Canadian Healthcare 3D Printing Ecosystem

With a unique and different healthcare system and challenges from its immediate neighbor, the United States, this virtual event invites influencers in the Canadian healthcare 3D printing and bioprinting ecosystem to share with us how they are innovating, thriving, and solving entrepreneurial problems.

Speakers:

Kelly Knights

Kelly Knights is the Chief Operating Officer at Victoria Hand Project, a Canadian charity that provides highly-engineered 3D printed prosthetic arms to amputees in-need, worldwide. Primarily, Kelly focuses on human factors testing and liaison of communication between clinicians, software developers, and engineers. Kelly leads VHP marketing, and assists with fundraising, volunteer coordination, grant-writing, R&D, and supporting VHP international partners. She graduated from the University of Victoria with a B.Eng in Biomedical Engineering, and has been involved with Victoria Hand Project since 2016, filling various roles. Her focus and specialty is cost-effective 3D solutions, scalable to remote and low-income areas, used to create creative healthcare solutions that serve those most in-need.

Mohamed Gamal

Dr. Gamal has spent over a decade working in the pharmaceutical industry as a community pharmacist, product specialist, and pharmaceutical trainer. In 2012, he earned a Master’s Degree in Stem Cells and Regeneration from the University of Bristol. He then obtained a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 2020. During his PhD studies, he invented and patented a novel way of producing the gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel, which is a versatile biomaterial used in bioprinting and pharmaceutical testing. As the founder and CEO of The GelMA Company, he is committed to making GelMA the most accessible and versatile hydrogel in the world so that more groundbreaking research can occur in the field of biotechnology.

Dr. Stephen Ryan

Dr. Stephen Ryan is a practicing physician and co-founder of PolyUnity Tech. He has explored Additive Manufacturing applications in healthcare for over 6 years as a researcher and entrepreneur. He has been involved in the creation of many 3D Printed products including medical simulations, patient-specific medical devices, PPE, and end-use hospital equipment. To make 3D Printing more accessible to hospitals, his team has built the i3D.Health portal, a digital inventory system for 3D Printable medical equipment. He believes that collaboration and strategic partnerships is the key to creating a thriving 3D printing ecosystem in healthcare.

Keith Ippel

Co-leading Spring Activator and Spring Investing Collective

With over 25 years of experience as a leader in technology & impact businesses and as an angel investor, Keith Ippel has accelerated the growth of both small and large companies and raised over $80M in angel investment and venture capital. Keith has trained more than 400 impact entrepreneurs on investment readiness and raising capital, and co-lead Spring Activator and the Spring Investing Collective

Event Moderator: 

Vidya Chamundeswari Narasimhan

Dr. Vidya Chamundeswari Narasimhan is a Process Development Manager at STEMC.ELL Technologies, where she manages a team of Associates focused on the technology transfer of new products in the liquid cell culture Media Product Portfolio! She has previously worked as a division lead scientist at New Age Meats, developing food-grade matrices and culture media for cultivated cells. Vidya obtained her Doctorate by Research from Nanyang Technological University. Her Ph.D. work focused on developing bioactive polymeric scaffolds for tissue regeneration applications. She has interned at reputed universities and institutions such as MIT-Harvard (2013) and National Chemical Laboratory, Pune India (2012). She was the title winner of the Young Persons’ World Lecture Competition, in Australia (2017), and a finalist at the Falling Walls Lab Competition in Singapore (2019). At 3DHEALS, Vidya served as the Community Manager – San Francisco from 2019 – to 2022. She has contributed to expert corner blogs and organized networking events. She is currently based in Vancouver and is working towards setting up a 3DHEALS hub on the West Coast of Canada.