MIF Lunch & Learn 20: From researcher to entrepreneur
The road from researcher to entrepreneur can be filled with roadblocks and pitfalls, but it can also be filled with rewarding successes. But how to know when the timing is right to take the plunge? And what to expect when you do? Join us to hear from the experiences of researchers who have founded their own companies which are still running today. Our panelists are Nancy Mayo and Alina Venereo-Sanchez.
Nancy is the CEO of PhysioBiometrics, a company focused on improving health through easy-to-use devices. She is also a James McGill Professor in the Department of Medicine and the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University (Division of Geriatrics and Division of Clinical Epidemiology). Her company was founded in 2019 and is a former winner of the MIF Deploy competition.
Alina is the founder and CEO of VVector Bio, a company developing innovative solutions for manufacturing viral vectors for cell and gene therapies, as well as vaccine applications. She completed her PhD at École Polytechnique de Montreal in Chemical Engineering and then joined the Department of Bioengineering at McGill University as a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Amine Kamen's lab. VVector Bio is a spin-out of McGill University, and her mission as CEO is to make manufacturing cost-effective and efficient, which will accelerate the development of new therapies and improving access to these life-changing medicines for patients.