The NGBIdeas Podcast

April 16th 2024 – This week we’re speaking with Rob Henderson, the President and CEO of BioTalent Canada, a distinguished 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 prestigious accolades, being named a top workplace in healthcare by HRD Canada and recognized as a five-star employer for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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, Intrepid Labs, has just come out of stealth mode. 

April 2nd 2024 - Join us this week as we welcome Mark Smithyes, President of Janus Life Sciences Consulting and National Director of Life Sciences at Delphic Research. With an extensive background in the industry, including serving as the former chair of Life Sciences Ontario, Mark shares his insights on founding startups, his extensive volunteer work, and his advocacy for Canada's Life Sciences sector.

March 26th 2024 - Our guest this week is Brad Wouters, Executive Vice-President of Science and Research at University Health Network.  We appreciate Brad talking about his passion for Medical Biophysics, his post-doctoral work at Stanford, his time in the Netherlands  and what inspired his return to Canada to join UHN.

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.
 
Bioenterprise Canada: bioenterprise.ca
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com

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 universities that have strong faculties in medicine, business, science and engineering and direct relationships with a research Hospital have had nascent life sciences hubs. The goal of AdMare Bioinnovations is to be a national catalyst for growing these hubs and the community at large.
 
AdMare Bioinnovations: admarebio.com
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com

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
 
OBIO: obio.ca
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.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 support from the federal government and the network has grown from a few dozen labs to include more than 270 world-class research groups and dozens of clinical trials. 
 
Stem Cell Network: stemcellnetwork.ca
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com

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 eastern Ukraine in 1990 and hard work, resilience, recognizing when to pivot, knowing what to do with the door opens, and how to overcome imposter syndrome are some of the topics Ella and  I touch on today.
 
Virica Biotech: viricabiotech.com
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com

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 paediatric hospitals in Canada and it provides support to families in need from Niagara Falls to Waterloo in the north to Owen Sound and Grey County. Like many impressive organizations, the team at MCH focuses on their work rather than telling people about it. So our goal today is to give our listeners a glimpse into the great work being done by the great team at this organization.
 
McMaster Children's Hospital: McMaster Children's Hospital
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com