NGBiPlus S2.E4: ResearchNB

Allison Brown is the site head of BioLabs University of Toronto, the first Canadian location in a global network of shared lab and office facilities spanning twenty biotech innovation clusters around the world. Located in the MaRS Discovery District, it puts her at the epicentre of innovation and commercialization in Canadian life sciences.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with Allison about a journey that began in the Rouge Valley in Scarborough and took an unexpected turn when her father, a chemical engineer, arranged a meeting with a University of Toronto engineering professor. That single conversation changed the course of her life.Allison talks about her PhD in chemical engineering, life as employee number four at a scrappy startup operating out of the corner of an academic lab, and the leap out of the lab and into management consulting that shaped the rest of her career. She has since worked in pharmaceutical marketing, at CCRM, and at Medicine by Design, spending her career at what she calls the commercialization spectrum.Allison also explains how the BioLabs model works, why Toronto is coming into its own as a global life sciences hub, and the areas of convergence she believes will define the next wave of innovation.

Andrea Ladouceur is President and CEO of the Biosciences Association of Manitoba, or BAM, a not-for-profit industry association based in Winnipeg that is focused on growing the province's life sciences sector.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with Andrea about a side of Manitoba that surprises almost everyone. The province's number one export is not grain or canola, it is pharmaceuticals, with thirty percent of all medicine exported from Canada manufactured in Manitoba. Andrea explains why global pharma companies have quietly put down roots there, how the province trains twenty percent of Canada's bioscience talent, and what it will take to unlock the sector's next level of growth.Andrea also makes a compelling case for partnership over competition, the strength of Manitoba's tight-knit ecosystem, and why she believes the province deserves a bigger seat at the national table when Canada tells its life sciences story to the world.

Trigger warning: This episode touches on themes of mental health and loss of life. Listener discretion is advised. Neil Fraser is one of the most respected leaders in Canada's medtech sector. He spent 38 years at Medtronic Canada, serving as president from 2004 to 2022, and has been a longtime advisor on health innovation policy and a director on numerous boards.In this archive episode of NGBideas, host Jim Wilson speaks with Neil about a journey that began in a nomadic, trans-Canadian family and led him from chemical engineering at UBC to the leading edge of Canadian healthcare. Neil reflects on the early Procter and Gamble years where he patented a world product, his role introducing aluminum cans and curbside recycling to Ontario at Alcan, and the serendipitous move to a then-tiny Medtronic that shaped the rest of his career.Along the way, Neil shares the lessons that stayed with him, from a founder's belief that everyone is responsible and the patient comes first, to his passion for value-based healthcare, and why he believes the status quo can always be changed with a well-made, evidence-based argument.

Greg Wolfond is the founder of the Give Back Health Innovation Foundation, a Canadian philanthropic network working to advance public health through innovation and technology. It tackles one of the most persistent problems in Canadian life sciences: the country does world-class research yet ranks near the bottom when it comes to commercializing it.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with Greg about a model designed to bridge the gap between discovery and commercialization. Give Back lets philanthropists donate to causes they care about, then invests those funds into early-stage Canadian companies that have promising science but no clear path to human trials. When a company succeeds, it gives back an equivalent value to Canadians through free or heavily discounted service, and any return flows back into the foundation to be reinvested.Greg, a serial tech entrepreneur who went back to school in his mid-40s to earn a biochemistry degree, also makes a passionate case for why Canada needs to keep more of its innovation, and the people behind it, at home.

Dr. Michael Rudnicki is co-founder and Chief Discovery Officer of Satellos Bioscience in Ottawa, and one of the most accomplished stem cell scientists in the world. A member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, his work sits at the leading edge of regenerative medicine.In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with Michael about a life shaped by science, family, and curiosity, from taking apart the family car as a kid in Ottawa to building some of the first knockout mice at MIT's Whitehead Institute. Michael reflects on the mentors and moments that shaped his path, the founding of Canada's Stem Cell Network, and the discoveries in his lab that led to Satellos.At the heart of the conversation is the company's mission: a paradigm-shifting approach to Duchenne muscular dystrophy that treats the disease as a stem cell signaling problem rather than simply a structural one, and the hope that it could change the lives of patients living with this devastating condition.

Modulari-T Biosciences is a Montreal-based biotech working on what may be one of the most significant advances in cell therapy in decades. The team has built the first second generation in vivo CAR-T system, one designed to work with the immune system rather than against it, and has already proven the technology across nearly twenty different target types, including cancers that earlier generations of CAR-T simply could not reach.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with CEO Tanya Borsuk about a company she never expected to join. After years at Celgene, which became Bristol-Myers Squibb, watching CAR-T hit its limits, Tanya swore she would never work in the field again. Then she saw Modulari-T's data. She explains what makes the technology different, why toxicity and accessibility have long held cell therapy back, and how this Canadian science could open the door to treating not just cancer but autoimmune, inflammatory, and neurological diseases.Tanya also reflects on the realities of building a young biotech in a difficult market, and why she believes the most important lesson any entrepreneur can learn is to not be afraid to fail.

Based in Calgary, Alberta, Providence Therapeutics is a Canadian mRNA company focused on personalized cancer vaccines. During the pandemic, Brad Sorenson and his team developed a COVID vaccine that went head to head against Pfizer in clinical trials and held its own, yet almost no one in Canada ever heard about it.In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with founder and CEO Brad Sorenson about a journey that is as personal as it is professional. In 2013, Brad's 13-year-old son Adam was diagnosed with glioblastoma and given a year to live. Thirteen years later, Adam is still here, and Brad walks through the extraordinary series of events that shaped both his son's survival and the company he built.It is also a candid conversation about the realities of drug development in Canada and Brad's passionate call for the country to give patients the right to fight for their lives through compassionate access.

Cerebro Therapeutics is a biotech company based in Quebec City developing disease-modifying treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, with a primary focus on Parkinson's.Unlike current therapies that only manage symptoms, Cerebro is working to stop the disease from progressing altogether.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with president and co-founder Martin Levesque about a company that spun directly out of his research lab at Laval University.Martin explains the science behind their approach, which combines immunotherapy and gene therapy to deliver protective antibodies across the blood-brain barrier in a single injection, and how a striking result in a mouse model convinced him the work needed to reach patients.Martin also reflects on the leap from academic researcher to startup founder, the support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and why he believes the first treatment to halt Parkinson's could be made in Canada.

Based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, ResearchNB is the province's research funding agency. Think of the federal tri-councils CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC combined into one and operating at a provincial level.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with CEO Candice Pollack about an organization that has moved well beyond the traditional role of a passive funder. Candice explains how ResearchNB now actively connects researchers with industry, government, and community to make sure good research does not simply end up as a paper on a shelf, but moves toward real impact whether through commercialization, policy change, or better patient care.Candice also makes a heartfelt case for New Brunswick as one of Canada's most underrated places for research and innovation, and why she believes the province's small, nimble approach is a strength rather than a limitation.

Node AI is a software as a medical device company based in Hamilton, Ontario using artificial intelligence to guide surgeons through endobronchial ultrasound, a critical procedure used to determine whether lung cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. Until now, surgeons performing it have essentially been navigating blind.In this episode, Jim Wilson speaks with co-founder and CEO Mackensey Bacon about a company that grew out of a surgeon's simple observation: if a phone can recognize a face, why can't AI identify a malignant lymph node? Mackensey explains how that idea became a company with four clinical trial sites across Canada and an FDA submission on track for the end of the year.Mackensey also reflects on the strength of Hamilton's life sciences ecosystem and what it takes to lead a startup alongside two of the best in their fields.