Congratulations to the Graham Seed Fund recipients



Ten Waterloo research projects will receive funding to develop health-care solutions

Office of Research

This fall, the University of Waterloo’s Health Initiatives team launched the Graham Seed Fund (GSF) and invited researchers to submit their proposals for innovative health-care solutions. The GSF strengthens the University’s health system partnerships by providing resources for collaborating directly with a full range of health providers and clinicians.

"Waterloo researchers are transforming health-care, particularly in health technology. Collaborating with industry partners enables our researchers to innovate with purpose and bring solutions to the market for real-world impact," says Dr. Catherine Burns , associate vice-president of Health Initiatives.

Ten research proposals have been selected from the 34 that were received. The recipient researchers span across five Waterloo faculties and the partnerships range from local hospitals and provincial health-care providers to industry partners and international universities and organizations.

Here are the ten recipient projects:

Acceptance and usability of the GuardIO, a mobile application to support care partners of persons living with dementia

AI for identifying and addressing inequities in the health systems to improve patient outcomes

A new transdermal patch to continuously and without pain track and treat diabetes

Clinical risk assessment tool for diabetic kidney disease in youth with type 2 diabetes

Development of a website for TB care linkages between the public and private sector providers in Nigeria

  • TB Public-Private Mix Learning Network, Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (Partners)


    • Electronic-free, closed-loop soft robotic regenerative system for assisting people living with knee osteoarthritis

    Enhancing adherence to amblyopia treatment using social robotics

  • University of Waterloo Optometry Clinic (Partner)


    • Microrobotic chemolytic kidney stone removal

  • University Hospital Barcelona, University of Balearic Islands, Devicare (Partners)


    • Virtual psychotherapy for university students enhanced by natural language processing: A randomized pilot study of AI using the Get A-Head software

    Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre, Family Psychology Centre Toronto, Children and Youth Planning Table Region of Waterloo (Partners)

    The GSF is made possible by the J.W. Graham Trust Endowment Fund. Visit the Transformative Health Technologies website to learn more about the fund.