Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Senior research and operations manager with 15+ years’ experience and demonstrated excellence in product development, project management, and technology commercialization in the fields of agriculture, biotechnology, and cleantech. A proven expert with strong skills in funding acquisition, strategic planning, budget management, and enterprise scale-up. A recipient of numerous major Canadian Awards, 18+ peer reviewed research publications, and a University of Lethbridge Honored Alumni. Previous leadership roles have involved creating novel materials to decarbonize industry, creation of synthetic biology technologies, and creating production (growth & extraction) platforms for regulated plant products.
◆ Supported company-wide efforts to develop and commercialize fermentation-based manufacturing platform for production of cannabinoids for recreational, medical, and pharmaceutical markets. ◆ Collaborated with senior management to identity and evaluate strategic opportunities for company growth, providing guidance on regulatory frameworks, logistics, and non-dilutive funding possibilities. ◆ Leveraged expertise in regulatory affairs, program management, and molecular biology to accelerate company efforts to establish and develop a research facility and program. ◆ Provided ongoing support to R&D and business development activities efficiently managing Health Canada compliance and new activity licensing, successfully securing licensures conduct research actives and import regulated chemicals. ◆ Managed insuring, brokering, transportation and de/recommissioning of high-value scientific equipment in timely manner to support needs of international research teams.
◆ Designed, implemented, successfully licenced, and managed successful cannabis oil extraction program, leading to new product offerings to medical patients in less than 1 year. ◆ Responsible for equipment selection/validation, SOP generation, staff training/supervision, product development/formulation, and packaging design. ◆ As innovation manager, identified and resolved process inefficiencies in both harvest and packaging pipelines, leading to labor cost reductions of 90% (5-6 week ROI). Leveraged plant science, construction, and research skills to provide valuable insight on various plant growth strategies and techniques. ◆ Collaborated with Quality Assurance team to identify best practices, ensure compliance with GMP and Health Canada standards, and carry out root cause analyses. ◆ Stewarded milling & blending products from concept to commercialization leading to significant additional revenue stream.
◆ Responsible for efficiently managing numerous scientific projects, ensuring all milestones are met within budget and defined timelines. ◆ Entrusted with training and supervising junior researchers to ensure work is carried in safe manner in accordance with institute’s GLP and standard operating practices. ◆ Routinely employing skills in propagation, mass spectrometry, genetic screening, and biochemical analyses to develop higher value microorganisms and plant varieties.
♦ Scientific Lead and primary industrial contact for collaborative research focused on improving oil content in soy bean. ♦ Employing expertise in statistical analysis, genetic engineering, and transformation technologies to discover improved variants of enzymes governing oil-biosynthesis.