From a first-of-its-kind all-natural, long-lasting fabric spray tick repellent and a promising new drug to treat ALS, to an antimicrobial surface coating that kills drug-resistant bacteria on contact and breakthrough lightweight materials poised to revolutionize the automotive industry, eleven Canadian innovators were recognized for their game-changing Made-in-Canada innovations.
The awards were presented on November 17 by Mitacs, a leading innovation organization that connects businesses and researchers with unrivalled access to talent, financial support, and the partnerships needed to turn ideas into impactful innovations. The ceremony includes five awards for Outstanding Innovation as well as awards honouring the Inclusive Innovator of the Year, two awards for Outstanding Research Leadership, two awards for Canadian Start-Up Innovator of the Year, and Canadian Enterprise Innovator of the Year.
The 2025 Mitacs Innovation Award winners are:
Nicoletta Faraone, an Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department at Acadia University and head of the university’s new Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation, for spearheading the development of a first-of-its-kind, Canadian-made all-natural and long-lasting fabric spray tick repellent. With Nova Scotia facing the highest number of ticks per capita and the most cases of Lyme disease in Canada, Faraone set out to better understand the tick smell and taste system. The breakthrough product — an alternative to synthetic insect repellents like DEET— is expected to be on the market by next summer.
Dr. Tae-Ho Kim, postdoctoral fellow in the Biomechatronic Systems Laboratory at Simon Fraser University, earned Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation for his groundbreaking work to design a first-of-its-kind self-powered continuous blood pressure (BP) monitor — a neckband with earphones — that provides measurements every few seconds. Dr. Kim came up with the idea for a sensor-based neckband when dealing with his own hypertension, noticing that his doctor had to spend extra time obtaining multiple BP readings using a traditional arm cuff device and thought there had to be a better way.
Dr. Sara Imani, a postdoctoral researcher at McMaster University, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation, for developing a first-of-its-kind coating that promises to reduce infection risk on high touch surfaces in high traffic areas, including hospitals, schools, businesses, airports, grocery stores and more. Applied like a standard paint or surface finish, the coating has demonstrated more than 99 percent efficacy at killing on contact pathogens like MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa — resilient, healthcare-associated bacteria known for causing hard-to-treat infections and contaminating hospital surfaces and medical equipment. The product has shown to remain effective over time, actively eliminating bacteria from surfaces.
Nitesh Sanghai, a PhD candidate in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Manitoba, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation for his breakthrough ALS drug discovery — a promising drug that brings hope for a better quality and longer life to the estimated 3,000 to 4,000 Canadians living with the debilitating disease. Patented and trademarked as Borsantrazole™, the drug has a demonstrated ability to delay disease onset, prevent ALS induced weight loss and most importantly, extend life in humanized preclinical ALS mouse models.
Nello David Sansone, a post-doctoral researcher working in University of Toronto’s Multifunctional Composites Manufacturing Laboratory (MCML), earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Innovation for inventing two breakthrough materials that are poised to revolutionize the automotive industry. Sansone has designed lightweight alternatives to the industry-standard glass-filled polypropylene (plastic) materials currently used by car manufacturers, giving manufacturers lighter, high-impact components they need to design cars that use less energy to drive longer distances, whether fueled by gas or electric batteries. The breakthrough materials achieve a 20 percent improvement in strength while reducing weight by 18 percent.
Anne Laurie, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Education (Child Studies) at Concordia University, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Inclusive Innovator of the Year for her novel work to develop a first-of-its-kind equitable Developmental Language Disorder assessment tool that is filling a gap in the speech-language and ed tech markets. The tool, now offered on an online platform, is the first of its kind to provide a culturally sensitive way to distinguish between language difference (characterized by an accent or a second language) and Developmental Language Disorder (genuine difficulty in understanding or using language), ensuring children who need early intervention get it and those who don’t avoid being mislabelled.
Faramarz Samavati, a Computer Science Professor at the University of Calgary, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Research Leadership, for his role in developing a first-of-its-kind, made-in-Canada 3D digital earth system, launched as an alternative to traditional geographic information systems (GISs) like Google Maps that represent the Earth as flat. The next-generation mapping system not only helps us understand what’s going on at the earth’s surface, but beneath our feet and above the ground as well.
Fattah Haeri, a biomedical engineer and recent MBA graduate at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Canadian Start-Up Innovator of the Year, for his breakthrough company Femera Med Tech, which he co-founded to usher in a “new era in female health.” With an estimated one in two Canadian women over age 65 experiencing urinary incontinence, Femera is commercializing a revolutionary new treatment — a vaginal probe that restores tissue elasticity and strengthens pelvic floor muscles — offering women an affordable, accessible and minimally invasive alternative to surgery.
Dr. Narjes Allahrabbi, a postdoctoral researcher working in the Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering Department at Toronto Metropolitan University, earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Canadian Start-Up Innovator of the Year, for a novel sperm enhancement device that fills a gap in the market as an affordable, accessible alternative to in vitro fertilization IVFfor male infertility patients. The device – an automated sperm preparation technology – gently separates unhealthy sperm from healthy sperm. Her innovation led to the launch of Toronto-based start-up Fertilead, which is now in the process of developing both clinical and at-home versions of the technology, with a pre-clinical validation study expected to start early next year.
Lucas Hof, a Mechanical Engineering professor and director of the Montreal-based Laboratory for Smart and Circular Manufacturing at École de technologie supérieure (ETS), earned a Mitacs Innovation Award — Outstanding Research Leadership for his novel work to boost Canada’s manufacturing sector. With the support of more than 40 Mitacs interns over six years, his innovations range from recyclable 3D printed shoes and intelligent industrial safety systems, to flexible solar panels and manufacturing parts from textile waste. The breakthroughs have helped manufacturers of all sizes, from one-person start-ups to large enterprises of 1,000 employees or more, to build smart, economical and eco-friendly next-generation solutions in response to real-world challenges.
Hydro-Québec, energy sector leader, earned the Mitacs Innovation Award — Canadian Enterprise Innovator of the Year for its pioneering work to build a sustainable, resilient, and innovation-driven future for Canada based on clean energy. Through its innovation hub — the Institut de recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ) — and with the help of hundreds of Mitacs interns, Hydro-Québec is working to develop next-generation technologies to improve grid reliability, integrate renewable energy sources and accelerate the move away from fossil fuels. The company’s student-led research spans emerging fields such as AI, cybersecurity, digital twins, robotics and advanced materials.
In congratulating the winners, Mitacs CEO Dr. Stephen Lucas reflected on the importance of innovation talent in shaping Canada’s future. “At a time when we need to build a stronger and more resilient economy, these eleven innovators and organizations demonstrate what’s possible when we invest in ideas, talent, and innovation,” Dr. Lucas said.
For more information about the Mitacs awards and a full list of winners, visit https://www.mitacs.ca/news-and-events/.
About Mitacs
For over 25 years, Mitacs has helped grow the economy and develop the workforce of tomorrow, connecting industry with academia and global partners to solve real-world challenges. We support business-academic research collaboration through internships, co-funded with businesses, for undergraduate to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. As a national innovation connector, Mitacs takes a talent-first approach to strengthen innovation capacity and drive global competitiveness. We serve as an essential research-commercialization bridge, accelerating market entry and growth for new products and services. This is a critical time for Canada to think big and take bold action. Mitacs is ready to help build a strong and resilient Canadian economy, powered by ideas, talent and innovation.
Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.
