[Guelph Chapter] Career Spotlight: Research & Development

Description: 

Join the Guelph S2BN Chapter for a panel discussion featuring experienced professionals in the R&D sector. During this session, panelists will describe how they transitioned from academia into their careers in research, and highlight the roles and responsibilities of their current position. These presentations will be followed by an interactive Q&A session with attendees...bring your questions!

Objectives: 

• Discover key roles and responsibilities in R&D careers
• Learn how to showcase your skills to launch a career in the R&D sector
• Network and interact with R&D industry experts                                                                                                                                             

Speakers: 

Anna von Rossum De la Maza, PhD - Scientist, Zymeworks Inc.

Anna obtained her PhD in transplantation immunology from Simon Fraser University in BC. She went on to do an industry postdoc at the Centre for Drug Research and Development where she obtained a permanent position as an associate scientist. For the past three years, she has been a scientist at Zymeworks Inc. working on the development of immuno-oncology biotherapeutics. She is the founder and chair of the Women’s Initiative at Zymeworks (The WIZ) and is a recipient of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Rising Star award.

Kathleen Delfosse, MSc - Research Associate, Deep Genomics

Kathleen is a Research Associate at Deep Genomics. The company’s goal is to use artificial intelligence-based predictive models that will identify top candidates for steric blocking oligonucleotide drugs. These predictive models require an abundance of data to be trained. Her role in the Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data Generation team is to collect various types of sequencing data from many untreated cell types, both immortalized and primary. While many of these NGS assays are completed externally, her role also entails establishing new high-throughput assays that provide insight on expression regulation.

Amirreza Rafiee, PhD - Associate Scientist, CCRM

Amirreza received his Master’s degree in Biotechnology (Advanced) from the University of Queensland, Australia, and his PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Waterloo. He is currently working as MSAT (Manufacturing of Science and Technology) Associate Scientist at CCRM (Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine). Prior to joining CCRM, he worked as Formulation Development Chemist at Novocol Pharmaceutical of Canada, and also engaged in entrepreneurial activities. His experience includes iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cells) development and manufacturing, technology transfer, formulation and process development of various therapeutics including non-viral gene delivery systems, injectables and nasal spray.