A University of Calgary student team is receiving international accolades for its work on a new way of detecting one of the world's most prominent health conditions.
The Biomedical Engineering Research and Innovation Team (BMERIT) has been developing DNADetect, a modular biosensor project aimed at addressing delays in neurodegenerative disease diagnosis, specifically Alzheimer's disease. The goal of DNADetect is to create a non-invasive, low-cost biosensor capable of early biomarker detection.
The team, made up of engineering, biological sciences, chemistry and physics undergraduate students, traveled to Kyushu, Japan in November for the annual BIOMOD Jamboree. The jamboree is an annual conference where teams present their biomolecular design projects.
The team which included Meagan Davies, Sana Wahab, Amber Quo, Jezrael Carpio, Stavan Patel, Emma Klaffke, and Ziyad Syed won a bronze medal for their efforts.
Proud to represent UCalgary
Quo says the team was delighted, adding it was a significant achievement after having not participated in the event since 2019.
"It was a reflection of our hard work and perseverance over the last year," she says. "This recognition on a global stage highlights the potential of our biosensor and we are proud to have been able to represent the University of Calgary."
The team received logistics and project management support from team president Muhammad Ansari, former cellular and chemical systems lead Matthew Arango, BSc (Eng)'24, and faculty members from across UCalgary.
A fast and simple DNA test
Nearly 750,000 Canadians have Alzheimer's or another type of dementia, according to Statistics Canada. The condition affects nearly one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over 80.
However, getting accurate and timely information after an initial test can be excruciating, says Patel.
"Current diagnostic processes leave patients unable to confidently know if they have Alzheimer's after a check-in with their primary physician," he says. "They have to wait months to get access to imaging scans and assessments, which can provide better diagnoses, but their disease usually progresses by that point."
Results in 30 minutes
Carpio says DNADetect's early biomarker-detection ability will allow patients to get results within 30 minutes.
"Like many other health conditions and diseases, early detection is key in mitigating the challenges created by Alzheimer's," says Carpio.
The team's goal is to make the technology available to clinicians by offering it as an option alongside blood tests when lab work is requested.
Stay tuned for more
Last year will be remembered as an action-packed one for the BMERIT students, as they took their proof-of-concept closer to reality.
Aside from the showing at the BIOMOD event, they were recognized with the People's Choice Award at MindFuel's 2024 Tech Futures Challenge's Prototype Showcase in June.
The team poses after claiming bronze. Photo Courtesy Biomedical Engineering Research and Innovation Team
Testament to collaboration
"The success of our device was a collaborative effort of so many groups, and, without everyone's commitment to the team, this would never have been possible," Ansari says. "By being resilient and putting our best foot forward everyday to further our project, we were able to come to a successful result."
Heading into 2025, he says they have already started recruiting new team members to work toward the next BIOMOD competition in November, while current students will help serve as mentors (much like Ansari and Arango were). These students are now creating experimental protocols and preparation for the summer.
Some team members have also joined the Hunter Hub's LaunchPad program in hopes of commercializing their product, while they are also working on a publication to share their work in the months ahead.
Follow BMERIT on Instagram here.
The multidisciplinary team of faculty members involved in this project include Dr. Mark Ungrin, PhD; Dr. Michael Kallos, BSc (Eng)'95, PhD'99; Dr. Amanda Musgrove, PhD; Dr. Max Anikovskiy, PhD; Dr. Elmar Josef Prenner, PhD; Dr. Elena Di Martino, PhD; Dr. Vanina Zaremberg, PhD; Dr. Anders Nygren, PhD; Dr. Brianne Burkinshaw, PhD; Dr. Pratik Narain Srivastava, PhD; Nicholas Perewernycky, BSc (Eng)'21; Spencer Lisowski, BSc (Eng)'24; and Dr. Diego Rodriguez.
The University of Calgary's multidisciplinary Engineering Solutions for Health: Biomedical Engineering research strategy drives innovations that are saving lives and revolutionizing health care for Canadians. With collaborative teams focused on human mobility, health monitoring, advanced biomedical imaging, precision biodiagnostics, regenerative medicine and novel medical technologies, our researchers are transforming quality of life and continuously improving the health system.
