Colin Dalton

Dr. Dalton is a biomedical engineer specializing in advanced micro/nano manufacturing technologies for biomedical applications. His research outcomes often include opportunities to develop customized medical micro-devices for clinical use. Furthermore, his extensive background in knowledge translation, supports his collaborative and interdisciplinary research approach to advancing healthcare solutions.

Dr. Dalton’s academic career showcases the importance he places on connecting innovation to finding solutions to real-world problems. In 2017, he co-founded Neuraura Biotech Inc., a spin-out company focused on understanding the brain and how biomedical engineering can be used to help people affected by neurological, psychiatric and sensory disorders. His research on brain machine interfaces, helped him develop microelectrodes used for sensing action potentials of individual and groups of neurons in-vitro. Additionally, his team designed 3D microelectrodes use to analyze and track electrical activity in the brain, which offer a breakthrough in diagnosing and treating brain conditions. Based on this research, Dr. Dalton has four patents pending, which form the technological foundation of his spin-out company Neuraura.

Since its creation, the Neuraura team has won multiple entrepreneurial competitions and received numerous awards and honours. Winning the 2018 TENET i2c competition, provided initial funding which enabled the spin-out to complete additional milestones and build research momentum. Graduating from the first cohort of the Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies (CDL) program led to many important connections in the Calgary entrepreneurial ecosystem and beyond. Additionally, Colin and Neuraura were selected to represent the Schulich School of Engineering, the University of Calgary, and Canada in the 2018 Falling Walls start-up of the year international competition in Germany. 2019 was another successful year for Neuraura. The company was accepted into the Canadian Technology Accelerator in San Francisco (CTA), in collaboration with California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI), followed by wins at the Banff Venture Forum, and the XPOMET© Medicinale in Berlin. Neuraura capped off 2019 as an ASTech Award finalist for Outstanding Science and Technology Start-Up.

As someone who actively champions technology, innovation and giving back, Dr. Dalton will use his Innovation Fellowship for two main purposes. First, he plans to formalize an internal mentorship program at the University of Calgary. This will allow Dr. Dalton time to engage in mentoring students and student teams, helping them navigate through the current innovation ecosystem. Furthermore, he will continue to develop and build relationships with the Hunter Hub, Creative Destruction Lab – Rockies (CDL), student iGEM teams, hack-a-thon programs, and other campus innovation groups to strengthen the campus innovation culture. Secondly, Dr. Dalton will establish an entrepreneurial ‘alumni group’ to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. Consisting of successful entrepreneurial academics, students, and others in Calgary, they will mentor students, provide feedback, speak at events, and share their diverse experiences related to business, innovation and why they chose their entrepreneurial path.