Join us at RE3, an industry-focused roundtable forum bringing together leaders and visionaries from across HI3’s life sciences and biomanufacturing ecosystem.
As the landscape of health and economic challenges continues to evolve, this is our moment to reconnect as a network, redefine what's possible, and help rebuild a stronger, more responsive life sciences and biomanufacturing ecosystem – one that is ready for whatever comes next.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship
55 St. George Street | St. George Campus | University of Toronto
This event is open to research faculty, clinicians, and professionals from industry, start-ups, not-for profits, training organizations, and government agencies. If you have any questions, please contact hi3@utoronto.ca.
Agenda
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 8:30 – 9:00 am (30 min) | Registration Light breakfast provided |
| 9:05 – 9:15 am (10 min) | Welcome Remarks Professor Leah Cowen Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives, University of Toronto and HI³ Executive Oversight Committee Chair |
| 9:15 – 9:20 am (5 min) | HI3 Academic Co-Directors Welcome Remarks Professor Jennifer Gommerman, Academic Co-Director, HI3 and Professor, Dept. of Immunology, University of Toronto |
| 9:20 – 9:30 am (10 min) | Overview of HI3 and Roundtable Format Patrycja Thompson Director, Strategy and Partnerships, HI3 |
| 9:30 – 11:00 am (90 min) | Roundtable 1 – Precision Intervention See below for description and participants |
| 11:00 – 11:20 am (20 min) | Break |
| 11:20 – 12:50 pm (90 min) | Roundtable 2 – Health Intelligence See below for description and participants |
| 1:00 – 2:15 pm (75 min) | Networking Lunch |
| 2:15 – 3:45 pm (90 min) | Round Table 3 – Process Innovation See below for description and participants |
| 3:45 – 4:00 pm (15min) | Session Summary and Closing Remarks Professor Scott Gray-Owen, Academic Co-Director, HI3 and Professor, Dept. of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto |
| 4:00 – 5:00 pm (60 min) | Networking |
Roundtables
RE3 will feature three dynamic, industry-led “fishbowl” roundtables designed to spark dialogue and actionable outcomes. Each session will also include perspectives from researchers, not-for-profits, training organizations and government agencies, with active engagement opportunities for the audience throughout.
Roundtable 1: Precision Interventions
Development of next-generation vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
What medical countermeasures (MCMs) (e.g., vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics) and enabling technologies will we need in the face of emerging threats, what do we have access to now, how can we accelerate their development, and what are the associated challenges?
Precision Intervention Roundtable Participants
Roundtable Chair
Stephane Angers
Professor, Depts. Of Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toronto
Stephane Angers is Director of The Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research at the University of Toronto, where he is also a member of the Departments of Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He obtained his Ph.D from the Université de Montréal and was a Howard Hughes Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Washington. Prof. Angers is a world expert in the field of signal transduction. His research program is developed to understand the signaling mechanisms underlying the Wnt and family of growth factors in development, adult tissue homeostasis and in human diseases. His pioneer work led to the development of novel antibody molecules blocking and activating the Wnt pathway for the treatment of cancers and regenerative medicine applications. He is the scientific founder of two clinical-stage biotech companies, ModMab Therapeutics and AntlerA Therapeutics.
Angela Li
Principal Scientist, Vaccine CMC Development & Supply, Sanofi
Angela Shaoxu Li, PhD, is a Principal Scientist in Vaccine Drug Substance Development at Sanofi, where she leads innovation at the intersection of bioprocess development, digital transformation, and AI. She is actively driving the development of next-generation bioprocesses designed to accelerate R&D timelines and improve manufacturability. With over a decade of experience across upstream and downstream CMC development, Angela has led the advancement of multiple antigens from preclinical through late-stage development. She is also an active collaborator with academic and technology partners on digital CMC, advanced analytics and process analytical technologies (PAT) initiatives. Angela holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto.
Bethany Moir
Senior Director, Public Affairs, adMare BioInnovations
Bethany Moir is Senior Director, Public Affairs at adMare BioInnovations, Canada’s life science company creation engine, helping to transform breakthrough Canadian science into globally competitive Canadian companies. Prior to adMare, Bethany held diverse roles at Toronto Global, where she led key initiatives including the Toronto Region’s Amazon HQ2 bid, governance redesign, and the launch of the Ontario Wet Lab Coalition. She has also worked in municipal and provincial governments and began her career in marketing across multinational firms and scaling Canadian tech companies. Bethany holds an MBA in International Business and an M.Sc. in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics, and brings a global perspective shaped by living in Canada, Australia, Italy, the UK, and China.
Grace Lee Reynolds
Chief Executive Officer, MaRS
Grace Lee Reynolds is CEO of MaRS, leading the organization through its next phase of growth and impact. With nearly 30 years of experience in the public, private and philanthropic sectors, Grace is passionate about fostering economic potential and social impact through innovations and placemaking.
Grace has been a key leader at MaRS for more than a decade, previously serving as CFO of MaRS Discovery District and president of MaRS Discovery Enterprises. Beyond MaRS, Grace served as CEO of Toronto Artscape, and prior that, she spent 15 years in finance leadership roles at major Canadian academic hospitals, including SickKids Foundation and University Health Network, where she worked across clinical operations, corporate services and fundraising. She began her career in the entrepreneurship services group at Ernst & Young.
Grace’s diverse interests span the intersection of science, technology, arts and inclusive innovation, reflecting her belief that Canada needs robust infrastructure to drive economic well-being for future generations.
Janet Rothberg
Senior Director of Process & Analytical Development, CCRM
Janet Rothberg is the Senior Director of Process & Analytical Development at CCRM. With over 9 years at the company, she has led the process development team and specializes in leading the iPSC research pillar. She has extensive experience with stem cell therapy development in various bioreactor platforms including hollow fiber, STR, vertical wheel. She received her PhD from the University of Ottawa in 2016.
Jean-Philippe Julien
Sr. Scientist, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute
Associate Professor, Depts. of Biochemistry and Immunology, University of Toronto
Jean-Philippe Julien received his H.B.Sc from McGill University as a Loran scholar in 2005, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2010, and trained as a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute. In Fall 2014, he joined the Molecular Medicine Program at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and the Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology at the University of Toronto where he leads a team of multi-disciplinary researchers. His laboratory focuses on the molecular characterization of antibodies by studies of their interactions with a variety of viral, bacterial, parasitic and cell-surface antigens, providing the atomic blueprints for the development of next-generation therapeutics and vaccines. Notably, he is the Canada Research Chair in Structural Immunology and a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada.
Marc Shenouda
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Neuropeutics Inc.
Dr. Marc Shenouda is the CEO and Co-Founder of Neuropeutics Inc., a pharmaceutical startup focused on developing therapies to improve the quality of life and extend the survival of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. He holds a PhD in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology with a Collaborative Program in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto. Throughout his academic and professional career, he has been recognized with national and international awards and grants for his work on developing new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Noel Saraza
Senior Manager, Payer Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, AstraZeneca Canada
Noel Saraza is Senior Manager, Payer Engagement and Strategic Partnerships at AstraZeneca Canada. He leads stakeholder engagement and builds partnerships to advance vaccine and immune therapy strategies with public health across Canada. Previously, Noel led market access strategies for oncology, respiratory, and diabetes therapies. Before joining AstraZeneca, he was National Manager at GSK, overseeing their public health portfolio.
Noel’s dedication to public health began at Peel Region Public Health, where he served as a Public Health and Clinic Nurse, later becoming a supervisor in the Communicable Disease division. During the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside his full-time role at AstraZeneca, Noel volunteered evenings and weekends to support Peel Region’s mass vaccination efforts.
He is an alumnus of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Nursing and a proud donor to U of T’s Landmark Project.
Noel remains committed to advancing equitable access to healthcare and strengthening public health systems across Canada.
Paul Krzyzanowski
Medical Director, Precision Medicine, Johnson & Johnson Canada
Paul Krzyzanowski is the Medical Director, Precision Medicine for Johnson & Johnson Canada. In this role, he leads the design & execution of Johnson & Johnson’s precision medicine diagnostics strategy in oncology with the aim of making targeted cancer therapies accessible to all Canadian patients who may benefit from them. Through this work, the Precision Medicine team works together with stakeholders in all provincial healthcare systems to collaboratively improve diagnostic testing pathways across Canada. Paul is also a board member of the CPHIN, the Canadian Personalized Health Information Network, and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Prior to joining J&J, Paul was the Director of the Translational Genomics Laboratory at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), where he led his team to productionize and scale up many genomic assays to support oncology research including clinically reported whole genomes & transcriptomes under CAP and Accreditation Canada standards under ISO15189. He is also the co-inventor of several patents in the field of genomic technologies and bioinformatic gene signature development.
Riccardo Ricciardi
National Account Manager, Sony Biotechnology
Riccardo Ricciardi leads business development at Sony Biotechnology throughout Canada as the National Account Manager. In his role, he has spearheaded collaborations between Sony and most major Canadian Universities, federal research agencies, and the growing biotech sector. He is excited about the expanding cell therapy industry and the impact it creates for Canadian R&D and biomanufacturing sector. With his extensive experience in the research and diagnostic field, Riccardo fosters collaborative networks throughout the industry.
Riccardo is an M.Sc. alumnus in Experimental Medicine from McGill University. He is passionate about technology, science, philosophy and art and applies his entrepreneurial spirit into every pursuit. In his spare time, he engages in competitive sports and DJ’ing.
Roundtable 2: Health Intelligence
Surveillance, detection, treatment, and monitoring of emerging health threats enabled by health data.
What systems and insights are required to anticipate and act on emerging threats, guide MCM development and assessment, and ensure equitable access and clinical trials?
Health Intelligence Roundtable Participants
Roundtable Chair
Samira Mubareka
Clinician-Scientist and Medical Microbiologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Associate Professor, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto
Dr. Samira Mubareka is a virologist, medical microbiologist and infectious disease physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. She obtained her medical degree at Dalhousie University and completed her specialty training at McGill University and the University of Manitoba. She also completed a research fellowship at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York where she trained in Dr. Peter Palese’s group.
Her research program has focuses on respiratory and zoonotic virus transmission. Most recently, to address important research gaps in public health at the human-animal interface, she has been collaborating on surveillance and characterization of endemic, emerging and high consequence viral zoonotic pathogens. This work garnered the 2021 Janet Rossant Lectureship, the T. J. Marrie Lectureship, and the Richard G. Hegele Award for Excellence in Research and Innovation.
Edward Thommes
Global Modelling & Analytics Lead, Vaccines Medical Affairs, Sanofi
Edward Thommes is Global Modelling Lead in the Vaccines Medical Affairs division at Sanofi. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Guelph, a founding member of the AI4Casting Hub for pan-Canadian respiratory disease forecasting, and an affiliate member of the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation (WICI). His research career spans physics, biomathematics, epidemiology, forecasting, AI, and the study of human behaviour and decision-making. A unifying theme of his work is understanding how complex systems evolve and interact, and how to anticipate, influence and optimize their behaviour in the service of the public good.
Eleni Galanis
Director General, Centre for Emerging and Respiratory and Pandemic Preparedness, Public Health Agency of Canada
Dr. Eleni Galanis is a public health physician and Director General of the Centre for Emerging and Respiratory and Pandemic Preparedness at the Public Health Agency of Canada. She previously created the public health risk assessment team and function at PHAC. She is a Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia and an Affiliated Professor at the University of Ottawa. She obtained her medical degree from the Universite de Sherbrooke, a Master of Public Health from Harvard University and her Fellowship in Public Health and Preventive Medicine from the University of Toronto. Dr. Galanis has practiced internationally, nationally and provincially for 25 years, mainly in infectious disease surveillance, risk assessment, prevention and control.
Fahad Razak
Internist, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto
Associate Professor, Depts. of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Dr. Fahad Razak is an internist at St. Michael’s Hospital, Associate Professor, and Canada Research Chair in Data-Informed Health Care Improvement at the University of Toronto. He co-founded GEMINI, Canada’s largest hospital research network, used by >1,000 scientists and health system leaders. Dr. Razak has received >$120 million in grant funding as Principal Investigator.
He completed degrees in Engineering Science and Medicine at the University of Toronto and was the first physician appointed as a David E. Bell Fellow at Harvard University.
As Scientific Director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, he contributed to >50 science and policy briefs that helped shape the province’s pandemic response.
Dr. Razak is Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute, Vice President, Research at the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, inaugural Chair of the Advisory Committee for Science at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and serves on the advisory board of The BMJ.
Geneviève Lavertu
Director, Government Affairs and Policy, Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology
Geneviève Lavertu, LLB, BCL, MSc, is the Director, Government Affairs and Policy at Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology in Canada. She is a senior executive in the health technologies sector, who prior to joining J&J MedTech was a consultant with life sciences companies advising on their commercialization strategy, and to government advising on their life sciences strategy.
Geneviève has been active the medtech, biotech and pharmaceutical sectors for over 20 years, working in and with large multinational corporations, SMEs and non-profit organizations in various senior roles in mergers and acquisitions, business development, digital health, clinical research and regulatory affairs, and as general counsel and corporate secretary and board director.
She is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Health Policy Council; a founding Board member of industry-led R&D consortium MEDTEQ+, a member of the Governance Committee of Québec’s Réseau d’Évaluation de l’Innovation en Santé, and also served on the Advisory Board of the Medical Device Research Centre of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
Ilias Iliopoulos
Head of Payer Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, AstraZeneca Canada
Ilias Iliopoulos is the Head of Payer Engagement and Strategic Partnerships with AstraZeneca Canada Inc.
He has over 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, across multiple functions including sales, medical and market access.
In his current role, he leads the external stakeholder team focusing on public and private payers across all therapeutic areas within the AstraZeneca pipeline and key strategic partnerships with institutions and organizations within the life science and healthcare sectors.
Jessica Blavignac
Director of Scientific and Medical Affairs, bioMérieux Canada
Jessica Blavignac joins us with over 20 years of experience within the Medical Affairs career path of the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries, holding positions following the classic progression from Medical Science Liaison to Director of Medical & Scientific Affairs, most recently at bioMérieux Canada. This background has allowed her to lead several national-scale medical education projects and more than 35 scientific and clinical research programs supporting a variety of therapeutic fields. Jessica holds a bachelor's degree from McMaster University, where she also pursued graduate studies in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences.
Lionel Fritz Adimi
Manager, Government Relations – Canada, CSL Seqirus
Lionel Fritz Adimi leads the government relations, public policy, and advocacy activities in Canada for CSL Seqirus, one of the largest manufacturers of flu vaccine in the world. Prior to that, he advised several key decision-makers including former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and several Cabinets Ministers in both federal and provincial politics. Lionel holds a master’s degree in international relations from McGill University and has also completed an Executive program in Finance and Accounting for non-financial professionals at Rotman School of Management (UofT).
Patricia DeMarco
Strategic Collaborations Lead, Health Data Strategy, Hoffmann La-Roche
Patricia DeMarco is a strategic leader and innovative change agent with over 20 years of experience in evidence generation, leveraging data to transform the healthcare system and improve patient outcomes. As the Strategic Collaborations Lead, Health Data Strategy at Hoffmann La-Roche, she is instrumental in shaping the strategy for adopting Personalized Healthcare (PHC) solutions in Canada.
Her work focuses on designing and implementing Real-World Evidence (RWE) research and forging partnerships with national research networks and innovative start-ups to build PHC capabilities. Patricia has recently led the design of the Digital Health Operating Model to efficiently prioritize and scale digital health initiatives. Her project portfolio includes significant RWE initiatives, such as the Breast Cancer Learning Health System and industry lead for the Public/Private Partnership program Precision Oncology Evidence Development in Cancer Treatment (PREDiCT).
Known for her structured approach and mentorship, Patricia is a key driver of innovation, making her a critical voice in discussions on Health Intelligence and Infectious Disease innovation.
Rahbar Rahimpour
Director, R&D Strategic Alliances, Moderna
Rahbar Rahimpour leads Moderna’s R&D strategy and investment in Canada, drawing on deep experience across research & development, business development, licensing, and commercialization. He previously served as Director of Technology Licensing and Industry Partnerships at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and as Senior Commercialization and Business Development Officer at the University Health Network (UHN), where he led revenue generation, venture creation, and multiple high-value partnerships.
He has guided the business development and licensing strategy of a Massachusetts-based biotechnology start-up through its IPO and founded a successful management consulting firm. Earlier, at the Office of the Director at the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), he led multi-stakeholder initiatives and complex change-management programs.
Rahbar holds a doctoral degree in Microbiology & Immunology from Western University and completed an international postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the U.S. NIH. He also earned an Executive MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Robert Michael McKay
Professor, School of the Environment, University of Windsor
Robert Michael McKay joined the University of Windsor where he serves as the Director of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and Professor in the School of the Environment. His research is focused on large lakes where he studies environmental microbiology including harmful cyanobacterial blooms and blooms of ice-associated algae in the Great Lakes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his lab group made a successful transition to wastewater surveillance in support of public health which now includes federal support integrating wastewater and environmental surveillance of pathogens with cross-border trade and resiliency of biomanufacturing and health sector supply chains.
Michael serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Great Lakes Research and as the Canadian co-chair of the International Joint Commission’s Science Advisory Board’s Science Priority Committee.
Roundtable 3: Process Innovation
Enabling digital and AI/ML technologies into biomanufacturing processes.
How can we rethink biomanufacturing processes and techniques to improve speed, scalability, sustainability, and support efficient product transitions in emergency response?
Process Innovation Roundtable Participants
Roundtable Chair
Christopher Yip
Dean and Professor, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, University of Toronto
Christopher Yip is a leading scholar in the field of single-molecule biophysics, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and a faculty member with the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, the Department of Biochemistry, and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. He is a Principal Investigator with the Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research at the University of Toronto. Christopher is a leading scholar in the field of single-molecule biophysics.
As a former director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, he provided leadership to more than 100 research engineers and scientists engaged in discovery and product development in the areas of neuroscience and sensory stimulation, biomaterials and tissue engineering, molecular systems biology and nanotechnology, as well as medical device and drug delivery system design.
Aidan Tinafar
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Liberum Biotech
Aidan Tinafar is a molecular biologist and biotechnology entrepreneur specializing in cell-free protein expression systems. He is the co-founder and CEO of Liberum Biotech, where he leads the development of scalable, high-performance cell-free platforms across mammalian, insect, yeast, and bacterial systems. With a foundation in law and business and scientific training at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Aidan brings a multidisciplinary approach to biotechnology innovation. Under his leadership, Liberum Biotech partners with major pharmaceutical and biotech organizations to advance next-generation biomanufacturing, accelerating the discovery and production of complex proteins and therapeutics.
Alexandros Sklavounos
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ocean Technologies
Alexandros Sklavounos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Blue Ocean Technologies, a company developing rapid diagnostic solutions designed for emergency and remote healthcare settings. He also leads Sci-Bots, a Blue Ocean subsidiary that builds programmable microfluidic systems powering automation for research and industrial applications worldwide. Alexandros completed his PhD in Aaron Wheeler’s lab at the University of Toronto, where his research focused on translating microfluidic technologies from academic prototypes to practical clinical tools. His work bridges diagnostics, automation, and health technology innovation, enabling faster, scalable, and more adaptable workflows. Through his ventures, Alexandros is driving the adoption of next-generation point-of-care testing and laboratory automation, advancing tools that make complex biological analysis accessible anywhere.
Amanda Wright
Executive Director, Pharmaceutical Sciences Group
With over 20 years of leadership in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors, Amanda Wright is a seasoned executive recognized for driving organizational growth, innovation, and collaboration across the industry. As Executive Director of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Group Inc. (PSG), a leading Canadian non-profit, she provides strategic direction and operational oversight to advance the professional community supporting pharmaceutical and life sciences excellence. Under her leadership, PSG has strengthened its industry influence through strategic partnerships with regulatory authorities, government bodies, and corporate stakeholders, including Health Canada and the U.S. FDA. Through her stewardship, PSG has expanded its professional development programs, annual conferences, and industry collaborations that shape evolving regulatory and scientific standards. Previously, she held senior roles at PharmEng Technology Inc. and Eurofins, specializing in quality systems, regulatory compliance, and microbiological consulting. Passionate about education and innovation, Amanda continues to champion knowledge-sharing and leadership within Canada’s life sciences community.
Azher Razvi
Director, CCRM-OmniaBio-Cytiva Collaboration, Cytiva
Azher Razvi has for the last 8 years worked in the field of genomic medicines for both GE Healthcare and then Cytiva as part of Danaher’s acquisition of GE Healthcare’s life sciences portfolio. Azher started as a bench scientist applying his expertise on upstream workflows to suspension iPSC culture, viral vector manufacturing, and immune based cell therapy development. For the past 3 years, as Director, Azher has overseen operations of the Center for Advanced Therapeutic Cell Technologies run in collaboration with CCRM and OmniaBio, focused on contract service process development and commercial technology and platform development programs targeting cell and gene therapy and regenerative medicine applications. He is responsible for leadership, guidance of business strategy, operations, and program execution in alignment with the Cytiva's Genomic Medicines vision. Previously, Azher worked for 10 years within the biofuels industry specializing in upstream process development at Iogen Corporation.
Boris Gorin
Senior Scientific Advisor, Eurofins CDMO Alphora
Dr. Boris Gorin is a globally recognized R&D leader in the field of pharmaceutical development with over 30 years of industrial experience. During his industrial career Boris hold leadership roles in various Canadian CDMO and pharmaceutical companies with his recent position as a Senior Scientific Advisor for Eurofins CDMO Alphora. His professional interests are in process development for API manufacture, innovative and generic drug development, natural products, high-potent compounds and controlled substances. Boris has extensive experience in IP development and protection, he authored over 100 patents and patent applications. He was also successful in introduction of new technologies such as High-Throughput-Screening, Continuous Flow Processes, Process Analytical Technology, etc. to pharmaceutical manufacture within his organizations.
Brian Gelfand
Field Applications Specialist, Sony Biotechnology
Brian Gelfand, PhD, is a graduate of The Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, producing work on non-coding RNA function and transcriptomics. Post-graduate, he worked several years at the Waksman Genomics Lab contributing to Genomic research in a variety of species including human, drosophila, bovine, and duckweed. He gained experience in flow cytometry and cell sorting combined with genomic applications in the environs of start-up companies in New York City. In 2020, Brian joined Sony Biotechnology as a Field Applications Scientist, assisting customers in their cell therapy work at all levels from research and development to production in the manufacturing suite. He is also Product Lead with expertise in the CGX10 Cell Isolation System, and traveled to Yokohama, Japan for advanced training on the platform. Outside of research, he enjoys visiting museums, aquariums, and zoos while traveling, cycling, attempting to prepare new dishes, and tending garden.
Derek Wilson
Full Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, York University
Derek J. Wilson was born on a cold winter’s night, some 47 years ago using paddles. He has since done some science that could be classified as interesting, centered mostly on the development and application of new bioanalytical technologies to drug/vaccine development and manufacturing. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers, most of which are at least pretty good, been awarded more than $40M in industry-academic-government funding over the past decade, won some awards like the Synergy one from NSERC and has otherwise generally tried to be useful. He is a research chair in ‘Molecular Mechanisms of Disease’ and is director of the Technology-Enhanced Biopharmaceuticals Development and Manufacturing Initiative, which is something he made up in order to feel important.
Jana Machan
Chief Operating Officer, CCRM
Jana Machan joined CCRM in 2017 as VP, Commercialization and was promoted to SVP Operations in June 2022 and then Chief Operating Officer in June 2024. Prior to joining CCRM, Jana spent nine years on the Baxter Canada executive team, including establishing the Business Model Innovation and Market Access functions, leading Medical Affairs and steering a major turn-around in Baxter's $100MM Renal Therapy business, restoring growth and profitability in a challenging market environment. Earlier in her career, Jana worked at Becton Dickinson in various progressive sales and marketing roles in Canada and the US, including Marketing Director and Worldwide Business Director at the company's global headquarters in New Jersey. Jana holds an MBA from Rutgers and an MSc (Protein Chemistry) and BSc (Biology/Genetics) from McGill University.
Kevin Scannell
VP, Quality and Regulatory Compliance, OmniaBio
Kevin Scannell is VP of Quality and Regulatory Compliance, at OmniaBio, a cell and gene therapy manufacturing organization in Ontario. Kevin holds a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science from University College Cork, Ireland, he has over 30 years’ experience in the pharma/biotech industry spanning multiple dosage forms and disciplines. Prior to OmniaBio Kevin held the position of Chapter Leader for External Quality at Hoffman La Roche Canada.
Linh Nguyen
Staff Scientist and Head, Centre for Cell Manufacturing, University Health Network
Dr. Linh Nguyen obtained her PhD in Immunology at the University of Toronto and pursued postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School. She led the Cell Manufacturing Team of the Tumor Immunotherapy Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre since its inception in 2005. She is now the Head of the Centre for Cell Manufacturing at the University Health Network. The team has manufactured cell and gene therapy products for early phase clinical trials such as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), T-cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cells and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells. The Centre’s expertise includes process and analytical development, technology transfer, manufacturing operations, supply chain, quality testing, quality assurance, and regulatory submissions.
Natalia Martin Orozco
Chief Scientific Officer, Providence Therapeutics
Dr. Natalia Martin Orozco is Chief Scientific Officer at Providence Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. since January of 2022. She joined Providence in 2018 as VP of Drug Development and in 2021 she served as Chief Development Officer. Currently she leads a team of scientist to develop vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer therapies.
Natalia has more than 15 years experience in drug development in both industry and academia. Prior positions include leading target discovery and drug development teams taking assets through regulatory approvals for clinical trials including personalized cell therapies and biologics for cancer and autoimmunity.
Natalia served as Principal Scientist at EMD Serono, LION Biotechnology (now IOVANCE) and Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, Natalia spent 9 years at MD Anderson Cancer Center working on translational immunology research where she published seminal work on checkpoint blockers, Th17 cells in cancer and autoimmunity. Natalia earned her PhD in Immunology from Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México and did postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in Boston and Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.
Paul McVeigh
Life Science Industrial Technology Advisor, National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program
Paul McVeigh is a Life Science Industrial Technology Advisor with National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) International division. Prior to that, Paul started up multiple successful life-sciences manufacturing and consulting firms, and took on leadership roles in small, mid-sized and multi-national biopharma including Emergent, and Sanofi Pasteur.
Paul is a skilled life sciences professional and entrepreneur with broad industry knowledge and business acumen. He has twenty-five years of extensive multi-discipline experience across all stages of biologics development and commercial operations including R&D, Project Management, Quality Systems, Industrial Operations, Business Development and strategic planning.
In 2020, Paul was called upon as a technical expert to support the Federal pandemic response efforts. He contributed his knowledge and skills to guide the development of Canada’s biomanufacturing strategy and support Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Taskforce (VTF). In 2022, Paul was recognized for his achievements and awarded the NRC President’s Award – Protecting Canadians.
Ramila Peiris
Global Head of Process Data Management, ML & AI Platform, MSAT, Sanofi
Ramila Peiris is the Global Head of Process Data Management, ML and AI Platform, MSAT at Sanofi where he provides strategy and vision for data engineering, advanced modeling, and AI solutions. With a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, he has an extensive background in the development and application of Data Science Solutions and has spent over 15 years working in pharmaceutical, water and specialty chemicals industries.
Ramila has championed the adoption of cutting-edge technologies—including Generative AI, Process Analytical Technology, IIoT, and prescriptive analytics—successfully guiding projects from proof-of-concept to full-scale deployment.
He is driven by the impact of his work, delivering practical and game-changing solutions, and passionate about building high performance teams.
We want your input!
Help shape the discussion. As part of your registration, we invite you to submit questions, insights, or challenges you’d like the roundtables to explore. We welcome bold ideas, unconventional perspectives, and thought-provoking topics that can spark meaningful dialogue and debate. Topic suggestions can also be emailed directly to hi3@utoronto.ca.