Brad leads projects to deliver real world evidence solutions, medical and market access strategy for the pharmaceutical industry and its stakeholders. Brad has almost 20 years of experience in the Life Sciences industry across government and private sectors in Canada and globally. His interests include developing innovative approaches to leveraging “big” healthcare datasets to answer core questions about value and outcomes in the healthcare system.

Prior to joining IQVIA, he led the investment attraction function for Life Sciences at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He also spent several years in the US at a leading biotech strategy consulting firm developing solutions in new product development & launch, marketing, sales, and business development. He is a Dean’s List graduate of the MBS program (integrated MSc Biotech + MBA ) at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, California, and holds a B.Sc. in Physiology from McGill University.

Brad speaks English and French, and is conversational in Mandarin Chinese

Ma’n H. Zawati (LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D. (DCL)) is the Executive Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy in the Department of Human Genetics at
McGill University. He is also an Associate Member of McGill¹s Biomedical Ethics Unit. His research concentrates on the legal, ethical and policy dimensions of health research and clinical care, with a special focus on biobanking, data sharing, professional liability, and the use of novel technologies (e.g. mhealth apps, WGS, WES) in both the clinical and research settings. Dr. Zawati is funded by CIHR, Genome Canada, and Genome Quebec. His work is interdisciplinary, drawing together perspectives from law, ethics, bioinformatics, genomics, and policy. He¹s also a frequent
presenter on a variety of the most critical and topical issues in healthcare and the biosciences. He has appeared at 100+ international conferences, symposia, meetings, and has shared his expertise with universities, research ethics boards and law firms. Dr. Zawati has published 13 book chapters and 45+ peer reviewed articles in leading publications such as Nature Reviews Genetics, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, the Journal of Medical Genetics, and the McGill Journal of Law and Health. In 2015, he
was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (stay at Oxford University) and was named a Royal Society of Canada Delegate for the IAP Young Scientists of the Year international symposium. In 2014, the Young Bar Association of Montreal named him as one of its Lawyers of the Year.

President & CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, Chair of the Consumer Advocare Network, President & CEO of the Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes, Chair of Canadian Heart Patient Alliance and member of Genome Canada Steering Committee for the Rare Disease Precision Health Initiative.  Internationally, she serves as Chair of Rare Disease International, Board member of Asia Pacific Rare Disease International, member of the Editorial Board of The Patient- Patient Centred Outcomes Research, member of the Global Commission to End the Diagnosis Odyssey for Rare Diseases and member of Health Technology Assessment International Patient /Citizen Involvement Interest Group.  She is also a certified Health Coach.

Durhane has a PhD in psychology from McGill University and was professor at the University of Windsor, Canada.  She is a trainer and frequent lecturer and author of three books and many articles.

Patrick spent most of his professional career with the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.  In the years since learning he was HIV+ in 1989, he has also applied his accounting and management experience as executive director of the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area, and on the boards of CATIE, Fife House Foundation, the Ontario AIDS Network and the Canadian Treatment Action Council.  His interests (and the volunteer positions through which he has pursued them) include community engagement and ethics in research (Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study Governance Committee, Canadian HIV Trials Network Community Advisory Committee), treatment side effects (Health Canada’s Expert Advisory Committee on the Vigilance of Health Products), and new prevention technologies (Canadian HIV Vaccines Plan Steering Committee).

Bettina has more than 15 years of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry as well as 10 years of experience as a tenured professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy at Université Laval. Prior to assuming her current role as President and CEO of Ontario Genomics, Bettina served as Vice-President of NSERC’s Research Partnerships Directorate. She has also held a variety of leadership positions at Pfizer Canada. She is known for pioneering novel public-private partnership models, and breaking down barriers between federal, provincial and private sector stakeholders. Bettina holds a B.Sc. in pharmacy and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky, U.S. and an EMBA in Healthcare from the UBC

Mr. Adams is Board Chair of the Best Medicines Coalition, Co-founder, President & CEO of Canadian PKU and Allied Disorders non-profit and Co-Founder and Trustee of the Global Association for PKU. He is a former Chair of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders.

Mr. Adams is a graduate of York University; worked as a reporter for The Globe and Mail; chief of staff to a Cabinet Minister in Ontario; elected three times to Toronto City Council, serving as Budget Chief and Acting Mayor; and served as a trustee of Canada’s largest hospital, the University Health Network

Eric began his career by co-founding and selling a software company to Optio Software, helping guide Optio to a successful IPO by expanding into the healthcare market and launching its European headquarters. During his career, Eric has been helping software and professional services firms such as PwC all over the world in shifting the paradigm of their business development culture, resulting in new contracts worth $100+ million.  He is a frequent speaker and works closely with hospitals, pharma companies and research institutes on patient recruitment programs.

In 1999, Ray was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at McMaster University , where he started new projects on polyglutamine diseases, focusing on Huntington’s Disease. In 2001, Ray won the CIHR “New Scientist” award and his group is now supported by operating grants from Canada and the United States. In 2010, he was promoted to full Professor in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences.

Professor Truant is Chair of the Scientific Advisory board of the Huntington Society of Canada since 2007.  Dr. Truant is a recipient of the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the 2014 Michael Wright Community Leadership Award.

The Truant lab is in an academic setting, but highly collaborative with pharmaceutical industry and biotech partners, as well as clinical collaborators, Dr. Mark Guttman at the Centre for Movement Disorders in Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital and the University of Toronto, as well as Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky at McMaster’s Neuromuscular Disease Clinic.  Dr. Truant is on the Scientific Advisory Board of Mitokinin LLC, a biotech firm dedicated to the development of small molecules drug therapy to restore the phosphorylation of mutant Huntingtin and thus treat Huntington’s disease.

Drew Memmott is currently the Senior Vice President for Research Administration at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Associate Director for Administration for the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated Comprehensive Cancer Center comprised of 5 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and 2 Harvard biomedical schools. He is the senior administrative leader for all aspects of research at DFCI and the DF/HCC consortium. In his role as SVP he is responsible for oversight of the research administrative infrastructure (including grant and contract management, core facilities, laboratory operations, and the animal resource facility) and clinical research operations (including clinical trials administration and operations, Institutional Review Board, protocol review approval and activation, and clinical trials financial management). In his role as Associate Director for Administration for DF/HCC he oversees the administration of the DF/HCC Cancer Center Support Grant and its associated operational requirements including administration, shared resources, and clinical research support.
Prior to DFCI Drew held a number of senior leadership roles at Mayo Clinic. He was the Associate Director for Administration for the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI designated national cancer center with operations in three geographic regions. Additionally, Drew also served as a Director of Research Administration at Columbia University Medical Center.
Drew is an active member of the Cancer Center Administrator’s Forum (CCAF), an organization of NCI designated Cancer Center Administrators; the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI); an External Advisory Board Member for several NCI designated cancer centers; and the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) where he has served in multiple committee leadership roles.

Jennifer Chan was appointed Vice President, Policy and External Affairs, at Merck Canada Inc. as of June 1, 2014 and is responsible for the company’s team of government relations and public affairs specialists.  Prior to this role, she held the position of Vice President, Policy and Communications at Merck Canada since December 2011.

A native of Montreal, Jennifer began her career in academic research before joining Schering-Plough in 1993 as a Clinical Research Associate. Since then, she has worked in various areas of the business, primarily in Regulatory Affairs, Specialty Services and Medical Affairs. She was Director of Regulatory Affairs, for Schering Plough at the time of the merger with Merck in 2009.

Jennifer is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Health Economics in Alberta, as well as the Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery and the Quebec Network for Personalized Health Care. She is a member of the board of Life Sciences Ontario and has served as a Merck for Mothers ambassador in Canada since the program was launched in 2011. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physiology and a Master of Science degree in pharmacology and therapeutics, both from McGill University in Montreal. She completed the last year of her master’s degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.