Written By: Lynda Ofume
Simran Dhillon and her team at FentaGone are currently making considerable strides in Fentanyl detection. They have created a syringe that detects the presence of Fentanyl which would prevent a lethal overdose.
The opioid crisis impact in Canada has reached overwhelming levels due to the pandemic, resulting in record-breaking fatalities.
Simran Dhillon, a League of Innovators Labs Alumni, recently joined us for a 43 Questions interview regarding the growth and the future achievements for FentaGone.
Q: When did you start FentaGone?
A: So I came up with the idea in around September 2019 but largely like I wanted to do something to help and support those living with addiction for a very long time just because it is something that hits really close to home, but more specifically, FentaGone came about around September.
Q: What made you start it?
A: Yeah, so throughout my life and being from bc and also Edmonton as well a lot there is a lot of addiction that exist I think we largely think it's going to get better and that different things are going to help with a lot of cutbacks with harm reduction especially by our government and addiction is getting way worse. The overdose rate is getting exponentially worse, and we have innocent people who are dying preventable deaths, and I think just knowing that these are people could be saved is a large inspiration to get into and invest yourself into harm reduction - and that is kind of how FentaGone kind of took rise.
Q: What impact would you like to achieve with FentaGone in the next couple of years?
A: Yeah, so I am hoping that you know we go through a research phase and it is successful, and so far we are hoping that it does look successful is that we do get integrated within current distribution services to those in vulnerable communities so that they receive important health information that they don't have already and kind of creating more equity within the help sphere in that end
Q: How useful was LOI to your growth and development of your company?
A: Yeah, it's been super Useful in the way that we've been able to network and learn so much from other people kind of in the same boat as that's like also try new things and figure it out, and I think that's the hardest part is we're all kind of just figuring it out, but other people in the same boat as us has been like super helpful
Q: What resources/piece of advice helped you with growing FentaGone to where it is now?
A: Yeah, so I go to the University of Alberta context, and you know it's a very helpful community in regards to I've done a lot of research over the last few years in regards to nerve generation & organ preservation. So I've done a lot of research and started growing off of those networks. Now that we're in two research labs, we have two mentors that have been super helpful in helping us understand the science behind things and also how to build things like trials and whatnot. So in itself, that's been super helpful, but also just learning from other people and learning from people with lived experience... [If you're] looking for resources, always like figure out your target audience and just get to know them a bit better.
Catch the rest of this interview on the League of Innovators IGTV tab: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNLHRKtFQ6v/
Simran continues to make an outstanding impact in her community, not only with the opioid crisis but also with Sangat Youth, an organization "amplifying Sikh voices and creating meaningful resources for the greater community." As well as her active involvement in the University of Alberta community.
To hear more about Simran Dhillon and the work she and her team are doing with FentaGone, follow them on social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simran_kdhillon/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fentagone/about/
The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-university-of-alberta-students-develop-syringe-that-detects-fentanyl/
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