NGBIdeas Podcast

April 16th 2024 – This week we’re speaking with Rob Henderson, the President and CEO of BioTalent Canada, a national not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa. Since Rob assumed leadership in 2011, the organization has expanded from a team of five to now employing 50 staff members and collaborating with over 80 partner organizations. In 2023, BioTalent Canada received accolades, being named a top workplace in hea...

April 9th 2024 – We welcome professor Christine Allen from the University of Toronto, a renowned figure in drug formulation and development, and a distinguished researcher, industry leader, and entrepreneur. A co-founder of NanoVista, recognized in its groundbreaking work in high-precision, image-guided cancer therapy, Christine has held key roles in various biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Recently her startup, Intre...

Sep 19, 2023 - Our guest this week is Dave Smardon, who is President and CEO of Bioenterprise, Canada's food and Agri tech engine. We are delighted to have Dave talk about his passion for music, his early years of the insurance sector, how he pivoted into tech, then venture-capital, and eventually into running one of the key Agri tech organizations in Canada's life sciences industry.

Bioenterp...

Sep 12, 2023 - Our guest this week is Gordon McCauley, who is President and CEO of AdMare Bioinnovations.

We talk today about how Gordon navigated from politics to investment banking to becoming one of the key leaders in the Canadian life sciences community. For decades, scaling start ups in Canada's life sciences sector have struggled for funding, facilities, and support. Most cities across Canada with unive...

September 5, 2023 - We have been focused on the NGBI Summit which takes place on October 2nd so this coming week we are posting an encore episode of one of our most popular interviews with Maura Campbell President and CEO Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO). We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation! For details on the summit and to purchase tickets please go to NextGreatBigIdeas.com

Aug 29, 2023 - Our guest this week is Cate Murray, who is President and CEO of the Stem Cell Network (SCN) in Ottawa. This organization is a Canadian not-for-profit that supports three main objectives. First, stem cell and regenerative medicine research secondly, training the next generation of researchers and lastly supporting and sharing research in this incredible field. SCN was created in 2001 with suppor...

Aug 22, 2023 - Our guest this week is Ella Korets-Smith, who is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Virica Biotech in Ottawa, Ontario. Virica Biotech has developed unique viral sensitizers to turn off antiviral responses in cells. The work they're doing is exciting and another example of the groundbreaking research being done in Canadian life sciences. Ella and her family immigrated to Canada from easter...

Aug 15, 2023 - Our guest this week is Bruce Squires, who is President of McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton Ontario. Today's show is a bit of a departure from our regular format. We touch on Bruce's journey but our focus today is about the hospital he now leads which is the organization that the NGBIdeas podcast was created to support. McMaster Children's Hospital is one of the top critical care paediat...

Aug 8, 2023 - The Canadian life-sciences community has a long and growing list of leaders who are personable, incredibly talented, and driven to succeed. Our guest today is on top of that list. Bettina Hamelin is President and CEO of Ontario Genomics and her story is inspiring on many levels. Bettina leads by example, helps whenever called upon, and steers the ship at one of the key organizations in Canada.

Aug 1, 2023 - Our guest today is Parimal Nathwani, President and CEO of the Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners. Parimal grew up in Calgary, Vancouver, and had his sights set on a career in medicine, but circumstance, timing, and a serendipitous transition from research to business development led to a pivot and a very interesting career path in Canada's life sciences sector. Parimal is one of a handful ...

July 25, 2023 - Our guest today is Chris Bryson, Founder and CEO of New School Foods in Toronto. Chris grew up in Montreal and his story is similar to many of our guests, that its about learning to trust your inner voice, learning that mistakes are lessons and that failures are just problems that are yet to be solved. Before Chris started New School Foods, he was CEO of a software company he founded in 2011 t...

July 18, 2023 - Our guest today is Michael May, President and CEO of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine. Michael is someone I've had the pleasure of meeting on a number of occasions and he's one of those people you just know you're going to like. He's focused, incredibly generous with his time, and one of the true national leaders in Canada's life sciences community. Michael's story is ...

July 11, 2023 - Our guest today is Geoff Evans, who is President of Eurofins CDMO Alphora Inc. in Mississauga Ontario. Geoff started his career in the life sciences sector, but he moved to industrial products and then rebounded back to a small research lab that eventually grow into one of Canada's foremost contract development and manufacturing organizations.

Eurofins: eurofins.com

Lab Occupie...

July, 4 2023 - Our guest today is Ryan Wiley, President of Shift Health in Toronto. Ryan grew up in Oshawa, Ontario and his original plan was to attend medical school, but like many of our guests, he pivoted in university and now runs one of Canada's premier life sciences consulting firms. His personal journey is one to which many people in Canada will relate, and I'm very thankful Ryan has kindly shared it with us today.

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June 27, 2023 - Our guest today is Mitch Sivilotti, CEO of OmniaBio Inc. Mitch grew up in London, Ontario, and his journey has taken him to Quebec City, Los Angeles, Asia, Kingston, Toronto, and finally to Hamilton where he and his team are building what will be one of the next generation of cell and gene therapy manufacturing facilities in Canada. OmniaBio is a subsidiary of CCRM and it’s a contract development in and man...

June 20, 2023 - Our guest today is Drew Marquardt, an Associate Professor in the department of chemistry and bio chemistry at the University Windsor. His team are developing applying neutron scattering strategies to study membrane structures, and processes. More than 3000 Canadians are diagnosed with brain cancers like glioblastoma multiforme or recurrent head and neck cancer, which is very difficult to treat...