CUBEC
Canadian Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Conference
Industry Panel A
Dr. David Juncker, nplex biosciences
Dr. Juncker holds a Canada Research Chair in Bioengineering, and is a Professor and the Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University. Dr. Junker's research is founded on the belief that human ingenuity can improve health and well-being. His lab is inventing and developing novel micro and nanobioengineering technologies. The lab has been interested in three main areas, including multiplexed biomolecular analysis of proteins in (i) solution, (ii) (single) extracellular vesicles, and (iii) single cells (notably circulating tumor cells), building organ-on-a-chip systems, and microfluidic rapid tests for disease diagnosis. Three start-ups spun-off from his lab, Sensoreal, Parallex Bioassays and one he co-founded, nplex biosciences.
Raeesa Matadar, MASc, CCRM
Raeesa Matadar is a Development Associate at the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), a leader in addressing the challenges involved with commercializing cell and gene-based therapies. She works in the process development lab, a state-of-the-art space designed to facilitate the optimization of any biological workflow that helps to bring new therapies, devices and diagnostics to market, predominantly in the viral vector and immunotherapy manufacturing spaces. Previously, she worked at Mount Sinai Hospital where she completed her Master of Applied Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto, specializing in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Marc Ouellette, MSc, Notch Therapeutics
Marc Ouellette graduated with a MSc from the Physiology department at McGill in 2016. He has experience working on production clinical trials in T cell autologous therapy at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and process development for autologous T cell projects at GE Healthcare (later Cytiva). Most recently, he moved to Notch Therapeutics, a new startup company in Vancouver, as a Senior Scientific Associate in T cell immunology, where he have been researching allogeneic T cell therapies starting from induced pluripotent stem cells and maturing them in an artificial thymic environment with the goal of generating a product that is widely available to patients.
Magali Soumillon, PhD, Flexomics
Magali Soumillon holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from l'École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Luminy, and a PhD in Life Sciences and Genomics from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. She has developed various novel genomic approaches including techniques for the analysis of single cells, first as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and the Broad Institute, then as a scientist and team leader in several startups in the Boston and San Francisco areas where she helped develop novel instruments and devices for research and diagnostic purposes. Magali recently co-founded Flexomics, a Boston based startup developing an innovative screening platform capable of analyzing millions of cell-to-cell interactions to guide the development of immunotherapies.
Industry Panel B
Ora Cohen, BEng, Sensoreal
Ora Cohen received her BEng in bioengineering from McGill in 2021. Over the course of her undergraduate degree, she held internships working in regulatory compliance, telehealth, and cell research, and during her last year at McGill developed a growing interest in diagnostics and biosensing. She currently works at Sensoreal, a biotech start-up developing point-of-care diagnostic tests. Her role includes designing microfluidic platforms to run rapid biological assays and optimizing the algorithms used to interpret the results.
Sabina Bruehlmann, PhD, Nimble Science
Sabina Bruehlmann has been bringing new health technologies to life for over 15 years. First, as co-founder of Zephyr Sleep Technologies, Sabina led the R&D team in the integration of innovative AI based approaches in sleep and dental medicine. Now, as co-founder of Nimble Science, Sabina and her team are leading the introduction of novel in vivo sampling technologies to unleash the potential of the gut microbiome. Sabina’s core specializations are intellectual property and strategic positioning, regulatory, clinical and quality affairs. Sabina holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Calgary.
Bechara Saab, PhD, Mobio Interactive
As CEO of Mobio Interactive, Bechara Saab is committed to supporting his team in building digital tools that empower better living and faster healing. Mobio Interactive blends science and design with internally developed technology that remotely and objectively measures mind and body data (typically via computer vision enabled psychobiometrics). By partnering with medical and academic institutions around the world, Mobio Interactive rigorously interrogates the efficacy of their products through clinical trials. Until 2017, Bechara was a Principal Investigator of the Zurich Neuroscience Centre where his laboratory at the Psychiatry Hospital focused on understanding molecules and neural circuits that give rise to the motivation to explore.
Domenico Lopez, BEng, MinuteFluidics
Domenico is a newly-graduated Bioengineering student from McGill University with a specialty in diagnostics and high-throughput screening, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at Concordia University in Computer Science. He has worked in biology and bioengineering labs for three years. Additionally, he has developed a background in marketing through coursework and practical experience which help him in his position of Chief Marketing Officer at MinuteFluidics.
Industry Panel C
Matthew F. Baretich, PhD, P. Eng.
Matthew Baretich is a director of biomedical engineering for Vancouver Coastal Health and an advisor to Lower Mainland Biomedical Engineering. Before moving to Vancouver in June, he had accumulated more than 40 years of experience in clinical engineering practice in the United States. Matt is a founder, past-president, and fellow of the American College of Clinical Engineering. He is a certified professional in patient safety and a certified professional in healthcare risk management.
Nizar Kezzo, BEng, MY01
Nizar Kezzo is a lead hardware developer at MY01. He studied electrical engineering at McGill University and joined MY01 as an undergraduate, and has seen the company grow from 3 employees to more than 60. MY01 specializes in advanced sensing of intra-compartmental muscle pressure to aid in diagnosing cases such as Acute Compartment Syndrome. At MY01, Nizar has worked in electrical and mechanical design, device safety, bio-compatibility, and regulatory approvals. He also worked on medical devices manufacturing and quality control. Through this, he has gained a deep insight into the medical device industry norms and methods.
Kevin Chaplin, BSc, Kardium
Kevin Chaplin joined Kardium in 2008. He has been active in many areas at Kardium, including product development, marketing, clinical development, business development and financing. Currently, he is the CEO of Kardium. Prior to Kardium, Kevin held product management, marketing and technical positions at Kodak, Sierra Wireless and Accenture. He started his career working as an engineer at the deepest gold mine in the world. Kevin holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town
Mark Semple, MASc, MOLLI Surgical
Mark Semple is the Senior Research and Development Engineer at the Toronto-based medical device startup, MOLLI Surgical. Mark graduated from the Mechanical Engineering program at Queen’s University in 2012, and went on to earn a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from UBC in 2015. Mark’s work has brought him to several major Canadian hospitals in both BC and Ontario, where he has co-invented and patented a number of new technologies. He developed “smart” injury prevention wearables at UHN, radiotherapy guidance systems at the Sunnybrook Cancer Center, and now leads software and architecture development for future products at MOLLI Surgical.