Meet the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board

In order to better serve our clients and to explore the potential for additional collaborative and cooperative activities, Insception Lifebank has assembled a world-class team of scientific and medical advisors. The purpose of this board will be to advise the Insception Lifebank Board of Directors on future activities such as the prediction and maintenance of industry standards, research programs, advanced therapeutics, stem cell applications and cryogenics.

Advisory Board Members

Past Advisory Board Members

Dr. Jeffrey Davis, MD.

Dr. Davis received his MD from the University Of Alabama in 1982. He completed a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology through the University of Washington in 1988. He was appointed a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in 1995. Dr. Davis' interests include clinical stem cell transplantation and the coordination and collaborative efforts to further the clinical success in stem cell transplantation. He is the principal investigator for BC Children's Hospital for the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium and the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry / Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant Registry.

Dr. Duncan Farquharson, MD.

Dr. Farquharson received his MD from the University of Toronto in 1976, completing his Fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynecology through the University of Toronto program in 1980. He then performed a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship in Vancouver at the Vancouver General Hospital followed by six months in Bonn, West Germany, studying fetal echocardiography under Professor Montford Hansmann. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of British Columbia in 1982 and has practiced actively at the BC Women’s Hospital until October 1999 when he was appointed as Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Services for the Fraser Health Authority.

Dr.Stephen N. Caplan, MD, FRCP

Dr. Caplan received his M.D. from McGill University in 1971. He completed his fellowship in hematology at McGill University and at Tuft's University - New England Medical Center in Boston in 1976. In Boston, Dr. Caplan completed his training in transfusion medicine and was involved in the early use of apheresis for cellular therapies. Dr. Caplan is currently an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Oncology at McGill University. He was previously appointed as Associate Physician-in-Chief at the Jewish General Hospital in 1995 and is currently Director of the Division of Hematology at the Jewish General Hospital since 1997 and is also Director of the McGill Division of Hematology since 2006. Dr Caplan is also Director of the Transfusion Service at the Jewish General Hospital and has been an active member of the Clinical Research Program in the Department of Oncology at McGill University for the last 15 years.

Dr. Maria Gyongyossy-Issa, PhD.

Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at University of British Columbia, Dr. Gyongyossy-Issa is also an Associate Scientist with Canadian Blood Services. Dr. Gyongyossy-Issa specializes in critical functions of the blood-immune system during cellular storage processes. She has contributed extensively to the global literature on this subject and is a proven academic and leader in her field.

Dr. Paul Rogers, MD.

Dr. Rogers received his MD from the University of Pretoria (South Africa) in 1969. He completed a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology through the University of Virginia Medical School in 1976. He was appointed Professor and Head of Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia in 1998. For the past 25 years, Dr. Rogers has been involved in the subspecialty training in pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Dr. Rogers undertook the first Bone Marrow Transplantation in British Columbia and established the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program.

Dr. Dayong Gao, Ph.D.

Dr. Gao is a Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Professor Gao's research has been focused on: (1) fundamental cryobiology of cells and tissues, (2) development of novel techniques, devices, and equipment for optimal cryopreservation and banking of living cells and tissues for use in gene/cell therapy as well as tissue/organ transplantation, (3) bio-MEMS, bio-sensors, instruments, and (4) artificial organs. He has published over 140 full manuscripts (refereed) in archival scientific Journals, 15 Book Chapters, and over 10 US patents. He is Editor of Cryopreservation Engineering Section of Journal of Cell Preservation Technology and serves on the Editorial Board or as a reviewer for many scientific journals. He is elected and serves as a member, officer, or governor on committees of international scientific associations/societies and USA National Institutes of Health (NIH). His research in cryobiology and cryopreservation has been funded by National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Whitaker Foundation, Washington Research Foundation, and Industries.

Dr. Patrick W. Doyle, MD.

Dr. Doyle received his MD at UBC in 1979. After a rotating internship at Dalhousie University, he returned to Vancouver for 2 years of General Pathology Residency prior to completion of his specialty in Medical Microbiology in 1985. After working in Community and Hospital Microbiology labs for about 10 years, he returned to UBC in 1996 to do a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology on a part-time basis while doing part-time work for Viridae, BCCDC Epidemiology and the Red Cross. Subsequently, he spent 3.5 years at the Blood services Vancouver Centre, first under the Red Cross banner and later under the Canadian Blood Service banner, and was involved in all aspects of the Infectious Diseases testing and reporting, among other things. In 2001 he left the Blood service to return to the hospital, where he is practicing at VGH in Division of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control to this date. He also works part-time as a Travel Medicine consultant. He is Clinical Associate Professor in the Dept. of Pathology and Lab Medicine at UBC, and the UBC Medical Microbiology Residency Program Director. He is on the Blood Transfusion Committee at Vancouver General Hospital.

Dr. Jacques Galipeau, MD.

Dr. Galipeau received his MD from the Universite de Montreal in 1988. He is presently Associate Professor with Tenure at McGill University and is located at the Jewish General Hospital Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Galipeau’s research is focused on cell and gene therapy for cancer. Dr. Galipeau has published extensively on a number of stem cell related topics and holds a number of related patents. He is presently Project Director at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Director of the Cell and Gene Therapy Program at the Montreal Center for Experimental therapeutics and team leader for Therapeutic Applications with the Canadian Stem Cell Network.

Dr. Locksley McGann, PhD.

Dr. McGann is a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and Surgery at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Surgery at the University of Calgary and an Adjunct Scientist with Canadian Blood Services. Dr. McGann is presently the Laboratory Director of the Canadian Blood Services Hematopoietic Stem Cell Laboratory at the University of Alberta as well as the Research Director for the Alberta Cord Blood Bank. Dr. McGann is an applied physicist specializing in the long term preservation and storage of human tissues for therapeutic and industrial applications (biopreservation, tissue banking). Dr. McGann is an internationally recognized expert in his field and is presently the Project Leader for a Canadian Foundation for Innovation Proposal to establish a Canadian Centre for Biopreservation.

Dr. Pierre Laneuville, BSc, MD, FRCP(C).

Dr. Laneuville is a senior physician in the division of hematology, department of medicine at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital, and an associate professor in the department of medicine at McGill University. He is also the current vice-president and the next president of the Canadian Hematology Association. Dr. Laneuville graduated in 1978 with honours in biochemistry from McMaster University and received his M.D. from the University of Ottawa in 1982. He completed his clinical training at Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, in internal medicine in 1985 and in hematology in 1987. Since then, he has held numerous posts at both the Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill University.

Dr. Christian Beauséjour Ph.D.

Dr. Beauséjour is an assistant professor of pharmacology at Université de Montréal since 2005 after having been trained in cell biology at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and as a scientist working for Sangamo Biosciences. Dr. Beausejour is the author of several important manuscripts published in prestigious journals. His laboratory is located in the research center of CHU Ste-Justine where his team works towards the development of novel cellular therapy approaches looking to improve bone marrow stem cell transplantation and to limit the impact of cancer treatments’ long-term side effects.

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