Bios of press conference participants
[ Press Release 2010-22 ]
Cathleen Morrison, Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF)
Cathleen Morrison has served as Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) since the 1980s. CCFF is a national health charity dedicated to helping children and adults with cystic fibrosis, by funding research to find a cure or control for this most common, fatal genetic disease affecting young Canadians. Through 'incentive' grants to a network of 40 cystic fibrosis clinics and five centres for lung transplantation, the Foundation also promotes a high quality of CF care in Canada.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Cathleen was for several years Executive Director of the Ontario Association of Children's Mental Health Centres [now Children’s Mental Health Ontario], and earlier was a teacher of English at Canada’s National Ballet School, and at the State academic high school [Staatliches Nicholaus Cusanus Gymnasium] in Bonn, Germany.
She has served as a Board member of the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, as Chair of the National Voluntary Health Agencies Committee, and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto. She is currently a Director of Research Canada, An Alliance for Health Discovery.
Cathleen Morrison is a Hal Rogers Fellow of the Kin Canada Foundation (2008), and is a recipient of other honours and awards including the Award of Merit of Research Canada (2007), the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (2002), and the Commemorative Medal, 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation (1992).
Dr. Alan E. Winter, Genome British Columbia
Dr. Alan E. Winter is President and CEO of Genome British Columbia, appointed in December 2001. Genome BC is a not-for-profit research organization established in Vancouver to enable British Columbia to become a world leader in selected areas of genomics R&D and to develop a vibrant life sciences cluster in the province. In 2007, Dr. Winter received a Leadership Award from LifeSciences BC.
Dr. Winter has wide experience at senior levels in the technology industry and in government over the past 25 years, including such roles as the founding President and CEO of the New Media Innovation Centre in Vancouver, the President of the ComDev Space Group in Ontario, and the President and CEO of MPR Teltech in Vancouver. During his tenure as President of MPR, six companies were spun out of MPR, including PMC-Sierra and Sierra Wireless. Prior to MPR, Dr. Winter worked for Telesat Canada and the federal Communications Research Centre in Ottawa.
Dr. Winter is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Astronautics and Space Institute and received their inaugural Alouette Award. He is a Director of two technology companies in Canada. He was Chair of the Board of the Communications Research Centre, Deputy Chair of the Council of Science and Technology Advisors (CSTA), a member of the BC Premier's Council on Science and Technology, a founding Director of CANARIE, and Chair of the Canadian Research Management Association and of PRECARN Associates.
Dr. Winter received his Ph.D. from Queen's University, Kingston, and has received their alumni Legacy of Achievement award.
Dr. Kevin Glasgow, Chrohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC)
Dr. Kevin Glasgow is the Chief Executive Officer of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC).
He has extensive experience in the health sector, serving as CEO for the Cardiac Care Network of Ontario, the Brant County Board of Health, and a biotechnology start-up. He was also Associate Vice President for a major pharmaceutical company and Senior Medical Consultant with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. He has served on non-profit boards and governing councils, including Habitat for Humanity Toronto, the Association of Local Public Health Agencies, the Institute for Infection and Immunity of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Health Charities Coalition of Canada.
He holds degrees from the following universities: Western Ontario (MD); Harvard (MBA); and Toronto (MHSc). He also trained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London), and holds a diploma (DTM&H) from the Royal College of Physicians of London. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the American Colleges of Preventive Medicine and Healthcare Executives.
The CCFC is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding the cure for inflammatory bowel disease, which affects more than 200,000 people in Canada alone. To realize this, the CCFC is committed to raise increasing funds for medical research, and administers the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Institute. The CCFC also believes in educating individuals with IBD, their families, health professionals, and the general public about these diseases.
Dr. Marc Ouellette, Scientitic Director, CIHR-Institute of Infection and Immunity
Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobial Resistance Professor, Microbiology, Université Laval
Dr. Ouellette obtained his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biochemistry at Ottawa University and received his PhD at Laval University on antibiotic resistance in bacteria. His postdoctoral studies were done under the mentorship of Pr. Piet Borst of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, where he further developed his expertise in antimicrobial resistance studying protozoan parasites.
In 1990 he joined the Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie, of Laval University as an Assistant professor and is now full professor. Dr. Ouellette's research is focused on antimicrobial resistance where he has made seminal discoveries on resistance mechanism in protozoan parasites. More recently he has implemented proteomic and DNA microarray strategies to study antimicrobial resistance in the parasite Leishmania and the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Dr. Ouellette has received numerous awards for his work including a New Investigator Award in Molecular Parasitology from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a MRC Scientist Award, a Scholar Award in Molecular Parasitology of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Antimicrobial Resistance. He has served on numerous panels of national and international granting agencies and is a strong supporter of scientific exchanges with developing countries.
Lesley Lewis, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Science Centre
Lesley Lewis was named CEO of the Ontario Science Centre in 1998. Beginning in 2000, she spearheaded the planning process that resulted in the $47.5 million Agents of Change transformation. Under Ms. Lewis’ leadership, the Science Centre’s vision is to extend its audience reach and relevance.
Ms. Lewis is the Immediate Past President of the Board of Directors of the Washington-based Association of Science Technology Centers (ASTC), the major global science centre organization, having served as President from 2007 to 2009. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Tourism Toronto. Ms. Lewis was the Chair of the Fifth Science Centre World Congress which was hosted by the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto in 2008 and led the development of the Toronto Declaration which was the science centre field’s first-ever shared global statement of beliefs and goals.
Over the past five years, Ms. Lewis has been active in international forums speaking on the changes underway at the Ontario Science Centre and the evolution of a new model for public engagement with science. She is an invited member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Board Appointed Committee on Public Understanding of Science and Technology (COPUST). She was on the International Science Advisory Committee of the China Association for Science and Technology for a new science and technology museum in Beijing which opened in 2009.
Prior to joining the Ontario Science Centre Ms. Lewis served for six years as Executive Director of the Ontario Heritage Foundation and for three years as the Executive Director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Lois Brown, M.P. Newmarket-Aurora, Ontario
Lois Brown is the Member of Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora, Ontario, where she was first elected in 2008. She is a member of the House of Commons Standing Committees on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Status of Women. Lois was appointed Vice-Chair of the Conservative Party Auto Caucus in December of 2008 and most recently, Caucus Liaison to the National Council of the Conservative Party of Canada. Lois has been recognized for her tireless efforts in representing her constituent’s concerns in Ottawa. Within Newmarket-Aurora, Lois continues to contribute her time to many worthwhile community organizations. She is an Executive Member of the Royal Canadian Legion and North Newmarket Lions Club and was designated Honourary Chair of Operation Red Nose in 2009. Speaking with students at the elementary and high school levels and encouraging their participation in the democratic process is a particular passion.
Prior to her election Lois was the vice president of a successful disability management company she cofounded with her husband; working with large Canadian manufacturers including those in the automotive and forestry sectors. Her experience as a constituency assistant from 1995 to 2001 provided her the opportunity to hone her skills at navigating the many levels of government and resolving issues and problems for residents.
Lois was a public appointee to the Board of the College of Dental Hygienists from 2001 to 2003 during which she was elected as Vice-Chair.
An accomplished musician, Lois holds an ARCT degree from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She is an accompanist with the York Regional Police Chorus, a volunteer initiative of the York Regional Police that raises money for local charities with performances throughout Canada and internationally.