Our Story

A bioengineer, inventor, and entrepreneur, Tamer co-founded and serves as CEO of Aspect Biosystems – a biotech company pioneering the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics to transform the treatment of incurable diseases. Under his leadership, Aspect has grown its team to over 100 people, raised US$260M+ in capital, and partnered with best-in-class pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies like Novo Nordisk. 

As a leader and visionary in the field of regenerative medicine, Tamer has been invited to speak at venues ranging from TEDx, to Bloomberg New Economy Forum, to J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, to scientific and industry conferences. He was recently selected as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst, listed among the Top 50 Healthcare Technology CEOs, and named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year. He is also on the Board of Directors for BIOTECanada, the national industry association voice for the Canadian biotech ecosystem, and the Stem Cell Network, an organization focused on building Canada’s stem cell and regenerative medicine research sector.

Tamer holds a BASc in Biomedical Engineering and MASc in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Nancy Krieger is the Global Head and Senior Vice President of Early Clinical Development at Altos Labs, an American biotechnology research company. She has over 18 years of global experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including leadership positions at Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis in areas spanning solid organ and stem cell transplantation, immunology, rare disorders, and chronic kidney and liver diseases. Before joining industry, Dr. Krieger had an active practice in liver transplantation as well as a basic science laboratory. She completed her transplant fellowship at the University of Wisconsin and general surgical residency at Stanford University, including a postdoctoral fellowship in Stanford’s immunology department. Dr. Krieger earned her MD at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Don Haut is currently the Chief Business Officer of EG 427, a biotechnology company pioneering pinpoint gene therapy. Prior to that, he was CEO of Carmine Therapeutics. Throughout his career, Dr. Haut has completed transactions exceeding $8 billion. As Chief Business Officer of AskBio, he led the firm’s business development activities and spearheaded AskBio’s $4 billion acquisition by Bayer AG. Originally trained as a molecular biologist before joining McKinsey, Dr. Haut has since held senior business roles at 3M Company, Smith & Nephew, The Medicines Company, Promedior, Histogenics, Sherlock Bio, and AskBio. He earned his PhD in Molecular Biology from the Medical School at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an MBA from Washington University’s Olin School of Business.

Dr. Devyn Smith joined Arbor Biotechnologies as CEO in 2021 after concluding his role as COO of Sigilon Therapeutics. Prior to Sigilon, Dr. Smith worked in a variety of roles at Pfizer Inc., including COO of the UK-based Neusentis Unit focused on discovering and developing cell therapies. He received his PhD in Genetics from Harvard Medical School. He is an inventor on multiple patents and has published in leading scientific journals throughout his career. Dr. Smith is a board member and officer for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, the leading international advocacy organization dedicated to realizing the promise of regenerative medicines and advanced therapies.

Salim is a Partner with Radical Ventures where he leads the firm’s Impact Team. Salim brings over 25 years of experience in the technology sector as an entrepreneur, venture investor, corporate innovator and innovation ecosystem builder. Prior to Radical Ventures, Salim served as President, Venture Services for Toronto-based MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s largest urban innovation centres. Salim has held leadership roles with Indigo Books & Music, CX Digital and was a Partner with early-stage VC firm Brightspark Ventures. Salim was also a Co-founder of San Francisco-based MobShop Inc, a pioneering e-commerce venture funded by GE Capital, Visa International, Mayfield Fund and Marc Andreessen.

Salim is a graduate of the Ivey Business School at Western University.

Chris is currently the managing partner of Pallasite Ventures, a Vancouver-based early-stage venture fund with a growing portfolio of over 55 companies across Canada and the United States. Following 10 years as a research scientist focusing on stem cell treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, successfully launching a startup company and then several years in corporate finance, Chris founded Pallasite Ventures as a vehicle to enable the positive impact of science at a scale beyond what is possible in a research lab. Outside of investing, Chris is also on the board of two foundations that support neuroscience research and medical infrastructure development in British Columbia, and has been a speaker at various conferences. Chris holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University in cellular neuroscience and a PhD from Northwestern University in stem cell biology.

Nan is a Founder & Managing Partner at Dimension, a multistage investment firm dedicated to the interface of technology and the life sciences. He is particularly interested in the application of computer vision, AI/ML, NLP, robotics, automation systems and other cutting edge technologies to problems across the drug discovery continuum. Most recently, Nan was a Managing Director at Obvious Ventures where he led the frontier tech practice and invested in numerous companies across therapeutics, biomarker discovery, manufacturing, and automation. Previously, Nan was an investor at Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors. Nan holds a B.S.E. in Computer Science Engineering from the University of Michigan and has been an Adjunct Professor at Stanford.

Dr. James Shapiro is a pancreas and liver transplant surgeon at the University of Alberta and is one of the leading voices globally for diabetes research. He led the clinical team that developed the Edmonton Protocol – a pioneering approach that paved the way for islet transplants – and is focused on clinical applications for type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Anil Dhawan is a professor of paediatric hepatology and head of the hepatocyte biology and transplantation group at King’s College London (KCL). He has led some of the most advanced clinical studies for hepatocyte therapy and is focused on bringing cell therapy for liver indications to the clinic.

Dr. Omid Veiseh is Co-founder of Sigilon Therapeutics and Avenge Bio and is a professor of bioengineering at Rice University. He is an expert in biomaterials, implantable devices, and immune recognition and response, and is developing technologies for the improved management of type 1 diabetes, cancer, and various autoimmune diseases.

Andrew Booth is the Chief Financial Officer at AbCellera. Prior to joining AbCellera, Andrew was at STEMCELL Technologies for 10 years holding roles as the Vice President of Instrumentation, the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Commercial Officer. He was formerly the Chairman for Precision Nanosystems and a Director on the National Board of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the BC Tech Association and Life Sciences BC. He is currently an advisor to 5AM Venture and a member of the Science World Advisory Board.

Geoff is a pioneer in cell and gene therapy with a track record of successful leadership at innovative biotechs. He is the former CEO of Organogenesis Inc. and during his tenure at the helm, the company treated 1 million patients with living cell therapies, received the first approval of an allogeneic cell therapy from the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and led the field of regenerative medicine. Earlier in his career, Geoff spent 11 years at Novartis in senior leadership positions within the global transplantation and immunology franchise. Geoff sits on the boards of Talaris Therapeutics and Satellos Bioscience. Past activities include chairman of the board of MassBio, chairman of the board of the Alliance of Regenerative Medicine, and a member of the advisory council to the Health Policy Commission for Massachusetts.

Kamran Alam is Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Notch Therapeutics. Prior to joining Notch, he served as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc. following Neoleukin’s merger in 2019 with Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Previously, in his role as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance at Aquinox, he provided finance leadership for the company’s IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2014.