Louise Binder

Louise Binder is a lawyer and health advocate who has been involved in informing the development of health policy and systemic treatment access practices from the patient perspective since the early 1990’s subsequent to her own HIV diagnosis. She co-founded the Canadian Treatment Action Council (CTAC) in 1996. Louise began similar work in the cancer area and is presently a Health Policy Consultation with the Save Your Skin Foundation. She has been recognized by many organizations for her work, including receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from her alma mater, Queen’s Law School; the Order of Ontario from the Province of Ontario; and two Queen Elizabeth II medals.

Gillian Carleton

Gillian Carleton is a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria. Working in the laboratory of Dr. Julian Lum at BC Cancer’s Deeley Research Centre, Gillian is interested in the complex mechanisms by which tumor cells metabolically constrain T cell function within the solid tumor environment. Their research centers on rewiring metabolic networks in T cells to overcome immunosuppressive signaling mediated by metabolic dysfunction or competition. In particular, they are currently developing novel gene-editing strategies to metabolically and functionally enhance CAR-T cell efficacy for treatment of ovarian cancer. Gillian is also a decorated athlete, having won numerous World Cup and World Championship medals in the sport of track cycling, as well as an Olympic medal in 2012. As a nonbinary scientist, Gillian is passionate about improving EDI and accessibility at all levels of the Canadian health research ecosystem. Gillian is co-chair of the Deeley Research Centre EDI committee and a member of the BioCanRx EDI committee.

Meredith Conboy

Meredith Conboy is a senior Research Assistant working with the Blueprint Translational Research Group, led by Dr. Manoj Lalu and Dr. Dean Fergusson at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). She completed her Master of Science in Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. Currently, she is working on one of the team’s patient engagement studies (focusing on facilitating patient engagement in early phase clinical trials) and coordinating a phase 1 cell therapy clinical trial in patients who are undergoing non-cardiac surgery and have an elevated risk of cardiovascular complications.

Luca Danelli

Senior editor, Cancer Team, Nature Communications

Luca is a senior editor in the Cancer team at Nature Communications. He did his PhD at the University of Udine (Italy), where he studied the interaction between mast cells and myeloid derived suppressor cells within the tumour microenvironment. After a first post-doctoral experience at the Inserm UMRS-1149- Paris Diderot University working on mast cells and renal diseases, Luca joined the Francis Crick Institute in London, where he worked on the characterization of CD4+ T differentiation and expression of immune checkpoint receptors in mouse models of viral infections and cancer. Luca joined Nature Communications in November 2019 and handles papers in cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

Laura Evgin

Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia
Scientist, Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer

Dr. Laura Evgin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia and a Scientist in the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer. She received her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa under the mentorship of Dr. John Bell and completed her post-doctoral fellowship training at Mayo Clinic with Dr. Richard Vile. Dr. Evgin started her own group at BC Cancer in 2020 with the goal of developing novel immune-oncology combinatorial approaches. Her research program uses immune competent mouse models of lymphoma to try to better understand the biological mechanisms underlying CD19 CAR T cell treatment failure in the context of a normal immune system. Using these preclinical models, her group is evaluating how to engineer cell therapies to be more fit in the relevant microenvironments, and how to use oncolytic viruses and vaccines to overcome barriers to effective therapy.

Madison Foster

Madison Foster is a Project Manager working with the Blueprint Translational Research Group, led by Dr. Manoj Lalu and Dr. Dean Fergusson at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). She completed her Master of Science in Epidemiology at the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa. Currently, she is working on several of the team’s Patient Engagement programs, which focus on studying and facilitating patient engagement (involving patients and caregivers as collaborators throughout the research process). Through this work the team aims to better align their research with patient priorities and interests, as well as create guidance for patient engagement.

Bruno Lemire

Bruno holds a PhD in Experimental Medicine from Laval University, which included a mix of clinical and basic sciences. He previously completed his Master's at the University of Ottawa and his Bachelor's at McGill.

Bruno started his pharma career as an MSL (Medical Science Liaison) in Respiratory at GSK in 2013. He then progressed to become a Scientific Advisor and MSL manager at GSK. In 2019, he moved on to Novartis, where he held the role of Oncology MSL Manager, overseeing 10 MSLs across multiple disease sites in Oncology. In this position, he actively contributed to the evolution of the Oncology Medical Affairs team at Novartis, leading strategic efforts to support the approval and reimbursement of new Oncology medications across Canada. In late 2022, he rejoined GSK in the Oncology Medical Affairs team as the Scientific Lead for the Oncology Pipeline. In this role, he is responsible for establishing scientific advocacy and a strong clinical trial footprint for all new pipeline assets in solid tumors at GSK.

Bruno lives in the Gatineau/Ottawa region with his wife and two kids. He enjoys playing hockey, mountain biking, and playing the guitar.

Glenn Lesko

Glenn Lesko is a Co-Founder and Partner with Pender & Howe Executive Search. With offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York and soon to be Pittsburgh, Pender & Howe offers Executive Search and Board Advisory services to small, medium and large organizations across North America. Glenn oversees the Scientific, AI/ML and Healthcare portfolios at Pender & Howe both in Executive Search and Board Advisory services. Prior to starting in the business back in 1997 Glenn worked with Hoffmann La Roche, Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb after graduating with a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta.

Scott McComb

I am a research immunologist at the National Research Council Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre (NRC-HHT) in Ottawa, seeking to better understand and apply the power of the human immune system to treat disease. Biological medicines derived from antibodies are now a mainstay of pharmacology for all diseases, and the use of such antibodies to stimulate anti-cancer immune responses have been called the 4th and newest pillar of cancer therapy. My team works on discovering new molecules to target Cancer cells and identifying how best to use those molecules to reprogram immune cells to kill cancer cells. It is my goal to leverage the world-class expertise of NRC-HHT in antibody discovery and biotechnology to accelerate the development of safe, effective, affordable, and accessible cellular therapies for Canadian patients.

Arvind Mer

Dr. Arvind Mer is an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Medicine. He also holds an appointment at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. As an expert in bioinformatics and machine learning, his research focuses on enhancing our understanding of cancer and finding more effective therapeutic interventions against it. He received his Ph.D. from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. Dr. Mer completed postdoctoral training at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto. The overarching goal of his lab is to accelerate genomic medicine using AI and machine learning.

Karine Morin

In early 2019, Karine Morin (pronouns: she, her) joined NSERC, where she is now the Director, EDI Strategy. Previously, she was an Executive Director at Alberta Innovates, overseeing a number of initiatives related to clinical research and ethics. From 2010 to 2014, she served as Genome Canada’s Director of the "GE3LS" program, overseeing activities related to the ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social aspects of genomics research. Earlier, she was a Senior Ethics Policy Advisor at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). She also conducted research on ethical, legal and social issues related to genomics at the University of Ottawa’s Institute of Science, Society and Policy. Karine is a graduate of McGill University School of Law; she completed a Masters in Law at the University of Pennsylvania, and worked in the US for more than 10 years. She has broad expertise in science policy, has published widely in bioethics and law, and has taught as an adjunct at several universities in the US and Canada.

Ewurabena Simpson

Dr. Simpson received her medical degree from McGill University and completed her General Pediatrics training and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. During her fellowship training, she also completed a Master’s in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Global Health Scholar.

Dr. Simpson is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at CHEO and she is also appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. Her major clinical and research interests have centered upon health systems improvement for children and adolescents with sickle cell disease and other chronic hematologic disorders.

In July 2021, Dr. Simpson was appointed as Assistant Dean for the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. In this role, she aims to strengthen faculty-wide approaches for supporting our diverse community of trainees, staff and faculty and to prioritize a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging within the Faculty and greater community.

Owen Snider

Owen Snider is a patient partner with Dr. McComb, Dr. Weeratna and the BLUEPRINT team. In 2010, Owen was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma. He went through chemotherapy treatment and was clear from cancer for six years, but in 2016 the lymphoma returned. This time around, Owen underwent an intensive program that paired chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant using his own stem cells. Unfortunately, Owen’s cancer returned again in 2020. However, not long after, Owen qualified for a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) therapy clinical trial led by Dr. Kekre and Dr. Fulcher at the Ottawa Hospital. One-month post-treatment Owen received some amazing news, he was cancer-free! Owen is now enjoying his retirement alongside his wife, Judith Snider, and has partnered with the CAR T preclinical research team to share his experience-based knowledge. Along with patient partnership, Owen helps advocate for cancer research by sharing his story across different media platforms to raise awareness about the ongoing CAR T trials.

Risini Weeratna

Risini Weeratna is a Senior Research Officer and the Team Lead for Cancer Immunology at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). In this role, Risini is responsible for providing scientific and strategic direction for internal technology platforms and pipelines in the area of cancer immunotherapy as well as leading multiple industry collaborations where NRC is providing research and technical assistance to small and medium Canadian biotechnology institutes in advancing their clinical candidates in cancer immunotherapy.

Prior to joining NRC, Risini was a Senior Principal Scientist/ Senior Manager-Leadership at Pfizer Vaccine Research where she headed a team investigating adjuvant and delivery systems and novel adjuvant combinations to support various vaccine projects, coordinated the non-human primate pharmacology studies to support the development of vaccine based immunotherapy for oncology and coordinating and oversaw the development and conduction of cell-based clinical assays.

Risini served Coley Pharmaceutical group from 1996 to 2008. At Coley, she was responsible for overseeing non-clinical in vivo pharmacology studies for both vaccines and immune therapies in various therapeutic areas including infectious disease, oncology and autoimmune disease. Risini was a member of Coley Canada Senior Staff as well as numerous cross functional Working Groups, Project & Program Teams.

Ashley Chen

Ashley currently works as Product Manager at Becton Dickinson, also known as BD, in the Infection Prevention and Medical Diagnostic space. Prior to this she has held roles as Associate Project Manager at Abbott Point-of-Care, along with Medical Science Liaison and Product Manager at Spartan Bioscience (now Genomadix Inc.). Ashley holds a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa where she studied under the co-supervision of Dr. John Bell and Dr. Carolina Ilkow.

Mathieu Crupi

Mathieu obtained his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Lois Mulligan in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queen’s University. He studied the underlying molecular mechanisms of inherited thyroid cancers, neuroblastoma, lung and pancreatic cancers. During his PhD, Mathieu founded Let's Talk Cancer, a day symposium for highschool students to learn about cancer prevention and local research from young scientists. He built a partnership between Let's Talk Science and the Canadian Cancer Society that allowed for these events to spread across Canada.

His postdoctoral research, under the guidance of Drs. John Bell and Carolina Ilkow at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, focused on oncolytic virus-driven immunotherapeutic strategies to enhance survival of colorectal and ovarian cancer patients. These included: engineered T-Cell Engagers, microRNA-mediated synthetic lethal approaches, and inducible cytokines. During the pandemic, he and his colleagues also generated vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and cancer.

He is now Lead of Personalized Biotherapeutics at the OHRI Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre. His team is establishing the manufacturing for Tumour-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) cell therapies for upcoming clinical trials in Ottawa. In addition, he is the project manager for correlative studies with PERIOP-06, a multi-site clinical trial coordinated across Ontario and led by Dr. Rebecca Auer.

Mathieu is also a member of the BioCanRx Scientific Program Committee for the Summit4CI conference. He hopes to inspire HQP to join him in eliminating cancer and fear of the disease through research, mentorship, outreach and fundraising initiatives.

Jonathan Hodgins

Jonathan is a postdoctoral fellow at Genentech, a member of the Roche group. He works in Research and Early Discovery (gRED), performing basic research centered on cell signaling and immunity. Prior to this Jonathan earned his PhD at uOttawa in the lab of Michele Ardolino, where he worked on characterizing novel functions of checkpoint receptors in cancer.

Victoria Hoskin

Dr. Hoskin is a Policy Analyst for Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada working to support Canada's Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. She has over 10 years of experience in translational health sciences-based research and applies this knowledge and expertise in her current role to support the federal government's interests in strengthening and growing the domestic Life Sciences ecosystem. Prior to this, she was a Research Associate/Project Manager in the labs of Drs Carolina Ilkow and John Bell at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute to support their work on innovative oncolytic virus therapies as they bring these innovations closer to commercialization. She also worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Queen's prior to joining the OHRI. In addition to her role as a Policy Analyst, Dr. Hoskin is passionate about science outreach and mentorship and is part of the organizing committee for the Science 2 Business Network (S2BN) National Mentorship Program for STEM-based trainees. She also previously participated in the BioCanRx Cancer Stakeholder Alliance Learning Institute as an Academic Scholar in 2022. Dr. Hoskin completed a PhD at Queen's University in Pathology and Molecular Medicine, specializing in cancer research, and a BScH with high distinction at the University of Toronto.

Bruno Lemire

Bruno holds a PhD in Experimental Medicine from Laval University, which included a mix of clinical and basic sciences. He previously completed his Master's at the University of Ottawa and his Bachelor's at McGill.

Bruno started his pharma career as an MSL (Medical Science Liaison) in Respiratory at GSK in 2013. He then progressed to become a Scientific Advisor and MSL manager at GSK. In 2019, he moved on to Novartis, where he held the role of Oncology MSL Manager, overseeing 10 MSLs across multiple disease sites in Oncology. In this position, he actively contributed to the evolution of the Oncology Medical Affairs team at Novartis, leading strategic efforts to support the approval and reimbursement of new Oncology medications across Canada. In late 2022, he rejoined GSK in the Oncology Medical Affairs team as the Scientific Lead for the Oncology Pipeline. In this role, he is responsible for establishing scientific advocacy and a strong clinical trial footprint for all new pipeline assets in solid tumors at GSK.

Bruno lives in the Gatineau/Ottawa region with his wife and two kids. He enjoys playing hockey, mountain biking, and playing the guitar.

Nikolas Martin

Dr. Nikolas Tim Martin gained first experience on high-throughput assay systems while pursuing his bachelor’s degree at the Institute for Technical Chemistry at the Leibniz-University in Hannover, Germany. The topic of his thesis was the development of aptamer candidates for the use in protein microarrays. During his master’s, performed at the Institute of Biochemistry at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, deepening his understanding of molecular biology and gene editing by developing heterodimeric Zinc-Finger-Nucleases for targeted genome editing. Nikolas entered the field of oncolytic virotherapy while pursuing his doctoral studies in a collaboration project performed at both the Institute of Cellular Chemistry and the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at the Hannover Medical School. The topic of his thesis was the generation and characterisation of oncolytic adenoviruses for targeting polysialic acid positive tumours. After earning Dr. rer. nat. in 2016, he continued working in the field of oncolytic virotherapy by pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. John Bell at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), developing novel oncolytic vaccinia viruses as well as self-amplifying RNA-derived virus-like-particles. In early 2022, Nikolas started as Lead of the Innovation department, part of the R&D department of the Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Center at the OHRI. In this role, he developed several oncolytic virus candidates in collaboration with clients from academia and industry and is also working on developing new technologies to improve and accelerate viral vector manufacturing.

Arvind Mer

Dr. Arvind Mer is an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Medicine. He also holds an appointment at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. As an expert in bioinformatics and machine learning, his research focuses on enhancing our understanding of cancer and finding more effective therapeutic interventions against it. He received his Ph.D. from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. Dr. Mer completed postdoctoral training at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto. The overarching goal of his lab is to accelerate genomic medicine using AI and machine learning.

Joshua Montroy

Josh is a scientific project coordinator with the Public Health Agency of Canada. He is a trained epidemiologist, receiving his Masters degree from the University of Ottawa, where he trained with the Centre for Transfusion Research, studying the effects of lysine analogues during high-risk surgical procedures. Following a number of years with the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, he transitioned into a role within the Public Health Agency of Canada, working as part of the COVID-19 emergency response. He is currently part of the technical team within the NACI secretariat, which works to support the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) on decision-making related to vaccine use in Canada. His expertise is in knowledge synthesis and clinical trial methodology.

Julie Nielsen

Dr. Julie Nielsen received a PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of British Columbia, where she focused on hematopoiesis and cancer. She then studied the immune response to ovarian and lymphoid cancers as a Postdoctoral Fellow and later a Research Associate in Dr. Brad Nelson’s lab at BC Cancer. As a Staff Scientist, Dr. Nielsen worked toward translating genomic discoveries into personalized immune-based therapies for patients. She is now the Leader, Cell Manufacturing at BC Cancer’s Conconi Family Immunotherapy Lab in Victoria, where her team is currently manufacturing CAR-T cells for Canadian patients.

Andreea Norman

Andreea is the Director of Workforce Development, Health to Business Bridge program, at Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), a membership-based organization engaged in strategy, programming, policy development and advocacy to further the commercialization of Ontario’s human health science companies. Prior to joining OBIO®, she worked in product development in regenerative medicine, looking to test and scale potential stem cell therapies toward the clinic. Andreea received her BSc in Cell and Molecular Biology and MSc in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto and worked in academia for several years before transitioning to R&D, and then later, to business roles in industry.

Michael Rosu-Myles

Dr. Rosu-Myles is the Executive Director for the Centre for Oncology, Radiopharmaceuticals and Research and the Health Canada lead for the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Standardization and Evaluation of Biologicals. He manages a team who engage in cutting edge research and product evaluation and testing to support regulatory decisions on the authorization of clinical trials and market access for biologic oncology products, radiopharmaceuticals and novel biologics including both cell and gene therapies. Dr. Rosu-Myles received his Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Western Ontario and trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute in the US National Institutes of Health prior to being recruited to Health Canada to establish a stem cell research program in 2008. Since starting as Executive Director in 2018 Dr. Rosu-Myles has played a leadership role in the implementation of Health Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in the development of implementation of their new Advanced Therapy Regulations.

Bruce Seet

With more than 17 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry in Canada, Dr. Bruce Seet has served in a variety of functional capacities across a number of therapeutic areas including oncology, rare diseases and vaccines. Dr. Seet has worked at organizations such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi Pasteur and now at Novavax Inc. where he currently serves as the Canadian Head of Medical Affairs. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto where he teaches and supports graduate professional development. Bruce received his BSc (Honours Physiology) and PhD (Microbiology and Immunology) from Western University (London, Ontario, Canada) and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Molecular Biology and Cancer at Mt Sinai Hospital in Toronto. In addition, he earned an MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management in 2010. Bruce is also a leader and advocate for broadening professional development opportunities for highly qualified personnel (HQP) in STEM fields. Towards this end, Bruce founded and serves as the President/CEO of the Science to Business Network (www.s2bn.org), a national multi-chapter, fully volunteer, non-profit organization established in 2011 that connects diverse stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, and provides professional development opportunities for HQP and STEM graduates. As a science communicator, he’s a frequent speaker, panelist and event moderator, and is also the host and executive producer of the S2BN Podcast which launched in 2020. As an active volunteer in the Canadian life sciences ecosystem, Bruce has been recognized for his work by Life Sciences Ontario with their 2020 Community Service Award and was a recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Community Service Award in 2022.

Keara Sutherland

Passionate and ambitious MSc of Microbiology and Immunology graduate from the University of Ottawa. Currently working as an Associate Scientist at Virica Biotech focusing on combining my specialties in therapeutics, microbiology and cancer research by working towards enhancing viral medicines. I am a member of Let's Talk Science, Let's Talk Cancer and the Canadian Cancer Society's Reseach Information Outreach Team in Ottawa, allowing me to combine my love of science with community outreach and knowledge translation.

Christine Williams

Dr. Christine Williams is an immunologist and currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Head of Implementation Science at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) and is the Executive Director at the Canadian Pediatric Cancer Consortium.

She received a degree in Life Sciences from Queen’s University and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Toronto. She received postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University where she studied the molecular pathways involved in the development of leukemia and lymphoma in children. Prior to her role at OICR, she held leadership positions at the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society.

She is currently a member of several boards and advisory committees, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, North York General Hospital, Cancer Care Manitoba and various other research, healthcare and community organizations.