The IMS, in collaboration with IMSSA, the Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program and the SickKids Career Development Committee, is excited to be hosting IMS Connects: Working Industry on Monday, June 24 from 4:30 - 6:30 PM at the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research & Learning (Gallery, 2nd floor). Join us for this in-person only panel and networking event where you can connect with successful professionals working in diverse careers in industry. All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
Dr. Mike Cooke co-founded AmacaThera Inc. with Dr. Molly Shoichet in 2016 to commercialize novel hydrogels. Their lead product, AMT-143, is focused on improving postoperative pain management and has applicability to any surgical incision. Under Mike’s guidance as CEO, the AmacaThera team has initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for AMT-143 and closed a CDN$10.3 Series A financing to further the company’s clinical development. Mike completed his PhD in stem cell biology at the University of Durham, where he studied controlling cell fate methods. During his postdoctoral work, he investigated combining a hydrogel with neural stem cells to repair stroke-injured brains in animal models.
Michelle Dubinsky is a Medical Science Liaison in Cardiometabolism at Boehringer Ingelheim Canada. She is a recent graduate of the Institute of Medical Science. Her PhD research explored how blood flow patterns affect gene-protein interactions in the endothelium, mitigating Cardiovascular disease. Throughout her graduate degree, Michelle was actively involved in many facets of education, leadership, and mentorship. Prior to UofT, Michelle received an MSc in Biochemistry at Western, where she studied a protein involved in both Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. She completed her H.BSc from McMaster University in Biochemistry with a specialization in Molecular Biology. Michelle is excited to give back to her training community as an industry professional!
Jeremy Grushcow holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. Transitioning from science to law, he began his legal career at Kirkland & Ellis and Shearman & Sterling before becoming a partner at Norton Rose. Moving into the startup world, Jeremy served in executive roles at Oncolytics Biotech, Antibe Therapeutics, Sequence Bio, and Cyclica. Currently, he is a Co-Founder of Juniper Genomics, blending scientific insight with business acumen.
Aravin Sukumar completed a BSc and MSc at McMaster University and a PhD at the University of Toronto. His PhD thesis focused on investigating the role of non-coding RNAs in cardiovascular disease. He is currently working for Boston Scientific as a Scientific Communications Specialist where he contributes to evidence generation and dissemination to support the company's Cardiology portfolio. He has broad interests in the Life Sciences and MedTech ecosystem and has previously worked with healthcare start-ups and within the finance sector (equity research, investment banking).
Redi Taddese has over 10 year of industry experience within R&D and GMP spaces. She is currently a senior Operations Manager at JLABS @ Toronto, an incubator providing startups with access to space and resources.
Before joining JLABS, Redi was a project manager at Q&C Services Inc, a leading consulting firm specialized in Compliance and Regulatory services for Pharmaceutical and medical device companies. While at Q&C, Redi has worked with over 20 companies to support implementation or ongoing maintenance of their quality management systems to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Prior roles included Quality Control Analyst at Therapure BioPharma (now Resilience Biotechnologies). Redi also worked as a Research Associate at the University of Toronto where she conducted research focused on identifying small molecule candidates for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Redi holds an MSc in Biochemistry and a BSc in Pharmacology and Biochemistry from the University of Toronto.
Inge has worked at VWR, part of Avantor for 20+ years. She is currently working as a Region Director of Sales in Ontario supporting pharma, biotech and industrial customers. Her previous roles within the company include sales roles supporting academic and biopharma accounts, governance of contractual relationships with strategic global customers and a role as a life science specialist. Prior to joining Avantor Inge held a position as a lab manager at UTM developing qPCR molecular diagnostic assays. Inge did her undergraduate degree in biology at McGill University and her Master’s degree in Botany (now CSB) from University of Toronto.
