Speakers
Dr. Karen Bakker
Professor, Canada Research Chair and Director of the Program on Water Governance, University of British Columbia; Council Member, National Research Council of Canada
Dr. Karen Bakker is Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, where she is the Director of the Program on Water Governance. She is a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellow and a member of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. An interdisciplinary environmental scientist, Dr. Bakker earned her B.A&Sc. from McMaster University in 1995, and her PhD in 1999 from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Dr. Bakker was named one of Canada's Top 40 under 40 in 2011. In 2015, she was awarded Annenberg Fellowship in Communication by Stanford University's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences; in the same year, she was also a Cox Visiting Professor at Stanford's School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences. Her research was recognized by a SSHRC Impact Award in 2017. Dr. Bakker regularly acts as an advisor to national and international organizations, and currently sits on the board of the International Institute of Sustainable Development, as well as the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Council of Canadian Academies. She also currently serves as Strategy Director for Vancouver-based Riipen, a Future of Work platform.
Dr. Pascale Champagne
Scientific Director, Institut nationale de la recherche scientifique (INRS)
Dr. Pascale Champagne holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Engineering from Carleton University (Ottawa), is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario and has over 20 years of teaching and research experience. She was a professor at Carleton University and then at Queen’s University (in Kingston), and has been Scientific Director at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique since September 2020. She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Brockhouse Canada Prize (2019) for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, in collaboration with three researchers. Dr. Pascale Champagne is also a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (2014) and winner of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ 2020 Sustainable Communities Awards: Water. Dr. Champagne is recognized for her expertise in developing bioenergy sources and bioproducts from renewable materials, alternative water and waste management technologies, as well as sustainable environmental processes. At Queen’s University, she recruited and trained over 230 research associates, postdoctoral fellows, students and highly qualified personnel. Holder of a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council Canada Research Chair in Bioresource Engineering from 2005 to 2020 (Queen’s University), she also served as director of the Beaty Water Research Centre from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Champagne has over 470 scientific publications.
Mr. Mitch Davies
President, National Research Council of Canada
Mitch Davies became the President of the NRC on December 28, 2020. Mr. Davies was previously the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Industry Sector, at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). He was responsible for supporting key sectors of the Canadian economy and overseeing industrial and technological benefits associated with defence procurement. He also had responsibility for the Investment Canada Act. Since 2006, Mr. Davies has held a number of senior executive positions at the department, including Senior Assistant Deputy Minister and founding executive of Innovation Canada. Mitch was also the Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Sector and Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Science and Innovation Sector. Mr. Davies has also held executive roles across government, including at the Privy Council Office. Mr. Davies holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba.
Dr. Loydie Jerome-Majewska
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University; Co-Founder, Canadian Black Scientists Network
Dr. Loydie Jerome-Majewska is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and associated member of the Departments of Human Genetics and Anatomy and Cell biology at McGill University. The goals of Dr. Jerome-Majewska’s research program are to identify genes responsible for congenital malformations in humans and to delineate the cellular and genetic pathways regulated by these genes. Dr. Jerome-Majewska is originally from Haiti and grew up in New York. Her family emigrated to Canada in 2005. At McGill, she is Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Reproduction and Developmental Biology, a member of the Widening Participation Committee which is tasked with evaluating and infusing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into the activities of the Faculty of Medicine, and Co-Convenor of the Dr. Kenneth Melville McGill Black Faculty and Staff Caucus. Dr. Jerome-Majewska is passionate about diversity, inclusion and equity. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Haile T. Debas Prize from the Faculty of Medicine in recognition of her mentorship and involvement in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities. Dr. Jerome-Majewska was on the DEI task force for the Society of American Anatomy and is now the inaugural chair of this DEI committee. She is also a member of the Inclusion and Outreach Committee for the Society for Developmental Biology, and one of the Co-Founders of the Canadian Black Scientist Network.
Dr. Di Jiang
President’s Science Advisor; Secretary, President’s Research Excellence Advisory Committee; Team Lead, Connected Health, Medical Devices Research Centre, National Research Council of Canada
Dr. Di Jiang was appointed as the President's Science Advisor and Secretary to the President's Research Excellence Advisory Committee in October 2020, a dual role dedicated to providing recommendations and advice to the president on matters related to research excellence and to representing the views of the NRC's research communities. Dr. Jiang joined the NRC's Life Sciences Division in 2008. In her current position as Team Lead, Connected Health, at the Medical Devices Research Centre, she leads research and development efforts in virtual care, including continuous remote monitoring of patients using medical sensors and contactless detection of biosignals with commercial devices. During her career, Dr. Jiang has worked as a consultant for numerous organizations. She has collaborated on multiple research projects on real‑time simulations for medical applications and remote interactive care augmented by artificial intelligence. She holds a Master's Degree and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Université de Montréal, obtained in 2003 and 2008, respectively. She also has a B.A. in Economics.
Dr. Veronica McKinney
Director of Northern Medical Services, University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine
Dr. Veronica McKinney is the Director of Northern Medical Services, a department of the College of Medicine. Veronica is of Cree/Métis descent and provides leadership in health development, working with rural and remote northern Saskatchewan Aboriginal communities; the Saskatchewan Health Authority; and various health organizations, tribal councils and bands to support and promote the continued evolution and advancement of healthy communities, families and people. She is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Indigenous Health Committee, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, as well as serving on various boards and committees. She practices clinical medicine at the Westside Community Clinic in Saskatoon. She has provided services as a Family Practitioner, Emergency Room Physician, Nurse and Lab Technologist over a span of 30 years. She believes strongly in her traditional cultural teachings and applies them to her practice of medicine. She is a strong advocate for Aboriginal people’s health, having witnessed and experienced the inequities firsthand.
Dr. Adam Simpson
Special Advisor, Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division, UN Women
Dr. Adam Simpson is Special Advisor for the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division in UN Women, where he provides oversight and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy and programme advice. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management, and cutting-edge technical expertise to support the organization's global portfolio of projects and programmes, and build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Adam previously worked for the United Nations Office for Project Services, overseeing projects in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, with postings in Jordan and Denmark. He also worked for the Aga Khan Foundation in Afghanistan, managing a suite of healthcare infrastructure projects designed to improve quality standards and access to neonatal and maternity care services in the northern provinces. Prior to working in development he was a management consultant, and helped establish Canada’s first distributed medical learning education programme. Adam holds a doctorate degree in social sciences and a masters in human security and peacebuilding from Royal Roads University, as well as executive leadership and change management certificates from Harvard Business School and Cornell University. He is PMP, PRINCE2, MSP, P30 and ProSci certified, and is a member of the Challenge Leadership Group for Solve®, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a mission to solve world challenges.
Dr. Theresa Tam
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
Dr. Theresa Tam was named Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) on June 26, 2017. She is a physician with expertise in immunization, infectious disease, emergency preparedness and global health security. As the federal government’s lead health professional, Dr. Tam provides advice to the Minister of Health, supports and provides advice to the President of the Public Health Agency of Canada, and works in collaboration with the President in the leadership and management of the Agency. The Public Health Agency of Canada Act empowers the CPHO to communicate with other levels of government, voluntary organizations, the private sector and Canadians on public health issues. Each year, the CPHO is required to submit a report to the Minister of Health on the state of public health in Canada.
Dr. Geneviève Tanguay
Vice-President, Emerging Technologies, National Research Council of Canada
In April 2016, Dr. Geneviève Tanguay joined the National Research Council of Canada as the first woman Vice-President Research. She leads the Emerging Technologies Division which oversees Nanotechnology, Metrology, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, Security and Disruptive Technologies, and Advanced Electronics and Photonics. As part of her remit, Dr. Tanguay is also responsible for NRC’s support to TRIUMF. She chairs the NRC’s Governing Committee on the Recruitment and Retention of Women and is responsible for coordinating interactions with Canadian universities. Dr. Tanguay also serves as the Canadian Co-Chair of the Canada-Germany Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee. Prior to joining NRC, she served as Vice-Rector Research, Creativity and Innovation at the University of Montreal, one of the four universities with the biggest volume of research in Canada. Prior to this, she served as the Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for Research, Innovation, Science and Society in the Quebec Government, responsible for preparing and implementing the Quebec Research and Innovation Strategy (2007-2010 and 2010-2013). She is an active member of boards for national and international organizations.
Dr. Veronika von Messling
General Director for Health Research, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Dr. Veronika von Messling is Director General of the Life Science Division at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. She obtained her veterinary degree and her doctorate degree in veterinary virology from the Veterinary School Hannover, Germany. After postdoctoral training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, she was Assistant Professor at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier in Laval, QC, and then Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, before becoming Director of the Veterinary Division at Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, the German Federal Institute of Vaccines and Biomedicines, in Langen, Germany. Her expertise lies in the development of novel prophylactic and therapeutic strategies against infectious diseases.