New Board of Directors for OIRM
March 2, 2016, Toronto, ON – The Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine (OIRM) announced today its formal Board of Directors. Collectively, the six-member board represents international and Canadian leadership in stem cell and regenerative medicine research, innovation and commercialization and in health engagement and philanthropy.
OIRM was launched as an independent entity in November 2014 with core funding from the province of Ontario (Ministry of Research and Innovation). The Board of Directors provides oversight to the delivery of the Institute’s vision and mandate. The new Board formally replaces the interim Board, which had helped steer OIRM’s activities in its formative first year. Below are the newly appointed directors of the OIRM Board:
Sharon Colle, President and CEO, The Foundation Fighting Blindness
Richard Meadows, Chief Operating Officer, Medical Devices Commercialization Centre
Michael Rudnicki, Director, Regenerative Medicine Program and Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Tim Smith, CEO, Octane Medical Group
Alan Trounson, Past President, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Jim Woodgett, Director of Research, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital
Sharon Colle was elected Chair of the Board during the first Board of Directors’ meeting in December 2015. “I am honoured to serve in this role for the benefit of OIRM and the future health and welfare of Ontario,” said Ms. Colle. “I join a Board and a management team at OIRM that are highly respected in the community and will provide excellent feedback for the development of OIRM.”
Janet Rossant, OIRM’s President and Scientific Director commented, “Although we are a new organization, we have already laid a strong foundation in the stem cell environment, including the recent announcement of major research grant awards that will further Ontario’s innovative and competitive edge and lead to new and better treatments for patients. I am thankful for the guidance of our interim Board for getting this important work started. Under this new leadership OIRM will grow and thrive.”
Also appointed to newly defined job titles, were OIRM’s two administrative leaders. Janet Rossant has become President and Scientific Director and Sandra Donaldson is now Vice President, Operations.
This announcement coincides with the release of OIRM’s first annual report, which details OIRM’s activities in 2015 and is available online at https://oirm.ca/sites/default/files/annual_reports/oirm-2015-report/.
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About OIRM: Building on more than 50 years of world-leading research in stem cells and regenerative medicine, the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine (OIRM) was launched in 2014 with a vision to revolutionize the treatment of degenerative diseases and make Ontario a global leader in the development of stem cell-based products and therapies. More than 170 research programs at universities and institutions across the province are involved with OIRM, with additional contributions from key clinical and health charity partners and from OIRM’s commercialization partner, the Centre for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM). OIRM is based in Toronto and was realized with investment from Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation. www.oirm.ca.