Phillip Sharp, PhD

Chair

Phillip A. Sharp is Institute Professor (highest academic rank) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. His research interests have centered on the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing. His landmark work in 1977 provided one of the first indications of "discontinuous genes" in mammalian cells. The discovery fundamentally changed scientists' understanding of gene structure and earned Dr. Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His lab has now turned its attention to understanding how RNA molecules act as switches to turn genes on and off (RNA interference). These newly discovered processes have revolutionized cell biology and could potentially generate a new class of therapeutics. Dr. Sharp has authored over 365 scientific papers. His work has earned him numerous cancer research awards and presidential and national scientific board appointments. He is elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is also the recipient of the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the National Medal of Science and the Inaugural Double Helix Medal for Scientific Research from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. A native of Kentucky, Dr. Sharp earned a B.A. degree from Union College, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He is co-founder of Biogen (now Biogen Idec) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.

 Morty Yalovsky, PhD

 Co-Chair 

Dr. Armen Aprikian graduated from the University of Sherbrooke Medical School in Quebec in 1985 and completed his urology residency training at McGill University in 1990. He then pursued a 3-year research and clinical fellowship in urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City. In 1993 he was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery (Urology) at McGill University and began his career in prostate and bladder cancer research and as a clinical urologic oncologist. In 1998 he became the McGill Division of Urology Training Program Director and in 2000 established the Annual Canadian Senior Resident Urologic Oncology Course which runs to this day. In 2005 he became the Head of the Division of Urology at McGill University and in 2007 became full professor of surgery. Finally, in 2009 he was appointed the Medical Director of the McGill University Health Centre Cancer Care Mission and Department of Oncology.

Dr. Aprikian has been awarded the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award, the American Urologic Assoociation Practising Urologist Award, the Canadian Urology Association Scholarship, the McGill University William Dawson Scholar Career Award and the Quebec FRSQ Clinician Scientist Award. He has obtained independent peer-reviewed grants from several organizations including the US Department of Defense. He is currently the interim editor in chief of the Canadian Urology Association Journal. In addition, in 2004 he was a founding member of Procure, a Quebec-based Prostate Cancer Foundation dedicated to research and public awareness. Most recently, he has initiated a prospective longitudinal comprehensive biobank project for prostate cancer across the entire province of Quebec. Finally, he is actively involved in a leadership role in provincial guidelines in bladder cancer surgery outcomes and standards of care.

Dr. Rod Budd was born in Montreal, graduated from Concordia University with a B. Comm. in 1974, completed his CA program at McGill University and received his CA designation in 1977. Dr. Rod Budd worked with Ernst & Young for over 35 years with a focus on rapidly growing technology based companies. His clients have ranged from emerging start-ups to large multi-nationals. He has assisted in more than a dozen initial public offerings and numerous secondary issues, and served as the firm’s National Director for Life Sciences for 8 years.

Dr. Phil Gold is the Douglas G. Cameron Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Physiology and Oncology, at McGill University. He has served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at McGill and Physician-in-Chief at the Montreal General Hospital. He is presently the Executive Director of the Clinical Research Centre of the McGill University Health Centre.

Dr. Gold’s early research led to the discovery and definition of the Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA), the blood test most frequently used in the diagnosis and management of patients with cancer. For this work, other studies, and his outstanding contributions as a medical educator, he has gained national and international recognition. He has been elected to numerous prestigious organizations and has been the recipient of such outstanding awards as the Gairdner Foundation Annual International Award, the Isaak Walton Killam Award in Medicine of the Canada Council, the National Cancer Institute of Canada R.M. Taylor Medal, the Heath Medal of the MD Anderson Hospital, the Inaugural Ernest C. Manning Foundation Award, the Johann-Georg-Zimmerman Prize for Cancer Research, Medizinische Hochschule, Germany, the ISOBM Abbott Award (Japan), the Award of the Academy of International Dental Studies, and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal.

He has been elected to membership in the Royal Society of Canada, the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the Association of American Physicians (AAP), and Mastership in the American College of Physicians. His outstanding contributions to teaching have been recognized by an award as a Teacher of Distinction from his Faculty of Medicine. He has been honored by his country, his province his city, and his university by appointment as a Companion of the Order of Canada, an Officer of l’Ordre National du Québec, a member of the Academy of Great Montrealers; and a the recipient of the Gold Medal of the McGill University Graduate Society, respectively. He has been the Sir Arthur Sims Traveling Professor to the British Commonwealth, and has served as a member of the Executive, and Chair of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. He has received a D.Sc (H.C.) from McMaster University. In 2006, the Phil Gold Chair in Medicine was inaugurated at McGill University, and the first incumbent was selected in 2009. He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2010.

David Goodman, PhD

Dr. Goodman is the Chief Executive Officer of Pharmascience, a Canadian fully-integrated pharmaceutical company involved in the development, manufacture and distribution of a broad line of generic and innovative products. Today, Pharmascience is the second largest privately owned pharmaceutical company in Canada.

Dr. Goodman obtained his B.Sc. degree in Commerce from McGill University and Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Virginia. Upon graduation, he began his career at Pharmascience in Business Development and has gained significant experience in progressively senior International and domestic roles. He most recently headed the company’s International operations as Executive Vice President.

Under Dr. Goodman’s leadership, Pharmascience has gone from being a strictly Canadian company to becoming an important player on the global stage, with worldwide sales now in excess of $500 million – a growth rate of 25% over the past five years.

Pharmascience strives to be the first company to launch its generic pipeline in Canada, the EU and various markets throughout the world. It has recently distinguished itself by being the first to launch in Canada generic versions of Valtrex (valacyclovir), Coreg (carvedilol), Mobicox (meloxicam), Urso (ursodeoxycholic acid), Zithromax (azithromycin), Pantoloc (pantoprazole) and Risperdal ODT (risperidone). The company has similar success in Europe with first launch generics.

Michel L. Tremblay, Ph.D. is a James McGill Professor and Director of the Goodman Cancer Research Centre at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. His laboratory works on characterizing the function and regulation of several members of the Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (PTP) gene family using both biochemical and genetic approaches. Dr. Tremblay has over 10 patents filed and over 1040 publications in the field of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases and he is a recognized figure internationally on this gene family and their function in cancer, diabetes and neuroscience. Based on his expertise, he served on several boards of biotech/pharma industry companies, two of which he initiated the foundation, and he continues to pursue various research projects in partnership with the private sector. He served as the first coordinator of the Quebec Node of the Terry Fox Research Institute and was member of the Scientific Committee of the Québec Consortium for Drug Discovery and also a member of the Scientific Board of the I.N.R.S. He served on the Board of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ); was a recipient of an FRSQ chercheur national; honored as the Jeanne and J.–Louis Lévesque Chair in Cancer Research and as a Fellow to the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada. He recently undertook being a member of the Advisory Committee on Research for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Mr. Jonathan Wener, Chairman and CEO of Canderel Management Inc., was the founding President of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec and a past President of the Urban Development Institute of Canada. He is also a member of a significant number of community, business (Laurentian Bank, Silanis Technology) and charitable, community boards (The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Concordia University where he is Vice Chair, The Jewish General Hospital). In October 2003, he was appointed by the Governor General as a member of the Order of Canada and in 2009, Mr. Wener received the honor of being nominated as a member of the Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ).