Over the past several years, 3P funding has played a pivotal role in helping Faculty researchers move beyond proof-of-concept. As one previous awardee noted, “The 3P program provided critical funding for creation of our minimum viable product (MVP). Without this funding, our path towards patenting and commercialization would have stalled.” Others report similar progress, citing the “completion of targeted prior-art searches” and “execution of IP-enabling experiments” as key milestones. In several cases, 3P support was described as “instrumental in accelerating these steps,” enabling projects to reach patent readiness within timelines that otherwise would not have been feasible.
In addition to financial support, awardees consistently emphasize the value of structured access to intellectual property expertise. Respondents highlighted “direct access to IP expertise and regular strategic meetings that guided experimental design toward maximal patent impact.” Through this engagement, projects advanced to patent protection and entered “early licensing and commercialization discussions.” Several 3P-supported technologies are now in the final stages of patenting, with teams reporting they are “very close to licensing the technology.”
Importantly, 3P support has not come at the expense of academic impact. One awardee reported, “We published two high impact factor publications,” and noted that their work was also highlighted institutionally. In parallel, translational momentum continued at the bench, with teams “developing peptides and testing them in our model,” and advancing toward refinement of “a lead peptide.” Together, these outcomes demonstrate that commercialization progress and scholarly excellence can advance in tandem.
Building on this track record, the 2025 3P grant continues to reflect the breadth and depth of innovation across the Faculty of Medicine—from novel therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disease and cancer to medical device technologies aimed at improving cardiovascular surgery outcomes.
The 3P grant funds proof-of-concept studies, pre-clinical testing, and commercialization planning. Projects receive up to $30,000 in monetary and in-kind support from the Faculty of Medicine, the investigator’s department or research institute, uOttawa Innovation Support Services (ISS) and industry collaborators. The program emphasizes intellectual property development, market assessment, mentorship, and commercialization planning, with the goal of advancing innovations toward the marketplace. Projects related to brain–heart health are eligible for additional funding from the Brain-Heart Interconnectome (BHI).
All funded projects also align with the Faculty’s Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Social Justice (IDEAS) priorities.
2025 3P Grant Awardees
Dr. Maxime Rousseaux (CMM)
“Genetic and pharmacological enzyme targeting to treat the spread of Parkinson’s disease pathology”
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease with no disease-modifying therapies. A large body of evidence places the synaptic protein alpha-synuclein at the center of PD pathogenesis. Despite increasing understanding of the linkage between alpha-synuclein aggregation and disease manifestation, therapeutic options remain limited. Over the past 10+ years, this team has identified brain-specific proteins that, when inhibited, block alpha-synuclein accumulation. They discovered a genetically and pharmacologically tractable brain-enriched enzyme as a potent modifier of this pathology, representing a novel therapeutic target for PD and related “synucleinopathies". This project aims to advance pre-clinical studies to support patenting and potential commercialization.
Dr. Emilio Alarcon (BMI/UOHI) (Co-investigator: Dr. Marcelo Munoz)
“Small Device for Production of Peptide-Based Vascular Grafts”
Over 500,000 cardiac bypass surgeries are performed annually in North America. A major limitation is the lack of suitable vascular grafts for up to 20% of patients, particularly the elderly, diabetic, or those who have depleted their own conduits. Current synthetic and bioprinted alternatives are slow, fragile, or non-physiologic. This project proposes a patent-pending miniaturized extrusion nozzle that rapidly generates biocompatible vascular grafts in situ, with customizable diameters of 1–6 mm. The next phase will replace initial materials with biomimetic human collagen-like peptides and validate biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, and vascular performance under physiological flow, advancing the technology from TRL 3 to TRL 4 and positioning it for clinical translation.
Dr. Arezu Jahani-Asl (CMM) (Co-investigator: Dianbo Qu)
“Inhibiting OSMR–CLIC1 as a New Therapy for Glioblastoma”
Glioblastoma (GB) remains one of the deadliest human cancers, driven by therapy-resistant stem-like tumor cells and hyperactive oncogenic signaling. The team identified a previously unrecognized interaction between Oncostatin M receptor (OSMR) and chloride intracellular channel 1 (CLIC1) that drives EGFRvIII-STAT3 oncogenic signaling. Through structural modeling, biochemical validation, and peptide engineering, they discovered a 16-amino-acid motif within CLIC1 that disrupts complex formation and inhibits tumor cell proliferation. A blood-brain-barrier-permeable, protease-resistant therapeutic peptide has been optimized for preclinical activity. This project will perform key IP-enabling experiments to advance this therapeutic toward patenting and pre-commercial development.
