No announcements found. Speaker Bios
Sonia M. Ziesche, Ph.D
Patent Agent, Gowling
Sonia Ziesche is a patent agent in Gowlings' Vancouver office, working within the Intellectual Property Group. Prior to joining Gowlings, Sonia worked several years in academic research at the University of British Columbia, in the areas of epigenetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, microarray technology, small human RNA genes and cell cycle control.
Janice Mallison, B.Sc.
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Cardiome
Janice Mallison is Cardiome’s Vice President, Regulatory Affairs. With over 20 years’ experience in regulatory affairs and quality assurance, Ms. Mallison was previously Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Operations at Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Mallison has a track record of both FDA and European success in large pharma and small biotech companies, providing oversight of submission and approval of marketing applications for 5 novel drug products as well as regulatory leadership of drug development planning in cardiovascular, respiratory, neurology, pain and transplant. Ms. Mallison’s earlier career includes eight years with Elan Pharma and thirteen years with Roche and Syntex. After completing a degree in pharmacology Ms. Mallison joined the industry as a toxicologist and Study Director overseeing a range of non-clinical safety testing to support phase 1 through to NDA.
Vicky Stronge, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Senior Product Manager Immunology, Stemcell Technologies
Vicki Stronge is currently a Senior Product Manager for Immunology at STEMCELL Technologies, and has worked in Product Management for over 3 years. Prior to coming to STEMCELL, she was a Business Development Manager at Abcam in Cambridge, UK. She completed a B.Sc (Hons) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia, and an M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto. She earned a PhD. In Biochemistry from the University of Oxford in 2007.
Robin Sherrington, PhD
Vice President Business & Corporate Development, Xenon Pharmaceuticals
Robin joined Xenon in 2001 and has 15 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience. He played the lead role in establishing collaborations with Roche, Takeda and Merck, and is also responsible for the alliance management of Xenon’s pharma partnerships. Before his current role in Business & Corporate Development, Robin was the Head of Xenon’s human genetic discovery and validation group where under his stewardship, 13 novel drug targets were validated within 2 years including the targets constituting Xenon’s current pipeline, and was the project leader for the pain program. Prior to joining Xenon, Robin was a neuroscientist at the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Parke-Davis, as well as the biotechnology companies Axys Pharmaceuticals and Sequana Therapeutics. A neurogeneticist by training, he received his PhD from the University College London in the UK and post-doctoral training at University of Toronto, where he cloned the Alzheimer’s disease genes. Robin has over 55 peer reviewed papers and is an inventor on several patents.
Andre Marziali, B.A.Sc., Ph.D.
Co-Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Boreal Genomics
A leading innovator, educator, and entrepreneur with over 15 years’ experience in developing tools for life science research and technologies for nucleic acid analysis, Andre founded Boreal Genomics with colleagues from the University of British Columbia in 2007.Andre received his B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from UBC in 1989, and his Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford University in 1994. He has worked with Dr. Ron Davis, in the Stanford DNA Sequencing Technology Center, developing instruments for DNA sequencing and sample purification and as an Assistant Professor at University of British Columbia in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 1998, where he founded the Applied Biophysics Laboratory and the Genome BC Technology Development Platform. In 2005 he was appointed Director of the Engineering Physics program at UBC.
He has been awarded the 2004 BC Innovation Council – Young Innovator award, the 2007 Association for Lab Automation Innovation Award, and the 2011 Life Science BC Award for Innovation and Achievement
George Haughn, B.Sc., Ph.D.
Professor, UBC Botany
Dr. George Haughn is Professor of Botany at the University of British Columbia. He obtained a B.Sc. in Biology with Honours (Genetics) from Dalhousie University in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell University in 1985. From 1984 to 1987 he was a Postdoctoral under Dr. C. Somerville in the DOE-Plant Research laboratory, Michigan State University where he was one of the first to clone a herbicide resistance gene, which was used by many groups to engineer sulfonylurea herbicide resistance in crops. In 1987, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan in 1987 and Associate Professor in 1990. Dr. Haughn moved to the University of British Columbia in 1993 where he was appointed to Full Professor in 2000. Dr. Haughn was awarded the Genetics Society of Canada, Young Scientist Award (1991), a University of Saskatchewan Alumni Excellence Research Award (1992) and an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship to study molecular genetics of floral morphogenesis at Max Planck Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Cologne Germany. Dr. Haughn’s laboratory, in collaboration with that of Dr. R. Fischer was the first a clone a gene (BEL1) controlling ovule morphogenesis (1995). Currently, Dr. Haughn’s laboratory is focused on investigating BEL1 and BEL1- like genes and Arabidopsis seed coat differentiation for use as a model system for understanding cell wall biosynthesis. In 2002 Dr. Haughn established CAN-TILL, a Canadian reverse genetic facility, in collaboration with the Arabidopsis TILLING Project in Seattle and funding from Genome Canada.
Alistair Duncan, B.Sc., C.A.
President, Chief Executive Officer, viDA Therapeutics
Co-founder of the viDA Therapeutics in 2008 Mr. Duncan serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company. From 2009 to present, Mr Duncan has also served as the interim Chief Financial Officer for Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., a company building a high performance crop seeds business for the development of new genetically modified crops for renewable fuels. From 1998 to 2008, Mr. Duncan was President and CEO of Chromos Molecular Systems Inc., where he was also a founder and Director. Prior to that, he was a Principal with the Ernst & Young Corporate Finance and International Life Sciences Group where he provided high technology and life sciences companies with corporate advisory services in strategic planning, valuations, financing, divestitures, and mergers and acquisitions. Currently, Mr. Duncan also serves as a director on the board of Metro Vancouver Properties Corp. Mr. Duncan is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and holds a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia.
Neil Klompas, B.Sc., C.A.
Chief Financial Officer, Zymeworks
Mr. Klompas has been with Zymeworks since 2007 and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer, and brings over 19 years of biotechnology, healthcare and life sciences experience to the Company. Prior to Zymeworks, Mr. Klompas was with KPMG LLP, having worked with KPMG's Global Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Medical Device Merger and Acquisition Transaction Services practice in Princeton, New Jersey, and KPMG's Canadian Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals practice in Vancouver, BC. Mr. Klompas is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, and holds a BSc from the University of British Columbia in Microbiology and Immunology.
Keynote Speaker
Brad Popovich, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Genome BC
Brad Popovich completed his MSc degree in Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in 1978 and became one of the first genetic counselors to immigrate to Canada. He went on to complete an MSc and PhD in biochemical and molecular genetics respectively, at McGill University, completing his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies. During his graduate training period he was focused on the application of genomic technologies to the diagnosis and management of human disease.
After completing his graduate and post doctoral training Brad became the founding director of the San Diego Children's Hospital DNA Diagnostic Laboratory in 1989 and was responsible for the translation of several new genetic research findings into clinical practice. These genetic tests include: cystic fibrosis, Duchene muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, fragile X syndrome, and myotonic dystrophy. He was also a pioneer in the forensic use of DNA while in San Diego and his laboratory was the first in the US to offer solely DNA-based paternity testing.
In 1992, Brad joined Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and became the founding director of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at OHSU Hospital where he was responsible for translating genetic research findings into clinical tests used by referring physicians. The menu of services offered in his clinical laboratory at OHSU was one of the most comprehensive of any academic based institution in the US. In 1997 he was granted tenure and became the first Executive Director of the Genetic Service Laboratories at OHSU offering a complete suite of medical genomic laboratory services and providing academic training for a variety of researchers and clinicians. The work of his trainees resulted in many peer reviewed publications in the area of diagnosis and molecular pathology of diseases.
Other academic accomplishments include: coauthoring the first comprehensive genetic privacy legislation passed into US law (Oregon 1995); helping to develop quality assurance guidelines for medical laboratories developing disease specific practice guidelines for clinicians performing DNA based clinical testing; and assisting in the prosecution/defense of several criminal cases using DNA based forensic evidence.
Brad left OHSU in 2001 to work in the private sector when he joined Xenon Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver, BC) where he was employed from 2001-2005. He then moved to Sirius Genomics where he was the Chief Operating Officer (2005) and President and Chief Executive Officer from 2006-2009.
Brad presently serves on the boards of Sirius Genomics, Centre for Drug Research and Development Ventures and Genetic Information Management Systems. He recently served on the boards of DNA Direct, Tm Biosciences, the American College of Medical Genetics, and American College of Medical Genetics Foundation.
