Dane Bedward
Board MemberMr. Dane Bedward is the CEO of NeuroBot Inc., a strategic advisory company focused on assisting Medtech, Digital Medicine and Biopharma companies with their business strategies. Prior to founding his advisory company, Dane was Senior Vice President International for Genzyme Corporation, one of the top 5 global biotech companies before to being acquired by Sanofi-Aventis. His first assignment with Genzyme was as Managing Director and President of the Canadian subsidiary Genzyme Canada Inc. Genzyme Corporation is a pioneer in the development of products for rare genetic diseases.Throughout his career Mr. Bedward has also worked with other organizations such as Nordion International, Johnson and Johnson (in Canada and Europe), Flow Laboratories, and McMaster University. Dane serves on the Board of Directors of The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), The Capital Angel Network (CAN), and Panthera Cryosolutions, as well as chairs the Board of Directors for Spiderwort Inc.
He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence at Invest Ottawa, a member of the L-Spark MedTech Advisory Committee, and Executive Fellow with Mistral Venture Partners, a Steering Committee member for Alacrity Ottawa, a medical markets strategic advisor for Welch Capital Markets, and a Charter Member of TiE. Dane has previously served on the following Boards: the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, the Board of Trustees for Bridgewater State University, The National Medical Devices Alliance, The Ottawa Health and Life Sciences Cluster, The New England-Canada Business Council, The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, The New England-Latin America Business Council, The Ottawa Life Sciences Council, and the Board of Directors for NeuroBiotech Inc. Dane is a proud graduate of the University of Ottawa Science program. He has participated as a panel member in numerous conferences globally.
Ryan Blicker
Board MemberRyan is a research analyst at Casdin Capital, and has spent > 10 years in healthcare investing.
Dr. Aby Mathew, Ph.D.
Board MemberDr. Mathew was part of the founding team of BioLife Solutions, Inc., and is a co-developer of BioLife’s biopreservation media solutions. He is a co-inventor on multiple issued and pending patents related to methods, devices, and formulations for the preservation of cells, tissues, and organs. He holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences within the Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology Program from Binghamton University and a B.S. in Microbiology from Cornell University. Dr. Mathew has been researching low temperature biopreservation since 1994, and his studies contributed to the development of BioLife’s current commercial HypoThermosol® and CryoStor® product platforms and intellectual property foundation. Dr. Mathew was part of the scientific team that linked cell death via apoptosis (programmed cell death) to exposure to hypothermic and/or freezing temperatures. These discoveries were integral to the development of BioLife’s intracellular-like biopreservation media, and also contributed to improvements in cryosurgical ablation of cancer.
Dr. Mathew was BioLife’s first Director of Manufacturing, established BioLife’s initial Quality system, and has been Executive Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer since December 2019. From February 2011 through November 2019, Dr. Mathew served as Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. From January 2007 through February 2011, Dr. Mathew served as Senior Scientist, Director of Strategic Relations, and Senior Director of Strategic Relations. From June 2003 through January 2007, Dr. Mathew served as Director of Manufacturing. From September 2000 through June 2003, Dr. Mathew served as Clinical Accounts Manager and Director of Hypothermic Preservation for Cryomedical Sciences/BioLife Solutions.
Dr. Mathew is currently active in, or previously a member of, AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), BEST (the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion collaborative), the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), Society for Cryobiology, International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), American Society for Cell Biology, and the Society for In Vitro Biology. Dr. Mathew is, or has been, a member of: the Board of Directors, and Advisory Panel, of the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, the Scientific Advisory Board of HemaCare Corporation, the founding Board of Directors of the Cord Blood Association, the NIST-AMTech National Cell Manufacturing Consortium, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Clinical Advisory Panel, the Business Advisory Board of RoosterBio Inc., and the Scientific Advisory Board of SAVSU Technologies. Dr. Mathew has obtained UCLA Corporate Governance Program Certification.
Dr. Erik Woods
Board MemberCurrently Co-Founder, Executive Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Science Officer of Ossium Health, Inc. Prior experience includes co-founding General BioTechnology LLC, and leading it through successful acquisition by COOK Medical, the world’s largest privately held medical device company. Additional experience includes serving as an officer in Medistem, Inc. and supporting the successful acquisition of that company by Intrexon Corp, one of the world’s leading synthetic biology companies.
Along with scientific, operations, regulatory and quality systems expertise in the biotechnology space, Dr. Woods serves the industry as Past President of the Society for Cryobiology and a Founding Scientific Advisor for the Organ Preservation Alliance (incubated at the Singularity University Labs at NASA Research Park).
Dr. Jason Acker
Chief Executive OfficerDr. Jason Acker is the Senior Research Scientist with the Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation and a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. His research focuses on understanding the response of cells and tissues to ex vivo storage and the development of methods for their preservation and use as therapeutic products. Dr. Acker’s blood services laboratory has responsibility for developing scientific and technical evidence to support innovative changes in blood product manufacturing, storage and utilization at Canadian Blood Services.
Dr. Acker is author of more than 200 publications, 10 book chapters and holds 12 patents in the area of cell preservation and microfabrication. Dr. Acker serves as an editorial board member for 4 journals and invited reviewer for more than 35 scientific publications. He is actively involved in consulting with and advising companies and organizations developing biobanking and cell therapy programs and is co-founder of two University start-up companies.
Dr. Robert Ben
Chief Scientific OfficerProfessor Ben obtained his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Laurentian University (Sudbury, ON) in 1990. He undertook graduate studies in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Professor Tony Durst and obtained his PhD in 1994. After a postdoctoral position at the University of Toronto from 1994-1996 he accepted a Research Associate position at the Steacie Institute of Molecular Sciences (SIMS) at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa. In 1998, he started his independent research career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. During the summer of 2003, he joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Ottawa with a Canada Research Chair in Medicinal Chemistry. In 2013, he became Director for the Biopharmaceutical Science (BPS) and Biomedical Science (BMS) programs at the University of Ottawa and was promoted to Full Professor in 2015. Professor Ben’s research interests are interdisciplinary in nature (organic synthesis, bioorganic chemistry, carbohydrates, peptides, cell biology) with the main focus being the rational design and synthesis of new cryoprotectants that function by inhibiting ice recrystallization during cryopreservation or vitrification. These cryoprotectants are used to cryopreserve progenitor cells and tissues for emerging cellular therapies.
News & Events
BioLife Solutions and PanTHERA CryoSolutions combine strengths via an acquisition that will enable the development of next generation cryopreservation solutions
PanTHERA Feature: David Lewandowski, Director of Business Development at AmplifyBio
Scientist Feature: Dr. Esme Dijke, Director at the Histocompatibility Laboratory and Assistant Professor for Lab Medicine and Pathology.
Unlocking Quality: Understanding GMP Grade Products
Cryopreservation: A Key to Conserving Biodiversity
Scientist Feature: Dr. Anna Jezierski, Research Officer with the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre at the NRC
Revolutionizing Agriculture: The Crucial Role of Cryopreservation
The Vital Role of Ice Recrystallization Inhibitors in Cold Chain Management
Ice Recrystallization Inhibitors: A Promising Breakthrough in Cryopreservation
PanTHERA CryoSolutions Press Coverage
