2023 Conference Speakers

Dr. Liz Warren
Director of Research Development - Orbital Reef
BLUE ORIGIN

Title of Talk: Next Generation Space Station Designed to Enable Science in Space to Benefit Health on Earth

Multidisciplinary microgravity science expertise. Unique synergy of science management, spaceflight operations experience, and communications strategy leadership. Problem solver with an eye for gap analysis and process improvement. Skilled motivator, able to guide teams to develop creative solutions that deliver superior results.

Gravitational physiologist, professor, and science communicator with a passion for human spaceflight.

Spaceflight operations in NASA's Mission Control Center for Human Research Program investigations on the space shuttle and International Space Station.

James Brodie
General Manager
Johnson & Johnson MedTech
a division of Johnson & Johnson (Canada) Inc.

Title of Talk: Surgery 4.0 - A Digitally Connected Future

James Brodie is an executive leader in the Canadian healthcare industry. For over 25 years, James has held senior roles across the Medical Technology and Innovative Medicines divisions of Johnson & Johnson.

Currently, James is General Manager of Johnson & Johnson MedTech (JJMT) in Canada. In Canadian healthcare and across the world, JJMT is unparalleled in its breadth, depth and reach across general & specialized surgery, orthopaedics and interventional solutions. In his role, James oversees setting and delivering the strategic priorities and profitability for the five JJMT businesses within Canada including Ethicon, DePuy Synthes, Biosense Webster, Cerenovus, and Mentor. James is a member of the JJMT North American Leadership Team and is Chair of the JJMT Canada Leadership Team. In May 2023 James became the Chair-Elect on the Board of Directors of Medtech Canada, the industry’s national association. James plays an active role as a member of the Executive Committee as well as leading strategic committees within Medtech Canada and working with government and policy makers to drive systemic change to advance patient care and health system efficiencies.

For 20 years before joining MedTech, James held a wide range of senior positions at Janssen Canada, the Innovative Medicines division of Johnson & Johnson. His last role was Business Unit Director for the Specialized Therapeutics Business Unit. In this role, James was responsible for leading both sales and marketing for the Virology and Oncology portfolios, contributing to strong growth in Oncology as a key disease area stronghold for Johnson & Johnson.

James has an exceptional track record of strategic performance and a breadth of experience in Sales and Marketing, while contributing to and leading key organizational priorities in the areas of innovation, employee development and customer engagement.

James has a Bachelor of Kinesiology and an MBA in Health Services Management from McMaster University.

Dr. Eileen Stansbery
Chief Scientist of the Johnson Space Center
Chief of Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) NASA
Division Chief, ARES | NASA

Dr. Eileen K. Stansbery is the Chief Scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) as well as Chief of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division where she is responsible for a multi-disciplinary organization of about 250 civil servants and contractors to support NASA's Planetary Science, Human Exploration, and Space Science Enterprises. The organization’s primary functions include stewardship of all NASA-held extraterrestrial samples, astromaterial research, and conducting the agency Orbital Debris program. As JSC Chief Scientist, she provides scientific advice and assessments to Center and Agency leadership directed toward the development of world-class scientific research as well as human and robotic mission capabilities for exploration (primarily the Moon, Mars, and planetary small bodies). 

Eileen briefly served as the NASA Acting Deputy Chief Scientist, supporting internal agency senior leadership as well as external activities of the Office of Chief Scientist with the Executive Office of the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Academies. She provided policy and subject matter expertise in support to NASA Policy Directive (NPD) and NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) development for Scientific Collections and Planetary Protection. She played a major role in the Genesis Mission (solar wind sample return) as the mission contamination control lead, curation scientist, and the JSC payload cleaning project manager. Her expertise in contamination control, collector material installation, ultra-precision cleaning techniques, and curation planning for the samples was critical to the successful recovery of science after the sample return capsule crashed in 2004.

Eileen earned her doctorate in Space Physics from Rice University and her BS in mathematics and physics from Houston Baptist University. In addition to many internal NASA honors including the Outstanding Leadership, Exceptional Service, and Equal Employment Opportunity Medals, Eileen was honored with the 2013 AAS Carl Sagan Memorial Award.

Dr. Graham Taylor
Professor of Engineering, University of Guelph
Research Director of the Vector Institute for AI.

Title of Talk: Decoding the Living Library: AI's Role in Cataloging Biodiversity

Graham Taylor is a Canada Research Chair and Professor of Engineering at the University of Guelph.

He co-directs the University of Guelph Centre for Advancing Responsible and Ethical AI and is the Research Director of the Vector Institute for AI.

He has co-organized the annual CIFAR Deep Learning Summer School, and trained more than 80 students and researchers on AI-related projects.

In 2016 he was named as one of 18 inaugural CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars.

In 2018 he was honoured as one of Canada's Top 40 under 40. In 2019 he was named a Canada CIFAR AI Chair.

He spent 2018-2019 as a Visiting Faculty member at Google Brain, Montreal.

Dr. April Khademi
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
PI Image Analysis in Medicine Lab (IAMLAB)
Toronto Metropolitan University

Title of Talk: Leveraging AI for Medical Imaging

Medical imaging is critical to diagnosing, monitoring and treatment planning for common diseases such as cancer, dementia and renal disease. While manual analysis of medical images is subjective and time consuming, AI algorithms can be leveraged to measure quantitative biomarkers from medical images to improve accuracy and Turn-Around-Times (TATs). I will discuss the design and development of AI tools for medical imaging to augment radiology and pathology workflows for common diseases, and demonstrate how such tools can be utilized to enhance diagnostic accuracy and agreement, as well as TAT; all leading to higher quality of care.

Dr. Matthew Miller
Director, Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR)
Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics
Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Institute for Infectious Diseases Research, McMaster University

Title of Talk: Next-generation Approaches to More Effective Pandemic Preparedness

Dr. Miller is Director of the M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University and Co-Director of Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub (CP2H). He also holds a Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics.

Dr. Miller completed his PhD in Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Western Ontario, where he studied the molecular virology and pathogenesis of DNA viruses. He went on to complete a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Peter Palese at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, NY where his research focus shifted to the study of pandemic influenza and the design of “universal” influenza virus vaccines. Dr. Miller was recruited to McMaster University in 2014 has been focused on issues related to pandemic preparedness – especially vaccinology, and the impact of viral infections on the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., ALS). He has been awarded a CIHR New Investigator Award, the CIHR Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity, and an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario, and a Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Basic Science from Western University.

Since early 2020, Dr. Miller has been heavily engaged in COVID-19 research, including development of next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. He is a member of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) COVID-19 Working Group, the Federal Variants-of-Concern Leadership Group, and the Federal Pandemic Science Coordination and Action Group. He served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Society for Virology from 2021-2022.

Paul Grouchy (pronounced Grew-she)
Director of Artificial Intelligence 
MDA

Title of Talk: AI in Deep Space: Challenges and Opportunities

Paul Grouchy obtained his BASc from Queen’s University, followed by a PhD from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). Over the course of his graduate studies, he held visiting researcher positions at the Helsinki University of Technology, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Cornell University. His research focused on the development of novel AI techniques for robot control, which he implemented on real-world robotic systems in a partnership with MDA’s space robotics division during a postdoctoral fellowship.

Since then, he has applied AI across myriad domains, including healthcare, education, legal tech, and neural network inference acceleration. He recently returned to MDA as Director of AI to help lead their efforts on developing AI for space systems, including Canadarm3.

Joseph S. Mancinelli
International Vice President
Canadian Director
Central and Eastern Canada Regional Manager
Labourers' International Union of North America (LiUNA)

Title of Talk: Labour and the Economy

Joseph Mancinelli is a leader in good times and in unprecedented times. He leads through his optimistic foresight and steadfast commitment to uniting communities and to building stronger futures.   He has tremendous foresight and always steps up for the betterment of his members and for the community at large. He is a champion of supporting equity and diversity for Canada’s workforce, empowering women and girls in our communities, supports programs for families in need and works diligently to strengthen the future of our country.

Joseph S. Mancinelli is the International Vice President, Canadian Director and Central and Eastern Canada Regional Manager of the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), the most progressive and fastest growing union representing over 140 000 members across Canada and half a million strong across North America, who build and better our communities and strengthen our economy.

Mr. Mancinelli leads many of LiUNA’s entities including serving as Chair of the LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada (LPF), which under his leadership, has grown to over $12 Billion in assets including numerous public-private (P3) partnerships and a diverse portfolio with a mix of infrastructure, energy, transit and more.

 Joe is an advocate of community building and a champion of benevolent causes. He is a dedicated advocate for community building which extends beyond brick and mortar, raising millions of dollars for philanthropic causes locally and nationally. He is committed to the health and safety of Canada’s workforce and is always working to achieve greater opportunities for them.

He is an ardent supporter of the arts, is passionate about the restoration of historical sites and is an accomplished artist in his own right.

Over the years he has served on numerous committees including serving on McMaster University’s Board of Governors, the Province of Ontario’s Invest Ontario Committee and as the Co-Chair of the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Housing Affordability Committee.  He has served as a founding director of the Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, and on the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation Board of Directors as well as the CSii Board of Directors.

Joe has also been a leader in community advocacy and fundraising initiatives for the building of inclusive futures, including children’s charities and causes, hospitals and health care centres, Make A Wish Canada, Camp Trillium, Easter Seals, the United Way, Mt. Sinai, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, the ALS Society, Down Syndrome Research Foundation, Larger than Life, as well as natural disaster relief and cultural inclusiveness initiatives. He exemplified tremendous leadership throughout the pandemic, on behalf of the industry and members he serves, working collaboratively with all levels of government and employer partners to ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of the members of LiUNA remained paramount.

His leadership has been acknowledged by countless organizations in various ways including receiving the Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Club, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, being inducted into Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction, receiving a star on the Italian Walk of Fame, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce lifetime achieve recipient and has been bestowed an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from McMaster University.  

Joe is a lifelong Hamiltonian.  He and his wife Enza have been married for 38 years, they have five children and two grandsons.

Dr. John Preston
Associate Dean, Research, Innovation & External Relations
Professor, Department of Engineering
McMaster University

Title of Talk: What Does Society Expect from a Research Intensive University?

John Preston is a faculty member in the Department of Engineering Physics at McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering and currently serves as the Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research, Innovation and External Relations. As such he oversees the Faculty’s $45M research portfolio. His own research is in the area of nanostructured materials for electronic and optical applications.  He has been an Associate of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in the area of Quantum Materials, has served as a founding member of the Board for the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and served on the Materials Research Advisory Committee for the TRIUMF National Laboratory. He has represented Canada on numerous technical delegations including those to Germany, UK, Scandinavia, India and China, and has represented Canada on the ISO technical committee on nanotechnology.

Prof. Preston is a device physicist and a materials scientist who specializes in the application of laser-based manufacturing approaches for novel device applications. Current activities within the Preston group include a new approach for 3D printing of BiTe to produce high efficiency thermoelectric generators and the pulsed laser deposition of solar cells on oxide crystals that can be subsequently lifted off those crystals.

Dr. Andrew Macdonald
AI Specialist
Mission Control

Title of Talk: Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Canadian Innovation in AI Space Technology

Andrew is an AI Specialist at Mission Control where he advances artificial intelligence technologies and products. With a background in aerospace and nanotechnology his expertise spans anomaly detection, imaging spectroscopy, and remote sensing data analysis. Andrew holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia (Physics) and a BSc from the University of Waterloo (Mathematical Physics). 

On weekends you can find him hiking, canoeing, or in a tent with a paperback.

Every artist starts out with heroes. But not every artist gets asked by their heroes to join them, as artists, on their stage. It’s a compliment that Jacob Moon keeps getting from the musicians who have inspired him since he started as a singer-songwriter out in Hamilton, Ontario. Artists like Rush, Marillion, and Gordon Lightfoot have taken a shine to Moon’s renditions of their songs and have lavished him praise and a spotlight that has gained him international attention. It is these inventive covers that draw the fans in, but it’s Moon’s original material and his compelling live show that makes them pull up a chair.

Ron Sexsmith has said: “Jacob Moon is an exceedingly gifted and watchable performer…. seems completely at home on stage” and Danny Miranda (bassist for Queen) concurs “Tremendous command of the instrument… amazing voice. I can honestly say that I am overwhelmed by his music”.

Title of Talk: The Commercial Lunar Ecosystem

Frank Teti is a senior Aerospace executive with 25 years of experience designing new and complex high risk technical solutions including cameras, telescopes, vision systems, rovers, LIDAR, robotic devices and manipulators for the space industry.

Currently, Frank is the General Manager of the Toronto division of Canadensys Aerospace Corporation.  

Alexandre McCafferty-Leroux
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University
Intelligent and Cognitive Engineering (ICE) Lab

Title of Talk: A High-Altitude Aircraft Mounted Robotic Telescope for Lunar Observations

Alexandre (Alex) McCafferty-Leroux received his Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical, with Distinction) from Carleton University (Ottawa, Ontario). He is currently working towards a MASc degree in mechanical engineering at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) in the Intelligent and Cognitive Engineering (ICE) Laboratory. Alex’s research project involves the development of a novel experimental CubeSat that will be used for the application of intelligent control and estimation techniques. His research interests include cognitive control, mechatronics, and aerospace engineering applications.

Andrew Newton
Research Engineer
Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University
Intelligent and Cognitive Engineering (ICE) Lab

Title of Talk: A High-Altitude Aircraft Mounted Robotic Telescope for Lunar Observations

Andrew Newton received his Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical, with Distinction) from the University of Guelph (Guelph, Ontario). He went on to complete his MASc at Guelph, where he designed, fabricated, and programmed a nanosatellite attitude control simulator. He is currently a Research Engineer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University, where he is developing an aircraft-mounted robotic control system for NASA's air-LUSI instrument. Together with air-LUSI team members from McMaster, NIST, NASA, UMBC, and USGS, he received a NASA 2021 Robert H. Goddard Award in Science. His research interests include robotics, computer vision, nonlinear controls, and state estimation, with a particular interest in aerospace applications. Andrew is a Member of IEEE as well as the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.