We connect early-stage innovators with the facilities, equipment, and healthcare contacts needed to prototype new diagnostics and evaluate them against established tools.
ACAD Core Facilities
New tools face major cost, time, and logistical barriers to commercialization that place small companies at a serious disadvantage when competing against large multinationals
Calgary Metabolomics Research Facility (CMRF)
The CMRF is a $4 million facility designed specifically for investigating the metabolism of infectious diseases.
Diagnostic Prototyping Facility (DPF)
The DPF is an extensively equipped fabrication facility (housing 3D printing, CNC milling, laser cutting, and electronics prototyping) built adjacent to two human pathogen labs (one microbial, the other viral).
Diagnostic Evaluation Facility (DEF)
COMING SOON - ACAD is building a 78m2 BSL-2 facility at the Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) - UCalgary physical interface. This allows projects to operate under UCalgary’s ethics, biosafety, and IP umbrella, while maintaining patient samples and data in the custody of APL.
Lewis Research Group
We harness state-of-the-art analytical technology to unravel the complex host-pathogen dynamics that occur during human infections. Our facility includes an integrated microbiology laboratory, engineering facility and mass spectrometry lab to facilitate research and development of new diagnostic devices.
ACAD Core and Affiliated Programs
The core ACAD programs include: Alberta Precision Exchange (APEX), APEX Access Program and ResistanceDB. The Alberta Diagnostic Ecosystem Platform for Translation is an affiliated program of ACAD. Learn more about our core programs and affiliated program:
Alberta Precision Exchange (APEX)
APEX is a not-for-profit foundation that curates and moderates the agreements between independent partners operating in an IP-protected environment.
APEX Access Program
The APEX Access Program is an EDI mentorship and training program that promotes underrepresented groups in the health diagnostics ecosystem via a province-wide network and mentors from across all of the axes of diversity.
ResistanceDB
We have assembled an international team of infectious disease experts, microbiologists, database experts, and analytical chemistry experts to develop a new approach to treating infections.
Alberta Diagnostic Ecosystem Platform for Translation
Responding to the need innovators have for clinical samples and related data to test, validate and scale their technologies, ADEPT was founded to create access to these key resources.
ACAD will reduce both the time and cost needed to commercialize new tools and will make companies more competitive in the $60B global health diagnostics market.
Biosafety Facilities
ACAD has the BSL-2 compliant infrastructure required to transition Alberta-grown pathogen diagnostic technologies to commercialization
>$60B
Diagnostic tests represent a $60B global market
>70%
Diagnostic tests play a role in >70% of all health treatment decisions
Our Partners
Providing the physical infrastructure and partnerships needed to prototype and validate new diagnostic tools and connect them with Alberta’s end-users
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Extensive fabrication and analytical resources
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Access to patient specimens
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Laboratory space for performance trials
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Feedback from Alberta’s healthcare end-users
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A path to pan-Alberta implementation and potentially global uptake
