femtech YEG: Where Innovation Meets Her Health
You’re Invited: femtech YEG — Where Innovation Meets Her Health
📍 University of Alberta – 2nd Floor, Enterprise Square, 103 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0B2
📅 Wednesday September 24th, 12-2pm
🌐 Part of Life Sciences Week 2025 |lifesciencesweek.ca
Join us for femtech YEG, a bold collision of tech and women’s health at the heart of Life Sciences Week. This high-energy event brings together clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and health innovators to reimagine how we design, deliver, and scale solutions that support women across their health journeys.
Whether you're building tech, delivering care, conducting research, or simply passionate about driving change, femtech YEG is your invitation to connect, collaborate, and lead the future of women's health in Alberta.
We’ll kick off with a provocative keynote from Rachel Bartholomew, a leading voice in the femtech space, followed by an interactive conversation showcasing local innovators.
Rachel Bartholomew is a two-time entrepreneur who is now working on her second company, Hyivy Health, created after her recent fight with cervical cancer. Hyivy Health is creating a medical device for the 1 in 3 women worldwide who will experience a gynecological complication in their lifetime. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and has been working in various roles in the entrepreneurship ecosystem for over 15 years, including the Founder of Femtech Canada, Femtech Across Borders, and is Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University in Biotech Innovation.
Carolyn Plican is a Canadian fertility educator and serial co-founder of women's healthcare startups including Fertility Care Centre of Edmonton (‘09), My Fertility Labs (‘23) and EndoDiagnosis, Inc (‘24). Having taught hundreds of women fertility awareness from 2007 – 2020, she saw the significan healthcare gaps her clients faced when experiencing painful periods, pelvic pain, irregular cycles, infertility and frequent miscarriage. This created an intense interest in AI utilization of biometric data to develop new technical solutions in women’s healthcare. The gaslighting of her own teenage daughter’s debilitating period pain focused her resolve to address the diagnostic gap for endometriosis, currently 8.6 years worldwide and solvable with available technology knitted with AI. Carolyn is working to ensure rapid, non-invasive testing for endometriosis becomes accessible throughout North America. Her goal is to drop the diagnostic gap for endometriosis to 30-minutes for all women.
Lindsay Robertson is VP of Communications, Marketing, and Brand at the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, where she leads strategies that inspire philanthropic support for health and research across Alberta. With over a decade in healthcare communications, she has elevated the profile of the Royal Alexandra Hospital and its centres of excellence, including the Lois Hole Hospital for Women — a national leader in women’s health. Lindsay also oversees communications for the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation (AWHF), which she helped establish and which is now a founding member of Women’s Health Collective Canada, advancing equity in women’s health research.
Alyssa Lefaivre Škopac is the Director of AI Trust & Safety at Amii, where she advances ethical and responsible AI deployment by fostering public trust and advocating strong governance. She leads Amii’s contributions to CAISI, a national initiative mitigating risks from advanced AI systems, and engages global stakeholders to strengthen international AI safety efforts. With 15+ years in emerging tech, Alyssa is known for building high-impact collaborations, having previously led global partnerships at the Responsible AI Institute. She also serves as Senior Policy Advisor at the Institute for Security and Technology (IST), advising on AI governance and security policy. Her work is defined by a commitment to responsible innovation, grounded in strategic vision, humility, curiosity, and collaboration.
David Olson Ph.D., D.Sc., FRCOG, FCAHS, is a Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alberta, with adjunct roles in Pediatrics and Physiology. A leading perinatal physiologist, his internationally recognized research advances pregnancy and newborn health through innovations in predicting and treating preterm birth, fetal/newborn inflammation, and understanding maternal vulnerability to environmental stressors. He founded the Canadian National Perinatal Research Meeting, the International Inflammatory Pathways to Preterm Birth Team, the OPERA program, and PolicyWise. His contributions have been recognized with a Doctor of Science (honoris causa) from the University of Lethbridge, the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s Tier I Basic Science Mentor Award, and most recently, the University Cup for sustained excellence in service to the university and community.
A boxed lunch will be served from:
Thank you to our event sponsors!