UCalgary Precision Health student helps open doors to innovation opportunity

A University of Calgary biomedical technology grad with a flare for networking and bringing new ideas to life is at the forefront of the institute's efforts to advance precision health to the next wave of learners.

When Liam Harrison, MBT’20, learned of the new Precision Health Program (PHP) at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) he saw an opportunity to be part of a growing field.

“I see precision health as an emerging area that’s of interest to me and worth pursuing,” says Harrison, who is now entering his third year of the PHP as part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship stream. “I would say that health innovations don't come to be unless there is a precision health component to them.”

With a passion for science and knowledge of biotech and business, Harrison is applying his skills and interest in a new way. While PHP candidates are not expected to have experience in the innovation and entrepreneurship space — rather, the program is designed for working professionals who want to learn about health-care innovation and entrepreneurship and how it is relevant to their work — Harrison has used his experience to his advantage and to help grow the program. 

In his second year, he was hired as a teaching assistant and became co-creator of the inaugural Precision Health Symposium. What began as a concept to showcase the final experiential-learning projects of the first graduating cohort of master’s students grew into a full-day symposium. The event featured 23 organizations working on precision health technologies and an innovation contest involving teams of more than 30 students who competed for cash prizes provided by UCalgary’s Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.

Harrison envisioned a trade show of sorts to highlight local organizations who were advancing precision health technologies, and to connect these businesses with PHP students who could help develop their products.

“I wanted to expose my classmates to the innovation ecosystem in Calgary and the different teams working in different areas. Then, do the reverse by introducing the people working in these spaces to students who might be interested in roles that maybe they hadn't considered.”

Harrison says the biggest success of the June 18 symposium was building awareness and creating an event that could grow in future years. 

The symposium was a prime example of how precision health students like Harrison have become partners and collaborators who have helped shape the program since it launched in 2021, says Dr. Lisa Fedoruk, MEd'11, PhD'18, interim assistant graduate program director and PHP’s Experiential Learning lead.

“It was an experience where I think we got way more than we expected,” Fedoruk says. “The students thought it was one of the best experiences they've had. Three years of learning and we connected with many more partners.”

As a result of the spring event and Harrison’s initiative, students are doing work placements with new community partners. Also, students have been hired to play roles within the program, including as teaching assistants and sessional instructors, and the program hopes to invite graduates back to participate as guest speakers.

“So, all in all, it really is about supporting our students in way that they can participate in their own learning hands-on, but also in leveraging the experience they've already had to be able to grow the program, because we are new, and it has evolved in unexpected ways," Fedoruk says. 

“We're really lucky with students like Liam. I have to say, I haven't had as much engagement with students outside the classroom as I have within Precision Health.”

Attracts learners from diverse fields

PHP is a one-of-a-kind graduate program offered entirely online. Catered to working professionals, learners can choose between four streams: Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Health Professions Education Leadership, Quality and Safety Leadership or Precision Medicine. The program suits those looking to advance their education and pursue a transdisciplinary career with health-care leadership opportunities.

As a three-year laddered degree, PHP learners can choose to complete a graduate certificate in year one, followed by a graduate diploma and master’s degree. New to the program in the fall of 2024 was the full-time direct-to-master option, a two-year program.

PHP learners come from many industries and fields of expertise. They are pharmacists, data scientists, life-science learners, entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, physicians and others seeking to enhance their education and leadership. Those who choose the Innovation and Entrepreneurship stream learn how to design, develop or evaluate new products or services for clients that can be implemented within public and private health-care systems and organizations. The specialization explores how to go about starting a new venture, how to be an entrepreneurial thinker within existing organizations and how to implement innovations in health-care settings. Students also take courses on the foundations of precision health, health leadership and managing complex projects.

Moving innovations to practice

It is crucial to educate health professionals and others in the design and implementation of innovations, and how entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking help move innovations to practice, says Dr. Jo-Louise Huq, BPE'94, PhD, MBA, Innovation and Entrepreneurship specialization lead and assistant professor (teaching) with the CSM and the Haskayne School of Business. 

“Innovations are inventions that are used by people and organizations — they can be new technologies or other products, new services or new delivery models that lead to improvements in patient care, provider well-being, population health and to the sustainability of our health-care system,” says Huq. “Innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and entrepreneurship are desperately needed in health care, and the Precision Health Program’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship specialization provides focused education and skills-building for our students.”

As part of their training, final-year learners complete precision health-oriented experiential learning placements in partnership with academic, industry or community partners. Some students choose to work with UCalgary organizations as researchers or project team members, while others join external community partners to do work such as environmental scans, data analysis, marketing and project management, quality and safety processes for emergency departments, pharmacogenomic testing for patients with mental health conditions, and more. 

Harrison will work with an organization developing a mental health and wellness app to be used in schools. He says there are several ways to have an impact in health innovation.

“It doesn’t have to be a start up, it doesn’t have to be in academia or health care, there’s a bunch of connective tissue and other opportunities that you may not know exist.”

Harrison says the skills he’s learned about project management have been the most useful — learnings he implemented in planning the spring symposium. “There are projects everywhere, and in every sector, so being able to set a timeline and understand the nuances, and knowing how to address individual pieces so that the whole thing comes together is probably the most valuable and transferable component,” he says.

Innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities in Alberta have grown significantly in the past four years, Harrison adds. There are increasingly more programs available and supports from different organizations all trying to work together to advance the life sciences in Alberta.

“I think it's been very successful, or is on its way to being successful, in providing the necessary supports to take things from a research setting all the way through to a viable product that is helping patients and people and, hopefully, the economy, too,” Harrison says.