Dr. Pat Forgione is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Concordia University and is part of the Centre for Green Chemistry and Catalysis and Réseau Québécois de Recherche sur les Médicaments.

Dr. Forgione is a synthetic chemist with research interests in organic method development and drug discovery funded by NSERC, FRQ-NT, Mitacs, Aligo, Richard and Edith Strauss Foundation with publications in Green Chemistry, Angewandte Chemie, ChemSusChem and Scientific Reports. Their previous research activities at Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) Canada, Ltd has provided them with extensive experience in medicinal chemistry with knowledge of industrial expectations. At BI, they were co-inventor on 11 drug-discovery patents in the design, synthesis, biological and pharmacological evaluation of inhibitors including Falbaprevir (hepatitis C virus drug).

Dr. Alisa Piekny is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Concordia University and holds a Tier 2 Concordia University Research Chair (CURC) in Cancer Cell Biology. With funding from CIHR, NIH, NSERC, and FRQ-NT, Dr. Piekny’s lab has studied the mechanisms regulating cytoskeletal dynamics for cell division and migration using C. elegans and cultured human cells as model systems, with seminal publications in journals including Current Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Science, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Development and Developmental Biology that are highly cited and included in textbooks.

They also co-founded and co-Direct the Centre for Microscopy and Cellular Imaging (CMCI). With expertise in microscopy and cell biology, they are highly sought after for collaborations with labs in Chemistry and Engineering to develop novel anti-cancer therapies, and tools to diagnose and deliver therapies, which have led to the filing of several patents, publications and funding.

Dr. Dilan Jaunky is a scientist turned entrepreneur and the co-inventor of novel drugs for targeting breast cancer and co-inventor for genetically engineered microorganism for production of high-valued biomolecules which led him to co-found GC Lipid Technologies Inc.

He is passionate about the future of health care and the future of food security, and aims to build a career figuring out how to bring new insights into these complex matters. The expertise in molecular biology, drug development, microscopy, cell biology, and genetic engineering is further amplified by his current entrepreneurial journey of bringing deep technologies to a market that is poised for disruption.