Life Sciences BC News, September 19, 2024 | |
On September 18 LSBC held our Annual General Meeting. We are fortunate to draw from the leadership of our Board members, who represent the sector and act as stewards and advisors for our organization. As Ali passes the baton to Anne, we thank him for being an engaged and passionate Board Chair during his term. | |
Anne Stevens, VP of Business Development at AbCellera was elected as Chair, Ali Ardakani, Founder and Managing Director of Novateur Ventures Inc. was elected as Past Chair, and Rajveer Hundal, Partner at PWC Canada was re-elected as Treasurer.
We welcome Sherry Aulin, CFO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Tom Frohlich, Former COO of Chinook Therapeutics as new Board Directors, each elected to three-year terms.
We would like to thank our departing Board members, Jennifer Cudlipp, Bob Dawson, and Peter Simpson for your service and leadership over the past years.
Thanks to our Board members continuing their terms: Max Blouw, Kevin Chaplin, Suzanne Gill, David Helliwell, Wendy Hurlburt, Bev Holmes, Dr. Lana Janes, Dr. David Llewellyn, Michael R. Martin, Scott Phillips, David Poon, and Dr. Peter Zandstra.
Joseph Garcia, Hector MacKay-Dunn, KC, and Roger Kuypers received renewed one-year appointments as Board Observers. Read more.
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Our annual Business in Vancouver LSBC magazine has been released: Enabling a globally competitive life sciences sector with technology.
Inside you'll find features on BC's growing life sciences sector including the digital health revolution, a spotlight on our research clusters, AI-powered drug discovery, and the exciting developments in False Creek Flats. Also, this year's updated version of the Biotech Therapeutics Spider Web is provided by Novateur Ventures. Read online
here.
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Our 9th annual Invest in BC presented by Lumira Ventures is just over a month away. This highly anticipated event is a premier gathering for life sciences innovators and companies in BC, connecting them with investors and potential partners locally, nationally, and around the world.
We have over 60 confirmed investors registered and eager to meet with BC-based companies. This is an invaluable opportunity to gain business leads, build relationships, and attract capital. The conference is for everyone interested in investment and partnership – not just for those pitching. Learn more and register here.
This year we’ve reimagined the conference, offering attendees a dynamic two-day program featuring 30+ company pitches, engaging panel discussions, as well as on-site meetings arranged through BIO One-on-One Partnering. This partnering system enables participants to conveniently connect and schedule one-on-one meetings.
| Invest in BC is an ideal event to create and build partnerships and attract capital. The partnerships highlighted in Novateur Ventures’ infamous Spiderweb diagram represent months of due diligence from global pharmaceutical companies searching for the best opportunities worldwide. It is a testament to the strength of our sector that so many BC-based companies have established these collaborations. | |
Very exciting partnership news for LSBC member NanoVation Therapeutics, who just inked a US$600 million deal with Novo Nordisk to develop genetic medicines. NanoVation was co-founded by Pieter Cullis,, who is widely regarded as the founding father of LNP technology. Read more. | |
Variational AI announces drug discovery collaboration with Rakovina Therapeutics. The collaboration is aimed at leveraging each company’s expertise to identify and develop novel small-molecule therapies against DNA-damage response (DDR) targets for the treatment of cancer. Read more.
STEMCELL Technologies and Axion BioSystems announce a strategic partnership to streamline the culture and analysis of excitable cells. Read more.
Moderna receives Health Canada approval for its updated COVID-19 vaccine. Read more.
Eyam Vaccines and Immunotherapies secures global health grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will support the further development of its Gemini expression platform. Eyam's Gemini Platform is a breakthrough in the delivery of therapeutic proteins, offering the possibility of sustained therapeutic effects with minimal dosing. Read more.
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Governments of Canada and British Columbia partner and will enter formal negotiations to implement universal, single-payer, first-dollar coverage for a range of contraception and diabetes medications as in February 2024. Read more.
Government of Canada announces support for over 6,900 top-tier researchers, projects and infrastructure across the country. Over $502.3 million in funding has been awarded to researchers, students and institutions, which underscores the government’s efforts to support Canada’s research community. Read more.
LSBC was recently featured in an article published by the Future Economy highlighting the provinces' Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing strategy authored by Minister Brenda Bailey. Read more.
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Rehabtronics Inc. is on a mission to improve the lives of people with mobility impairments using neuroscience innovations. Learn more. | |
LifeLabs has received the Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Award for the seventh consecutive year. This award acknowledges LifeLabs’ exceptional commitment to environmental sustainability. Read more.
Congratulations to Carl de Boer from UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering for receiving a $1.6 million award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for his project which is in partnership with Jussi Taipale from the University of Cambridge. Read more.
Many more accomplishments come from UBC this week as UBC’s Faculty of Medicine celebrated the 2024 Faculty of Medicine award recipients. Read more. Several UBC Faculty of Medicine researchers also received new federal funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) read more and Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Read more.
Kudos to Andrew Casey, President and CEO of BIOTECanada, who has received Canada’s Drug Agency’s 35th Anniversary Medal. As a member of the Industry Liaison Forum at Canada’s Drug Agency, he has helped open doors and supported the organization’s collaboration with industry. Read more.
Michael Smith Health Research BC announced its 2024 Scholar and Health Professional-Investigator (HP-I) award recipients. The 23 new Scholars and 14 HP-Is who received the award will obtain funding to research a diverse range of health-related areas. Read more.
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Dr. Bev Holmes, who is also an LSBC Board member will step down as President & CEO of Michael Smith Health Research BC. Dr. Holmes has served eight years in this capacity. Her expertise in the production and use of research evidence, and her creative and collaborative leadership style, have served the organization and the province well. Congratulations to Dr. Holmes for her exceptional leadership and impact. Read more.
Stephen Brown, Health Deputy Minister will be retiring from the BC Public Service on November 8, 2024, after 22 years in the position. Thank you, Minister Brown, for your dedicated service.
Peter Greenleaf, President and CEO of Aurinia, was retained as a Director following Board restructuring and Kevin Tang, President of Tang Capital Management, LLC was appointed as a Director. Read more.
Isabelle Caron has been appointed co-chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Life Sciences Strategy Council. With her leadership, the Council will play a key role in shaping and implementing strategies that will strengthen the Canadian biotechnology ecosystem. Read more.
Brian Simmers has been named President of Providence Health Care (PHC) Ventures. He will lead PHC Ventures in partnering with, incubating, and investing in companies to advance health care through technology. Read more.
Dr. Peter Black has been announced as Director of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute’s Vancouver Prostate Centre. In this role, Dr. Black will lead the research strategy and guide a team of accomplished investigators to enhance the center’s translational focus. Read more.
Dr. Emeran Mayer was introduced by Melius MicroBiomics as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Mayer brings close to 40 years of expertise to this role. Read more.
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Apply now for Nucleate’s flagship Activator program to develop your scientific technology into a viable company. Access features like team formation, equity-free support, experienced advisors, hands-on workshops, and the pitch showcase. Applications close October 15, 2024. Learn more.
Are you passionate about life sciences and want to play a key role in organizing a flagship industry event? Join the Effervescence MTL organizing committee! As a member, you’ll have the chance to meet industry experts and demonstrate your expertise in front of a large audience of influential leaders. Learn more.
BioTalent Canada’s Science Horizons Youth Internship Program is accepting applications for its wage subsidy program that helps graduates acquire work experience in an environment-related STEM field. It covers the cost of a participant’s salary by 80% up to a maximum of $25,000. Learn more.
TÜBİTAK and Enterprise Singapore have announced a call for proposals for joint research and development (R&D) projects. Applicants are expected to develop market-ready solutions for projects that have strong market potential for Türkiye and Singapore. The submission deadline is September 30, 2024! Learn more.
Applications are open for the IMPaCT training awards, which facilitate participation in a 1-year immersive learning experience. This program is designed to give researchers the skills and network to design, conduct, and communicate about clinical trials with pregnant people and children. Learn more.
Are you a Canadian SME working on an R&D project and interested in growing your business abroad? Submit your project to the Canada-Germany 2024-25 collaborative industrial R&D call for proposals. Register by September 25, 2024. Learn more.
| See our expanded list of current life sciences opportunities on our website. | |
GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) is a fully focused biopharma company with a new purpose: to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.
They aim to impact the health of 2.5 billion people over the next 10 years. Their bold ambitions for patients are reflected in new commitments to growth and step-change in performance. GSK will be a company where outstanding people can thrive. Learn more.
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Until next week!
LSBC Team
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October 29 & 30 - Life Sciences BC is pleased to announce the 9th annual Invest in BC presented by Lumira Ventures conference.
This highly anticipated event serves as a premier gathering for healthcare innovators in British Columbia, connecting them with global investors. This year we’ve reimagined the conference, offering attendees a dynamic two-day program featuring 30+ company pitches from pre-seed to public.
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December 4 & 5 - Life Sciences BC, in partnership with Biotech Primer, is pleased to present BioBasics 101: The Biology of Biotech for the Non-Scientist.
This intensive two-day ‘master course’ is designed to help non-scientists gain a foundational understanding of the science that forms the backbone of biopharma so that you can converse more effectively with colleagues, clients, regulators, and scientists.
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Boost to Nurse Practitioner Program Supports Primary Health Care
Fifteen more nurse practitioners will be trained at UVic this fall, helping boost the number of professionals able to offer primary health care to the more than 800,000 British Columbians without a family doctor...Read more.
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ABRYSVO™: Pfizer’s Canada’s Newly Publicly Funded Vaccine a Step Towards National RSV Prevention in Older Adults
fizer Canada ULC announced that ABRYSVO™ has been selected as the publicly-funded vaccine for the prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in older adults in Canada for 2024-2025...Read more.
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IQVIA AI Solution Receives 2024 Frost & Sullivan Global Customer Value Leadership Award
IQVIA™ announced that Frost & Sullivan has awarded IQVIA with the 2024 Global Customer Value Leadership Award...Read more.
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GlycoNet and CQDM Collaborate to Boost Drug Discovery and Develop New Health Solutions for Canadians
GlycoNet and CQDM are proud to announce they have entered an agreement to collaborate on advancing drug discovery and development in Canada...Read more.
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New Genetic Counsellor Trial Aims to Provide Personalized Genetic Care in BC
Genome British Columbia is pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative aimed at integrating genetic counsellors into primary care settings…Read more.
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Empowering Change: BioTalent Canada Opens Third Annual I.D.E.A.L Bioscience Employer Recognition Program
BioTalent Canada is now accepting applications for its 2024-2025 I.D.E.A.L. Bioscience Employer™ Recognition Program. This marks the program’s 3rd year...Read more.
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TFRI Research Community Pays Tribute to Dr. Philip Branton, Extraordinary Builder, Leader and Collaborator
TFRI’s leadership and research community are mourning and paying tribute to Dr. Philip (Phil) Branton, who dedicated his life to cancer research and the advancement of it in Canada...Read more.
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NanoVation Therapeutics Announces Multi-target Partnership with Novo Nordisk to Develop Genetic Medicines Targeting Cardiometabolic and Rare Diseases
NanoVation Therapeutics announced a multi-year partnership with Novo Nordisk to advance the development of novel genetic medicines targeting cardiometabolic and rare diseases...Read more.
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Leadership Announcement
After eight years as President & CEO of Michael Smith Health Research BC, Dr. Bev Holmes has informed the Board of her intention to step down once a successor has been appointed...Read more.
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Labcorp Expands Molecular Bioanalytical Laboratory in Greenfield, Indiana
Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, announced the expansion of its molecular bioanalytical laboratory in Greenfield, Indiana...Read more.
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Moderna Receives Health Canada Approval For Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Targeting KP.2 Variant Of SARS-COV-2 For Ages Six Months And Older
Moderna Inc (Nasdaq: MRNA) announced that Health Canada has authorized its updated COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX® KP.2 variant, to help prevent COVID-19 in individuals six months of age and older...Read more.
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Harnessing Combined Expertise: STEMCELL Technologies and Axion BioSystems Partner to Streamline Culture and Analysis of Excitable Cells
Axion BioSystems and STEMCELL Technologies announce a strategic partnership that will enable STEMCELL to sell Axion’s Maestro Pro™ and Maestro Edge™ MEA systems within North America and Europe...Read more.
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Rakovina Therapeutics and Variational AI Announce Drug Discovery Collaboration
Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. and Variational AI announced a research collaboration to leverage each company’s expertise to identify and develop novel small-molecule therapies against DDR targets for the treatment of cancer...Read more.
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New Cohort of Researchers Leading the Way to Better Health Outcomes
Michael Smith Health Research BC is funding 23 new Scholars and 14 Health Professional-Investigators (HP-I), through the 2024 competitions...Read more.
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama Announces Relationship with Labcorp to Provide Members Best Overall Value for Outpatient Lab-Related Services
Effective December 1, 2024, Labcorp will be the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama exclusive national laboratory in the PML Program and the only PMLP provider in the outpatient laboratory network...Read more.
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Cinven to Sell Minority Stake in SYNLAB to Strategic Investor Labcorp
International private equity firm, Cinven, has reached an agreement to sell an indirect minority stake in SYNLAB, a leader in medical diagnostic services and specialty testing in Europe, to strategic investor Labcorp...Read more.
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LifeLabs Celebrates Seventh Consecutive Win as the Only Canadian Company and Sole Laboratory in North America Recognized by Practice Greenhealth
LifeLabs, the leading medical laboratory in Canada, is proud to announce that it has received the Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Award for the seventh consecutive year...Read more.
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Building Foundational Technology for a Gene Regulatory Atlas
Congratulations to Carl de Boer from the SBME for receiving a $1.6 million award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for his project, Foundational technology for a gene regulatory atlas over human development…Read more.
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Rehabtronics to Collaborate with Top Clinicians in Innovation Factory’s HEALTHI Program
Rehabtronics is honored to be accepted into Innovation Factory’s HEALTHI (Hamilton Ecosystem to Accelerate and Leverage Trials of Health Innovation) program...Read more.
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Labcorp Completes Acquisition of Select Assets of BioReference Health’s Diagnostics Business from OPKO Health
Labcorp and OPKO Health, Inc. announced the completion of Labcorp’s acquisition of select assets of BioReference Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of OPKO Health...Read more.
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Neoadjuvant TAR-200 Plus Cetrelimab Nearly Doubles the Pathological Complete Response Rate Compared to Cetrelimab Alone in Patients with Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer
Johnson & Johnson announced interim data from the ongoing Phase 2 SunRISe-4 study showing neoadjuvant treatment with investigational TAR-200 plus cetrelimab achieved nearly double the pCR rate...Read more.
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New Data from TAR-200 Phase 2b SunRISe-1 Study Show 84 Percent Complete Response Rate in Patients with High-risk Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer
Johnson & Johnson announced additional results from the pivotal Phase 2b SunRISe-1 study, supporting the safety and efficacy profile of investigational TAR-200 for the treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin...Read more.
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RYBREVANT® (Amivantamab-vmjw) Plus Chemotherapy Show 49 Percent Overall Response Rate in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Johnson & Johnson announced new data from the Phase 1b/2 OrigAMI-1 study, which showed RYBREVANT® combined with chemotherapy demonstrated promising rapid and durable antitumor activity…Read more.
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RYBREVANT® (Amivantamab-vmjw) Plus Chemotherapy Shows Positive Overall Survival Trend Versus Chemotherapy in Patients with Previously Treated EGFR-mutated Lung Cancer
Johnson & Johnson announced updated results from the Phase 3 MARIPOSA-2 study which showed RYBREVANT® combined with chemotherapy led to consistent benefit...Read more.
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Senior Manager, CMC, Quality Control
he Senior Manager, CMC, Quality Control will work flexibly across several small molecule drug development programs with an emphasis on managing outsourced testing and stability program for the cGMP API and drug product (DP) manufacturing and testing campaigns...Learn more
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Senior Scientist, CMC, Drug Product
The candidate will be responsible for leading the development of suitable formulations for the in vivo assessment (including for GLP toxicology studies) of novel chemical compounds originating from our Discovery team...Learn more
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HR Coordinator/Senior HR Coordinator
The Human Resources Coordinator/Sr. Human Resources Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the entering and coordination of data, documents and processes into the various HR systems in an accurate and timely manner to ensure flawless execution...Learn more
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Senior Administrator, Human Resources
The Senior Administrator will be responsible for coordinating recruitment scheduling for executive level positions, scheduling Senior Hire orientations and supporting training events for department heads, supporting contracts and Statements of Work...Learn more
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Scientific Liaison and Solutions Lead
We are seeking a highly motivated and scientifically minded individual with a strong background in precision medicine, spatial omics, oncology, and/or pathology to join our team...Learn more
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Chief Medical Information Officer
The Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) is responsible for the medical leadership that advances the utilization of technology-enabled information management systems, to ultimately improve quality outcomes for patients within clinical operations across the entire region...Learn more
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Chief Executive Officer
The CEO is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organization including the development and ongoing refinement of organization strategy, business development and revenue generation, structure, product development, partner and client relations...Learn more
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Research and Innovation Manager, Data Science
Reporting to the Director, Data Science you will work with the Research and Innovation leadership and the other members of the Data Science team to implement Genome British Columbia’s (Genome BC) Data Science Strategy...Learn more
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Specialist, Quality Assurance
We are seeking a Quality Assurance Specialist to be responsible for implementing and maintaining Augurex’s electronic Quality Management System (eQMS) in accordance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, internal quality requirements and specifications...Learn more
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Sr. Manager, Regulatory Affairs
We are seeking a Sr. Manager, Regulatory Affairs to be responsible for working directly with our Global Head of Product R&D and external regulatory consultants on the FDA 510(k) submission for SPINEstat®...Learn more
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Center of Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunogenecity Mitigation and Immunopeptidomics
We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow with previous training in immunology and biochemistry to help develop the next generation of screening tools to identify and quantify the presence of immunogenic sequences, motifs, and structures in candidate therapeutic molecules...Learn more
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Associate Scientist – Experimental Immunology
Well-suited applicant will have broad laboratory training, deep scientific curiosity and a positive approach to working in a team-based research environment. This individual will also have a track record of creative problem-solving...Learn more
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Associate – Experimental Immunology (12-Month Contract)
The position would involve the cell isolation from primary human tissues, primary cell culture, sample management and tracking and general assay development. Well-suited applicant will have broad laboratory training and a positive approach to working in a team-based research environment...Learn more
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Senior Administrator, Human Resources
The Senior Administrator will be responsible for coordinating recruitment scheduling for executive level positions (VP and above), scheduling Senior Hire orientations and supporting training events for department heads...Learn more
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Team Lead, Clinical Genotyping
Reporting to the Assistant Laboratory Director, the Team Lead, Clinical Genotyping coordinates and provides work direction to the Clinical Laboratory Drug Resistance Testing and Genotyping team...Learn more
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Research and Innovation Manager, Health
The Research and Innovation Manager, Health is a collaborative member of the Research and Innovation team and works seamlessly across the organization...Learn more
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Post a Job on the LSBC Website |
LSBC Membership Discounts on Job Postings
As an LSBC member, your first five job postings EARN a free repost on BioTalent Canada's The Petri Dish. After your first five posts, you will also receive 25 per cent off all job postings on The Petri Dish. Want more info? Contact talent@lifesciencesbc.ca.
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At Rehabtronics, we’re on a mission to improve the lives of people with mobility impairments using neuroscience innovations.
Rehabtronics is driven by a vision to transform healthcare with technology innovation. The company began as a spinoff from the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute of the University of Alberta. Our founders saw an opportunity to bring its neural rehabilitation discoveries into clinical practice to help patients recover from Stroke, Spinal Cord, and other Neurological Injuries. We continue to develop and validate our devices in partnership with research institutions and initiatives around the world. Learn more.
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