The positive impact individuals have in shaping Canada’s bio-economy is evident. BioTalent Canada is sharing their stories to help others realize the benefits of adopting IDEA into their workplace.
Flash Forest’s diverse team remains hard at work, perfecting its technology and the species of trees they plant. To date, the company has tested at least 22 different species of trees and planted nine species within the natural environment. Aditya Rathod, who is Flash Forest’s financial director, says that building a team of enthusiastic go-getters that believe in the company’s climate mission has been key to their success.
STEMCELL Technologies has been an IDEA champion since its founding in 1993 and has never been afraid of having difficult conversations about equity and diversity. Through its work, it aims to improve health outcomes in the communities it serves — and because those communities include people of all backgrounds from all over the world, IDEA principles can never be an afterthought.
Origin Materials has been on a mission to change the world since its founding in 2008. That mission involves not only reducing the world’s dependence on petroleum-based plastics, but also upholding environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles — including those related to inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA).
The strategy consultants at Shift Health strive to help healthcare organizations create a future that is innovative and inclusive. To do that, it must lead by example, intentionally building inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) into every aspect of its operations.
Serving some 600 local life sciences and health technologies organizations in the Greater Montreal area, Montréal InVivo has a unique perspective on the human resources challenges facing firms in its region — which include helping young professionals develop the in-demand skills and forging professional pathways into the life sciences field.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the HR team at Farmers Edge barely missed a beat — embracing remote recruitment and retention to broaden its pool of candidates. A switch to digital HR practices is helping the company find the highly skilled people it needs to grow and develop a common corporate culture to energize its diverse international workforce.
Mediphage Bioceuticals’ made-in-Canada gene therapy platform could revolutionize medical treatments. But with commercialization skills hard to come by in Canada, the Toronto-based company is weighing the question of whether or not to move some operations to the U.S.
What’s the best way to bring new employees up to speed on a vast product portfolio or build a technically knowledgeable team of sales reps in a business undergoing double-digit growth? For Applied Biological Materials of Richmond, BC, the answers come from within. The company has tapped its senior managers to mentor new hires and enlisted its own scientists to head up customer-facing functions.
For Zymeworks, culture is key to innovation. With an HR strategy focused on diversity and rooted in the neuroscience of collaboration, the Vancouver-based pharmaceutical company is demonstrating how businesses can address important social issues in the workplace and generate innovative ideas at the same time.
For Vancouver-based start-up Variational AI, the future of drug discovery is most definitely digital. Its innovative machine-learning platform generates novel and optimized molecules — with the potential to eventually cut preclinical drug discovery times from years to months. The challenge lies in proving that potential to chemists, biologists and clinicians.
