Leadership
From leading research minds to extensive market knowledge, our leadership team brings together commercialization expertise and executive experience to drive value for Ontario cancer breakthroughs.
PETER GOODHAND
PRESIDENT (Interim)
Mr. Peter Goodhand is a leader in the global health sector, holding senior executive and board member positions in the health research advancement community. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) and President of GA4GH Inc. GA4GH is a policy-framing and technical standards-setting organization, seeking to enable responsible genomic data sharing within a human rights framework. Mr. Goodhand played a critical role in the inception and development phase of the GA4GH as the Executive Director, prior to becoming CEO.
Previously, Mr. Goodhand served as President of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) and President and CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society. Before joining the charitable sector, he had a 20-year career in the global medical technology industry, including strategic leadership roles with multinational healthcare companies and as the founding Managing Director of the Health Technology Exchange (HTX). He is currently Co-Chair of the International 100K+ Cohorts Consortium (IHCC), and serves on the governance boards of the Global Genomic Medicine Collaboration (G2MC) and of Rare X.
Mr. Goodhand also had a 12-year experience as a patient advocate, caregiver and navigator throughout his family’s battle with a rare cancer.
NICOLE BARYLA, PhD
SENIOR DIRECTOR, CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Dr. Nicole Baryla has spent more than 20 years in research & development, business management and commercialization within not-for-profit organizations, biotech start-ups, the pharmaceutical industry, and academic institutions. She is a member of FACIT’s Management team, leading and contributing to strategic and operational planning and implementation as well as the achievement of the organization’s vision, mission, and objectives. She also serves as the Corporate Secretary for FACIT and is responsible for governance oversight, working closely with the Board of Directors and Executive Management.
Dr. Baryla joined FACIT from OICR, where she led a multi-institutional research collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, bringing expertise in management of large-scale collaborations, a strong track record of effective cross-functional communication, as well as the proven ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external partners. Earlier in her career, Dr. Baryla was Senior Research Scientist at Eli Lilly Canada Inc. where she led the development of control strategies to support the development and commercialization of new pharmaceutical products. Her experience in the pharmaceutical industry spanned analytical method development and validation, project management, technology transfer and global regulatory submissions.
Dr. Baryla holds a BSc (Honours) in chemistry from the University of Manitoba and a PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Alberta. She has also completed a certificate in business management from the University of Toronto.
CONNIE CHEN, PhD
SENIOR DIRECTOR, STRATEGY AND CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT
With over 20 years of experience in life sciences, biotech and capital markets, Dr. Connie Chen brings extensive experience in investment banking, seed investing, start-up and corporate development to her role at FACIT, blending business, strategy and science to translate technological innovations into commercial opportunities. As a member of FACIT’s senior management team, Dr. Chen leads and drives strategic and operational initiatives to grow sustainable start-ups as well as establish commercial partnerships and transactions to drive value for innovative assets. Dr. Chen’s breadth of investment, transaction, operational, strategic and corporate finance experience through various corporate development, investor relations and equity research roles including at Functional Technologies (Renaissance BioScience), Loewen, Ondaatje and McCutcheon, and Clarus Securities. Dr. Chen holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Toronto.
DAVID KOEHLER, PhD
DIRECTOR, FUND OPERATIONS
Dr. David Koehler joined OICR’s Commercialization group in 2007. His responsibilities include managing the Prospects and Compass Rose Funds, managing OICR’s investments in start-up companies, facilitating the identification and protection of OICR’s intellectual property (IP), negotiating and drafting contracts, systems administration for the contracts and IP database, and tracking key performance indicators of OICR’s commercialization activity. From 2005 to 2006, Dr. Koehler held the position of Pharmaceutical Analyst at Drug Royalty Corporation and served a similar role with SHI Consulting in 2007. Prior to that, he was a researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children and recipient of the prestigious Medical Research Council and Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation fellowships. Dr. Koehler holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and a BSc (Honours) in Biology from York University.
RICKY CHAN, PhD
SENIOR MANAGER, CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Dr. Ricky Chan has spent over 10 years working at the nexus of research, industry, and government programs aimed at realising economic value from scientific innovations. He has a breadth of experience connecting with and delivering solutions for start-ups, multinationals, not-for-profits, and research organizations. In his role at FACIT, Dr. Chan leads or supports the effective and efficient delivery of the organization’s initiatives towards its mission and vision. He engages and coordinates with other key organizations leading the growth of the innovation ecosystem.
Prior to joining FACIT, Dr. Chan led or contributed to the Ontario Brain Institute’s initiatives to grow the region’s innovative neurotechnology ecosystem. This included programs in commercialization, entrepreneurship, and post-graduate talent development. Dr. Chan also consulted for Deloitte where he managed the life sciences portfolio in the R&D and Government Incentives practice.
Dr. Chan holds a PhD in Biotechnology from McMaster University and was awarded prestigious cancer research fellowships from the DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program and from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. His academic journey includes valuable experiences gained at some of the top cancer research centres in Montreal, Toronto, and Boston.
MATTHEW WARD, MBA
MANAGER, COMMERCIALIZATION
Matt joined FACIT in 2017 bringing experience from previous roles in innovation and business development with various healthcare organizations. As Senior Investment Analyst, his role within the team includes leading market research, technical due diligence and financial analysis to steer investment decisions. Additionally, he is active in deal sourcing, commercialization education and supporting business planning and strategy development for early-stage FACIT portfolio companies. Matt holds an MBA degree from the Degroote School of Business at McMaster University and a BHSc (Honours) degree from UOIT.
SUSAN FITZPATRICK (Interim Board Chair)
Susan Fitzpatrick is the Head of the Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office at Health Canada. Ms. Fitzpatrick has substantial leadership experience and extensive knowledge of the provincial health care sector, including significant background in change management, stakeholder engagement, and strategy development. With a career spanning more than three decades, she has gained a deep understanding of the health care and life sciences sectors in Canada.
In 2019, Ms. Fitzpatrick was appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ontario Health. As the inaugural CEO, Susan led the province’s newest health agency through one of the largest mergers in recent history, bringing together 20 agencies, $30 billion in funding and over 12,000 employees. Most recently, Susan joined Santis Health as a Senior Advisor working with health care boards and executives to advance health services integration and delivery.
In 2015, Ms. Fitzpatrick was appointed CEO of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). Prior to joining the LHIN, Susan was the Associate Deputy Minister of Health System Delivery and Implementation in the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Ms. Fitzpatrick has a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus in Health Specialization at Queen’s University. She also studied Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario. She is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto, an Executive-in-Residence for the Social Medicine Program at University Health Network and a Patient and Family Experience Advisor at Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
MAURA CAMPBELL, PhD
Dr. Maura Campbell is the President and CEO of the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO®), a not-for-profit, membership-based organization dedicated to advancing health technology innovation and commercialization. Dr. Campbell has more than 30 years of experience in all key areas of biotech, including private and public companies, universities and research institutes, and government-funded public sector research organizations.
With expertise in technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property, Dr. Campbell has held various roles in senior management, most recently as the Vice-President of Intellectual Property and Contracts for Turnstone Biologics, which recently went public on the NASDAQ. Previously, Dr. Campbell served as: Director, Intellectual Property at VBI Vaccines; Research Program Manager, and Manager of Technology Transfer & Commercialization at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; Director of Intellectual Property for PainCeptor Pharma Corporation; and Manager of Technology Transfer at the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems National Centre of Excellence. Dr. Campbell has also served as an IP consultant to a number of Canadian start-ups including Neurochem, Conjuchem, Aonix, AMRIC and Sussex Research Labs.
Dr. Campbell received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, and an M.Sc. and a B.Sc. in biochemistry from Queen’s University in Kingston.
KEN LAWLESS, MSc
Mr. Ken Lawless has been very active in promoting investment in, and commercialization of, life sciences companies and technologies in Canada throughout his extensive career. Mr. Lawless is currently the Executive Director of the Ottawa Health Innovation Hub. He has served as President and CEO of Epitope Capital Corp. a privately held consulting company, since 2007. Mr. Lawless is former CEO of BioDiesel Reactor Technologies Inc., and was the Founding President and CEO of the Ottawa Life Sciences Council (OLSC) from its inception in 1994 until 2006. Mr. Lawless was also a Founding Director of the Ottawa Biotechnology Incubation Centre, has served as Interim President of the Ottawa Life Sciences Technology Park, and was Bioscience Development Officer for the City of Ottawa.
During his career, he has served on numerous private and not-for-profit boards, expert panels, task forces and selection panels. He graduated from the University of Ottawa with an M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1986, and a B.Sc in Biochemistry in 1983.
KEN NEWPORT, ICD.D, CPA
Mr. Ken Newport is an entrepreneur and life sciences business executive. As a graduate of the University of Waterloo and a Chartered Accountant, Mr. Newport had early success in the financial services industry and served as a partner in a Chartered Accounting firm.
His focus changed to life sciences in the mid-nineties with the formation of CroMedica Global Inc., a contract research organization. As co-founder and President, he witnessed CroMedica’s growth to 600 employees within six years. By the time that CroMedica merged with PRA International Inc. in 2002, CroMedica had annual revenues of over $40 million with 13 offices in 9 countries.
Mr. Newport was also a founding member of Global Biomedical Capital Corporation, Zelos Therapeutics Inc., Prime Trials Inc. and other life science organizations. He serves or has served on several corporate boards including Jennerex, Nordion, MedGenesis, Aeterna Zentaris and many others. In addition, Mr. Newport has volunteered on many boards including serving as Chair of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and his current role as Chair of BioCanRx, Canada’s National Centre of Excellence for Immunotherapy Cancer Research.