Leadership

Dr. David O’Neill brings extensive experience in Pharma, Biotech and seed stage investing to his role as President of FACIT.  Following a role in discovery alliances at AstraZeneca, Dr. O’Neill has been involved in three start ups that have grown to be listed on the Nasdaq.  At privately held Fluorinov Pharma, he was part of a two-person management team until it was acquired by Trillium Therapeutics.  He helped grow Kinomescan, a drug discovery screening business, until it was acquired by Discoverx (Eurofins).  At Ambit Biosciences, he co-authored an IND and was Project Leader during early clinical development of Vanflyta, an FDA-approved precision medicine for acute myeloid leukemia.  At FACIT, he has served on the Boards of Turnstone, Fusion, Triphase, Klondike and CTRL Therapeutics and led the sale of Propellon to Celgene.  Dr. O’Neill holds a PhD from Western University from the Faculty of Health Sciences.

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.

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. 

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.

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.   

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.

Rochelle joined FACIT in 2022. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant who brings over 15 years of experience from previous roles in corporate accounting and financial services. Her responsibilities include managing FACIT finance and human resource functions. Rochelle holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce with a minor in French from McMaster University.

Dr. Brent Zanke consults widely on matters of biomarkers, laboratory molecular pathology, innovation policy and health care delivery systems. He is a graduate of the Universities of Manitoba (MD, 1983) and Toronto (PhD 1993) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada with speciality certification in internal medicine and medical oncology.  He conducted basic and translational laboratory-based research at the Ontario Cancer Institute before assuming administrative duties as Director of the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, one of Canada’s two free standing cancer hospitals. From 2002 until 2006, he was the Provincial Head of Systemic Therapy for Cancer Care Ontario.  Dr. Zanke is founder and Chairman of ArcticDx, a Canadian private molecular diagnostics company where he also fills the role of Chief Medical Officer since 2008. ArcticDx is a company involved in developing genetic tests that predict future disease, drug toxicity and the efficacy of existing therapies for a variety of diseases. He has helped raised over $10M of venture financing for Arctic and has grown the business to become a profitable international reference laboratory with operations in Canada, America, India and throughout South America.