant’s supervisor or primary investigator, and an industry mentor from a related business sector.
Dalhousie’s Lab2Market cohorts are made possible with support from the Government of Canada through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Mitacs, and Springboard Atlantic.
Lab2Market Validate is one of a suite of offerings from Dal Innovates that teaches innovation and entrepreneurial skills and attitudes in students. Teams can go on to participate in the Lab2Market Launch accelerator, which is an intensive three-month program that helps teams advance and spin-out new start-ups.
Interested future applicants and mentors can find more information at lab2market.ca.
About Lab2Market:
Lab2Market is a national suite of programs that gives academic research teams the practical skills to spark their passion for entrepreneurship, validate their ideas, and successfully launch innovative new businesses. Funded by the Government of Canada, Mitacs, NSERC, and the Ocean Startup Project, the program is based on the immersive, entrepreneurial I-Corps training program in the United States, and the leading ICURe accelerator program in the United Kingdom.
Learn more at www.lab2market.ca.
About Dal Innovates:
Dalhousie University’s Dal Innovates ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation programs supports students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty across Atlantic Canada’s post-secondary institutions, to develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and mindsets to thrive in the innovation economy. Comprised of 11 units across Dalhousie’s three campuses, the Dal Innovates ecosystem provides the tools necessary to translate new ideas into innovations, commercialize research, build physical products, connect with mentorship, and launch ventures.