We’re delighted to introduce the newest members of Ontario Genomics’ Board of Directors, including our new Board Chair. Together, they bring a wealth of insight, experience, and expertise that will help us achieve our vision.
New Board Chair:
Stephen Cummings returns to Ontario Genomics as Board Chair. He is CEO and Managing Partner of Rizolve Partners, a strategic advisory firm that helps owners of private companies build, protect and realize business value. He was CFO at MDS Capital, a founding partner of Lumira Ventures and Chief Administrative Officer at DRI Capital. He knows Ontario Genomics well: he served on our board from 2014 to 2023 as a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee and Special Committee, then as Interim CEO from March 2024 to April 2025.
New Board Members:
Dr. Jason Berman is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and clinician-scientist whose work spans genomics, rare genetic disorders and translational innovation. He is CEO and Scientific Director of the CHEO Research Institute, Vice-President Research at CHEO, and a Full Professor of Pediatrics and of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. For more than 20 years, he has led an internationally recognized zebrafish research program that uses functional genomics and genome engineering to understand human disease, including early work applying CRISPR/Cas9 in zebrafish to model genetic disease. At CHEO, he established an in-house innovation and commercialization core to connect academia, industry and patient impact.
Karen McKay has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector. That includes over 20 years as Vice President, Human Resources and Employee Development at Eli Lilly Canada, where she was on the Canadian leadership team and led talent management, compensation and employee development. Karen brings extensive governance experience. She is Past Chair of the Board of Governors of St. Clement’s School and serves on the Board of Directors of Capitalize for Kids, where she chairs the Human Resources Committee. She is also on the Board of Governors of Scarborough Health Network, where she chairs the Quality Committee and sits on the Governance and Nominations Committee.
Dr. Paula Rochon is a geriatrician and Director of Research at the Weston and O’Born Centre for Mature Women’s Health at Sinai Health. She is the inaugural Barry J. Goldlist Chair in Aging and Health, a Senior Clinician Scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, a Senior Scientist at ICES, and a Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on improving health and health systems for older adults, particularly women as they age. She has published more than 400 research articles, and her work has helped shape how health systems meet the needs of older adults and women.
Dr. Nancy Tout is an experienced executive and innovation leader who has worked across industry, academia, and the research ecosystem to advance sustainable agricultural production. Most recently, she served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), where she led the organization’s scientific strategy and industry partnerships. Previously, Nancy held leadership roles with Syngenta Canada and Results Driven Agriculture Research and has served on numerous boards and advisory committees supporting Canada’s agriculture and life sciences sectors.
Ontario Genomics is also grateful to our departing board members for their years of commitment to our board:
- Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan served on our board for 6 years, including 4 years as Chair. guiding the board’s governance and strategic direction and supporting Ontario Genomics’ leadership team. We are grateful for her leadership and commitment to advancing biotech in Ontario.
- Colin Kelleher served on our board for 7 years as Vice-Chair and Chair of our Private Sector Advisory Committee. As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Colin brought a strong private sector and commercialization perspective to our work.
- Dr. Alex MacKenzie served on our board for 12 years and brought decades of experience in rare disease research and research leadership.
- Dr. Benjamin Rovinski served on our board for 9 years and brought 28 years of experience in life sciences investment, operations and research. With venture capital and pharma experience, Beni brought a combined scientific and investor perspective to our board.
To learn more about the new members and additional changes to our Board please see our governance page.
