Season 3, Episode 7: Dr. Frank Merante, Professor & Applied Research Co-ordinator at Seneca's School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry, and Chad Leaver, Director of Applied Research in Seneca Innovation

About Today's Show

In today's episode, we speak with two guests: Dr. Frank Merante, Professor & Applied Research Coordinator at Seneca's School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry; and Chad Leaver, Director of Applied Research in Seneca Innovation.

Seneca College, along with Seneca Innovation, and industry partners, are involved in some leading edge applied research that have amazing, practical outcomes that help save lives. In today's show, we'll look at a couple of those innovations, as well as dive into the crucial role Seneca Innovation plays in helping ideas transform into products in the marketplace.

Also in this episode, we talk about:

1. Exciting projects that are specifically designed to respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

2. What are some of the key ingredients of innovation, and how the absence of spontaneous conversations during the pandemic has impacted innovation.

3. How students can get involved with Seneca Innovation and participate in world-class, ground breaking research.

4. Lots more!

About Today's Guests

Dr. Frank Merante

In addition to being Professor & Applied Research Coordinator at Seneca's School of Biological Sciences and Applied Chemistry, Dr. Merante is also the Principal Scientist for the Seneca Centre for Innovation in Life Sciences (SCILS). Dr. Merante has been instrumental in establishing applied research capabilities at Seneca. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, and has traversed multiple disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology and human genetics. Dr. Merante was the recipient of Seneca Innovation's Research Leader of the Year Award in 2020.

Dr. Merante was also nominated for his efforts in two applied research projects conducted at Seneca to combat COVID-19. The first project with Kenota Health helped produce three key proteins associated with COVID-19 for use in an immunodiagnostic device. The second project with Giftgowns is working to produce a long-lasting antimicrobial spray to sanitize surfaces.

Chad Leaver

In addition to his role as Director of Applied Research in Seneca Innovation, Chad has led community, provincial and national research programs focused on the assessment of health system transformation, technology innovation, data asset creation and advanced analytics. Most recently, he led innovation and research partnerships focused on improving health system sustainability and modernization through digital health solutions and virtually enabled models of care. Chad has a Masters of Science in community health and epidemiology ,and an MBA from both Cornell and Queen's universities.

Important Links and Contact Information:

The Seneca Innovation website:

https://www.senecacollege.ca/innovation.html

All COVID-19 related information, questions or concerns should be sent to health@senecacollege.ca

For Updates on Seneca's Policies Regarding COVID-19, visit here:

https://inside.senecacollege.ca/health

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Thanks for listening!

Pat Perdue