Based in Montreal, Quebec, Targa Biomedical is developing pharmacological solutions designed to improve the quality of cells, tissues, and organs for transplantation and regenerative medicine. Their technology has the potential to rescue damaged donor organs that would otherwise be discarded, making more transplants possible for patients in need.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with co-founder and CEO Shant Der Sarkissian about how a chance observation in the lab, combined with a conversation with a cardiac surgeon next door, became the foundation for a company seven years in the making. Shant walks through the science behind conditioning damaged organs outside the body and why Targa believes it is first to market with this specific approach.

Shant also reflects on the unique challenges of being an academic entrepreneur, and why he believes the confusion of having too many career options in front of you is actually a blessing in disguise.

Based in Mississauga, Ontario, SPEC Labs is a not-for-profit organization providing shared, ready-to-use wet lab space for life sciences startups that need room to grow. Their all-inclusive model is designed to remove one of the biggest barriers facing Canadian biotech companies: access to affordable lab infrastructure.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with founder and CEO Doris Qamar about how a frustrating gap in the Canadian market sparked an idea that took years to bring to life. What started as a search for scalable lab space for a small biotech company became a 20,000 square foot facility in Sheridan Research Park, now open and welcoming its first clients.

Doris also makes a passionate case for why keeping innovation and intellectual property in Canada matters now more than ever.

With the Mississauga location now up and running, SPEC Labs has its sights set on a second location in Toronto in 2028.

Based in Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Kullervo Hynynen is Vice President of Research and Innovation at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and a global leader in focused ultrasound technology. His decades of work have helped transform how the medical community approaches treatment for some of the most challenging neurological and oncological conditions.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with Dr. Hynynen about a remarkable journey that began on a small farm in rural Finland and led to one of the most significant breakthroughs in modern neuroscience. What started as a rejected NIH grant proposal became the foundation for a technology that can now open the blood-brain barrier non-invasively, potentially unlocking treatment for conditions like Alzheimer's and brain cancer.

Kullervo also reflects on the personal losses that shaped his commitment to cancer research, and how a series of serendipitous career decisions, from Aberdeen to Arizona to Boston to Toronto, brought him to Sunnybrook.

This conversation covers the stubbornness required to push through years of failed experiments, the challenge of commercializing science in Canada, and why Kullervo believes the next frontier is a focused ultrasound helmet that patients could one day use at home.

Based in Toronto, Ontario, Cove Neurosciences is a precision neuroscience company focused on translating complex brain data into meaningful insights. Their analytics software helps researchers and pharmaceutical companies better understand human brain function without requiring specialized data science expertise.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with co-founder and CEO Dr. Nardin Samuel about the company's unexpected beginnings inside a University of Toronto research lab. What started as a grant application to solve a data analysis problem became the foundation for a commercial software platform now targeting pharmaceutical companies and EEG device manufacturers.

Nardin also opens up about the unique challenge of balancing life as a practicing neurology resident with running a startup, and how the team grew early on through university internship programs.

This conversation covers the realities of the entrepreneurial rollercoaster, the mentorship that shaped Cove's early growth, and why Nardin believes that filtering signal from noise in brain data and in business is the key to staying focused on what matters most.

Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Innovation Factory is one of 17 Regional Innovation Centres across Ontario, providing free advisory services, training, and mentorship to entrepreneurs at every stage - from idea to scale-up. With a particular strength in life sciences, roughly 35% of the 850+ companies Innovation Factory supports each year come from that sector, drawn in part by Hamilton's exceptional ecosystem of hospitals, universities, and research institutions.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with Shannon Graszat, Manager of Venture Growth at Innovation Factory, about how the organization helps founders turn ideas into products, access hospital and university networks, and tap into funding programs - all at no cost. Shannon discusses the Synapse Life Sciences Consortium, which brings together key institutional partners to support life sciences companies not just locally, but from across the province and country.

This conversation highlights why Hamilton has emerged as a hub for life sciences innovation in Canada, and how entrepreneurs anywhere in Ontario can access Innovation Factory's growing suite of resources - remotely or in person.

Based in Toronto, Ontario, Skinopathy is a medical technology company on a mission to provide accessible healthcare on demand. By integrating advanced AI with smartphone technology, Skinopathy allows patients to screen for skin cancer and other conditions from home, bridging the gap between early detection and specialized medical intervention.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson speaks with co-founder and CEO Keith Loo about the company’s "accidental" beginnings during the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a conversation between friends about the alarming rise in late-stage skin cancer became a life-saving tool now used globally. Keith discusses the technical challenge of building AI that works on all skin tones, navigating Canadian healthcare bureaucracy, and the emotional weight of building a company that helps patients "cancel their funerals."

This conversation explores the intersection of high-tech innovation and human-centric care, highlighting how a tool meant to be given away for free evolved into a clinically validated platform that outperforms traditional diagnostic standards.

Join host Jim Wilson for a conversation with Zaid Atto, founder and CEO of Xpan in Vaughan, Ontario.

Xpan is a medical device company focused on minimally invasive surgery, developing a new approach to surgical trocars used in laparoscopic procedures - tools that haven’t changed much in decades, despite being used in millions of procedures every year.

Zaid shares how the idea started while he was studying biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto, after hearing firsthand from surgeons frustrated with the limitations of existing devices. He walks through the journey from a university capstone project to building a company, and why he chose to move beyond research and into entrepreneurship to bring real solutions to patients.

This episode offers a grounded look at what it takes to turn a real clinical problem into a viable medical device.

Based in Laval, Quebec, NMX Research and Solutions is a specialized biopharma firm helping scientists find new medicines faster. By using tools like NMR spectroscopy and Fragment-Based Lead Discovery, NMX bridges the gap between lab research and real-world cures while mentoring the next generation of Canadian biotech leaders.

In this episode, host Jim Wilson sits down with founder Steven LaPlante to trace his journey from a dairy farm in upstate New York to the front lines of drug discovery. Steven discusses the "shoveling manure" work ethic that fueled his move into science, his childhood spent building farm tools with a welder and torch, and why he eventually moved to Montreal to care for his family.

This conversation explores the role of curiosity in innovation, the shift from big pharma "four walls" to the fast-paced world of startups, and how a background in biophysics became the foundation for a revolution in medicine. From Hepatitis C to COVID-19 research, Steven explains why "building your own tools" is the secret to solving the world's biggest health challenges.