A project to improve care for critically ill newborns and their families; a way to create documents digitally following a disaster; a device to improve rehabilitation of lower limb injuries.
Plus, sensors to detect alkylating agents used in chemical warfare and chemotherapy; and the ability to address technical challenges of interactive technology during live performances.
These five projects are being worked on by UCalgary faculty who have been awarded this year's Parex Resources Innovation Fellowships.
"The fellowships are open to all faculty members from across campus," Dr. Pierre Kennepohl, PhD, a chemist and associate dean for community and innovation in the Faculty of Science, said before an awards ceremony held in May. "It's one of the best parts of my job to read the applications and see the amazing things people are doing.
"This year, we've got two fellows from Science, one from Nursing, one from Social Work and one from the Schulich School of Engineering."
The fellowships have been awarded annually since October 2019 when an endowment was created by alum Wayne Foo and Parex Resources Inc., a Calgary-based company.
The support helps to drive the university's culture of entrepreneurship, contributes to its reputation as a top startup creator in Canada and anchors it in the Calgary business community.
The 2025-25 Parex Innovation Fellows are:
Karen Benzies
Dr. Karen Benzies, PhD, is a leading researcher in maternal and child health in the Faculty of Nursing who brings decades of expertise to her fellowship. She's working to expand a family-integrated care model in Alberta neonatal intensive care units by providing education to health care providers.
Karen Benzies shows a student a tool to expand a family-integrated care model in Alberta neonatal intensive care units.
Colette Derworiz
"We teach nurses and doctors how to bring stressed and anxious parents of critically ill newborns into the care team," she says. "With that model of care, we improve the quality of care, families are less stressed, less anxious, less depressed and more confident. They can take their babies home two-and-a-half days sooner and the health system avoids costs."
Tested in an Alberta clinical trial, it's now the standard of care in all 14 NICUs (neonatal intensive care units) in the province. The team has also partnered with Health P.E.I.
Julie Drolet
Dr. Julie Drolet, PhD, a professor in the Faculty of Social Work, wants to help communities better prepare for, and recover from, disasters. She was awarded a fellowship to create digital tools that empower individuals and families to protect vital records before emergencies occur.
"We know that there's a need to improve disaster preparedness," she says. "One of the critical challenges that people face after they've been evacuated from a community is accessing those essential documents that they need to start the recovery process."
Drolet says it's an important project with the increasing risk of wildfires, floods and other disasters.
Amin Komeili
Dr. Amin Komeili, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the Schulich School of Engineering, is transforming how lower limb injuries are treated and rehabilitated.
His project aims to bring a novel, research-backed rehabilitation tool to market.
Komeili's research explores how different physical activities and loading conditions influence joint health to uncover the mechanisms behind joint function and disease. It bridges engineering innovation with clinical impact, offering hope for patients recovering from musculoskeletal injuries.
Jennifer Love
Dr. Jennifer Love, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science, has built a career at the forefront of organometallic chemistry. She has been awarded a fellowship for her project, Indicators for Alkylating Agents Used in Chemical Warfare and Cancer Chemotherapy. It focuses on creating detection tools for highly reactive chemicals with both therapeutic and toxic potential.
"Cancer chemotherapy was derived from chemical warfare agents, believe it or not," she explains.
Love says there are compounds that can detect chemical warfare agents and anti-cancer agents.
The Parex funding will allow her to do market research to take the next steps for the detection tools.
Lora Oehlberg
Dr. Lora Oehlberg, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and a human-computer interaction researcher. Her background in design theory and creativity support tools informs her project: exploring the technical hurdles of integrating interactive technologies into live performance development.
Her project builds on an ongoing collaboration with Christine Brubaker, associate professor of drama in the Faculty of Arts, and will focus on addressing the technical challenges of bringing a live performance that integrates mobile augmented reality and wearable computing to a wide audience.
The five winners were announced during this year's FutureFWD event, which showcased UCalgary's most exciting advancements in research, technology and entrepreneurship at Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
Parex Innovation Fellowships encourage innovation
The fellowships are made possible by a $3.24-million endowment by alum Wayne Foo and Parex Resources Inc., a Calgary-based company involved in oil exploration, development, and production in Colombia. They are designed to encourage diverse innovation by supporting researchers across the university to explore new ideas and insights that drive innovation and facilitate innovation transfer from concepts into practical solutions.
