FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT

Two SickKids Innovations Selected for Second Year of the Technology Advancement Program

Industry Partnerships & Commercialization (IP&C) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 SickKids Technology Advancement Program (TAP).

Led by IP&C, TAP provides funding, structured guidance, project governance, and strategic networking opportunities to help de-risk late-stage pre-clinical technologies and advance them toward key development milestones. The program is supported by the SickKids Commercialization Advisory Board (CAB), a group of experienced industry, investment, and commercialization leaders who provide expert feedback and evaluation throughout the process.

This year’s competition showcased the strength and diversity of innovations being developed across our institution, with applications spanning therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, and software. Following a competitive review process that included expressions of interest, full project proposals, internal assessments, and finalist pitch presentations, two projects were selected to receive 2026 TAP funding:

Clinical Implementation of DNA Methylation Analysis for Neurodevelopmental Disorder Diagnostics

Dr. Robert Siddaway | Diagnostic Innovation Investigator, Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine

Building on the foundational work of Dr. Rosanna Weksberg, Clinical Geneticist in the Division of Clinical and Metabolic Genetics, this project will support the clinical implementation of EpigenCentralDx, a SickKids-developed platform that uses DNA methylation signatures to improve the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders. By helping resolve uncertain genetic findings and provide greater diagnostic clarity, the technology has the potential to inform more targeted care plans while establishing the first Canadian clinical DNA methylation testing service for neurodevelopmental disorders.

PACE Health: Fast, Automatic, Paediatric Echocardiography Annotation

Dr. Luc Mertens | Adjunct Scientist, Translational Medicine Program, Division of Cardiology

PACE Health is developing an AI-powered platform that automates the analysis of paediatric echocardiograms, enabling clinicians to generate objective, reproducible measurements of cardiac function. By reducing measurement variability and expanding access to specialized functional cardiac assessment, the technology has the potential to support faster clinical decision-making and improve care for critically ill children.

IP&C extends its sincere thanks to the members of the CAB for their expertise and ongoing commitment to the program. Together with initiatives such as the Invention to Innovation (I2I) Education Series and Proof of Principle (PoP) Grant Competition, TAP is helping strengthen the innovation pathway at SickKids by supporting technologies as they advance toward clinical and commercial readiness.

This continued growth reflects the value of collaboration, investment, partnership, and mentorship across the SickKids innovation ecosystem, helping more promising discoveries move closer to benefiting children and families.

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