Raymond Ng and Wendy Chui Foundation for Innovation in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery

Through a generous donation from the Raymond Ng and Wendy Chui Foundation for Innovation in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery in concert with the University of Toronto Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery will be funding cutting-edge research focused on innovation, commercialization and acceleration of discoveries that will improve the lives of patients in Canada and beyond. The hope is for the fund to be a catalyst in encouraging collaborations across complementary fields and provide the support necessary to ensure a successful innovation process leading to commercialization.

The primary objective of the fund is to support faculty and trainees (residents, fellows or graduate students) to focus on innovation, invention and commercialization. Our hope is that the fund will act as a catalyst for top talent to think beyond small research projects, towards long-term and “big picture” initiatives and impact.

The fund will support innovation awards, devoted to catalyzing new discoveries, inventions and commercialization strategies.

The awards will focus on ideas and proposals that are new and sustainable, provide a pathway towards venture capital and commercialization.

Projects awarded funding to date:

2019

Development and Validation of an Intelligent Otoscope - Drs. Paolo Campisi and Vito Forte

3D Fluorescence Imaging for Guidance of Head & Neck Cancer Surgery - Drs. Michael Daly and Jonathan Irish (Co-Investigators: Harley Chan, John de Almeida, Catriona Douglas, David Goldstein, Nidal Muhanna, Jason Townson, Robert Weersink, Brian Wilson)

Cannabinoids for Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS): An Untapped Novel Therapy - Drs. Amr Hamour and Allan Vescan (Co-Investigators: Jong Wook Lee, John Lee and Eric Monteiro)

2020

Molecular Testing of Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules to Inform Surgical Management - Drs. Jordan Lerner-Ellis and Ian Witterick (Co-Investigators: Scott Boerner, Karen Devon, Karen Gomez Hernandez, Jacqueline James, Christina MacMillan, Ozgur Mete, Eric Monteiro, Jesse Pasternak, Jonathan Wasserman, Nikolaus Wolter, Afshan Zahedi)