Rob was the founding CEO and is the current President and CSO of Molecular You Corporation. Backed by his expertise in molecular diagnostics, molecularly targeted drug discovery and development, biochemistry and regulatory compliance, Rob Fraser drives the innovation behind Molecular You’s multi-biomarker analytics. He established a low cost method of measuring hundreds of biomarkers from a single blood sample, along with establishing a LLM model to incorporate the world’s leading scientific literature.

Rob has also been involved in leading drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD. Rob received extensive training in the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology while completing his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta and Harvard Medical School and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and IGBMC, Strasbourg, France. In addition to Rob’s scientific accomplishments, he has been involved in the raising of more than $37M in funding. Rob is also co-founder of GenXys Health Care Systems, Personalized Biomarkers Incorporated, Mesentech Corporation and Novobind.

Catalina Lopez-Correa is the Founder of Global Gene, and co-Chair of GGNET (Global Genomics Network for Education and Training), both are global genomics education initiatives dedicated to advancing understanding of genomics and promoting equitable access to genomic technologies. Catalina has devoted her career to harnessing genomics as a transformative force in the life sciences, in Canada and internationally.

Catalina has held senior leadership roles across Canada’s genomics ecosystem, serving as Chief Scientific Officer at Genome Québec (2008–2015), Genome British Columbia (2015–2019), and Genome Canada (2021–2026). In these roles, she was instrumental in designing and leading high-impact research and innovation initiatives that elevated Canada’s profile in global genomics. As Executive Director of the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), she led a $40M national initiative that embedded genomics at the core of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her career also includes senior leadership positions at deCODE Genetics and Eli Lilly and Company.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, Catalina has since become a strong advocate for patient access to precision oncology and genomic testing. She actively shares her perspective as a physician, genomics scientist, and patient through blogs, podcasts, keynote lectures, and conference panels, raising awareness of the critical role genomics plays in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Catalina’s leadership has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Canadian Senate 150th Anniversary Medal (2017) and the Colombian National Order of Merit (2013).

Pieter R. Cullis, PhD, FRSC, FRS, OBC, OC, Director, Nanomedicines Research Group, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia. Dr. Cullis and co-workers have been responsible for fundamental advances in the development of nanomedicines employing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for cancer therapies, gene therapies and vaccines. This work has contributed to five drugs that have received clinical approval by the FDA, the European EMA and Health Canada. Dr. Cullis has also co-founded more than 10 biotechnology companies that now employ over 500 people, has published over 400 scientific articles (h index 140) and is an inventor on over 100 patents. He has also co-founded and been Founding Scientific Director of two National Centre of Excellence networks, the Centre for Drug Research and Development (now AdMare) in 2004 and the NanoMedicines Innovation Network in 2019. These not-for-profit networks are aimed at translating basic research in the life sciences into commercially viable products and have given rise to numerous start-up companies. Dr. Cullis also has a strong interest in personalized medicine, having published a book entitled “The Personalized Medicine Revolution: How Diagnosing and Treating Disease Are About to Change Forever” in 2015.

Two drugs enabled by LNP delivery systems devised by Dr. Cullis, members of his UBC laboratory and colleagues in the companies he has co-founded deserve special emphasis. The first is Onpattro which was approved by the US FDA in August 2018 to treat the previously fatal hereditary condition transthyretin-induced amyloidosis (hATTR). Onpattro is the first RNAi drug to receive regulatory approval. The second is Comirnaty, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech that has received regulatory approval in many jurisdictions including Canada, the USA, the UK and Europe. Comirnaty has played a major role in containing the global Covid-19 pandemic with approximately 6B doses administered worldwide in 2021 and 2022.

Dr. Cullis has received many awards including the Order of Canada in 2021, the VinFuture Prize (Vietnam), the Prince Mahidol Award (Thailand), the Gairdner International Award (Canada) and the Tang Prize (Taiwan) in 2022 and the Harvey Prize (Israel) and the Killam Prize (Canada) in 2023. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) in 2023 and elected to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2024.

Fiona Dalton became President and Chief Executive Officer of Providence Health Care on April 23, 2018.

Fiona holds a BA Honours in Human Sciences from The Queen’s College, Oxford University. She received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Southampton in 2017.

Fiona has amassed over 27 years of increasingly senior health care experience, distinguishing herself as a values-based leader, cultivating ethical and progressive organizational cultures that put patients and residents first. Under her previous leadership as the CEO of University Hospital Southampton NHS (National Health Service) Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, the NHS’s Care Quality Commission ranked the hospital as “Good” overall and “Outstanding” in the “Well Led” category.

Fiona is passionate about improving patient outcomes and organizational performance by focusing on improving quality, safety, staff wellness, staff engagement, and fiscal and environmental stewardship. She is an ardent champion of enabling and spreading research and innovation—from ideas formulation to pilot-implementation to scaled-up commercialization—that have positive real-world impacts.

As CEO of Providence, Fiona has led the organization in achieving key recent milestones, including:

• Provincial government approval of a new $2.2-billion hospital (St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia), being constructed for completion in spring 2027
• Provincial government approval of a new $638-million state-of-the-art Clinical Support and Research Centre (CSRC) at the new St. Paul’s Hospital. This is where life-saving discoveries are advanced from the lab to the hospital and to communities across BC and beyond
• Development of a comprehensive Indigenous Wellness & Reconciliation Action Plan
• Establishment and launch of a new sister organization—Providence Living—to focus on developing new seniors care solutions
• Commencement of a new long term care seniors’ community project in Vancouver, modelled on European “dementia villages”
• Becoming a founding member of the Canada Digital Technology Supercluster, and partnering on key projects with private and public industry to help make Canada a global hub for digital technology innovation
• Expanding Providence’s substance-use and harm-reduction services, including opening Canada’s first and only in-hospital Overdose Prevention Site and launching a virtual version of Providence’s Rapid Access Addictions Clinic
• In 2023, Road to Recovery at St. Paul’s Hospital launched. This is a first-in-Canada model of care that is expected to cut weeks on waitlists and support patients to move through a full spectrum of treatment services all in one location. This model is expected to expand across BC.
• Launch of Providence’s innovation ecosystem, including Providence Health Care Ventures, to enable commercialization of technology-driven solutions
• Achievement of “Exemplary Standing” from Accreditation Canada for Providence’s 2022 Accreditation Survey

Fiona’s diverse health care experience, her commitment to Truth & Reconciliation with Indigenous People, her emphasis on collaboration, innovation, organizational culture, performance excellence, and her focus on staff/physician engagement and patient involvement are leading Providence in helping to transform health care for all people living in B.C.

Rob was the founding CEO and is the current President and CSO of Molecular You Corporation. Backed by his expertise in molecular diagnostics, molecularly targeted drug discovery and development, biochemistry and regulatory compliance, Rob Fraser drives the innovation behind Molecular You’s multi-biomarker analytics. He established a low cost method of measuring hundreds of biomarkers from a single blood sample, along with establishing a LLM model to incorporate the world’s leading scientific literature.

Rob has also been involved in leading drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD. Rob received extensive training in the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology while completing his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta and Harvard Medical School and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and IGBMC, Strasbourg, France. In addition to Rob’s scientific accomplishments, he has been involved in the raising of more than $37M in funding. Rob is also co-founder of GenXys Health Care Systems, Personalized Biomarkers Incorporated, Mesentech Corporation and Novobind.

Soyean currently serves as Director of Digital Data, AI, and Partnerships at Providence Healthcare Ventures, where she leads the creation, deployment, and continuous improvement of data and AI products. These solutions enhance patient experiences, drive operational efficiency, and enable data exchange and commercialization for external partners. Her role integrates data science, analytics, product management, innovation, and information technology within Providence’s health ecosystem. She also oversees privacy, security, and consent management for internal and federated data platforms, and apply advanced analytical techniques—including artificial intelligence—to support cutting-edge health research and innovation.

Daniel Holmes earned his undergraduate degree in Chemical Physics from the University of Toronto. He went to medical school at the University of British Columbia (UBC) where he also did his residency in Medical Biochemistry. He is a Clinical Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC and Head and Medical Director of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver and Interim Medical Director of the British Columbia Provincial Toxicology Laboratory. Interests include clinical endocrinology with a focus on secondary hypertension, lipidology, clinical mass spectrometry, and data science in application to data automation, visualization and clinical utilization.

Denise is Senior Legal Counsel, Research & Innovation at Providence Health Care, where she provides legal, regulatory and strategic guidance to support research and innovation excellence. As PHC looks ahead to the exciting development of the Clinical Support and Research Centre (CSRC) at the new St. Paul’s Hospital, Denise sees her role as playing a part in making sure that we all can make the most of the opportunity the CSRC presents.

Prior to joining PHC, Denise practised in the Health Regulatory and Life Sciences group at a leading national law firm in Toronto, where she worked with a spectrum of clients from individual inventors (including researchers and physicians) and start-up medical device companies to multi-national life sciences companies. In private practice, she helped those clients navigate complex regulated environments, and negotiate agreements in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and regulated health profession industries. As a licensed Canadian patent agent, she is also well-versed in the acquisition, exploitation and licensing of intellectual property. Her work for these clients led to recognition as an Associate to Watch – Life Sciences: Regulatory Compliance (2024-2026) by Chambers Canada, a LMG Life Sciences Rising Star (2024) and One to Watch: Intellectual Property (2026) by Best Lawyers.

She holds a BSc in Cell Biology and Genetics from UBC, a JD from University of Toronto and an LLM from University of Auckland.

Lucas Wright is an Educational Developer at the University of British Columbia Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT), where he leads faculty development initiatives focused on teaching, assessment, and generative AI in higher education. His work explores how AI is reshaping learning, academic judgment, and assessment practices, with a focus on helping educators thoughtfully integrate emerging technologies into teaching and learning.

Diane Finegood is a Professor and Fellow in the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University where she teaches in the Semester in Dialogue. Her career has spanned a broad range of disciplines and leadership roles. She served as President & CEO of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Executive Director of the Canadian Health Services and Policy Research Alliance and inaugural Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. Diane is internationally recognized with scholarly work in a range of disciplines including pathogenesis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, application of mathematical modeling to physiological systems, cross sector partnership, knowledge mobilization, systems thinking and complex adaptive systems.

Catalina Lopez-Correa is the Founder of Global Gene, and co-Chair of GGNET (Global Genomics Network for Education and Training), both are global genomics education initiatives dedicated to advancing understanding of genomics and promoting equitable access to genomic technologies. Catalina has devoted her career to harnessing genomics as a transformative force in the life sciences, in Canada and internationally.

Catalina has held senior leadership roles across Canada’s genomics ecosystem, serving as Chief Scientific Officer at Genome Québec (2008–2015), Genome British Columbia (2015–2019), and Genome Canada (2021–2026). In these roles, she was instrumental in designing and leading high-impact research and innovation initiatives that elevated Canada’s profile in global genomics. As Executive Director of the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), she led a $40M national initiative that embedded genomics at the core of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her career also includes senior leadership positions at deCODE Genetics and Eli Lilly and Company.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, Catalina has since become a strong advocate for patient access to precision oncology and genomic testing. She actively shares her perspective as a physician, genomics scientist, and patient through blogs, podcasts, keynote lectures, and conference panels, raising awareness of the critical role genomics plays in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Catalina’s leadership has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Canadian Senate 150th Anniversary Medal (2017) and the Colombian National Order of Merit (2013).

Jenn McRae is a writer and transformation strategist who helps leaders, institutions and communities understand structural shifts in work, learning, and economic participation.

Her career began at Simon Fraser University, where a formative experience in the Semester in Dialogue program prompted a sustained inquiry into what education could become. She went on to initiate SFU’s Experiential Education Project, a university-wide initiative to document and expand the institution’s use of experiential learning. That work led to the co-founding of the Change Lab, a program offered jointly between the Faculty of Environment and the Beedie School of Business in which interdisciplinary undergraduate teams spent a full term working on systemic challenges alongside community partners. It ran for ten years across 17 cohorts and was replicated in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Jenn facilitated in the program for five years while concurrently serving as Manager of Education Initiatives at RADIUS, SFU’s social innovation lab. Her mandate focused on the future of work and learning and developing programs to bridge campus and community — including the RADIUS Fellowships, a leadership program for early-career social impact leaders.

After leaving SFU, McRae consulted across the social impact sector, including engagements with Ashoka Canada’s learning networks initiative, CityStudio Vancouver, and the Urban Worker Project, Canada’s first advocacy organization dedicated to independent workers.

She is a founding board member of the Sharing and Circular Innovations Society (SCIS), a Victoria-based organization advancing community economic resilience, and lives on the unceded territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt peoples.

Dr. David Price, Founding Dean, Simon Fraser University School of Medicine, is excited to help create the team that will be responsible for bringing the school to life. First class starts Summer 2026.

Dr. Price is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University, and former Chief of Family Medicine at Hamilton Health Sciences (2004–2018). During his tenure as chair, the Department grew exponentially, graduating over 100 family medicine residents annually. Dr. Price was also instrumental in helping to create the academic FHT at McMaster University, an interprofessional team currently serving over 40,000 patients in the Hamilton area. As the administrative lead for OSCAR, after its creation by Dr. David Chan, Dr. Price shepherded it from a small start up to a nationally implemented electronic medical record.

Dr. Price has also been involved with local, regional, and provincial government bodies where he acts as a consultant and advisor to provincial governments in Canada, as well as internationally. He was the Chair of the Provincial (Ontario) Expert Advisory Panel on Primary Care (2013–2014) where he played a key role in helping produce Patient Care Groups: A new model of population-based primary health care for Ontario (“Price Report”) and is currently the Chair of the Ontario Minister of Health’s Primary Care Advisory Table. Dr. Price is part of the 2023/2024 Ministry of Health/OMA negotiations team, representing primary care for the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Price has participated in over $6M in peer reviewed research funding (> $1M as lead) and has been the lead in over $15M of other funding from a variety of Governments and Agencies. He has authored over 40 peer reviewed publications and published numerous other articles/book chapters.

Active in the community, Dr. Price has also been on several non profit boards including the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP) and is chair of the board for Centre for Effective Practice.

Anita Charters is the Senior Advisor, Interdisciplinary Research and Programs at Genome British Columbia, a non-profit organization that invests in and supports genomics research and innovation to address regional challenges. With a passion for responsible innovation, Anita is dedicated to bringing a social science lens to both the research and implementation stages of genomics. This approach ensures the development and use of genomics is both responsible and equitable.

Anita has been in the genomics ecosystem for over two decades. Her background includes integrating several genomic assays into the clinic at the Provincial Health Services Authority, as well as roles as Computational Biologist and Project Manager at Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from Simon Fraser University, where she investigated sociotechnical imaginaries that shape precision medicine.

Peter is a Professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He is Director of the Gena Lab where they research the role of critical communication and culture in the adoption and evolution of the fields of clinical genomics, privacy, blockchain, AI, and social media. He is also a member of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge.

Nilou Noursadeghi recently completed her MSc in Genome Science and Technology at UBC. During her studies, she founded Bahar Genetics Inc., a consulting startup inspired by her personal journey and her dedication to advancing patient care in British Columbia. Through this venture, Nilou recognized a critical gap in public and professional education surrounding the fast-evolving field of genomics. She is now committed to bridging that gap by providing clear, unbiased insights into the latest advancements in genomic technology, offering valuable information to healthcare professionals, patients, and those curious about the field.

Dr. Pollard is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and an Investigator and Health Economist at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. She is Principal Investigator of multiple funded research initiatives supported by Genome BC, the BC Cancer Foundation, and the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. She holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of British Columbia, an MSc in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University, and a PhD in Population and Public Health from the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Pollard’s research applies mixed methods to evaluate innovations in oncology from the perspectives of publicly funded health system payers, clinicians, patients, families, and members of the public. Her work spans patient-oriented clinical trial design, data infrastructure development, as well as clinical and economic evaluation of precision oncology health technologies.

Within the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Dr. Pollard leads a research program dedicated to generating the evidence needed for timely, values-driven implementation of novel pediatric oncology services, technologies, and therapeutics. Working in close partnership with patients and community partners, her program produces actionable findings to inform reimbursement and access decision-making across the full cancer diagnosis and care continuum.

Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell is a movement disorder neurologist and Associate Professor for Medicine/Neurology at UBC, where she holds the Marg Meikle Professorship for Research in Parkinson’s disease and directs the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Centre and the UBC Movement Disorders Clinic. Her research focusses on the role of the microbiome and nutrition in Parkinson’s disease and related brain disorders, lifestyle interventions as well as non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s. She leads numerous clinical trials and is passionate about the improvement of care delivery in movement disorders.

She is the co-founding director of the BC Brain Wellness Program, is a member of the International Movement Disorder Society Taskforce on Wellness and has previously served as the president of the Canadian Movement Disorder Society and the Director of the Canadian Residents Course for Movement Disorders. She received the UBC Killam Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 2023, the UBC Honorary Medical Alumni Award in 2024 and the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025.

Dr. May Siksik is CEO of Innovation Network Global, a Canada-headquartered platform advancing system-level innovation across AI, quantum, and digital infrastructure. She co-chairs the United Nations IGF Dynamic Coalition on Emerging Technologies, leads the Global Quantum Education Initiative in partnership with the UNESCO International Year of Quantum, and founded Healthcare Without Borders, a global initiative focused on AI-driven, inclusive health systems.

Dr. Siksik also chairs Canada’s National Research Council review committee for the Applied Quantum Computing Challenge Program, serves as a national delegate to the ISO technical committee on quantum technologies (JTC 3 – Physical Layer) and liaison to TC 62 on medical devices and software, and is Vice Chair of the Board of CMC Microsystems, Canada’s national platform for advanced semiconductor research and access to quantum hardware.

Nicholas Kofi is an elected Councillor for Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the son of Christine George and grandson of the late Bob and Kathleen George, who instilled in him a deep sense of love and responsibility for his people. Raised in Tsleil-Waututh with values passed down through his grandparents, aunts and uncles; teachings of community, family, culture, and songs that laid the foundation for his path and continue to guide him today as a leader.

Nicholas found his voice early on the Youth Committee and grew into leadership roles rooted in listening and community engagement. For eight years, he worked with the Nation’s Language team, supporting hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓ revitalization and helping keep cultural knowledge alive. Nicholas has also worked with the Sníchim Foundation, deepening his understanding of the importance of revitalizing not just the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh, but all Indigenous languages.

Nicholas has served on the TWN Lands Advisory Committee and the Board of the Maplewood Mudflats, helping to protect spaces for cultural connection and environmental stewardship.

Taleeb Noormohamed is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation.

Taleeb Noormohamed brings a rare combination of technology, policy, and public service experience to the most consequential AI governance conversations in Canada today. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, he sits at the intersection of Canada’s emerging technology agenda and its implementation.

Before entering federal politics, Taleeb built and led global technology companies, advised startups, and created hundreds of jobs in the technology sector across Canada and internationally. He served as Vice-President of Strategy and Partnerships for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and has served on the boards of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation and Covenant House Vancouver – bringing direct experience in both healthcare governance and community service.

Former Chief Jen Thomas, daughter of former Chief Maureen and Stanley Thomas, tirelessly advocates for the rights & title of Tsleil-Waututh Nation to benefit our next 7 generations. With decades of experience implementing effective social initiatives for the səlilwətaɬ community and beyond, she believes the success of the Nation is reflected in our youth and enjoys helping them reach their full potential. Currently serving the Nation as head of Housing, Jen continues to provide her knowledge and expertise to the organization and the membership, and to discussion on addressing and improving health outcomes for her people.

Mauricio Medrano, MD, PhD, is Vice President of Medical Affairs at Polymorphic Biosciences, a biotech incubator founded by Dr. Pieter Cullis. His background spans chemical engineering (BASc, University of Toronto), cancer genomics (PhD, Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto), and clinical medicine (MD, University of Queensland), including two years working in medical oncology in Australia. His current work focuses on building computational tools that help clinicians make sense of complex, multi-source patient data.

Dr. Jesse Coleman leads the healthcare portfolio at DIGITAL (Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster), where he focuses on accelerating the commercialization and global scaling of transformative health technologies. With a PhD in Public Health, Jesse’s expertise lies at the intersection of digital innovation and clinical outcomes.

His career is marked by high-impact global health initiatives, including the national launch of MomConnect in collaboration with the South African Minister of Health. He has also led critical in-situ evaluations for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, assessing neonatal medical monitors designed for low-resource environments. Jesse is a dedicated bridge-builder between complex technological innovation and the practical requirements of high-impact healthcare delivery.

Dr. Tony Brooks is a senior executive with over 30 years of experience in leadership in the life sciences. He is currently Interim President and CEO, CFO and VP, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization of Genome BC, the leader of genomics innovation on Canada’s West Coast. He leads the I2 Fund that drives commercialization and economic impact in BC.

He believes in applying best practices, fostering collaboration and finding creative solutions to deliver high quality outputs. Tony is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of BC, holds a PhD in developmental biology from the University of London, England, a BSc from the University of Reading and is a graduate of the Rotman School of Business Directors Education Program.

Dan is a computational physicist and CEO and co-founder of Distributive, where he works on distributed computing platforms that make large-scale compute accessible across heterogeneous infrastructure. His research interests include fusion energy, space science, and democratizing access to computational resources.

Prior to Distributive, Dan served 20 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a CC130H Hercules military search and rescue pilot and as an Assistant Professor of Physics and Space Science at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Dr. Stephen Rabinowitz focuses his practice on patent litigation and post-grant proceedings with an emphasis on life sciences matters, particularly biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. His experience includes litigating cases in federal district courts across the country as well as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

Stephen draws on his extensive legal and medical experience to counsel clients across a host of technology areas. He has litigated and prosecuted patents concerning pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics and biotechnology, including barcoding and sequencing technologies, antibodies and aptamers.

Stephen has been profiled in the “Intellectual Property Trailblazers” list by The National Law Journal, recognizing top legal professionals in the United States who have “moved the needle” in intellectual property law. In addition, he was named Lawyer of the Year for Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice in New York City in 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. He is also recognized by Managing Intellectual Property, The Legal 500, and IAM Patent 1000.

In addition to his legal qualifications, Stephen completed his medical training and internship at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, going on to perform research at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology and Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he received his DPhil in immunology. Subsequently, he was a pathology resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Rob was the founding CEO and is the current President and CSO of Molecular You Corporation. Backed by his expertise in molecular diagnostics, molecularly targeted drug discovery and development, biochemistry and regulatory compliance, Rob Fraser drives the innovation behind Molecular You’s multi-biomarker analytics. He established a low cost method of measuring hundreds of biomarkers from a single blood sample, along with establishing a LLM model to incorporate the world’s leading scientific literature.

Rob has also been involved in leading drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD. Rob received extensive training in the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology while completing his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta and Harvard Medical School and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and IGBMC, Strasbourg, France. In addition to Rob’s scientific accomplishments, he has been involved in the raising of more than $37M in funding. Rob is also co-founder of GenXys Health Care Systems, Personalized Biomarkers Incorporated, Mesentech Corporation and Novobind.

Catalina Lopez-Correa is the Founder of Global Gene, and co-Chair of GGNET (Global Genomics Network for Education and Training), both are global genomics education initiatives dedicated to advancing understanding of genomics and promoting equitable access to genomic technologies. Catalina has devoted her career to harnessing genomics as a transformative force in the life sciences, in Canada and internationally.

Catalina has held senior leadership roles across Canada’s genomics ecosystem, serving as Chief Scientific Officer at Genome Québec (2008–2015), Genome British Columbia (2015–2019), and Genome Canada (2021–2026). In these roles, she was instrumental in designing and leading high-impact research and innovation initiatives that elevated Canada’s profile in global genomics. As Executive Director of the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), she led a $40M national initiative that embedded genomics at the core of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her career also includes senior leadership positions at deCODE Genetics and Eli Lilly and Company.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, Catalina has since become a strong advocate for patient access to precision oncology and genomic testing. She actively shares her perspective as a physician, genomics scientist, and patient through blogs, podcasts, keynote lectures, and conference panels, raising awareness of the critical role genomics plays in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Catalina’s leadership has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Canadian Senate 150th Anniversary Medal (2017) and the Colombian National Order of Merit (2013).

Rob was the founding CEO and is the current President and CSO of Molecular You Corporation. Backed by his expertise in molecular diagnostics, molecularly targeted drug discovery and development, biochemistry and regulatory compliance, Rob Fraser drives the innovation behind Molecular You’s multi-biomarker analytics. He established a low cost method of measuring hundreds of biomarkers from a single blood sample, along with establishing a LLM model to incorporate the world’s leading scientific literature.

Rob has also been involved in leading drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD. Rob received extensive training in the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology while completing his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta and Harvard Medical School and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and IGBMC, Strasbourg, France. In addition to Rob’s scientific accomplishments, he has been involved in the raising of more than $37M in funding. Rob is also co-founder of GenXys Health Care Systems, Personalized Biomarkers Incorporated, Mesentech Corporation and Novobind.

Catalina Lopez-Correa is the Founder of Global Gene, and co-Chair of GGNET (Global Genomics Network for Education and Training), both are global genomics education initiatives dedicated to advancing understanding of genomics and promoting equitable access to genomic technologies. Catalina has devoted her career to harnessing genomics as a transformative force in the life sciences, in Canada and internationally.

Catalina has held senior leadership roles across Canada’s genomics ecosystem, serving as Chief Scientific Officer at Genome Québec (2008–2015), Genome British Columbia (2015–2019), and Genome Canada (2021–2026). In these roles, she was instrumental in designing and leading high-impact research and innovation initiatives that elevated Canada’s profile in global genomics. As Executive Director of the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), she led a $40M national initiative that embedded genomics at the core of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her career also includes senior leadership positions at deCODE Genetics and Eli Lilly and Company.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, Catalina has since become a strong advocate for patient access to precision oncology and genomic testing. She actively shares her perspective as a physician, genomics scientist, and patient through blogs, podcasts, keynote lectures, and conference panels, raising awareness of the critical role genomics plays in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Catalina’s leadership has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Canadian Senate 150th Anniversary Medal (2017) and the Colombian National Order of Merit (2013).

Dr. Lee Hood is a world-renowned scientist and has interest in technology development, cross-disciplinary biology for pioneering strategies and technologies, systems biology and data-driven Health. Dr. Leroy Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in 2000, served as president from 2000-2017, and continues as a Professor. He is also Professor and Chief Innovation Officer at the Buck Institute for Research in Aging and CEO of the nonprofit he founded in 2021, Phenome Health, which drives data-driven health.

He received his MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1963) and his PhD in biochemistry from Caltech (1967). Dr. Hood was a Senior Investigator for the National Cancer Institute (1967-1970). Dr. Hood was a faculty member at Caltech from 1970-1992, serving for 10 years as the Chair of Biology. During this period, he and his colleagues developed four sequencer and synthesizer instruments for DNA and proteins that paved the way for the Human Genome Project’s successful sequencing of the human genome. He and his students also deciphered many of the complex mechanisms of antibody diversification. In 1992, Dr. Hood founded and chaired the the first cross-disciplinary Department of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Washington. In 2013 he pioneered data-driven health (genome/phenome analyses of individuals) with the year-long 100 person project and then the co-founding of Arivale with its 4 year recruitment of 5000 patients. He is currently pioneering data-driven health and recruiting partners to join him in fundamentally changing healthcare to optimizing wellness, facilitating healthy aging, preventing disease. In 2025 he co-founded P4Bios a peptide drug company that plans transform the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently advocating a continuation of the Human Genome Project termed the Human Phenome Initiative to catalyze a Healthcare for individuals of Wellness and Prevention. Dr. Hood has received national and international awards including the Lasker Award (1987), the Koyto Prize (2006), the National Medical of Science (2011) and the Michael Sela Prize for Biomedicine (2025). He has co-authored text books in biochemistry, immunology, cell biology, genetics and systems biology and medicine. He has co-authored two popular books, The Code of Codes (1991) and the Age of Scientific Wellness ((2023).

Dr. Alan Rabinowitz received his medical degree from the University of Cape Town, South
Africa, completed his internal medicine and cardiology training at the University of Toronto and undertook subsequent training in interventional cardiology at St Paul’s Hospital, University of British Columbia.

He was formerly Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at St Paul’s Hospital and is currently a cardiologist and Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology at St Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, University of British Columbia and an associate member of the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation at St Paul’s Hospital/UBC.

He has held numerous roles in both public and private healthcare entities globally.

Stemming from his term as President of the Medical Staff Association at Providence Health Care in Vancouver, he has had various advisory positions on the New St Paul’s Hospital and Health Campus Redevelopment Project.

He is a member of the CORE of the Rural Coordination Centre of BC, which coordinates healthcare on behalf of the citizens of rural and remote British Columbia and collaborates on developing clinical solutions driven from the grassroots within a framework of holistic wellness.

Past and present roles in the realm of data driven healthcare include an advisory role to the CEO of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada on system change and implementation science, membership on the Canadian Cardiovascular Society AI Advisory Committee and co-authorship on manuscripts in computational biology as well as on the specifications for a data trust in Canada. He is a member of the UBC data science and health research excellence cluster and a research fellow in the School of Data Science and Computational Thinking at Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Dr Rabinowitz has also been at the forefront of numerous entrepreneurial initiatives all aimed at harnessing exponential technologies to effect paradigm shifts on behalf of the collective, within a model of public-private partnership. He is newly the Chief Medical Officer and Director of Medical Partnerships for AIML Innovations, a Canadian company that has developed a neural network just released commercially that incorporates a foundational signal optimization engine for real-world physiological data. The initial focus for the group is on improving diagnostic yield from cardiac waveform in the clinical space and optimizing analytic yield in the context of iterative research and innovation. Thereafter, the algorithm will be applied to modalities in the cardiovascular space other than waveform such as cardiac ultrasound and imaging, and as well to the same modalities in areas other than cardiovascular, such as the neurosciences, with the ultimate goal of integrating multiple sensory inputs to contribute insight into the human form.

Pieter R. Cullis, PhD, FRSC, FRS, OBC, OC, Director, Nanomedicines Research Group, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia. Dr. Cullis and co-workers have been responsible for fundamental advances in the development of nanomedicines employing lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for cancer therapies, gene therapies and vaccines. This work has contributed to five drugs that have received clinical approval by the FDA, the European EMA and Health Canada. Dr. Cullis has also co-founded more than 10 biotechnology companies that now employ over 500 people, has published over 400 scientific articles (h index 140) and is an inventor on over 100 patents. He has also co-founded and been Founding Scientific Director of two National Centre of Excellence networks, the Centre for Drug Research and Development (now AdMare) in 2004 and the NanoMedicines Innovation Network in 2019. These not-for-profit networks are aimed at translating basic research in the life sciences into commercially viable products and have given rise to numerous start-up companies. Dr. Cullis also has a strong interest in personalized medicine, having published a book entitled “The Personalized Medicine Revolution: How Diagnosing and Treating Disease Are About to Change Forever” in 2015.

Two drugs enabled by LNP delivery systems devised by Dr. Cullis, members of his UBC laboratory and colleagues in the companies he has co-founded deserve special emphasis. The first is Onpattro which was approved by the US FDA in August 2018 to treat the previously fatal hereditary condition transthyretin-induced amyloidosis (hATTR). Onpattro is the first RNAi drug to receive regulatory approval. The second is Comirnaty, the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech that has received regulatory approval in many jurisdictions including Canada, the USA, the UK and Europe. Comirnaty has played a major role in containing the global Covid-19 pandemic with approximately 6B doses administered worldwide in 2021 and 2022.

Dr. Cullis has received many awards including the Order of Canada in 2021, the VinFuture Prize (Vietnam), the Prince Mahidol Award (Thailand), the Gairdner International Award (Canada) and the Tang Prize (Taiwan) in 2022 and the Harvey Prize (Israel) and the Killam Prize (Canada) in 2023. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) in 2023 and elected to the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2024.

Alan Evans is Distinguished James McGill Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at McGill University. He is Scientific Director of McGill’s “Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives initiative and the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform. He co-Leads the ARCHIMEDES organ-agnostic multi-modality database platform. He is co-Director of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, using high-performance computing to integrate imaging, behavior, genetics data in the study of neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment. He is Chief Scientific Officer of Lasso Informatics, a medical data management company. Lasso supports flagship NIH network projects on brain development, such as ABCD and HBCD. Evans has 763 publications (Google Scholar h-index=221). In 2014, he received the national Margolese Human Brain Disorders Prize and is a Highly Cited Scientist (218,911 citations ; top 1%) for Neuroscience and Behavior. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and 2017 Chair of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. In 2016, he received the Wilder Penfield Prix du Québec. In 2017, he was awarded the Senate of Canada 150 Medal. In 2018, he was awarded the Heinz Lehmann Prize in Neuropsychopharmacology and the Victor Dahdaleh Chair in Neurosciences. He was awarded the OHBM Glass Brain Award in 2019 and the Izaak Walton Killam Prize in Health Sciences in 2020, both for lifetime achievement. In 2021, he received the Royal Society of Canada McLaughlin Medal for research of sustained excellence. In 2023, he was elected as a Correspondent Member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences. In 2024, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. In 2025, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Lee Hood is a world-renowned scientist and has interest in technology development, cross-disciplinary biology for pioneering strategies and technologies, systems biology and data-driven Health. Dr. Leroy Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in 2000, served as president from 2000-2017, and continues as a Professor. He is also Professor and Chief Innovation Officer at the Buck Institute for Research in Aging and CEO of the nonprofit he founded in 2021, Phenome Health, which drives data-driven health.

He received his MD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1963) and his PhD in biochemistry from Caltech (1967). Dr. Hood was a Senior Investigator for the National Cancer Institute (1967-1970). Dr. Hood was a faculty member at Caltech from 1970-1992, serving for 10 years as the Chair of Biology. During this period, he and his colleagues developed four sequencer and synthesizer instruments for DNA and proteins that paved the way for the Human Genome Project’s successful sequencing of the human genome. He and his students also deciphered many of the complex mechanisms of antibody diversification. In 1992, Dr. Hood founded and chaired the the first cross-disciplinary Department of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Washington. In 2013 he pioneered data-driven health (genome/phenome analyses of individuals) with the year-long 100 person project and then the co-founding of Arivale with its 4 year recruitment of 5000 patients. He is currently pioneering data-driven health and recruiting partners to join him in fundamentally changing healthcare to optimizing wellness, facilitating healthy aging, preventing disease. In 2025 he co-founded P4Bios a peptide drug company that plans transform the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently advocating a continuation of the Human Genome Project termed the Human Phenome Initiative to catalyze a Healthcare for individuals of Wellness and Prevention. Dr. Hood has received national and international awards including the Lasker Award (1987), the Koyto Prize (2006), the National Medical of Science (2011) and the Michael Sela Prize for Biomedicine (2025). He has co-authored text books in biochemistry, immunology, cell biology, genetics and systems biology and medicine. He has co-authored two popular books, The Code of Codes (1991) and the Age of Scientific Wellness ((2023).

Dr. Julio Montaner is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a graduate of the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (1973) and received his Medical Degree with Honors from the University of Buenos Aires (1979). In 1981, Dr. Montaner joined the University of British Columbia (UBC) at St. Paul’s Hospital (SPH) where he completed his training in Internal Medicine and Respiratory Medicine. While in training, he led several clinical studies that demonstrated the role of adjunctive corticosteroids in Pneumocystis-related respiratory failure in the setting of AIDS. In 1988, he became the Director of the AIDS Research Program and the Immunodeficiency Clinic at SPH/UBC. Since then, he focused his research in the development of antiretroviral therapies and management strategies. In the mid 90’s, as the Principal Investigator of the INCAS Trial, he played a key role in establishing the efficacy of NNRTI based highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which emerged as the new global Standard of Care at the 1996 Vancouver International AIDS Conference, of which he was a co-organizer. He then focused his attention to HAART access to hard-to-reach populations, including injection drug users, and the treatment of multiple drug resistant HIV infection with great success. Since the late 90’s he also pioneered the concept of Treatment as Prevention® (TasP®). He was the first to advocate for the expansion of HAART coverage to curb the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, in terms of decreasing progression to AIDS and death, as well as decreasing HIV transmission. Largely through his efforts, TasP® has now been implemented with great success in BC, and progressively embraced by UNAIDS, China, PEPfAR, the US Government, and France, among others. In 2013 TasP® was fully incorporated in the WHO Consolidated ARV Guidelines.

Dr. Montaner is a Professor of Medicine at UBC and has held the Endowed Chair in AIDS Research at SPH/UBC since 1996. In 2016, he was honoured with a Killam Professorship at UBC. He is a founding Co-Director of the Canadian HIV Trials Network. He is the Executive Director and Physician-in-Chief of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. He was the President of the International AIDS Society from 2008 to 2010. He was the founding head of the academic Division of AIDS for a decade in the Department of Medicine at UBC (2007-2017).

Dr. Montaner has authored over 1000 scientific publications on HIV/AIDS and related conditions. In 2008, he received the inaugural Avant-Garde Award of $2.5 million over five years, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support his project entitled “Seek and Treat for Optimal Outcomes and Prevention in HIV & AIDS in IDU (STOP HIV/AIDS)”. In September 2009, he was the recipient of the $100,000 Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health (CIHR) and, in November 2009, he was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada-The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences (RSC). Founded in 1882, the RSC, consisting of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists, is Canada’s senior and most prestigious scholarly organization. In 2010, he received the Prix Galien Award, the Order of BC as well as the Albert Einstein World of Science Award. In 2012, he was the recipient of the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to Austria, the Hope is a Vaccine Award from the Global Alliance to Immunize against AIDS, and The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to the field of HIV/AIDS. In 2013, he received the award “Senador Domingo Faustino Sarmiento” from the Argentina Senate of the Nation presented to him by the Honorable Amado Boudou, Vice President of Argentina, and the Honorable Maria Laura Leguizamon, Senator of Buenos Aires. Dr. Montaner has received four Doctor of Science-honoris causa degrees (Simon Fraser University, Cordoba University, University of Buenos Aires, and Universidad del Salvador), as well as being an honorary fellow at Douglas College. From 2014 to 2017, he held the position of Special Advisor on HIV Therapeutics to the Executive Director of the United Nations AIDS Programme. In 2015, he received the David Barry DART Achievement Award that is given in recognition of invaluable contributions to the field of HIV drug discovery and he is a Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Laureate and Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2016, he was recognized with the Profile Award-Argentinian Intelligence, Science and Technology category and one of the 10 most influential Hispanic Canadians by the Canadian Hispanic Business Alliance. He is the recipient of the Killam Prize in Health Sciences by the Canada Council for the Arts, one of five scholars awarded the prize which honours Canadian researchers and scientists whose lifetime of work has impacted Canadians and citizens around the world, and the CIHR Gold Leaf Prize for Impact on behalf of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS for the organization’s 25 years of providing care and treatment for those living with HIV, education health professions, and promoting evidence-based policy to protect people from the virus. In 2019, he received the Senate 150th Anniversary Medal for his exemplary leadership and lifelong contributions to improving the health and lives of British Columbians.

In September 2020, Dr. Montaner was included, along with Drs. James Till and Ernest McCulloch, Dr. Bruce Chown, Dr. M. Vera Peters and Dr. Balfour Mount, in Canada Post’s “Medical Groundbreakers” five-stamp set to honour the life-saving contributions of some of Canada’s most respected health care researchers.

Announced on August 31, 2022, Dr. Montaner’s accomplishments and dedication to health sciences was recognized as he was elected as a Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community.

Katey Rayner is the Chief Scientific Officer and VP Research at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. She is also a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Rayner’s research program focuses how inflammation underlies common diseases like coronary artery disease, obesity and dementia. Her lab is trying to understand the molecular signals that cause inappropriate activation of the immune system and how we can use this understanding to either better diagnose/identify patients at risk of disease, or to better treat this excess inflammation directly to lower risk of disease.

Dr. Rayner has been recognized with awards such as the CIHR Institute of Circulatory & Respiratory Health/CSATVB Mid-Career Excellence Award in Blood and Blood Vessel Research, Joseph A Vita Award (American Heart Association), and is a member of the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Rayner’s research is currently funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the European Cardiovascular Research Network.

Kira is an MD/PhD student at UBC. She recently completed her PhD work under the supervision of Dr. Silke Appel-Cresswell at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. Her thesis work focused around a clinical trial investigating microbiome, clinical and physiologic biomarker responses to a dietary intervention in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. She has a strong interest in application of -omics technologies to the prevention, diagnosis and management of neurological diseases.

Dr Attariwala is an engineer in medicine. He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from University of Calgary followed by a Masters and PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University focused on pathophysiology of the microcirculation, while co-creating surgical robotics, machine vision and utilizing applied fluid mechanics. He then obtained a MD and completed a double residency in Nuclear Medicine and Radiology with specialized training in PETCT from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, UCLA and USC.

To advance medicine in the patient’s best interest, he set up a private MRI facility in Vancouver called AIM Medical Imaging. AIM has been at the epicenter of Medicine 3.0 with the creation of the whole body MRI and other advanced visualization techniques. Dr Attariwala is the creator of the Prenuvo scan and report and he co-authored the global whole body MRI standard Oncorads. He left Prenuvo in 2024 to focus on quantitative reproducibility in key segments of healthcare which is at the core of preventive precision medicine. He is a founding member of the Quantitative Medical Imaging Coalition and is on several global committees focused on standardization.

He is also a director and chief science officer for the publically traded company Cannabix Technologies Inc. Cannabix is leading the field of breath analysis with quantitative breath analysis tools for alcohol and drugs of abuse detection.

He has given invited talks on advancing healthcare at United Nations UNGA 79, Nextmed, RSNA, ISMRM, SNMMI, IABR, ARVO amongst others.

He has been featured on CNN, Washington Post, Vogue, The Kardashians, as well as regional media outlets and various premier healthcare podcasts.

Alan Evans is Distinguished James McGill Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at McGill University. He is Scientific Director of McGill’s “Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives initiative and the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform. He co-Leads the ARCHIMEDES organ-agnostic multi-modality database platform. He is co-Director of the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health, using high-performance computing to integrate imaging, behavior, genetics data in the study of neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment. He is Chief Scientific Officer of Lasso Informatics, a medical data management company. Lasso supports flagship NIH network projects on brain development, such as ABCD and HBCD. Evans has 763 publications (Google Scholar h-index=221). In 2014, he received the national Margolese Human Brain Disorders Prize and is a Highly Cited Scientist (218,911 citations ; top 1%) for Neuroscience and Behavior. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and 2017 Chair of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. In 2016, he received the Wilder Penfield Prix du Québec. In 2017, he was awarded the Senate of Canada 150 Medal. In 2018, he was awarded the Heinz Lehmann Prize in Neuropsychopharmacology and the Victor Dahdaleh Chair in Neurosciences. He was awarded the OHBM Glass Brain Award in 2019 and the Izaak Walton Killam Prize in Health Sciences in 2020, both for lifetime achievement. In 2021, he received the Royal Society of Canada McLaughlin Medal for research of sustained excellence. In 2023, he was elected as a Correspondent Member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences. In 2024, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. In 2025, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Federica Di Palma is an internationally recognized leader in genomics and bioinformatics, with more than two decades of experience advancing the application of genomic science across public health, cancer, rare disease, and population health systems as well as non-health sectors. She is known for building and leading high performing, interdisciplinary teams that translate scientific innovation into practical, scalable impact for patients and the public.

Dr. Di Palma most recently served as interim senior executive director of the BC Genome Sciences Centre, leading the organization under its expanded provincial mandate. She also served for five years as chief scientific officer & vice president of Research and Innovation at Genome BC, where she advanced strategic research investment, strengthened provincial and international partnerships, and supported the integration of genomics into health systems and policy.

Dr. Di Palma is a professor of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia and holds a PhD in immunogenetics from the University of Reading. Her career includes senior leadership and research roles at leading international institutions, including the Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Institutes of Health, the Earlham Institute and University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, and the University of New Hampshire in the United States. She serves on international scientific advisory boards, advising governments and organizations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom on genomics policy, research strategy and capacity building.

Gurvinder Kenth brings nearly two decades of leadership experience across the global diagnostics, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors. She holds a PhD in Experimental Medicine from McGill University and began her career in the United States at the forefront of clinical genomics, gaining early exposure to the potential of precision medicine.

After returning to Canada, she advanced diagnostic strategy at national and global levels, aligning innovation with clinical application and market access.

Currently at AstraZeneca, she leads diagnostic reimbursement for the oncology pipeline and contributes to global diagnostics strategy, focusing on enabling access to precision medicine through the integration of advanced diagnostics into care pathways, translating innovation into meaningful patient outcomes.

Craig Ivany is a health system executive and laboratory services strategist with over 40 years of experience shaping healthcare delivery across Canada. His career spans the full continuum of executive leadership; from Hospital Executive Director in rural Newfoundland and Executive Director of Canadian Blood Services’ national operations portfolio, to successive Vice President roles with DynaLIFE in Alberta and Dynacare Laboratories, one of Canada’s largest national private laboratory networks, to Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association, inaugural President and CEO of Alberta Precision Laboratories, and Chief Provincial Diagnostics Officer at the Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia. He is recognized for building high-performing teams and leading complex health system transformation in start-up, turnaround, consolidation, and growth settings — with a particular depth of expertise in medical laboratory services strategy, provincial integration, and large-scale operational accountability.

Craig is a current and past board member of several not-for-profit organizations within the Canadian healthcare sector. He is a Certified Health Executive, a long-standing member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders, and holds the ICD.D designation with the Institute of Corporate Directors. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and is currently completing a PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC.

Dr. David F. Schaeffer, MD FRCPC, is a Professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a gastrointestinal pathologist at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). He is Co-Director of Pancreas Centre BC and leads the Gastrointestinal Biobank at VGH. His work sits at the intersection of pathology, artificial intelligence, and health system design, with a focus on enabling scalable, data-driven approaches to cancer diagnosis and precision oncology.

Dr. Schaeffer is co-leading efforts to integrate digital pathology and AI into clinical workflows, including the development of deep learning models that classify pancreatic cancer subtypes directly from routine histopathology images—offering faster, more accessible alternatives to traditional molecular testing. His broader work focuses on building AI-ready data infrastructure and modernizing pathology systems to support clinical trials and translational research at scale. He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications and is recognized nationally for advancing the role of pathology in the era of computational medicine.

Stephen Yip is a staff neuropathologist at Vancouver General Hospital and medical director of Clinical Cancer Genomics at BC Cancer, responsible for all cancer-related germline and somatic molecular testing in the province of British Columbia. He completed his combined M.D-Ph.D. training followed by 4 years of neurosurgical training at the University of British Columbia. He switched to neuropathology and obtained his Royal College certification followed by fellowship training at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is interested in the molecular pathogenesis of primary brain tumours and the deployment of novel molecular diagnostic tools to advance cancer care.

Dr. Cheng, MD is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Connect Health. He is trained in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine (CCFP[EM]), and holds a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University.

Dr. Cheng completed a two-year fellowship program in Integrative Medicine from the University of Arizona, was certified as a functional medicine practitioner by the Institute of Functional Medicine, and has completed additional training with A4M (Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine).

Dr. Cheng also practices Emergency Medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital, where he holds a UBC Associate Clinical Professor appointment.

Areas of Interest

Dr. Cheng’s areas of interest include personalized/precision medicine; the emerging technologies of genomics and metabolomics/proteomics; the microbiome; healthy aging; and mind-body medicine.

He is passionate about combining early detection strategies with a personalized approach to prevention. His goal is to help improve not only the health and wellness of individuals but also of the whole community ecosystem.

Focus

Dr. Cheng’s practice focuses on preventive medicine, optimal health/performance, and longevity medicine.

Dr. Riskin, MD is the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of Connect Health. He obtained his Bachelor of Sciences (BSc), Medical Doctorate (MD) and Family Medicine Residency at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Riskin completed a two-year fellowship in Integrative Medicine from the University of Arizona. Dr Riskin is certified by the Institute for Functional Medicine and has completed additional training with A4M (anti-aging medicine) and Cell Surgical Network (Stem Cell therapy).

While at UBC, he founded the non-profit student group, Alternative and Integrative Medical Society (AIMS), to create academic learning opportunities for students. Dr. Riskin currently practices functional and precision medicine at Connect Health as well as emergency medicine in the hospital setting.

Focus

Dr. Riskin’s practice currently focuses exclusively on longevity medicine and improving healthspan. The ultimate goal is to be the strongest 95-year old possible – and starting that training today!

Areas of Interest

Dr. Riskin is passionate about combining cutting-edge early detection strategies with a personalized approach to optimizing healthspan, performance and longevity. He empowers his patients to increase their resilience while ultimately enjoying happier, more productive lives. He has a keen interest in biohacking, regenerative medicine, stem cells, brain health, healthy aging, exercise and musculoskeletal health, wearable sensors, and molecular diagnostics including genomics, metabolomics, proteomics, and the microbiome.

Personal interests

Dr. Riskin cherishes time spent with his wife and four young children – the ultimate motivation for a youthful aging strategy!

Tim Murphy is a senior healthcare executive driven by a singular purpose: to make a positive difference in the health of families, friends, and communities.

With over 30 years of leadership experience, Tim has spearheaded initiatives that modernize healthcare systems, improve outcomes, and foster innovation. As Vice President of Health at Alberta Innovates, he advanced the adoption of data, technology, and patient-centered approaches, working closely with health tech companies and system stakeholders to create the conditions for innovation to thrive.

His earlier work includes leading the Movember Foundation’s expansion into mental health as a Second Cause Beneficiary in Canada and establishing the National Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Network, both of which continue to impact lives today. Tim also helped lead Alberta’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research, embedding patient and community voices into health research priorities.

Prior to Alberta Innovates, Tim served in senior leadership roles at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Princess Margaret Hospital, and the BC Cancer Agency. He also built a successful independent consulting practice supporting health research and innovation initiatives nationally.

Tim holds a Master of Health Administration (University of Toronto), a Master of Business Administration (Queen’s University), and is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA). In 2023, he was recognized as Digital Health Canada’s Digital Health Executive of the Year.
Tim’s work continues to be guided by a commitment to drive transformation that improves lives.

With more than 35 years of experience in public health at national and international levels, Dr Asadi-Lari has served his country, Eastern Mediterranean Region and at international levels in serving public health, particularly health systems, non-communicable diseases and health diplomacy in different capacities.

Dr Asadi-Lari graduated from medical school in 1992, and served deprived areas of southern Iran as a medical doctor in a remote rural health centre for two years and then as a junior expert in the National PHC Expansion Centre, where he promoted gradually to senior staff manager within seven years. He pursued his PhD in Epidemiology in the University of Nottingham, UK, then as a post-doctoral fellowship in University of Warwick.

At his return to home country, he established Department of Epidemiology in Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), where he trained and supervised more than 150 postgraduate students, led several national studies such as Urban HEART, contributed in many national and international research projects and published more than 180 scientific papers, majority of them in prestigious English peer-reviewed journals. Recently, he led a group of international experts to establish Department of Health Diplomacy and a research centre in this field in IUMS.

Dr Asadi-Lari played an important role in the WHO, Executive Board (2013-15) and at various regional and global levels, built up a strong collaboration with the health sectors of more than 90 countries, and as a member of the Board (BM/ABM) at the Global Fund since 2015, he is responsible for coordinating regional and international activities to fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.

Dr. Neesh Pannu is a nephrologist and Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta. She is the co-Scientific Director for the Alberta Health Services Kidney Health Strategic Clinical Network, and also holds the position of Vice Dean Research (Clinical) for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

She received her medical training at the University of Alberta, Stanford University and completed her MS in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Harvard University. Her research interests are primarily in the area of diagnosis, management, and outcomes of acute kidney injury. She is member of the Alberta Kidney Disease Network (AKDN) and the Interdisciplinary Chronic Disease Collaboration (ICDC).

Claire Snyman is an author, blogger, and advocate for patient and healthcare collaboration and works as a Patient Experience and Engagement Strategist. She is passionate about inspiring people to put their health in their own hands as a result of her own lived experience as an individual with a brain tumour, brain injury and other chronic health conditions. She is a TEDx Speaker and is always looking for ways to increase communication and collaboration between patients, families, caregivers and the healthcare system to improve the patient experience, access to care and information and embed an understanding of what matters most to people across healthcare. Claire is the Chair of Networked Health BC, a collective focused on optimizing the design and use of health data in BC and across Canada.

As executive director of Health Data Advancement, Juliana Wu provides vision and leadership for CIHI’s activities relating to emerging data expansion priorities and strategic planning efforts for the modernization and transformation of hospital and other health data infrastructure.

Ms. Wu has over 20 years of progressive leadership and management experience across CIHI’s data holdings and the corporate data request program. Prior to joining CIHI, she worked as a strategy consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. Ms. Wu earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and mathematics from Wellesley College in the United States and completed graduate-level training in business economics at Harvard University.

Dr. Sutcliffe is a clinical oncologist, no longer in clinical practice. He graduated from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, University of London (1970) and trained in internal medicine, scientific research, medical and radiation oncology in the UK, South Africa, US and Canada.

He is President of Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration (2009-to date), a volunteer-based non-profit Society bridging disparities in cancer control between the higher and lesser-resourced worlds. Formerly, he was President and CEO of the Ontario Cancer Institute/ Princess Margaret Hospital (1994-96), the BC Cancer Agency (2000-09), Chair of the Governing Council of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control, inaugural vice-chair and past-Chair of its’ federally-funded successor, the Canadian Partnership against Cancer (2007-2012).

Past and current roles include government-funded institutions, non -governmental organizations, private sector companies, charitable foundations and international cancer control networks.

Stephen Samis has close to 30 years’ experience in health and health care, advancing evidence-informed health policy and population health to improve health systems and the health of Canadians.

Stephen is currently President, Samis Health Policy Consulting Inc. and works with a variety of clients on health and social policy issues, leadership development and evidence-informed decision making in the health and social sectors. He was Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon from 2017 to 2022. Before this, Stephen spent seventeen years in Ottawa where he worked in progressively senior roles for national health-related organizations including the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (now Healthcare Excellence Canada), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Stephen is currently Co-Chair of the Appropriate Use Advisory Committee for the Canada Drug Agency and Senior Policy Advisor for the Canadian Health Leadership Network. He is active on a number of Committees and Boards, including the Alberta Primary Care Advisory Committee; the Alberta Primary Care Alliance; Alberta Innovates’ AI Advisory Committee; is Board Chair of Imagine Citizens’ Network (Alberta), and is member of the Board of Directors, Alberta Blue Cross. Stephen holds an Adjunct Faculty appointment in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary.

Stephen began his career in British Columbia, where he worked on strategic research, evaluation and policy initiatives at the community level and with the BC Ministry of Health, with a focus on HIV/AIDS and population health.

He has a Master’s degree in Sociology from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He is based in Edmonton, Alberta.

Rob was the founding CEO and is the current President and CSO of Molecular You Corporation. Backed by his expertise in molecular diagnostics, molecularly targeted drug discovery and development, biochemistry and regulatory compliance, Rob Fraser drives the innovation behind Molecular You’s multi-biomarker analytics. He established a low cost method of measuring hundreds of biomarkers from a single blood sample, along with establishing a LLM model to incorporate the world’s leading scientific literature.

Rob has also been involved in leading drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD. Rob received extensive training in the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology while completing his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta and Harvard Medical School and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and IGBMC, Strasbourg, France. In addition to Rob’s scientific accomplishments, he has been involved in the raising of more than $37M in funding. Rob is also co-founder of GenXys Health Care Systems, Personalized Biomarkers Incorporated, Mesentech Corporation and Novobind.

Catalina Lopez-Correa is the Founder of Global Gene, and co-Chair of GGNET (Global Genomics Network for Education and Training), both are global genomics education initiatives dedicated to advancing understanding of genomics and promoting equitable access to genomic technologies. Catalina has devoted her career to harnessing genomics as a transformative force in the life sciences, in Canada and internationally.

Catalina has held senior leadership roles across Canada’s genomics ecosystem, serving as Chief Scientific Officer at Genome Québec (2008–2015), Genome British Columbia (2015–2019), and Genome Canada (2021–2026). In these roles, she was instrumental in designing and leading high-impact research and innovation initiatives that elevated Canada’s profile in global genomics. As Executive Director of the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), she led a $40M national initiative that embedded genomics at the core of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her career also includes senior leadership positions at deCODE Genetics and Eli Lilly and Company.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, Catalina has since become a strong advocate for patient access to precision oncology and genomic testing. She actively shares her perspective as a physician, genomics scientist, and patient through blogs, podcasts, keynote lectures, and conference panels, raising awareness of the critical role genomics plays in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Catalina’s leadership has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Canadian Senate 150th Anniversary Medal (2017) and the Colombian National Order of Merit (2013).