The NGBIdeas Podcast
Who are today’s visionaries and tomorrow’s leaders in Canada’s Life Sciences sector? What are they doing and how did they get there? Listen as Jim Wilson sits down with notable leaders, innovators and disruptors who are working on the Next Great Big Ideas in Biotech, Genetics, Medtech and Life Sciences.
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Episodes
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
Tuesday Sep 19, 2023
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
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
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
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
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
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
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
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
Tuesday Aug 22, 2023
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
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
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
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
Tuesday Aug 08, 2023
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.
Ontario Genomics: ontariogenomics.ca
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com
Friday Aug 04, 2023
Friday Aug 04, 2023
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 of people who has a front-row seat at the intersection of innovation and commercialization in Canada's life sciences community that provides a unique perspective on where we are and where we're heading.
Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners: tiap.ca
Members: camh.ca , hollandbloorview.ca , marsdd.com , sinaihealth.ca , oicr.on.ca , unityhealth.to , sickkids.ca , sunnybrook.ca , uhn.ca , utoronto.ca
Simon Fraser University: sfu.ca
University of Calgary: ucalgary.ca
The University of British Columbia: ubc.ca
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com
Monday Jul 31, 2023
Monday Jul 31, 2023
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 that is a great Canadian success story. He and his partners eventually sold that company for reported $65 million which was a life-changing event and it provided Chris with an opportunity to look at a global issue he is very passionate about helping change. And that issue is factory farming if you're not aware, many of today's farming techniques account for a significant part of our carbon footprint, and his team are focused on creating the next generation of plant-based meat alternatives that will help create a new and sustainable climate strategy.
New School Foods: www.newschoolfoods.co
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
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 similar to many of the guests we've had on our show in that it's not a linear path nor was it planned. You'll hear that his success is based on hard work, being open to opportunity when it presents itself, and sometimes learning life lessons from family pets.
CCRM: ccrm.ca
Get Your Tickets to The NGBI Summit: nextgreatbigideas.com
Lab Occupier: laboccupier.com