Quickening the pulse of biomedical innovation

“Half her jaw was lost,” explains Dr. Zeeshan Shiekh, a clinical scientist and assistant professor in ����tv’s Faculty of Dentistry.

Jones now has difficulty speaking, chewing and swallowing, and concerns about her appearance. Next, she will undergo a long surgery to replace her missing jaw with bone harvested from her leg. This will be painful and traumatic, and the new bone may not support her dental implants.

In years to come, however, patients like Jones may have a less invasive, more comfortable option that’s cheaper and more readily available: a customized titanium graft (that can be 3D printed at Dal Engineering), which, once coated with calcium phosphate, will support bone growth to optimize reconstruction of her face.

It’s one of the innovations Dr. Shiekh is working on at , where he designs novel biomaterials for periodontal and orthopedic tissue. One day soon, the lab will fit under the umbrella of Dal’s future Pulse BioMed Hub.

Success for oncology is cancer-free. Success for me is that, plus restored anatomy and function. — Dr. Zeeshan Shiekh

Cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research

Dr. Sheikh’s research is promising for not only cancer patients, but also others with bone loss due to accidents, gum disease or other surgeries. It could potentially one day also support bone growth in arms, legs or the spine.

Some of the other Dal biomaterials researchers joining the hub alongside Dr. Sheikh are exploring ways to manage pain, fight infection and repair tissue.

Though their collective work is diverse and wide-reaching, there are commonalities. It is multidisciplinary, often connecting biomaterials scientists in the Faculty of Dentistry with other health professionals and biomedical engineers. It also bridges researchers with regulators and business partners at ����tv and beyond to get their innovations to market.

Ideas move back and forth between the clinic and the lab. However, moving a discovery from the lab toward real-world use is complex. It requires specialized equipment, regulatory knowledge, industry partnerships and coordinated support. — Dr. Sheikh. 

“The hub represents a way to connect people, infrastructure and expertise so promising ideas don’t stall between discovery and impact. It can help streamline how innovations are tested, refined, protected and eventually shared with the world,” says Dr. Sheikh.

It means researchers and clinicians can spend less time navigating fragmented systems and more time solving problems like restoring function and quality of life for patients.

For Dal, the hub strengthens the university’s ability to translate discoveries into tangible benefits for patients, communities and the economy. “It signals that Dal is serious about turning compassion-driven research into solutions that improve lives, locally and globally,” says Dr. Sheikh.

If you build it, they will come

Dr. Mark Filiaggi, who serves as associate dean, research & graduate studies in Dal’s Faculty of Dentistry, is also a key champion of the Pulse BioMed Hub.

He explains that the hub has two key infrastructure components where researchers, clinicians and entrepreneurs will access specialized resources to move their ideas from early discovery to market:

Both will have biosafety-certified wet labs that are crucial for providing a controlled environment for hands-on experiments with liquids, chemicals and biological materials. Plus, a fee-for-service model will give external researchers lab access.

Nova Scotia has set an ambitious target of growing the life sciences sector to $1 billion by 2032. The hub, Dr. Filiaggi says, supports the province’s strategy to build its biotech sector and improve the health of Nova Scotians.

The Pulse Biomed Hub will provide the training, mentorship and infrastructure that we need to move great science into real solutions for communities. — Dr. Santerre.

Treating patients with inflammatory diseases better, faster

Through her research, biomedical sciences master’s student Kaitlyn Woodworth (BEng’24) is working to improve therapeutic approaches to treating inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, periodontitis and pulmonary fibrosis. The new approaches she’s testing could allow for more efficient treatment delivery, reducing a patient’s reliance on medications, along with their negative side effects.

Woodworth is part of a Dal Innovates’  that helps researchers validate their ideas to find business/commercial value. She says it’s been a necessary grounding.

“Everyone is really excited about your [scientific] idea, but the feasibility is what you need to anchor yourself in,” Woodworth says.

Through speaking with other clinicians, regulators, start-ups and investors, she’s gotten a clearer understanding of what hurdles she’ll face. And, she says, the Pulse BioMed Hub will accelerate work like hers even further.

“The emphasis it will bring on clinical relevance and clinical translation along with real-world constraints is so important.  It will make it easier to engage across industries, labs and areas of expertise,” Woodworth says. “With shared equipment and facilities, we’ll be able to refine our testing faster to see what really works. Plus, mentorship; it really does help to have that guidance.”

Research nucleus

When Dr. Sheikh arrived at Dal in 2019. he didn’t plan to stay long-term, but that’s changed. He says he feels absolutely encouraged at ����tv to strive for more.

“We have a strong nucleus of research happening at Dal,” says Dr. Sheikh. “We have the opportunity to surpass any institution in Canada. People just need to come together and do it.”

Together, these researchers, clinicians and innovators are building more than a hub — they’re shaping a future where world-class biomedical breakthroughs that emerge from Nova Scotia can change lives far beyond it. With the Pulse BioMed Hub, ����tv is poised to deliver real-world solutions at a pace that matches the urgency of patient need. The foundation is set, the talent is here, and the path from discovery to impact has never been clearer.