The first innovation award ever given by the Canadian Governor General* has gone to a nanomedicine pioneer at the University of Alberta. From a May 12, 2016 news article by Marc Montgomery for Radio Canada International*, Note: A link has been removed,

Professor Robert Burrell of the University of Alberta has won a prestigious Governor-General’s Innovation Award for the world’s first therapeutic use of nanotechnology.

Professor Burrell used nano-technology on a wound bandage that has already begun transforming treatment of wounds in situations around the world.

Robert Burrell,  Professor in the Faculty of Chemical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta, is also Canada Research Chair in Nanostructured Biomaterials, and Chair, Biomedical Engineering at the university.

Burrell’s development called Acticoat came from research into nano-forms of silver.  When silver is reduced to nano scale it’s properties and chemical activity change.

In his research prior to joining the University in 2002, Burrell created a coating of nano-crystals of silver which not only kills bacteria but also has anti-inflammatory properties.

A May 9, 2016 University of Alberta news release has a bit more information,

… The chair of the U of A Department of Biomedical Engineering has been awarded a new national innovation prize in recognition of an invention that transformed wound care around the world.

Rob Burrell PhD, FCAHS, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Nanostructure Biomaterials and leads the Department of Biomedical Engineering, is one of six Canadians to win the inaugural round of the Governor General’s Innovation Awards. The awards recognize “exceptional and transformative work” that has helped “shape our future and positively impact our quality of life.”

“It was a nice surprise,” Burrell says of receiving the award. “I got an email in April—and was wondering why the Secretary to the Governor General of Canada [David Johnston is the current Governor General] wanted to talk to me. When we had our phone call he congratulated me on winning the award.”

Burrell invented Acticoat, a new wound dressing that uses nanocrystalline silver to fight bacteria and inflammation in wounds, while working for Westaim Biomedical, later Nucryst Pharmaceuticals. He joined the Faculty of Engineering in 2002.

The dressing was the world’s first therapeutic use of nanotechnology and has saved thousands of lives and limbs, transforming the treatment of burns and wounds.

…

“We have three projects on the go now. We’ve developed a new dressing and applied for a patent on it for scar control and we’re looking at commercializing that,” he said. “I have two of my grad students—and this summer we will have three summer students—working on a diagnostic tool that will allow a surgeon in an operating room to assess a tumour in 10 to 15 minutes. The analysis of the tumour can determine the type of surgery and post-surgical care the patient receives.”

You can find out more about the Governor General awards, which include, in addition to the new innovation category, the arts,  the sciences and humanities, and more here.

* I have a couple of explanatory notes for those unfamiliar with the concept of a Governor General and/or those who may be curious about Radio Canada International.

The Governor General is the Queen’s or the British monarch’s representative in Canada. Here’s another more general definition from a Wikipedia entry,

Governor-general or governor general, in modern usage, is the title of an office-holder appointed to represent the monarch of a sovereign state in the governing of an independent realm. Governors-general have also previously been appointed in respect of major colonial states or other territories held by either a monarchy or republic, such as French Indochina.

Radio Canada International is a little complicated. Radio Canada is the French language arm of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the name ‘Radio Canada’ refers to its radio, television, and internet services.

Interestingly Radio Canada International is the global outreach for both Radio Canada and CBC, presumably, uniting the English and French language services under one banner.