Research, innovation and the new global economy
Panel discussion featuring
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Molly Shoichet
Research chair in tissue engineering, University of Toronto
Molly Shoichet
Research chair in tissue engineering, University of Toronto
Former and first chief scientist, OntarioA professor of chemistry and biomaterials and biomedical engineering, Dr. Molly Shoichet has received numerous awards for her work towards the development of new materials to regenerate damaged nerve tissue and for a new method that can deliver drugs directly to the spinal cord and brain.
An expert in the study of polymers for drug delivery and regeneration, Dr. Shoichet has been tackling the problem of the blood-brain barrier, a tightly interwoven network of cells that protects the central nervous system from toxins but can block helpful medications. Her novel solution is to deliver drugs in a gel-like polymer that can be injected directly into the cerebrospinal fluid and then remain near its injection point where the therapy is most effective. The team she leads has also created a polymer for the targeted delivery of drugs and antibodies in breast cancer.
Holder of a bachelor of science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Soichet is a Canada research chair in tissue engineering and a university professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry, chemistry and biomaterials and biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto. The recipient of many prestigious distinctions, including an officer of the Order of Canada in 2018, she is the only person to be a fellow of Canada’s three national academies. She was recently the first chief scientist of Ontario.
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Martha Crago
Vice-principal, research and innovation, McGill University
Martha Crago
Vice-principal, research and innovation, McGill University
Martha Crago is McGill University’s vice-principal of research and innovation.
Prior to returning to McGill in 2017, Professor Crago was the vice-president, research and professor in human communication disorders at Dalhousie University. Her previous university administrative positions include vice-president of international and governmental relations at the Université de Montreal as well as the dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies and associate provost, academic programs, both at McGill University.
Professor Crago has been an active researcher in language acquisition across a variety of languages and learners, including monolingual and bilingual Indigenous children learning Inuktitut, Cree, Mohawk, and Algonquin, as well as those learning English, French and Arabic. Her work has been published extensively in scientific journals and books, and she is the editor-in-chief of Applied Psycholinguistics, published by Cambridge University Press. She was vice president of the International Association for the Study of Child Language from 2007 to 2010.
In 2016, she was selected by the Minister of Science of Canada to be a member of an Advisory Panel on the Funding of Fundamental Research. In 2014, she served on the One Nova Scotia Coalition, the purpose of which was to propose an economic action plan for the province.
Professor Crago was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2017 and named Woman of Excellence in Nova Scotia in 2015.
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Paul Davidson
President, Universities Canada
Paul Davidson
President, Universities Canada
Paul Davidson has played leadership roles in government, the private sector and the voluntary sector for more than 25 years. He joined Universities Canada in May 2009 as president and CEO.
As president of Universities Canada, Mr. Davidson is building strong partnerships with business, postsecondary education and community leaders to advance a vision of higher education that promotes opportunity and excellence for Canadians. The university sector has also seen substantial and exceptional investments in university research funding, increased resources for campus internationalization and a heightened awareness of the need to improve Aboriginal Canadians’ access to postsecondary education. Mr. Davidson has been named both a top lobbyist in Ottawa and a top foreign policy influencer.
Prior to joining Universities Canada, Mr. Davidson was executive director of World University Service of Canada. He also held senior positions in the Canadian book publishing sector, including five years as executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers. In the early 1990s, Mr. Davidson led the Toronto office of a prominent government relations firm after having served as a political advisor to Ontario’s Leader of the Opposition, Treasurer and Deputy Premier.
He holds an MA from Queen’s University, where he studied southern African history and a BA from Trent University, where he was part of the first graduating class of the Trent International Program.
Research, innovation and the new global economy are inextricably linked. The Economic Club organized a discussion with an expert panel on the importance of fundamental research in Canada and why our economic and societal well-being rely on it. Countries around the globe are investing heavily in their research systems to address important issues in health care, astronomy and physics, social innovation and climate change. Are we keeping pace?
The speakers looked at how, as technological advances and automation drastically alter the labour market over the coming decades, universities will equip young Canadians to adapt to, and succeed in, the rapidly changing global knowledge economy. They also explored how investing in discovery research and future skills will give Canada a competitive edge in an uncertain future.