Advisory Committee

Biography

Carmela De Luca is a partner with Bereskin & Parr LLP and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Carmela is a lawyer (Ontario Bar) and registered patent agent in Canada and the United States. Her work experience in intellectual property is diverse, ranging from plant breeder rights to medical devices to artificial intelligence. She has a focus on patent matters, including advising biotech/life science clients on strategic global aspects of obtaining and managing patent portfolios, and the preparation and procurement of patents and industrial designs.

Carmela is the founding and Emeritus Co-chair and the present secretary of the Greater Montréal Chapter of Women in Bio (WIB). She has been a faculty member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada’s (IPIC) Patent Drafting Course, for years 2017-20, and has been active with the organization for a number of years.

Carmela obtained her Ph.D. from McGill University in 1999, and her J.D. from the University of Toronto in 2005.

Biography

Edward Harvey is a clinician-scientist, the Hornstein Chair in Surgical Excellence, a professor of surgery at McGill University, and the leader of the Injury Repair Recovery Program which is one of eight program at the RI-MUHC. Dr Harvey has a rich history of collaboration with basic, clinical and engineering scientists. He is, or has been, editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Surgery; editorial board member of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma and OTA International; chairman of the Research Committee and of the Annual Basic Science Course of the OTA; chair of the Trauma Section at the ORS; and president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association amongst other national and international positions.

Dr Harvey has also experienced success in the commercialization of intellectual properties. He is the founder of several companies including MY01 and NXTSens Inc. He has been the keynote speaker at several conferences and universities to speak about medical innovation and corporate success.

Biography

Stephanie Riddell is the President and CEO of the Montreal General Hospital Foundation, a leading hospital foundation part of the McGill Academic Health Network in Quebec.

Stephanie joined the Montreal General Hospital Foundation in 2017 as the Vice-President, Development. For over six years, she has worked closely with hospital leadership and the community to raise funds and awareness for priority healthcare needs. In particular, she oversaw the Code Life Campaign, which raised over $110 million for vital care, exceeding the original target.

Ms. Riddell obtained her Bachelor of Commerce Degree from McGill University, with International Business Concentration and a Minor in Spanish.

Prior to joining the MGHF, she worked for her Alma Mater, McGill University, most recently as Senior Philanthropic Advisor.

Biography

Dr. Robyn Tamblyn is a Professor of Medicine, a James McGill Chair, and a Medical Scientist at the McGill University Health Centre. She is Scientific Director of the McGill Clinical and Health Informatics Research Group. She was appointed Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research in 2011 and served in this position until her term ended in December 2018. In 2005 Dr Tamblyn received the CHSRF KT award for research in improving medication use and in 2006 she received the ACFAS Bombardier award for innovation in the development of a drug management system. In 2014, she received the John P. Hubbard Award for outstanding achievement in the assessment of professional competency in health care and medical education and she was appointed to the Order of Canada. In 2015 she received the Outstanding Achievement Award in the evaluation of clinical competence for sustained excellence in Canadian health care and research from the Medical Council of Canada. Dr Tamblyn was selected as the 2018 Justice Emmett Hall Laureate in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the health ideals extoled by Justice Hall and she was named the recipient of the 2018 Peggy Leatt Award in acknowledgement of her work in improving outcomes in Canada’s health care system. Recently, in 2019, she was elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada and she was appointed Director of the Division of Clinical Epidemiology at the McGill University Health Centre.

Biography

Mr. Gilbert Tordjman joined the RI-MUHC in January 2022 and was appointed Chief Operating and Development Officer (CODO).

A Chartered Professional Accountant, Mr. Tordjman has held numerous executive level positions in major academic and hospital institutions. He was most recently Vice President – Finance and Administration at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), and Treasurer of the IRCM Foundation. Before that, he served as Executive Director of the Development and Alumni Relations Office at Concordia University. Other past roles include Vice President – Administrative Affairs with the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-S), Director – Finance and Administration at the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, and head of Financial Management at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at the Jewish General Hospital.

In addition to his impressive professional career path, Mr. Tordjman is a committed volunteer. He is the past Chair of District 1 of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, which covers the northeastern region of the United States and eastern Canada. He was until recently a member of the Board of Directors of Federation CJA, where he received the Gertrude & Henry Plotnick Young Leadership Award.

Biography

Mr. Kruyt became Senior Advisor to Power Corporation of Canada in January 2018. He is also a member of the Power Pacific Investment Management Board of Directors. Mr. Kruyt was appointed Chairman of the Board of the McGill University Health Centre in 2017 and Chairman of the Board of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in 2019. He is also a director of the Canadian Tennis Association since 2019, and its Chairman since May 2022.

When he joined Power Corporation in 1981, Mr. Kruyt served as Executive Assistant to Mr. Paul G. Desmarais, who, at the time, was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kruyt took over as President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Broadcasting Incorporated from 1987 to 2000 and President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Technology Investment Corporation from 2000 until 2009.

He was Chairman of Power Pacific Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of Power Corporation, one of the Corporation’s equity investment funds from 1996 to 2020. Mr. Kruyt was also Vice-President of Power Corporation from 1996 to 2017 and Vice-Chairman of Power Energy from 2012 to 2019.

He was a director of Potentia Renewables from 2010 to 2021 and of The Lion Electric Company from 2017 to 2021. Mr. Kruyt was also a director of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada from 2016 to 2020, of Great West Lifeco Incorporated from 2003 to 2008 and of Bellus Incorporated from 2002 to 2009.

Mr. Kruyt was a director of Bombardier Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation Limited and of La Presse Limited from 1985 to 2016. He also served as an alternate director on the board of CITIC Pacific Limited in Hong Kong from 2003 to 2014.

He was Chairman of the Canada China Business Council from 2003 to 2018 and director of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy Inc from 2013 to 2018. He served on the board of the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and of the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO). Mr. Kruyt was also a member of the Board of Governors of Concordia University from 2000 to 2005 and served as Chairman from 2005 to 2012.

Biography

Abhinav Sharma is a cardiologist and an assistant professor in the division of cardiology at McGill University. He is also the Director of the Heart Failure Fellowship Program and the DREAM-CV Lab.

He completed his medical school and internal medicine from McMaster University and his cardiology fellowship from the University of Alberta. He completed his PhD in epidemiology with a thesis focusing on the intersection of diabetes and heart. He went to Duke University to complete a cardiovascular research fellowship. Following this, he went to Stanford University and completed an advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation fellowship. He is a Fonds de Research Sante Quebec (FRSQ) Junior-1 Scholar and has research funded by CIHR. Dr. Sharma’s research focuses on the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to optimizing therapies in people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.