Workshop Day Panelist for CCTC 2023
Dr. Morris F Manolson
Dr. Manolson is a Professor and Interim Vice Dean, Research at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto and President of the Canadian Connective Tissue Society. His research, focusing on preventing excessive bone loss associated with osteoporosis, inflammatory arthritis and periodontal disease, is funded by CIHR and NSERC, has produced three patent applications and over 60 peer reviewed papers which have accumulated over 5000 citations. He received the “Quality of Life” award from the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, and the Canadian Institute of Health Research-Institute for Gender Health/Ontario Women’s Health Council Senior Investigator Award, both in recognition of his work towards preserving bone health in arthritis and osteoporosis. With respect to patient engagement, Morrie was a board member the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance (2014-2017) and Chair of the board of directors of the Canadian Association of Psoriasis Patients from 2017 to 2022. He is currently a Patient Advisory Committee Member for the Psoriatic Arthritis Research Program at Toronto Western Hospital and a member of the Steering Committee for the Skin Investigation Network of Canada (SkIN Canada).
Dr. Albert Yee
Dr. Yee is the Holland Bone and Joint Program Chief and Division Chief, Marvin Tile Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Yee is a Full Professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Surgery and a Full Member of the Institute of Medical Sciences with a cross-appointment in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. He is the Vice-Chair of Research for the University Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and a Co-Director of the Department of Surgery Spine Program. Dr. Yee is a past President of the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society (2016-17), the Canadian Spine Society (2019-21) and a Co-Chair of Bone & Joint Canada (2016-22). Dr. Yee has over 100 peer reviewed publications and has received academic honours including the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation J. Edouard Samson Award (2011), Charles H. Tator Surgeon-Scientist Mentoring Award (2012) and the American British Canadian (ABC) International Travelling Fellowship, American Orthopaedic Association/Canadian Orthopaedic Association (2013). In 2019, he was also awarded the distinction of Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research (FIOR) by the International Combined Orthopaedic Research Society. His research focuses on translational orthopaedic and spine studies utilizing pre-clinical surgical models to evaluate minimally invasive therapeutics (e.g. photodynamic therapy, radiofrequency ablation in vertebral metastases). This work has led to first in human clinical trials and FDA approval and commercialization of new spine technology.
Dr. Ryan Siu
Dr. Siu is the Journal Relations Manager of MDPI Open Access Publishing Canada Ltd. He completed his doctorate in Neurobiology at York University in 2020. His research focuses on synaptic plasticity in cellular and animal models. He joined MDPI in 2021 as an assistant editor and later publishing manager in 2022. Dr. Ryan Siu is here to share his experience transitioning from academia to publishing.
Anna Samson
Anna Samson (they/she) is a 23-year-old desi, queer, disabled person living near Toronto, Canada. They are a writer and an advocate for disability and mental health. They have ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, PMDD, and more. They have experienced symptoms since adolescence and now permanently use a cane and frequently use a walker to ambulate. They are passionate about using their intersectional lived experiences to raise awareness for chronic illnesses, disabilities, and mental health.
Anna is also an ambassador with Take a Pain Check where they raise awareness for chronic illnesses and disabilities in young people. They are also a patient partner with CIHR-IMHA’s Patient Engagement Research Ambassador program where they collaborate with other patient partners to advocate for patient concerns in research. They are also a contributing writer for Health Union where they write articles sharing their lived experience with axial spondyloarthritis, chronic dry eye, and insomnia..
France Carbonneau
France Carbonneau,MBA-Research is an Innovation Ambassador at Arthritis Society Canada and provides input and feedback on innovation initiatives in the arthritis field. She currently volunteers as an information officer for the Information Line of the Society where she provides advice, support and reliable information to patients living with all types of arthritis conditions. France also facilitates virtual support groups for the Society for patients across Canada. France is an osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia patient who is passionate about advancing arthritis research and innovation.
Dr. Yasmin Mawa
Dr. Mawani has 9 years of experience working in the biologics and medical device fields. She is currently the Director of Product Development at Red Rock Regeneration Inc., a growing startup that focuses on the development and commercialization of bioimplants. Prior to working at Red Rock, she was a Biopharmaceutical Project Manager at SGS Life Sciences, the largest contract testing organization in the world, where she managed the analytical testing and stability studies for several large clients. Yasmin previously worked as a Scientist at Induce Biologics, a medical device startup that was focused on the development of a combination medical device. She completed her doctorate in medicinal inorganic chemistry at the University of British Columbia where her research focused on developing a more bioavailable treatment for osteoporosis using different ligands to complex with lanthanides.
Dr. Abdelahhad Barbour
Dr. Barbour is a molecular microbiologist, co-founder, and CEO of Ostia Sciences Inc, a University of Toronto startup company. Inspired by Sir Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, Dr. Barbour’s research focuses on discovering beneficial bacteria that secrete antimicrobial compounds to combat infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance by developing innovative microbiome solutions. Dr. Barbour is an expert in lantibiotics, a class of antibiotics produced by beneficial microbes. During his post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto, Dr. Barbour discovered salivaricin 10, the world first phosphorylated lantibiotic, with dual antimicrobial and pro-immune functions. Dr. Barbour, together with Dr. Michael Glogauer, created Ostia Sciences to commercialize salivaricin 10 and the beneficial bacteria that produce it “Streptococcus salivarius” by developing new biotherapeutics to fight against the emerging antibiotic-resistant superbugs which are associated with respiratory infections and oral diseases.
Claude Leduc
Claude is a Co-Founder and President – CEO of RNA Technologies & Therapeutics. He is a Bio-Pharma professional CEO / COO with 34 years of international experience and achievement in private and Fortune 500 Companies. During his career, Claude served various positions in sales, marketing, and international business development a Syntex Labs, Serono Labs and Biomatrix-Genzyme Biosurgery. He is a serial entrepreneur and investor and lead as CEO, teams succeeding in various development stages, from R&D, Preclinical and clinical programs, to market launch at BioSyntech, Skeltex Technologies, Axcellon Biopolymers, MRM Proteomics and Ortho Regenerative Technologies. Claude raised more than $70M+ in equity and debenture notes in private and public settings during his startups CEO positions.
Dr. Martin Garon
Dr. Garon is an accomplished scientist and entrepreneur with extensive experience in the biomedical engineering industry. He is currently the President and Co-Founder of Biomomentum Inc. a Canadian-based company. Martin earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal and went on to complete a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the same institution. Throughout his graduate studies under the guidance of Prof. Michael Buschmann, Martin has received numerous scholarships and awards for his academic excellence. He also worked closely with industry, co-authored three patent applications, and was a finalist for the 2004 Young Innovator Award from the Canadian Arthritis Network. Following his PhD, he gained two years of industry experience before establishing Biomomentum in 2009 with his former labmate, Eric Quenneville. Since its founding, the company has received several prestigious awards, including in 2010 ranking first in the province of Quebec in the innovation and technology category of the Business Creation section of the OSEntreprendre Challenge. Currently, Biomomentum manufactures and commercializes the Mach-1™ mechanical tester for tissues and biomaterials to customers worldwide. This all-in-one, upgradable, multiaxial mechanical tester not only facilitates basic mechanical testing, such as compression, tension, bending, shear, friction, and torsion but also employs a unique proprietary technology developed by Martin that maps the 3D shape and mechanical properties of curved samples. Martin is also leading the way for Biomomentum’s novel laboratory services division, which provide state-of-the-art mechanical testing, organ culture models, and biochemical and histological assessments to companies in the biotech sector.
Dr. Joseph Ferenbok
Dr. Ferenbok has an eclectic background that includes aspects of entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, design, english literature, philosophy, engineering, computer science, humanities, biology, art history, surgery, and psychiatry. He is the founding Director of the Translational Research Program (TRP), Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. The TRP is a graduate program focused on training interdisciplinary trainees to systematically apply scientific knowledge to improve medicine, health & care. Dr. Ferenbok is an unconventional academic who loves to generate ideas to solve complex unwieldy problems. He is a pioneer in the translational community as co-founder and Associate Director of the Health Innovation Hub, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s venture accelerator on health matters; and the Director of Education for Medical Innovations Toront
Dr. Dawn Richards
Dr. Richards, PhD, is the founder of Five02 Labs Inc. Her firm provides traditional services including project management and preparation of grants, manuscripts, corporate and lay language materials; along with those to incorporate the patient perspective and through the development of relationships with patients and patient organizations. Clients are from all sectors. With a PhD (Analytical Chemistry) from the University of Alberta, Dawn has worked in a variety of roles during the past 20 years, however her diagnosis with rheumatoid arthritis almost 15 years ago instigated a journey to intertwine her passion for science with making the most of her diagnosis. As a patient advocate and volunteer, Dawn is Vice President of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance and a member of The BMJ’s Patient Panel. She served as an IMHA Research Ambassador from 2014 – 2019 and was the first Patient Advisor of the Canadian Medical Association’s Wait Time Alliance. Dawn advocates for arthritis awareness, access to treatment, the importance of research and the inclusion of patients both in decision-making and as research collaborators.
Dr. Lisa Wise-Milestone
Dr. Milestone is the Strategic Lead for Pandemic Preparedness Initiative at Moderna Canada. She leads the execution of Moderna’s Canadian strategy for biomanufacturing and pandemic preparedness. Lisa previously worked at FACIT, an entrepreneurial commercialization-venture group focused on advancing Ontario’s life sciences innovations. She served numerous roles at FACIT, including corporate affairs, communications, government relations and project management. Prior to joining FACIT, Lisa was a Manager at KPMG LLP, where she led engagements for companies applying for Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit program. Lisa has more than 10 years’ experience in academic research settings, having completed a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Toronto and a postdoctoral fellowship at Sunnybrook Research Institute.