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February/March 2018 Laboratory Focus www.laboratoryfocus.ca
Appointments
Altasciences Clinical Research, a full-service provider focused on early stage clinical research with over twenty-five years of experience, announces the addition of Dr. Gaetano Morelli to the Altasciences family. Morelli has over two decades of experience in clinical research, phases I to III, as a principal investigator and medical director. He is the director of gastroenterology/endoscopy at St. Mary’s Hospital, McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, and maintains both private and academic GI practices in the area. Sequence Bio announces the appointment of Dr. Michael S. Phillips as its new Chief Scientific Officer. The emerging data-driven biotechnology company is based in Newfoundland and Labrador. He comes equipped with over 25 years of experience in large-scale genomic projects, drug target discovery, and leading research teams. His most recent post was
Dr. Michael S. Phillips
VP Genomics at Genomics Medicine Ireland. Michael has extensive expertise leading large research groups in Academia, Biotech, Pharma and Hospital settings for drug target discovery, biomarker research, clinical diagnostics, and technology development. His positions include roles at Merck & Co., Orchid BioSciences, Génome Québec, Université de Montréal, Montreal Heart Institute and Centre Hospitalier de L’Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre. His role as the chief scientific officer will entail leading scientific development projects and genomic and precision medicine research for Sequence Bio. Specifically, he will be focusing on the NL Genome Project – a proposed large-scale genome sequencing project in the Newfoundland and Labrador genetic isolate founder population to drive novel therapeutic discovery and development.
Dr. Bev Holmes
The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Board has announced after an executive search process, Dr. Bev Holmes, has been appointed to president and CEO. With an eight year history in the company, Bev is ideally suited for this position and will continue to help it grow. Bev brings a wealth of experience in health research, practice and policy to this role. Since joining the Foundation in 2010, her commitment to integrating these disciplines has seen her lead the Foundation through the launch of a new suite of funding programs that focus on developing, retaining, and recruiting BC health research talent and support addressing health system priorities. She has served as interim president and CEO of the Foundation since early 2017. Astellas Pharma announced that Nate Crisel has been promoted to vice president, Real World Informatics and Analytics (RWI). He will be reporting to chief financial officer, Chikashi Takeda. Crisel will continue to be responsible for overseeing the RWI division, a central function accountable for expanding efficient, effective and compliant use of healthcare data across the entire Astellas value chain. Prior to joining Astellas in 2008, Crisel served as an analytical chemist
Nate Crisel
and pharmaceutical development project manager at Eli Lilly and Company. After Eli Lilly, he held roles ranging from business development and executive leadership at biotech start-ups, including Embedded Concepts, LLC, and Tracera, LLC. Crisel received a Master of Business Administration in finance and entrepreneurship from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Indiana University. Invictus MD Strategies Corp. has announced the appointment of Dylan Easterbrook as chief financial officer. Easterbrook is a seasoned accounting and financial professional, who most recently was controller of a publicly traded global fibre optic connectivity solution provider. Prior to that role he was with Ernst & Young, one of the largest professional services firms in the world where he led audit engagements for both public and privately held companies from a variety of industries, including the emerging markets. Dylan is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences degree
Dr. Tyler Wish as a pharmaceutical product and to enhance its efficacy and safety across multiple patient populations. He is a trained clinical and molecular epidemiologist, as well as an accomplished entrepreneur and life-science executive who was recently recognized and appointed as 1 of 10 “Canadian Innovation Leaders” by the Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Prior to joining NAC, Tyler was a founder and the chief executive officer of Sequence Bio, a privately-held biotechnology company that lead a large-scale human genome sequencing initiative designed to support genetic-driven drug discovery and precision medicine. Nuvo Pharmaceutical promotes Jesse Ledger internally, adding the role of chief executive officer to his current title of president.
Dylan Easterbrook from the University of British Columbia. “We are excited about Dylan’s appointment as he brings solid experience and capabilities that match our needs as we continue to develop,” said Dan Kriznic, chairman & CEO, of Invictus MD. “The timing is ideal as we continue to execute on an aggressive development strategy aimed at creating Canada’s Cannabis Company.” National Access Cannabis Corp., announced that Dr. Tyler Wish has joined the company to establish and lead its research and development division. In this executive role, Wish will be responsible for furthering the company’s efforts to advance knowledge of medicinal cannabis
Jesse Ledger Jesse assumes this role from John London, who is now the executive chairman of the Mississauga based company. Ledger has over 15 years of pharmaceutical experience with a proven expertise in business development. Prior to joining Nuvo in April of 2015, he was vice-president of business development and international Business at Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada. Ledger holds an honours bachelor of business administration degree from Trent University.
