Health Technology Showcase
This event is presented by the UVic Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science in partnership with the Faculty of Health. Additional UVic supports from: The Biomedical Engineering Program, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and CanAssist.
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| 9:00 a.m. |
Doors Open; Registration Begins |
| 9:30 a.m. |
Opening Remarks: Dr. Mohsen Akbari, Acting Director, UVic Biomedical Engineering Program |
| 9:45 a.m. |
Keynote: Dr. John White, Incoming Director Biomedical Engineering, UVic |
| 10:45 a.m. |
Coffee Break #1 |
| 11:00 a.m. |
Student Talks |
| 12:00 p.m. |
Lunch (Partner Updates) |
| 1:00 p.m. |
Recent Grad talk |
| 1:30 p.m. |
Industry Talk: Replicel, Andrew Schutte |
| 2:00 p.m. |
FoH Speaker: Dr. Helen Monkman |
| 2:30 p.m. |
Coffee Break #2 |
| 2:45 p.m. |
Career Panel |
| 3:45 p.m. |
Networking & Tradeshow |
| 4:15 p.m. |
Closing Remarks & Student Talk Awards |
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Dr. John White, PhD (Keynote) |
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Dr. Helen Monkman, PhD Dr. Helen Monkman is an Associate Professor and the Undergraduate Advisor in the School of Health Information Science at the 樱花影视. She holds a PhD in Health Informatics from the 樱花影视 and earned her BSc and MA in Psychology from Carleton University. Her interdisciplinary background informs her research and teaching, which focus on improving consumer health information systems through human factors and human-centered design. Helen’s work explores how to make digital health tools easier to use and the information easier to understand, particularly for individuals with limited digital health literacy. Her research interests include user experience, usability, information visualization, and digital health literacy. She collaborates extensively with partners across Canada and internationally. Helen has contributed to projects on laboratory results for citizens, telemedicine education, mobile health applications (apps), and personal health records. Helen is committed to empowering individuals to make informed health decisions and fostering inclusive digital environments.
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Andrew Schutte Mr. Schutte is the Chief Technology Officer with MainPointe Pharmaceuticals in Louisville Kentucky. Additionally, he is president and sole proprietor of two oil industry related companies, Nolan Olbohrung LLC and Valence Oil LLC. Investment-minded and accomplished, his current CV also includes the management of several private investment accounts. Mr. Schutte began his career in pharmaceuticals with US based, Gerimed Inc. as a VBA Programmer. Gerimed Inc. serviced independent pharmacies serving long-term care and home care patients. He has been a shareholder of RepliCel since early 2017 and served as an advisor to the Company prior to being elected to the RepliCel Board of Directors in late 2018. |
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Jessica Sevick Jessica Sevick is a two-time Olympian in the sport of rowing, having represented Canada at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games. She completed an undergraduate degree in Civil-Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alberta. Following graduation, she worked for three years in the environmental consulting industry, followed by a year as an MRI research assistant. Realizing her passion for learning and research she went on to earn a Master’s degree in Experimental Medicine from the University of British Columbia, completing her research in the field of MRI and concussions.
Now based in 樱花影视, BC, Jessica serves as a Research Partnerships Officer at the 樱花影视, collaborating with faculty in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science to help transform cutting-edge research into practical applications and partnerships that drive societal and technological advancement. Jessica’s career path hasn’t been a straight line, but through each chapter - high-performance sport, engineering studies, professional practice, and graduate research – she learned core principles of resilience, curiosity, and adaptability. These experiences have led to incredible opportunities and ultimately a role that she love’s, which integrates her technical, research, and collaborative experience. |
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Redlen – Silver
DND IDEaS – Bronze
Magnetic Communications – Coffee Break
Brianna Baart graduated from UVic with a degree in biomedical engineering and began her career as the first hire at GuideStar, a medical device start-up in 樱花影视. Over three years, she helped develop an epidural device that gained FDA approval and was adopted in U.S. hospitals.
She then transitioned to CGI, an IT consulting firm, where she led large-scale healthcare technology projects for Canadian hospitals and health authorities, managing multimillion-dollar budgets and sizable teams.
After becoming a mother, Brianna made a major career pivot into real estate, an unconventional path from her prior work in healthcare and technology. She and her husband now run a 樱花影视-based real estate team, where she serves as Director of Operations. She also founded Clear Edge, a balcony cleaning business that has tripled in growth over the past year and recently franchised to Calgary. While unconventional, her career journey has provided diverse skills and the opportunity to create a career that aligns with her ideal lifestyle.
Gregory Block is a seasoned biotechnology executive and scientist with deep expertise in developing cell and gene therapy products and businesses. He is the currently Co-founder and CEO of Histone Therapeutics, a company focused on precision epigenetic reprogramming to control gene regulation and treat disease.
Prior to founding Histone, Gregory Block held senior leadership roles where he drove strategy and execution, including Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Notch Therapeutics and Director of Business Development at Astellas Pharma US. As the first employee and VP of Corporate Development at Universal Cells, he was instrumental in building the company from its inception, culminating in its $102 million acquisition by Astellas in 2018.
Gregory Block also served as the Scientific Director for Friends of FSH Research, managing its grant program to accelerate discovery for FSH Muscular Dystrophy. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Tulane University, conducting his research with Dr. Darwin Prockop, and holds a certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of Washington.
Lucy Cornish is a Research Partnerships Officer at the 樱花影视, with an extensive background in life sciences and stem cell research. Lucy completed her Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, where she completed several research internships. She began her career with Censo Biotechnologies in the UK, where she worked as a cell culture technician and eventually as a Stem Cell Scientist leading a project developing iPS cells for epilepsy research. Upon moving to BC, Lucy continued her career in a Senior Research Technologist role at StemCell. Her success led her through several promotions, to a role of Senior Research Associate, where she led a team working on immunotherapy products. Most recently, Lucy has taken a role at the 樱花影视 within the Innovation and Partnerships Office, where she supports Life Sciences across campus in building collaboration with external partner as well as innovation and commercialization management.
Dr. Somayeh Fardindoost earned her MSc and PhD in Nanophysics from Sharif University of Technology in 2009 and 2015, respectively. Her graduate research focused on the fabrication and characterization of nanomaterials and nanostructures for advanced bio-sensing applications.
Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Microfluidics and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MiNa Lab)at the 樱花影视, where her work bridges nanotechnology and biomedical engineering. Her research interests span gas sensors, biosensors, and breath analyzers for environmental and health monitoring, with an emphasis on translating nanoscale innovations into real-world diagnostic tools.
Dr. Bosco Yu obtained his PhD at the University of Cambridge with a research focus on structural mechanics. He was a Croucher scholar and a fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (a society for promoting scientific inquiry). Following a post-doc at the University of Toronto, he worked at McMaster University as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Yu joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at the 樱花影视 in September 2022 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Yu's research group ("Hybrid 3D") leverages the power of additive manufacturing to develop novel materials with nature-inspired architectures. Taking inspiration from both organic and inorganic structures, we seek to create architected materials that are optimized for specific design challenges in a variety of applications. Many of Dr. Yu's ongoing research projects are related to biomedical applications: the design of porous surgical implants to enhance bone integration and avoid stress shielding; the geometrical design of bioresorbable stents to reduce the risk of thrombosis; the design the architecture of 3D printed crushable materials for injury prevention applications.