2024 Conference Speakers

Paul W.M. Fedak, MD PhD FRCS(C) FAHA
Director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Merck Chair in Cardiovascular Research, Professor
Cumming School of Medicine
Attending Cardiac Surgeon, Alberta Health Sciences
Director, Marlene and Don Campbell Translational Research Laboratory, University of Calgary
Adjunct Professor, Northwestern University

Paul Fedak is a cardiac surgeon, translational scientist, and organizational leader at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary. Dr. Fedak is committed to innovating and translating new surgical therapies for patients with advanced heart disease.

Dr. Fedak graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School and completed further training in cardiac surgery (FRCSC) and biomedical science (Ph.D.) in Toronto. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada awarded him a Detweiler Fellowship at Northwestern University in Chicago that supported advanced training in surgery for end-stage heart disease and complex valve repair. The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR – now known as Alberta Innovates) and the University of Calgary recruited him as a surgeon-scientist. He developed the Campbell Family Translational Research Program. This mature program trains graduate students and develops and validates novel therapies to treat cardiovascular disease. He pioneered novel sternal closure techniques and developed tissue engineering approaches to treat heart failure using biomaterials. He has expertise in surgery for bicuspid aortic valve disease and its associated aortopathy. He leads a collaborative research effort with Northwestern University in Chicago to better understand mechanisms of progression and risk prediction.

He published over 230 peer-reviewed original manuscripts and numerous book chapters. His work is cited over 20,000 times (h-index 60). Dr. Fedak serves as an Editorial Board Member for several biomedical publications, including the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Canadian Journal of Cardiology. Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NHLBI) fund his translational research program. He receives international and national leadership, research, and mentorship awards. Some of these include the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Province of Alberta), the C. Walton Lillehei Award (American Association for Thoracic Surgery), the Vivien Thomas Young Investigator Award (American Heart Association), the Paul Cartier Award (Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons), and the Wilfred Bigelow Award (University of Toronto), the Watanabe Distinguished Achievement Award (University of Calgary), the Telemachus Distinguished Mentorship Award (University of Calgary) and Calgary’s “Top 40 Under 40” (Avenue Magazine). He holds leadership positions in the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and is a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA). He is recognized as a knowledge and opinion leader in cardiac surgery. He provides many internationally invited addresses, including a widely viewed TEDx talk.

Dr. Fedak is a former department head (>100 members) and leader at the University of Calgary. He is currently the director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. This is a key leadership position within a dynamic, fully integrated healthcare, research, and service delivery environment. He is responsible for realizing the Institute’s vision of coordinating cardiovascular healthcare, internationally recognized and funded research, and multidisciplinary educational programs that attract quality learners for over 2 million Canadians.

Michael Hiltz
Department Head, Mission Systems & Operations
MDA Space

Title of Talk: The Use of Mixed Reality for Robotic Space Systems & Operations - Emulation, Design and Training.

Michael Hiltz has over 35 years of systems engineering experience on complex, mission critical projects - working on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station and Canadarm3 Lunar Gateway robotics programs. He was both the Technical program manager and Systems & Controls manager for the original Canadarm and also served as the Systems Engineering Manager for the Space Station Robotics program. He led the Canadarm Mission Control engineering flight support team over 50 Space Shuttle missions at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, overseeing the use of the arm in such vital missions as the repair and upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope and assembly of the International Space Station. Michael currently manages the Mission Systems and Operations Engineering department at MDA Space and oversees MDA’s DREAMR Lab – a zero-g robotics lab that uses innovative Mixed Reality technology to simulate the behaviour of complex robotics systems in space for training, pre-mission planning and operational prototyping.

Brian Gallant, KC
CEO
Space Canada

Brian Gallant, K.C., is the CEO of Space Canada. He is a business executive, thought leader, and he was the 33rd Premier of New Brunswick.

Brian is a Special Advisor to the President of Ontario Tech University. He also frequently provides business and political analysis as a media commentator.

In addition to serving as Premier of New Brunswick, Brian was the Attorney General, the Minister responsible for Innovation, and the Minister responsible for Women’s Equality. In 2018, he led his Premier colleagues as the Chair of the Council of the Federation.

Prior to elected office, Brian practiced corporate commercial law. He has university degrees in business and law from the Université de Moncton as well as a Master of Laws from McGill University.

Brian is the co-author of a major research report linking profit with purpose entitled Canadian Voices on the Role of Business in Society.

Brian is supportive of many causes and initiatives as a member of several boards of directors including the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, the Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Foundation, and the Beausejour Family Crisis Resource Centre.

Patricia Arocena
Senior Director, Head of the Generative AI Innovation Labs
Royal Bank of Canada

Patricia Arocena is a Senior Director and Head of the Generative AI Innovation Labs at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), working within the Innovation and Technology organization. She is responsible for understanding emerging technologies in the Generative AI space and helping drive their adoption across the bank. Recently, she was awarded the 2023 RBC Performance Conference Award and the 2024 RBC Leo Award for her contribution to advance innovation.

Prior to joining RBC, Patricia held leadership innovation positions at Tier-1 research institutions in Canada, PWC, and other banks where she helped create Data and AI-powered solutions for the Financial Services industry. She earned her PhD in Computer Science and MEng in Computer Engineering from the University of Toronto and has been published in numerous scientific journals. Patricia lives in Toronto and is an avid gardener when there is no snow on the ground.

Dr. Samara Pillay
Vice President of AI and Space Products
Mission Control

Title of Talk: Earth, Moon, and Mars: The AI Paradigm Shift.

Samara is the Vice President of AI & Space Products at Mission Control and has a unique background spanning business strategy, analytics, physics and product innovation. Samara holds a PhD from the University of Oxford, and MSc degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the University of British Columbia. She is an innovator at heart, having applied AI and predictive analytics across disciplines and industries, including space, biotech, tech and banking.

Dawn M.E. Bowdish, PhD.
Professor & University Scholar
Canada Research Chair in Aging & Immunity

Dr. Dawn Bowdish is a Professor at McMaster University, the Executive Director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, and a Canada Research Chair in Aging & Immunity. Dr. Bowdish investigates the changes in the aging immune system that make older adults vulnerable to pneumonia and how the microbes that naturally live on us keep dangerous pathogens at bay. Her research team aims to discover novel treatments to protect older adults from infection by improving their immune systems and harnessing the power of the microbes that live on and in us (“the microbiome”) and to understand why the aging immune system does not respond as well to vaccinations for pneumonia and COVID-19. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Lung Health Foundation and advocates to increase research funding for lung health.

Greg Baiden
President
Penguin Automated Systems Inc.

Dr. Greg Baiden is President of Penguin Automated Systems Inc., a leading private research and development company that provides mobile robotic technology solutions for numerous clients in various industries such as mining, environmental cleanup, agriculture, search and rescue, forestry and security.

Greg led global mining Research and Development for Inco Limited with projects highlighted by the conception and pilot implementation of tele-robotic mining. His responsibilities included all aspects of the technical requirements for exploration, mining and processing for the Sudbury orebody, a massive asteroid hit now producing critical minerals and chemicals for the world. As part of these responsibilities, he was a member of the senior leadership team running the Ontario Division’s 10 mines, processing plants including smelter which was a multi-billion dollar business with 4000 plus employees. At a corporate level he was responsible for the strategic planning and R&D of the corporation’s mining.

Since his work at Inco, he has run numerous projects for major terrestrial mining companies from custom robotics for mining processes to scoping, prefeasibility and feasibility studies for mines specializing in the implementation of teleautonomous mining and robotic systems. Some of these projects have included: planning a robotic mine to mine the “Ring of Fire” asteroid hit, a major industrial cooperative robotics to dismantle an explosives pattern threatening the mine viability, creating a robotic Hang- up Removal robot to tele remotely load explosives into dangerous rock blockages and many more. In addition, he has led initiatives in lunar mining with organizations such as Shackleton Energy and authored the strategic lunar mining plan for the Canadian Space Agency.

Dr. Baiden holds a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering from McGill University with a specialty in technology and economics. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Canadian Research Chair in Robotics and Mine Automation at Laurentian University. Dr. Baiden was a professor at Laurentian for 14 years before leaving to grow Penguin Automated Systems Inc. in Naughton. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta and has performed work with the University of Memphis and several military groups.

Dr. Baiden served on the Board of Directors for several national and international boards. Locally, he has been a member of the board of Greater Sudbury Development Corporation and the Art Gallery of Sudbury among others.

Michael J Strong, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FAAN
Past President, Canadian Institutes for Health Research
Distinguished University Professor, Western University
Dean Emeritus Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Arthur J Hudson Chair in ALS Research

Dr Michael J. Strong is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at Western University. He served as the President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research from 2018 to 2023 and prior to this, he served as the Dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. As a clinician-scientist with a specific research focus on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig’s Disease), he has published over 220 peer-reviewed articles and 29 chapters, edited 4 textbooks and has given over 180 invited lectures related to his research in ALS. He was awarded the Sheila Essay Award in 2005 and the Forbes Norris Award in 2008 and is the only Canadian to have received both international awards for ALS research. He was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology in 2008. In 2009, he was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. His research has focused on understanding the pathogenesis of ALS, including the role of altered RNA metabolism in its genesis in addition to defining a role for altered tau metabolism in the frontotemporal spectrum disorder of ALS.