Angels Den to award prizes for research innovation

TORONTO – On Thursday, November 18th, Canadians are invited to tune into St. Michael’s Foundation’s bigger and bolder Angels Den competition streaming online at angelsden.ca. During the hour-long episode, six teams of Canadian scientists will pitch their groundbreaking research ideas to a panel of celebrity judges and compete for almost $500,000 in research prize money.

The judges will review this year’s six research projects in two streams. The first stream, the Keenan Award for Medical Discovery, focuses on transforming scientific discoveries in novel therapies, better diagnostics, vaccines and medical devices that will improve patients’ lives. The second stream, the Odette Award for Health System Innovation, sets out to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, equitability or sustainability of the healthcare system. Each research team will have four minutes to showcase their work and vie for the top prize of $150,000 in each category.

This year, Canadian viewers will need to determine which team should win the largest Canada Life People’s Choice Award to date, a $100,000 prize for their research project. Immediately following the virtual event, viewers will have an opportunity to cast their votes for who they think should win.

“St. Michael’s Hospital is home to some of the best minds in medicine who are committed to finding innovative solutions to some of the world’s toughest health challenges,” says Lili Litwin, president, St. Michael’s Foundation. “In a world where research dollars are critical, it’s more important than ever that we are supporting and funding breakthroughs in health care that will be showcased live at Angels Den.”

Renowned Canadian broadcast personality Maureen Holloway will return as host, alongside three celebrity judges who will weigh in and award the researchers:

• Joe Mimran, entrepreneur and retail guru
• Tracy Moore, award-winning host of Cityline on Citytv
• Samantha Yammine, neuroscientist and popular science communicator, commonly known as Science Sam (@science.sam)

Canadians are encouraged to tune into this special episode of Angels Den at AngelsDen.ca on November 18th at 7:00 pm EST to discover the research projects and cast their votes for the Canada Life People’s Choice Award from 8:00pm to 9:00pm EST. The winner will be announced on Breakfast Television, social media (@stmichaelsfdn) and online.

This event would not be possible without St. Michael’s Foundation’s generous sponsors:

• Top Prize Sponsors: Patrick and Barbara Keenan Foundation and P. & L. Odette Charitable Foundation
• People’s Choice Award Sponsor: Canada Life
• Show Sponsor: Rogers Sports & Media
• Registration Sponsor: Scotiabank and MD Financial Management
• Team Biographies Sponsor: Deloitte
• Where Are They Now Sponsor: RBC
• Team Award Sponsors: Deer Creek Golf & Banquet, John Hunkin & Susan Crocker, and Myhal Family Foundation

About St. Michael’s Hospital
St. Michael’s Hospital is a global powerhouse in research and patient care. Its world-leading physicians, surgeons, scientists and staff take on the toughest health challenges. They dig deep to find solutions to intractable medical problems. They advocate on behalf of those whose health is complicated by life circumstances. They stop at nothing. More information can be found at stmichaelsfoundation.com.