Members and Board of Directors

President, Université de Saint-Boniface

Dr. Sophie Bouffard is the President of the Université de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg. She has worked in post-secondary education for close to 20 years, holding various leadership positions. She served as President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sudbury, and held successive positions as Head of the Conservatory of Performing Arts, Assistant Director of the Centre for Continuing Education and founding Principal Director of La Cité universitaire francophone at the University of Regina.

Dr. Bouffard’s areas of expertise as a musicologist focus on Canadian music, the idea of North, issues of identity, as well as the role of arts and culture in community development, namely in Francophone and minority settings. 

Aside from her work as an administrator and musicologist, she has worked extensively as a professional soprano. A versatile singer, Bouffard’s repertoire ranges from baroque to new music, from recital to opera. Specializing in new music, she has premiered a number of works composed for her. She has performed extensively throughout Canada and internationally.

As a grant holder from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Dr. Bouffard’s reputation is reflected in frequent invitations to adjudicate in national competitions.

Former Senior Vice-President, B.C. and Yukon Division, Personal and Commercial Banking, Bank of Montreal

Joanne Gassman joined the Bank of Montreal (BMO) in 1974 and worked in several markets both in British Columbia and Toronto, where she assumed increasingly more senior positions in both the corporate audit and personal and commercial banking departments. Her first executive appointment with BMO was in 2005 as Vice-President, Vancouver Island and in 2008 she was promoted to Vice-President Retail Banking for Greater Vancouver. In 2011, she was appointed to Senior Vice-President, B.C. and Yukon Division, Personal and Commercial Banking, a position she retired from in 2014.

Upon retirement, Ms. Gassman took on a new, one-year, national consulting role with BMO Financial Group, as Senior Vice-President, Women’s Market. In this capacity, Joanne promoted BMO’s focus on the needs of women entrepreneurs by improving the business and financial information available for women and by facilitating self-sufficiency and success for women business owners and managers. Ms. Gassman is a member of the Board of Advisors for GroYourBiz, an initiative developed for women entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level. She is also a member of both the Women’s Business Economic Advisory Board and the International Women’s Forum.

Ms. Gassman is currently chair of the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art and of the Vancouver Council for CARE Canada. She is a Director for Streetohome and for the Bowen Island Community Foundation. She is a past Governor of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, and a supporting member of Kidsafe Project Society. Ms. Gassman is on the University of Northern British Columbia Advisory Committee and was previously on the University of Victoria Board of Advisors. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers and has an MBA from Dalhousie University.

In 2015, she was recognized by the Association of Women in Finance and received the Lifetime Achievement award. She was also recognized by The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) and was a recipient of the 2015 TIAW World of Difference Award.

Retired, Past Vice-President Research, University of Alberta

Lorne A. Babiuk was appointed Vice-President Research at the University of Alberta in 2007, where he served until his retirement in June 2017. He is a leader in Canadian vaccine research specializing in immunology, pathogenesis, virology, molecular virology and vaccinology. Prior to moving to the University of Alberta, he spent 34 years at the University of Saskatchewan where he was responsible for building the successful Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) research institute. Under Dr. Babiuk’s leadership, VIDO became internationally recognized as a leader in novel vaccine development. As Director of VIDO, Dr. Babiuk completed its $19.4 million expansion in 2005 and obtained funding for InterVac, its $140 million level-three biocontainment facility for work on infectious diseases, which opened in September, 2011.

Dr. Babiuk received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of British Columbia and has published over 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 100 essays and reviews, primarily in virology and immunology. His most recent focus has been on vaccine formulation and delivery. He is the principal investigator on a Bill & Melinda Gates Grand Challenge in Global Health grant to develop needle-free vaccines for infants and young children. He is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Royal Society of Canada and the European Academy of Sciences, as well as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

President and CEO, Acadian Seaplants Limited

Jean-Paul Deveau is the President and CEO of Acadian Seaplants Limited, a biotech company and the largest independent manufacturer of marine plant products of its type in the world. It is engaged primarily in the sustainable harvesting of wild seaweeds and in the cultivation of unique marine plants for the development of products for people, animals and plants. Acadian Seaplants exports to over 80 countries, operates six processing facilities in Atlantic Canada, Ireland and Scotland, employs 400 people in 14 countries, including 36 scientists — 14 with PhDs. 

Acadian Seaplants has received significant government and industry recognition for its innovation, accomplishments in science & technology, management, environmental stewardship, business ethics, safety, export excellence and community service. His company It has been one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 18 consecutive years.

He is a past chair of BioNova (the Nova Scotia Life Sciences Industry Association) and a past member of the Board of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (Nova Scotia Chapter). He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture. He was Chair of the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax and served as a member of the OneNS Coalition. 

Jean-Paul Deveau was inducted into the Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame, has received two honourary doctorate degrees, awarded the inaugural Spirit of Halifax Award from Destination Halifax and named the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year. He was awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award’s National Citation for Eco and Social Excellence and named an Atlantic Region’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the Health Sciences Sector.

General Partner and co-founder, AmorChem

Elizabeth Douville is General Partner and co-founder of AmorChem, a Québec-based seed venture fund dedicated to financing and commercializing university-based life sciences technologies. Launched in 2011 with a capital of $41.25 million, the AmorChem fund model uniquely combines access to financial resources with a virtual incubator structure that enables the rapid development and commercialization of life science technologies. Today, the fund has successfully built a portfolio of 24 technologies, has leveraged its initial capital to close to $76 million with non-dilutive sources, has transacted two pharma exits and has spun out a first biotech company.

Dr. Douville was General Partner of GeneChem, a leading North American life sciences venture capital fund manager. She joined the company in 1997, moving rapidly from manager to partner with the different funds under management. She was an active board member for many Canadian and American portfolio companies where she contributed to their development and exit strategies.

Today, she is an active board member of BioQuebec (the biotech industry association for the province), BioCanRx (a Network of Centres of Excellence for bio-therapeutics in oncology) and Genome Canada (a not-for-profit organisation for developing genomic-based technologies to create economic and social benefits for Canadians). Dr. Douville trained as a biochemist, obtaining her PhD from the University of Ottawa and was a post-doctoral fellow with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, UK. In 2008, Elizabeth obtained a business certificate degree from the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la première modernité (CIREM) in collaboration with Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC)/Université de Montréal.

Janet L. Ecker was the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a concept she turned into an influential public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto as an international financial services centre. With government and industry support, she established the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services to leverage the sector’s global reputation for stability, as well as the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education to capitalize on the region’s talent advantages. The World Economic Forum recognized the centre as a best practice in collaborative public–private partnerships. 

A former minister of finance for Ontario, and the first woman to deliver a budget in the province, Janet Ecker also brought significant public policy reforms during her political career as minister of education, minister of community and social services, and government house leader. 

Before entering public life, she was the director of policy for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the first non-physician in the role. During that time, the college launched major reforms to prevent sexual abuse of patients, obtain patient consent to treatment and adapt to the new Regulated Health Professions Act. Janet Ecker now serves as the first non-physician director on the board of the Canadian Medical Association. 

A frequent public speaker and media commentator, she sits on a wide range of public and private sector boards, agencies and government advisory committees; she is also a senior fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute, is a member of its national council and was co-chair of its Digital Economy Task Force. She was the founding vice-chair of the Greater Toronto Area investment attraction agency, Toronto Global, and served on the founding board of the Ontario government’s new agency, Invest Ontario. 

Among other leadership awards, in 2016 she received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions. Janet Ecker is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women, and The Prosperity Project, a national advocacy group working to minimize the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women.

Vice President Research, Research Institute of St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Distinguished University Professor, Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University

Dr. Jack Gauldie was appointed Vice President of Research and Director of the Research Institute of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton in March 2015. He is Distinguished University Professor and Professor, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University, where he is a member of the McMaster Immunology Research Centre. He was chair of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, encompassing both clinical laboratory medicine and basic biomedical research, from 1989 to 2004.

Dr. Gauldie completed his B.Sc. at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. and Ph.D. at University College London in the U.K. before returning to the new medical school at McMaster in 1970. He has conducted research in immunology, inflammation, infectious diseases and vaccine development for the past 40 years. Dr. Gauldie is recognized internationally for his work in defining the molecular regulation of acute and chronic inflammatory responses and is a world expert in the areas of cytokine biology, pulmonary fibrosis and mucosal immunity. He has published over 370 scientific articles and a number of book chapters.

Dr. Gauldie is chair of the advisory board of Ontario Research Fund (ORF), a member of the scientific advisory board of Health Canada and a member of the board of the Ontario Genomics Institute. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh). He was a member of the advisory board of the Institute of Infection and Immunity of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and was co-chair of the Medical Review Panel of the Gairdner Foundation.

He has received awards from the Canadian Society for Immunology, the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists, and is a frequent evaluator for granting agencies including CIHR, the National Institutes of Health (U.S.) and the Medical Research Council (U.K.).

Assistant Professor, Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness, Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

Alexandra King is a member and citizen of the Nipissing First Nation (Ontario). She is an internal medicine specialist with a focus on HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV/HCV co-infections.

Dr. King had a successful career in web-based software engineering and management before pursuing her passion for medicine. She got her Doctor of Medicine at the University of Toronto in 2009, completed her core internal medicine residency at the University of Alberta and did a general internal medicine fellowship at the University of British Columbia. She taught courses in Indigenous health at Simon Fraser University, where she also mentored the Faculty of Health Sciences in the implementation of its response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

In October 2017, Dr. King moved to Saskatoon to become the inaugural Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness at the University of Saskatchewan. Her position is endowed by the Royal University Hospital Foundation’s Royal Care Campaign and included a substantial gift from Cameco and generous support from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine. She works with Indigenous communities and relevant stakeholders to understand the health and wellness needs of First Nations and Métis people in Saskatchewan and the structural changes required for improved Indigenous health outcomes. She brings leadership skills in culturally safe and responsive research and care, etuaptmumk (Two-eyed Seeing, or bringing together Indigenous and Western world views or forms of knowledge) and Ethical Space, which needs to be created when people with disparate world views are poised to engage with each other. Dr. King also contributes to the University of Saskatchewan’s decolonization, reconciliation and Indigenization.

Dr. King serves on many local, national and international initiatives. She has made longstanding contributions to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), including the CIHR Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research Patient Engagement and Ethics Working Group, the CIHR HIV/AIDS Community-Based Research Steering Committee, the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Advisory Committee and the CIHR Institute Advisory Board for the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health. She is also part of CIHR’s College of Reviewers. She has recognized expertise and provides leadership in infectious diseases, including to the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C and the Canadian Association for HIV Research as Treasurer, as well as in noncommunicable diseases. She serves on the International Group on Indigenous Health Measurement, the Canadian Indigenous Research Network Against Cancer and as co-lead of Mitewekan (meaning, in Cree, “the spirit behind the heartbeat”), which is the lead Indigenous partner of the Cardiovascular Network of Canada, the Canadian Heart Function Alliance and the Brain-Heart Interconnectome.

Retired, Past President and CEO New Brunswick Community College 

Until her retirement in June 2018, Marilyn Luscombe was New Brunswick Community College’s (NBCC) inaugural president and chief executive officer. She was first appointed in 2010 and re-appointed for a second term in 2014. During this time, NBCC moved from a six-college structure to a new One College - One Team structure.  In addition to maintaining a strong reputation for high quality and relevant programs, NBCC also initiated a number of innovations under Ms. Luscombe’s leadership. These include the award-winning Robertson Institute for Community Leadership, a new entrepreneurial mentorship program, and an office of applied research and innovation.

A native of Newfoundland and Labrador, Ms. Luscombe has extensive experience in publicly-funded community colleges, having served in various capacities at the College of the North Atlantic for fifteen years and as President and CEO at Selkirk College in the West Kootenay Region of B.C. for over ten years, from 2000 to 2010.

Ms. Luscombe has been heavily involved in advancing Canada’s colleges as former Chair of the Atlantic Provinces Community Colleges Consortium, former Chair of the Canadian College Presidents’ Network Executive and three years as Chair of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (now Colleges and Institutes Canada). She has also served on the President’s Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Colleges and Institutes Canada as well as on the boards of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada and the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network.

Ms. Luscombe was named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine in 2015, and received the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from Colleges and Institutes Canada. 

Provost and Vice-President (Academic), University of Lethbridge

Dr. Erasmus Okine was appointed Provost and Vice-President (Academic) of the University of Lethbridge for a three-year period beginning April 2020. Dr. Okine joined the University as Vice-President (Research) on July 1, 2015, coming from the University of Alberta (U of A) where he had served in a dual capacity as the Associate Vice-President (Research) and Associate Vice-President (Academic).

Dr. Okine completed his Bachelor of Science (1978) and Master of Science (1981) in animal science at the University of Ghana in Legon and was a lecturer there from 1983 to 1985 before completing his PhD in animal nutrition and digestive physiology at the University of Alberta in 1990. From 1990 to 1994, he was a sessional lecturer, research associate and postdoctoral fellow in what is now the U of A’s Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science (AFNS). Dr. Okine then served as a senior research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development at the Lacombe Research Centre from 1994 to 2001. He joined the University of Alberta as an associate professor and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development Chair in Ruminant Nutrition and Metabolism in AFNS in 2001. He was promoted to full professor in 2007 and served as Chair of the department from 2005 to 2014. Dr. Okine has published over 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and reviews and has over 100 invited presentations provincially, nationally and internationally.

For his leadership in agricultural research, Dr. Okine has received a number of awards over the course of his career, including the Alberta Premier’s Silver Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research (2000). He was named a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Animal Science in 2009 and Fellow of the International College of Nutrition in 2006. From 2017 to 2020, Dr. Okine was a member of the Alberta Research and Innovation Advisory Committee, which provides strategic advice for research and innovation to the Government of Alberta.

Corporate Director, Therillia Development Company Inc.

Dr. Louise Proulx holds a Ph.D. in physiology from Université Laval and pursued postdoctoral studies at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She has close to 30 years of experience in research and development management. Over the years she has held scientific positions of increasing responsibilities, notably as Vice President, Scientific Affairs at Hoechst Marion Roussel Canada, Vice President, Therapeutic Product Development at BioChem Pharma Inc., Vice President, Business Development of Genome Quebec and Vice Principal Research at McGill University. Following her post at McGill, she returned to the pharmaceutical industry where she was Vice President, Product Development at ViroChem Pharma Inc. and then Vice President and Site Head at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Inc. after the acquisition of ViroChem Pharma by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. She is now Corporate Director at Therillia Development Company Inc.

Dr. Proulx has been a member of several boards of directors and is currently a member of the board of directors of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Gestion Univalor, Verlyx Pharma and CQDM (formerly known as Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery). Dr. Proulx is certified ICD.D by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Past Chair of the Board for Public Health Ontario and former Senior Partner and Counsel with McMillan (Lang Michener)

Pierre Richard, Q.C., is a fluently bilingual lawyer. He served as Senior Partner and Counsel with Lang Michener's Ottawa office, with a focus on business law, acquisitions, advocacy and regulatory matters. Mr. Richard has been a member of Public Health Ontario’s Board since 2009, and Chair from 2014 to 2017. An active member of the Ottawa business community, he brings more than three decades of experience in government, health, post-secondary education and electricity generation and distribution. He is a skilled leader and communicator, who is well-recognized for his abilities in strategic planning, alliance-building and relationship management.

Mr. Richard has served on a number of boards including the Ottawa General Hospital, Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc., La Cité collégiale, the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario (now Colleges Ontario), the National Capital Commission, the Ottawa Congress Centre, and the College Compensation and Appointments Council (Ontario). He was also a member of Departmental Audit Committees at Transport Canada, Infrastructure Canada and the RCMP. He earned his Master of Laws at Harvard University, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Director of Centre de recherches mathématiques and Aisenstadt Professor of Physics, Université de Montréal

Dr. Luc Vinet has been Provost of McGill University and Rector of the Université de Montréal (U de M). He is well-known for his work in gauge theories and at the interface of integrable systems and algebraic combinatorics. His current research interests bear on mathematical physics, representation theory, orthogonal polynomials and quantum information. He often organizes various international meetings and is a sought-after speaker. As Director of the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM) at U de M, Dr. Vinet has spearheaded various initiatives — such as Mitacs, which is an organization to facilitate partnerships between industry and academia — that have shaped Canadian mathematical sciences. He is regularly part of expert panels and is a member of various boards and advisory committees. The Quebec Armand-Frappier prize and the Canadian Association of Physicists’ (CAP) CAP-CRM medal in theoretical and mathematical physics are among the recognitions he has received. In 2018, Dr. Vinet was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

CEO, Centre National en Électrochimie et en Technologies Environnementales

Nancy Déziel has been working with the Synchronex network of college centres for the transfer of technologies (CCTTs) for 30 years and is the executive director of Cégep de Shawinigan’s own CCTT: the Centre National en Électrochimie et en Technologies Environnementales (CNETE). As a result, she has in-depth knowledge of both the postsecondary education and industrial sectors.

She is committed to economic diversification and believes in the power of partnerships and networking. For those reasons, she is establishing the Centre d’innovation inter-ordre sur les batteries et l’électrification des transports.

Her work focuses on making small- and medium-sized enterprises more competitive and on building a knowledge and innovation economy.

These goals are also reflected in her work with a number of organizations and charities and in public administration, including municipal government. She serves in multiple roles:

• Chair of the Association pour le développement de la recherche et de l’innovation du Québec
• Board member of the Synchronex CCTT Network
• Governance committee member of Médicament Québec
• Board member of Économie du Savoir Mauricie
• City councillor for Shawinigan’s Rivière district
• Deputy mayor of the City of Shawinigan.

In 2018, Nancy Déziel received the Women in Business Award from the Shawinigan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIS). In 2020, the CNETE received a diversity and inclusion award from CCIS.

She earned her college diploma in analytical chemistry with a specialization in electrochemistry from Cégep de Shawinigan in 1993.

Honorary Research Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Dr. Cecilia Moloney was a faculty member with Memorial University of Newfoundland from 1990 to 2023. From 2004 to 2009, she held the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)/Petro-Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, Atlantic Region, one of five regional NSERC Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering. In 2010, she started the MetaKettle Project, as a legacy project from the Chair, with the goal of increasing the diversity of students studying science and engineering, while enhancing the sustainability of the careers of graduates throughout their lives.

Dr. Moloney contributes to research in non-linear image processing methods and radar signal processing, as well as to collaborative multidisciplinary research on diversity and pedagogy in engineering. She has made numerous service contributions to the advancement of research, including serving on NSERC selection committees and as an interim Associate Dean of Engineering (Research) at Memorial University. She is a Fellow of Women in Science and Engineering Newfoundland and Labrador (WISE NL), and a former Chair of the Institute of Electrical 

President, Archibald Innovations Inc.

Dr. Bruce Archibald is president of Archibald Innovations Inc., a management consulting company specializing in science evaluation, management and policy. Since 2022, he has served as a strategic advisor to McMaster University. From 2017 to 2022, he was executive director of Ontario Global 100 (OG100), where he had overall responsibility for implementing and executing OG100 policies, programs and goals. He continues to support the organization as an associate director.

Dr. Archibald had a long career in the federal and provincial public service, including working as a deputy head for over 11 years at both levels of government. While he was president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (2013–16), he was also Deputy Minister champion of the Science and Technology Community and chair of the Deputy Minister Committee on Science and Technology.

Between 2009 and 2013, Dr. Archibald was the first president of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. He also served in the Ontario public service as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Deputy Minister of International Trade and Investment; and Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

In 2012, he was presented with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for public service to Canadians. He also received the Biotechnology Initiative Public Service Award. He is chair of the board of Let’s Talk Science, where he has been a member since 2017.

Dr. Archibald grew up in the Niagara Peninsula. He is a second-generation public servant and a third-generation graduate of the University of Guelph, from which he holds a BSc (Agr.), MSc and PhD. In June 2014, he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from McMaster University.

Vice President, Standardization Services, Standards Council of Canada

Dr. Bilodeau is Vice President, Standardization Services at the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), Canada’s national standards body and leading accreditation organization. His tenure with the SCC commenced in 2021 within the Strategy & Stakeholder Engagement Branch. He has been instrumental in the strategic amalgamation of two operational branches, enhancing internal synergy and ensuring the SCC’s global initiatives are in concert with Canada’s strategic priorities. In his current capacity, he provides corporate leadership and management for identifying and addressing critical issues to position standardization as a value-added instrument for achieving Canada’s economic, trade and regulatory priorities. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to SCC, with over 20 years of experience in executive management, strategic planning, operational development and delivery of partnerships, programs, and research activities.

He previously served in other senior management positions, including Executive Director, Plant Health Science at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Chief Operating Officer at International S&T Partnership Canada – an Ottawa-based national not-for-profit organization, Director in Research Partnerships and Scholarships at the Natural Sciences an Engineering Research Council – one of Canada’s three research funding agencies, and prototype/research manager at Medicago Inc – a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Pierre’s professional mission from his early post-secondary education has been to “Experiment, learn, and communicate how science-based knowledge can support better decisions and improve lives”.

Dr. Bilodeau was a postdoctoral fellow at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Division in Plant Industry in Canberra, Australia, where he trained in plant hormone biosynthesis and their functions in flowering and seed development. Pierre was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend the Australian National University for his PhD in plant sciences. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in biochemistry from Université Laval in Quebec City.

Dr. François Gros-Louis is a full professor in the Department of Surgery at Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine and is the Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and 3D Modelling of Brain Disease. He is also the director of Quebec’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) production platform, which operates out of CHU de Québec Université Laval (Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus).

Dr. Gros-Louis specializes in neurobiological research using cells, tissues, and other in vitro and in vivo models to study human genetic diseases. He also focuses on the genetic components of neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and neurogenetic conditions such as neurofibromatosis, leukodystrophies and neurovascular disorders.

He has published a number of scientific papers on personalized three-dimensional cell models (derived from a patient’s own cells), which are helping researchers study diseases and better understand the underlying pathological mechanisms at play. These models have potential clinical uses thanks to cell engineering and iPSC differentiation, making them innovative tools for both basic and applied research.

Dr. Gros-Louis holds a PhD in human genetics from McGill University and a master’s in experimental medicine from Université Laval.

President and CEO, Génome Québec

Josette-Renée Landry is the President and CEO of Génome Québec. She is an adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and in the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal. Previously CEO of the Institut du Savoir Montfort and Vice-President, Education and Research at Montfort Hospital, she co-founded Streamline Genomics, a digital health startup that combines precision medicine and artificial intelligence. She also served as Vice-President, Business Development at Mitacs.

Dr. Landry received her PhD in genetics from the University of British Columbia, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge. She holds an MBA from HEC Montréal and serves on numerous boards.

President and CEO, Tidal Pool Ventures Inc.

Dr. Ronald Layden is President and CEO of Tidal Pool Ventures Inc., a consulting company, specializing in research studies, valuations and northern research. Since 2001, he is also the Senior Advisor and VP Life Sciences for Venture Valuation AG (Zurich, CH), where he is involved in company and product valuations and assessments. His previous roles include CEO of a biotechnology company; venture capitalist and co-founder of several businesses; and a senior manager in the pharmaceutical industry, with assignments at Roche, Bayer and Eli Lilly. From 2005 to 2010, Dr. Layden was the Executive Director of Industry Liaison and Innovation at Dalhousie University, where he created a new department for commercializing academic research, carrying out applied research studies with the private sector and developing spinout companies.

Dr. Layden has research and laboratory experience in oil field chemistry, immunology, molecular biology, environmental studies and genetics. Most recently, he directed applied climate change and northern research studies at the Aurora Research Institute in Yellowknife. Research projects included studies on the hydrology of the Snare Hydro System, analysis of groundwater and drinking water in the community of Whati, landscape surveys for methane and other greenhouse gases in the Mackenzie-Beaufort Delta and the feasibility of using novel solid waste gasification systems in northern communities.

Dr. Layden was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, where he studied trans-splicing in African trypanosomes and the implications for host-immune responses. Dr. Layden also studied zebrafish brain development at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Layden earned his Ph.D. at Western University (the University of Western Ontario) and his B.Sc. from Dalhousie University, both in biochemistry.

Corporate Director

A senior executive with over 30 years of business and board experience, Cathy currently serves on the boards of First West Credit Union, Technical Safety BC, Engineers & Geoscientists BC, UVic Properties & Heritage Realty, and the National Nursing Assessment Service. 

Her past board service includes the Board of Governors of the University of Victoria (former Board Chair), Consumer Protection BC, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), as well as the Victoria Hospitals Foundation (former Board Chair), the Arthritis Society of Canada, United Way of Canada, United Way of Greater Victoria (former Board Chair) and the CMA Society of BC, among others. In addition to Board Chair, her board roles have included Governance Chair, Audit Chair, Human Resources Chair and Nominations Chair. A purpose-driven leader who leads with integrity and by example, she is known for her passion for good governance, as a champion of advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, and as a lifelong learner.

Known for corporate strategy, all aspects of marketing, branding, communications, research and stakeholder engagement, Cathy began her career as a marketing and communications professional in a number of multi-national corporations. In 1997 she founded Strategic Initiatives, a nationally recognized strategy and marketing consultancy with clients among many of the leading businesses in Western Canada.

Cathy earned an MBA at the University of Victoria and a Post Degree Diploma in Accounting at Camosun College. She is a Chartered Director (C.Dir), holds the Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors. 

Associate Professor of Psychology, Lakehead University
Associate Professor of Human Sciences, Northern Ontario School of Medicine

Christopher Mushquash, PhD, is a Certified (Registered) Psychologist and is Anishinawbe (Ojibway), and a member of Pawgwasheeng (Pays Plat First Nation). He is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Lakehead University, and at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, and is a clinical psychologist at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care. He is Vice President Research at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and Chief Scientist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute. He is also Director of the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research at Lakehead University.

Dr. Mushquash is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction, with expertise in rural and northern clinical practice and the development of culturally appropriate interventions for mental health and addiction difficulties in First Nations children, adolescents and adults. He is a researcher, clinician and First Nation scholar who was born and raised in rural Northwestern Ontario.

Morag Park is a professor in the departments of oncology, biochemistry and medicine at McGill University. She was the director of the Molecular Oncology Group at the McGill University Hospital Centre (2006–08), scientific director of the Institute of Cancer Research for the CIHR (2008–13), co-chair of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (2008–10) and is now director of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (2013–present). She is a Distinguished James McGill Professor and holds the Diane and Sal Guerrera Chair in Cancer Genetics at McGill.

Dr. Park is a research leader in the field of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) and signal transduction, she established the Breast Cancer Functional Genomics Group at McGill and has pioneered studies of the breast tumour and immune microenvironment in triple negative breast cancer. She was the elected chair of the Tumour Microenvironment Network of the American Association for Cancer Research (2015–17).

Dr. Park completed a BSc with first class honors from the University of Glasgow, a PhD in viral carcinogenesis at the Medical Research Council Virology Institute in Scotland and postdoctoral training at the National Institutes for Cancer Research in Washington DC. She is a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She is a recipient of the Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Research award from the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance (2015) and also a recipient of the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences Arthur Wynne Gold Medal (2016) for having made major contributions to biochemistry, molecular and cell biology in Canada. Most recently she is a recipient of the Canadian Cancer Society Robert L. Noble Prize (2017).  

President, Technology Alberta

Gail Powley is a community-builder, championing the growth of the tech sector by supporting entrepreneurial advanced tech companies and raising their visibility, advising on policies and providing access to talent. She has worked in industry, government and academia for more than three decades.

Powley graduated with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Alberta. Over the next 20 years she took on technology development and process automation roles with companies including Microtel Pacific Research (B.C.), Procter & Gamble (Toronto), Aspen Technologies (Calgary), Matrikon (now Honeywell, Edmonton) and Willowglen Systems (Edmonton). As a practitioner, she applied advanced technology for the energy, pulp and paper, and transportation industries. Through this experience, she progressed through to executive management.

To pursue her interest in supporting a diverse workforce, she joined WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science & Technology) where she helped found WISER (Women in Science, Engineering & Research), a group for graduate students and young professionals. Throughout the years, Powley’s volunteer leadership roles have included founding organizations like BESTT (Bridge for Engineering, Science, and Technology Talent) and MentorUP Alberta — groups that support underrepresented professionals in science and engineering in both industry and academia.

Her volunteer work with the Alberta Women’s Science Network earned her recognition as a Mentor of the Millennium. She was founding chair of the Women in APEGA advisory group, and led the development of “Managing Transitions Before, During and After Leave,” a best-practices guide for employees and employers that supports the retention of women STEM professionals after maternity leave; the document was adapted and jointly published by Engineers Canada and Geoscientists Canada. Powley’s work to build a more diverse, inclusive and innovative work force also earned her the Women in Engineering and Geoscience Champion APEGA Summit Award in 2014.

In her role as President of Technology Alberta, Powley and her team collaborated with champions in industry and academia during the COVID-19 pandemic to mobilize tech companies across the province (with federal and provincial government support) to provide work opportunities for unemployed students and professionals. As a result, 500 work placement opportunities were created which will: grow advanced technology companies, provide valuable professional development, and build community.

Retired, Past President and Vice-Chancellor, York University

Dr. Mamdouh Shoukri was appointed the seventh President and Vice-Chancellor of York University on July 1, 2007. He completed his decade-long tenure as President on June 30, 2017. A champion of innovation, Dr. Shoukri guided York’s transformation into a comprehensive and research-intensive university. As President, he established the Lassonde School of Engineering and initiated several major capital development projects.

Dr. Shoukri began his career in academia at McMaster University, where his scholarly work focused on the area of thermofluid sciences. He held several administrative leadership positions, including Department Chair, Dean of Engineering and Vice-President Research. In 2004, he was responsible for creating and implementing the vision for the McMaster Innovation Park, which has become a major innovation hub and catalyst for the region’s economic recovery. Prior to joining McMaster, Dr. Shoukri worked in research and development in the Canadian nuclear industry for seven years.

Dr. Shoukri served on the Board of Directors of a number of organizations including Cancer Care Ontario, Universities Canada, Loran Scholars Foundation, York Central Hospital, was a founding Board Member of the Ontario Centres of Excellence and was a member of the Ontario Research and Innovation Council.

Dr. Shoukri was named a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario in 2013, and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He is a Senior Fellow of Massey College and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Shoukri’s scholarly interests are in thermofluid science.

Assistant Professor, Management Accounting, University of Prince Edward Island

Bill Waterman is an Assistant Professor at the University of Prince Edward Island, teaching primarily in the management accounting area. In his more than three decades of experience, he has worked in many natural resource, manufacturing and service industries as well as public service organizations. In the past 11 years, he has also taught undergraduates at Mount Allison University and in the graduate program at the Université de Moncton.

Recently retired from the Board of Examiners for Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Canada, Waterman has spent the last decade and a half working on numerous committees to ensure the Canadian CPA remains the world’s preeminent accounting body. He has offered workshops in operations and supply chain management and continues to be a lifelong learner. He has overseen essential functions in private, publicly traded firms and government agencies. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA CMA) and an holds a Master of Business Administration from the Université de Moncton. His current area of research is Indigenous business models for the community, business and governments.

The Board of Directors oversees management’s responsibilities for financial reporting through its Audit and Finance Committee. This committee reviews the financial statements and recommends them to the Board of Directors for approval which are then received by the Members. The Board of Directors approves the CFI's financial controls and audits and is accountable to the Members. Other key responsibilities of this committee include reviewing the budgets, internal control procedures, and advising the Directors on auditing matters and financial reporting issues.

Current members:

• William Waterman, Chair
• Nancy Déziel
• Josette-Renée Landry
• Ronald Layden
• Cathy McIntyre
• Cecilia Moloney

The Investment Committee oversees all matters related to the investment management of amounts received from the federal government in accordance with the Funding and Contribution Agreements. This committee establishes an investment strategy and an investment policy which are reviewed annually.

Current members:

• William Waterman, Chair
• Nancy Déziel
• Josette-Renée Landry
• Ronald Layden
• Cathy McIntyre
• Cecilia Moloney

The Governance and Nominating Committee ensures that the proper framework is in place for the CFI to operate in the most efficient and accountable manner. Among other things, this committee is responsible for amendments to by-laws, human resources policies, succession planning, the annual performance evaluation of the President, and the code of conduct that governs the Board of Directors, CFI employees, and reviewers.

The committee regularly reviews Board effectiveness and establishes procedures to follow when filling vacancies on the Board and for Members.

Directors and Members are nominated, and then appointed for a three-year term for Directors, and for a five-year term for Members. The Board has chosen to use the guidelines established by the Government of Canada entitled, “Remuneration Guidelines for Part-Time Governor in Council Appointees in Crown Corporations.”  Directors who opt to receive remuneration from the CFI are entitled to an annual retainer of $5,000, while committee chairs receive $7,500 and the Board Chair $10,000. They are also entitled to receive a per-meeting fee of $750 for attending Board or committee meetings, and a $500 fee for attending a committee meeting associated with a Board meeting. Members are not entitled to any remuneration. However, they may be reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses they incur while performing their duties or attending CFI Member meetings.

Current members:

• Mamdouh Shoukri, Chair
• Nancy Déziel
• Christopher Mushquash 
• Morag Park
• Gail Powley

• Lorne Babiuk, Chair
• Jean-Paul Deveau
• Alexandra King
• Erasmus Okine
• Pierre Richard