The Rogers Foundation announces a second landmark gift, building on its $130 million gift in 2014, to sustain the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research in perpetuity and bring the promise of precision cardiac health to patients across Canada and globally. In 2014, the...
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Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO) is a specialized experiential training program led by veteran entrepreneurs and consultants across a variety of sectors. ECHO provides innovators of cardiovascular technologies with entrepreneurship training, mentorship, networking, and funding opportunities.
To reach teams across Canada, ECHO is a fully virtual program.
Ventures accepted into ECHO are required to:
Any Canadian-based clinician, researcher, student and/or entrepreneur developing advanced cardiovascular technologies and innovations is eligible to apply. This is an ideal opportunity for researchers, postdoctoral fellows, clinical trainees and graduate students who are self-starters and want to refine their career path in a knowledge-based economy while working in an innovation-based environment.
ECHO is a specialized experiential training program whose main objectives are to:
Founded in 2018, this 12-month online training program is led by high-calibre entrepreneurial industry, policy, regulatory and clinical experts. It comprises five unique complementary modules.
Our program is funded and organized in a partnership between:
For more information, contact ECHO co-founder Soror Sharifpoor, also director of strategy and translation for the Centre’s Translational Biology and Engineering Program.
The MaRS Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshops are a collection of experiential and hands-on workshops that are facilitated by veteran entrepreneurs. It targets such fundamental entrepreneurship principles as value proposition, business models, finance fundamentals, marketing and communication, and pitching to investors.
A series of interactive workshops focused on key subjects pivotal to the success of early stage start-ups in the health sector such as market research, corporate governance, intellectual property, regulatory strategy, clinical trials, quality systems, health technology assessment, procurement, funding and government resources, and investments, and partnerships.
They are facilitated by academic, industry and government subject matter experts.
A webinar series in which successful entrepreneurs and business leaders share their experiences in commercializing technologies in the cardiovascular health sector.
Guest speakers include executives and founders of medical device, biotechnology and digital health companies.
Successfully ranked ventures will become clients of the Health Innovation Hub (H2i) with access to: (1) H2i’s extensive network of industry, government and academic advisors; (2) peer-to-peer mentorship by start-up mentors selected from H2i’s venture portfolio; (3) professional funding; and (4) H2i events (e.g. Accelera program).
The program will culminate with pitch training, private pitch sessions and ECHO PITCH 2023: a public competition event, where the program ventures will have the opportunity to win start-up funding from a $250,000 pool. There will also be opportunities for follow-on funding via our partners.
Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO) is a specialized hands-on training program led by veteran entrepreneurs and consultants across a variety of sectors.
Dr. Michael McDonald is a cardiologist at Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, and a member of the cardiovascular investigations unit and heart function, heart transplant, and ventricular assist device clinics. His clinical focus is the management of patients with advanced heart failure, implantable devices and cardiac transplantation. Dr. McDonald’s areas of academic interest include clinical guideline development and knowledge translation, multilevel medical education, and quality improvement in heart failure.
Michelle Bendeck is professor and director of research in the U of T’s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology. Principal investigator for Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, she runs a vascular biology lab that investigates molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Best known for pioneering work in vascular matrix biology, Michelle is a Heart and Stroke Foundation Career Investigator and past president of the Canadian Society of Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
Bio to come
Bio to come
Dr. Mansoor Husain is executive director of the Ted Rogers Centre. Professor of medicine at U of T, Dr. Husain is attending physician in the cardiac intensive care unit and nuclear cardiology laboratories of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. His extensive research focuses on elucidating the molecular bases of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure and diabetes, and identifying therapeutic targets involved in pathophysiology.
Bio to come
A frequent contributor to CBC News, Dr. Peter Lin is director of primary care initiatives at the Canadian Heart Research Centre. The Toronto family physician is associate editor of Elsevier’s PracticeUpdate Primary Care, as well as medical director of LinCorp Medical Inc. Dr. Lin was medical director at the Health & Wellness Centre at U of T Scarborough for seven years. He lectures and speaks throughout the world and maintains two busy family practices in Toronto.
Bio to come
Soror Sharifpoor is director of strategy & translation at the Ted Rogers Centre's Translational Biology and Engineering Program where she implements sustainable research plans, successful partnerships, scientific and clinical translation strategies, an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and multifaceted training programs in the cardiovascular health sector. She is co-founder of Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO). Soror has over 15 years of experience in the fields of biomaterials, biomedical engineering, and regenerative medicine, specializing in cardiovascular and soft tissue research and innovation.
Bio to come
Bio to come
Nadia Thomson is a nurse practitioner in the Ted Rogers Centre, with a specialty-based practice in advanced heart failure. In addition to her clinical practice, she has an interest in developing educational resources for patients living with heart failure and using remote monitoring programs to improve patient care. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at University of Toronto and currently teaches in the nurse practitioner program.
Dr. Michael McDonald is a cardiologist at Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, and a member of the cardiovascular investigations unit and heart function, heart transplant, and ventricular assist device clinics. His clinical focus is the management of patients with advanced heart failure, implantable devices and cardiac transplantation. Dr. McDonald’s areas of academic interest include clinical guideline development and knowledge translation, multilevel medical education, and quality improvement in heart failure.
Michelle Bendeck is professor and director of research in the U of T’s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology. Principal investigator for Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, she runs a vascular biology lab that investigates molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Best known for pioneering work in vascular matrix biology, Michelle is a Heart and Stroke Foundation Career Investigator and past president of the Canadian Society of Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
Bio to come
Bio to come
Dr. Mansoor Husain is executive director of the Ted Rogers Centre. Professor of medicine at U of T, Dr. Husain is attending physician in the cardiac intensive care unit and nuclear cardiology laboratories of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. His extensive research focuses on elucidating the molecular bases of cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure and diabetes, and identifying therapeutic targets involved in pathophysiology.
Bio to come
A frequent contributor to CBC News, Dr. Peter Lin is director of primary care initiatives at the Canadian Heart Research Centre. The Toronto family physician is associate editor of Elsevier’s PracticeUpdate Primary Care, as well as medical director of LinCorp Medical Inc. Dr. Lin was medical director at the Health & Wellness Centre at U of T Scarborough for seven years. He lectures and speaks throughout the world and maintains two busy family practices in Toronto.
Bio to come
Soror Sharifpoor is director of strategy & translation at the Ted Rogers Centre's Translational Biology and Engineering Program where she implements sustainable research plans, successful partnerships, scientific and clinical translation strategies, an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and multifaceted training programs in the cardiovascular health sector. She is co-founder of Entrepreneurship for Cardiovascular Health Opportunities (ECHO). Soror has over 15 years of experience in the fields of biomaterials, biomedical engineering, and regenerative medicine, specializing in cardiovascular and soft tissue research and innovation.
Bio to come
Bio to come
Nadia Thomson is a nurse practitioner in the Ted Rogers Centre, with a specialty-based practice in advanced heart failure. In addition to her clinical practice, she has an interest in developing educational resources for patients living with heart failure and using remote monitoring programs to improve patient care. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at University of Toronto and currently teaches in the nurse practitioner program.