Onda makes waves with help from the Ignition Fund
Onda is a contract research organization focusing on the aquatic environment, covering industries like aquaculture, fisheries, watersheds and related environmental groups. Dr. Jordan Poley is the Director of the Lab Tech team with Onda. “We’re focused on anything cultured in the water, including fish, oysters, shrimp, etc… but also any effluent that these operations put back into the environment,” said Dr. Jordan Poley. He and his Lab Tech team are focused on building diagnostic testing for these species, “We look at diagnosing diseases, off-flavour-producing bacteria, and different chemicals that are adverse to the water or to animals.”
The Lab Tech team also consists of Scientist Dr. Tirosh Shapira, Scientific Advisor Julianna Stangroom, Lab Manager Dr. Lillian Figueiredo, and Research Associates Holly MacDonald, Kelly Conway, and Kathy MacDonald.
With two state-of-the-art facilities on the island in Victoria and Souris, being located in Prince Edward Island comes with many advantages, including the connectedness of the community, “Onda is a very collaborative company,” said Jordan, “We’re really lucky in PEI to be connected to a huge community of biotech companies.” Jordan is also a born and raised Islander and completed his undergraduate biology degree at the University of Prince Edward Island and his PhD in molecular biology at the Atlantic Veterinary College.
Onda has a grant-writing team that seeks funding and granting opportunities, but when Jordan learned about the Ignition Fund in the PEI BioAlliance Newsletter, he thought it would be a great opportunity for the Lab Tech team. If successful, his team could use the Ignition Fund toward developing a pipeline for rapid, affordable, on-site diagnostic testing solutions for aquaculture. They decided to learn more about the program and get started on their application.
Jordan and his team succeeded in moving onto the pitch portion of the Ignition Fund process. “It was a really good process for me because I had never actually pitched in person for funding before,” said Jordan. “In science, it’s very common to write grants and to put grant packages together, but this was the first time to get up and talk to people about something fairly complex and make sure that they understood what they were potentially investing in.” Jordan and his team were successful in receiving the Ignition Fund, and they continue their work to fill the gap in the market for rapid, affordable diagnostics in aquatic species.
Looking back on the Ignition Fund application process, Jordan shared some advice for anyone looking to apply for the next round of funding:
“Be confident in your idea. If you have an idea that brings value to PEI, then I think that the Ignition Fund is a really good place to put those ideas forward”
The Ignition Fund is a competitive-based fund for entrepreneurs seeking startup capital for a new innovative business venture or to develop and launch a new innovative product. The fund invests seed capital that will allow successful applicants to turn their ideas into a tangible and viable business.
Applications for the Spring Round of the Ignition Fund open on April 7th, 2025.