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Seasoned leadership with business, technical and clinical expertise & credibility
Satisfai was founded by Dr. Michael Byrne in order to realize his dream of improving diagnosis, detection and treatment of a variety of disease states. Dr. Byrne has assembled a Management Team that helps position Satisfai as a leading group in AI applications for gastrointestinal disease given experience in clinical development, business and corporate development, systems integration, and commercial activities.
Satisfai enjoys the oversight and guidance of a seasoned advisory board who have demonstrated clinical excellence in the field of Gastroenterology and more specifically in the areas of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Barrett’s Esophagus, Early Gastric Cancer, Pancreatic Cysts & Cancer, and Robotic & Endoscopic Surgery (ESD).
1050 Homer Street, Suite 390, Vancouver, BC V6B 2W9, Canada | 1-888-777-0661 | [email protected]
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Dr. Michael Byrne provides senior leadership and clinical expertise to Satisfai Health and is a clinical innovator with over 20 years experience as a practicing physician. He is the founder of both Satisfai Health and its ai4gi joint venture. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC. He is also director of the Interventional Endoscopy Fellowship at VGH, and is the former Director of Endoscopy at VGH/UBC.
He has worked in the medical device space for several years. Prior to his role with Satisfai Health and his participation in the ai4gi project, he has worked with the Biotechnology Industry in several areas including colon cancer genetic testing, and novel applications of Photodynamic therapy for Gastrointestinal disease.
He is a graduate of Cambridge and Liverpool Universities. He has a strong research background in both basic science and clinical medicine with hands-on training in molecular sciene and pharmacology. He received an MD by thesis from the University of Cambridge for his work on Helicobacter Pylori and Cyclooxygenase. He also has a long track record of clinical research. Dr. Byrne has published extensively with over 90 peer reviewed publications and over 100 abstract presentations at National and International Meetings.
After several years working in the UK and Ireland, Dr. Byrne completed an Interventional Endoscopy Fellowship as well as working as an attending physician at Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina. He moved to his current role in Vancouver in 2003.
His main clinical interests are in the field of ERCP, interventional endoscopy, optical biopsy, colon cancer, pancreaticobiliary disease, and IBD.
Dr. Douglas K. Rex is Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, Chancellor’s Professor at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, and Director of Endoscopy at Indiana University Hospital in Indianapolis. He graduated from Harvard College, Summa Cum Laude in 1976 and with highest distinction from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1980. He served as Chief Medical Resident at Indiana University Hospital and joined the faculty at Indiana University in 1985. He received the Outstanding Teacher Award in the Introduction to Medicine course five times and has been awarded the Indiana University School of Medicine Outstanding Teacher Award as well as Department of Medicine’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a full-time clinical gastroenterologist at Indiana University Hospital.
His major research interests have been in colorectal disease and, in particular, colorectal cancer screening and the technical performance of colonoscopy. He co-authored the colorectal cancer screening recommendations of the American College of Gastroenterology and the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer. He also authored the recommendations on quality in colonoscopy of the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer and the American College of Gastroenterology/American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He has authored more than 200 original research papers, 55 book chapters, 200 invited papers, 40 editorials, and 40 guideline papers. He is an Associate Editor of Journal Watch Gastroenterology and serves on the editorial boards of 11 gastroenterology journals.
He is the current chair of the U.S. Multi-Society (ACG, ASGE, AGA, ACP-ASIM) Task Force on Colorectal Cancer. He has also served in the American College of Gastroenterology as Chairman of the Board of Governors and is a Past President of the ACG. He is a member of the Governing Board of ASGE and a recipient of the Rudolph V. Schindler Award from ASGE.
Murray Flanigan is the Chief Financial Officer of Satisfai Health Inc and oversees all aspects of the company’s accounting, financing, treasury, tax and corporate development activities. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst and has a strong background in corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, international taxation, risk management, banking, corporate restructuring and accounting. Mr. Flanigan is a former Managing Principal of Kepis & Pobe Financial Group Inc which is a private equity firm focusing on investments in the energy sector and other disruptive technologies. Prior to working for Satisfai, Mr. Flanigan served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and CFO of Qwest Investment Management where he closed debt and equity financings and oversaw the launch of various financial products and services. Mr. Flanigan currently sits on several public company Boards and chairs the audit and corporate governance committees for these various Canadian and US companies.
Murray Flanigan is the Chief Financial Officer of Satisfai Health Inc and oversees all aspects of the company’s accounting, financing, treasury, tax and corporate development activities. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst and has a strong background in corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, international taxation, risk management, banking, corporate restructuring and accounting. Mr. Flanigan is a former Managing Principal of Kepis & Pobe Financial Group Inc which is a private equity firm focusing on investments in the energy sector and other disruptive technologies. Prior to working for Satisfai, Mr. Flanigan served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and CFO of Qwest Investment Management where he closed debt and equity financings and oversaw the launch of various financial products and services. Mr. Flanigan currently sits on several public company Boards and chairs the audit and corporate governance committees for these various Canadian and US companies.
Mr Stibbs is the Chief Operating Officer of Satisfai Health Inc and oversees corporate development, operations and business execution at Satisfai and has over 30 years experience in project management, operations, and corporate finance in the technology and consumer products sectors. Mr. Stibbs focuses our business on the most promising addressable markets to ensure that we deliver solutions that solve clinically relevant problems and support the delivery of meaningful improvement in patient care and treatment outcomes.
In his role as a consultant, Andrew has provided various clients with project oversight including Kepis & Pobe Financial Group where he supports corporate governance and compliance activities as well as disruptive technology investment due diligence. Most recently, Andrew oversaw the development and deployment of a confidential online therapy service for Vancouver General Hospital which serves to complement in-patient clinical therapy at the hospital. Andrew also oversaw the development and launch of an online tool to support the management of the high profile Site C Dam public inquiry carried out by the British Columbia Utilities Commission.
Prior to joining Satisfai, Mr. Stibbs ran a multi-million dollar business unit of Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, a multi-national consumer products company where he focused on planning and execution of digital strategy as well as rolling out company-wide programs such as an omni-channel gift card program. Mr. Stibbs has advised numerous companies in the technology and consumer products sectors in the areas of business development, marketing, and corporate development and has extensive experience with business planning and start-up development including corporate structure and finance.
At the beginning of his career, Mr. Stibbs was a Senior Management Consultant with Accenture in their Financial Services Practice for 10 years where he was involved in large systems integration projects in Canada and the US.
Mr. Stibbs earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing and finance from the University of British Columbia.
Solveig Johannessen is an accomplished leader with over two decades of experience designing and delivering innovative products, services, and customer experiences. As the Chief Strategy Officer at Satisfai, Solveig is responsible for developing and executing Satisfai’s strategic plans to drive growth and profitability, while leading efforts to innovate and transform the business.
Prior to joining Satisfai, Solveig held a leadership role in Customer Strategy & Applied Design at Deloitte Digital and founded a successful Vancouver-based consultancy focused on design research, business transformation, product strategy and experience design for clients including Molecular You, Light AI, Microbiome Insights, Avnet, CHC Helicopter, Heli-One, Contextual Genomics, The Personalized Medicine Initiative, and Pacific Autism Family Centre. She also has extensive experience in aviation and energy R&D, where she developed and delivered multi-faceted customer experiences and service innovation.
With her interdisciplinary background in education, design, and business leadership, Solveig is passionate about deeply understanding customer problems to build complete solutions that meet their needs. Her focus on life sciences and precision health innovation has resulted in shaping preventive, personalized products and experiences for multiple organizations.
Solveig’s facilitation and leadership in design thinking and human centred design methods, has proven to be a potent pairing for life science innovators in conceptualizing and accelerating health experiences of the future.
Originally from Norway, Solveig’s adventurous and global life has exposed her to a wide range of mindsets and conditioned her to thrive in environments filled with contrasts and continuous change. She holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Stavanger, a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Emily Carr University of Art+Design and a Master in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.
Dean Addison supports Satisfai Health as Chief Data Scientist & Architect, helping to bring together AI-based medical imaging technologies, devices, and engineering teams to create the latest in GI diagnostic devices.
With over 25 years experience in Engineering Management, Dean has helped global companies, such as TIR Systems Ltd., Wavemakers Research, EarthX UN Ltd., and StarFish Medical, design and develop award-winning products designed to exacting standards and regulations, such as ISO 13485, IEC 60601, and IEC 62304. Recent medical devices have included The Canadian Emergency Ventilator, an AI-based eye-disease diagnostic device, a surgical microscope for brain tumour imaging and detection, and a vascular ultrasound imaging and tracking system. These products have included some of the most recent technologies in data analysis, imaging, visualization, and AI diagnostics.
Dean holds a B.Sc. in Physics and a M.A.Sc. in Engineering for image and signal processing, from the University of Victoria, in Canada.
Ben Brzezynski is an experienced business development professional in the software-as-a-medical-device, medical AI and digital health fields. He leads market development and commercial strategy for Satisfai’s clinical products and contract research and development services.
Prior to Satisfai, Mr. Brzezynski led global business development for ThinkSono and Enlitic, and previously worked as a lead medical services agreement negotiator for the British Columbia Medical Association. He has designed and led successful commercial initiatives for computer vision and natural language processing technologies in the medical imaging, medical procedure guidance and telemedicine fields. His work has delivered innovative technologies to market in the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Turkey and the UAE, and he has worked with a diversity of physicians ranging from general practitioners to subspecialists and medical informaticians.
A native of Ontario, Ben attended the University of Victoria and has become a proud western Canadian, enjoying hiking, skiing and camping in the Coast Mountains around his home city of Vancouver.
Mike Camplin provides marketing leadership and expertise to Satisfai Health. Mike is a seasoned entrepreneurial marketing pro with 40 years of experience ranging from start-ups to global F50 companies. He is passionate about creating and delivering great marketing and partnerships.
Mike has worked in Canada, Europe and the U.S. marketing a range of cutting B2B technologies including medical devices, and MedTech services including cardiovascular device testing and engineering, digital imaging, Unix Operating System software, and online data retrieval services.
As the Marketing Vice President of StarFish Medical, Canada’s largest medical device engineering and custom manufacturing company, he guided marketing that increased company revenues significantly through innovative employee expert content, thought leadership, social media and events that extended company reach, referrals, prospects, sales, and profits with minimal marketing headcount.
Mike’s background in product management and new products help shape B2B strategies, programs and alliances that open markets, drive new standards, and generate outstanding returns with minimal resources.
At Kodak, he launched Kodak Photo CD Technology and software products into the European market while located in London and Paris. Returning to the US, Mike created a company-wide Developer Relations Program to prospect and facilitate third party software applications and solutions that would drive demand for Kodak digital imaging technology, products, and services. The program facilitated more than 40% of digital camera sales to business and consumers during the late 1990’s.
Mike holds an MBA in International Management from American Graduate School of International Management (AGSIM Thunderbird) and a BS in Finance from Wright State University.
Dr. Nasim Parsa is a practicing gastroenterologist with clinical and research interests in interventional endoscopy, endoscopic innovation, and patient outcomes. In her role as VP medical affairs, she leads the continued development and execution of clinical and research strategy, as well as the performance of the organization’s medical R&D services. Dr. Parsa is a graduate of the University of Missouri and has advanced training from Mayo Clinic.
Through her work as a researcher, she has carried out numerous scientific studies with several world-renowned gastroenterologists and has published extensively with over 40 peer-reviewed publications and over 45 abstracts. She has been an invited reviewer for several prestigious journals including Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and has presented at many international conferences, particularly in relation to Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Parsa is committed to serving her profession and is currently serving on several committees including the Educational Affair Committee for ACG and the Education Committee for the International Society for the Disease of the Esophagus. Dr. Parsa is passionate about improving patient outcomes and physician performance through cutting-edge technology and safe adoption of AI in clinical practice. She is the co-editor for Wiley’s textbook “AI in Clinical Medicine” and has made significant editorial contributions to this book.
Ray Chapman-Chen is the Director of Quality and has over 20 years of Quality experience in implementing and maintaining Quality Management Systems in the Testing and Medical Device fields as well as leading and hosting Health Canada and US FDA bioanalytical, GLP, and c/GMP inspections.
As the Director of Quality, Ray has a strong knowledge of ISO compliance standards and facilitates problem-solving and root-cause analysis among the Teams. Other key responsibilities include managing the overall QMS including the evaluation of electronic quality systems and ongoing management and user training of the current QMS, as well as ensuring the QMS evolves with the appropriate phase of development.
Ray is passionate about leveraging technological solutions to help improve and streamline processes.
Ray is a certified Lead ISO 13485 Auditor and has a B. Sc. In Biology and Environmental Science from Trent University, Peterborough, ON.
Ben is a Licensed Professional Engineer (EGBC), a certified Reliability Engineer, and has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and Biomaterials. He has spent 9 years working in Medical Device Design with a focus on New Product Introduction and Systems Engineering. Over his career, he has had a hand in developing many devices ranging from a novel laser eye surgery device, to a lumbar pain management system, to a brain health characterization device, to name a few.
Ben is passionate about ensuring quality processes and quality tools are working for development teams rather than the other way around. He is now supporting Satisfai Health with Product Realization through the application of Systems Engineering principles and Quality Engineering practices and is laying the groundwork for integrating Satisfai’s product portfolio.
Mr. Hamm has an established background with financial reporting for companies listed on the TSX and TSX-V. She is a full0cycle accountant with extensive experience in the resource and start-up sector dealing and managing multiple entities from an accounting perspective.
She has a CPG and CGA designation and a Bachelor of Business Administration.
Dr. Panaccione is currently a Professor of Medicine, the Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic at the University of Calgary and Director of Gastroenterology Research.
Dr. Panaccione graduated from the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario) with a degree in Medicine in 1993. He went on to complete his Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at the University of Western Ontario and is certified as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Dr. Panaccione completed advanced training in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He joined the faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary in 1999. He is an internationally recognized expert in inflammatory bowel disease. He has lectured nationally and internationally on various topics in inflammatory bowel disease and has delivered over 200 lectures in the last five years.
He is the author of many peer-reviewed articles (~250) and book chapters (25) on inflammatory bowel disease. His special interest lies in the fields of advanced therapies, biological therapy, and delivery of care through the implementation of clinical trials. He is a recognized authority on the use of biologics and has co-authored numerous guidelines on the management of inflammatory bowel disease for the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. He actively participates in clinical trials of new therapeutic agents in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. He has published in and reviews for prestigious journals including NEJM, Lancet, Gastroenterology and Gut. He sits on the editorial board of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, JCC, APT, and the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology.
He is presently the medical director for the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) Calgary Chapter and sits on the Medical Advisory council for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. He is the national chair of the CCC scholarship program. He has been awarded the highest honour, the Finkelstein award by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada for his work in the field of IBD. He is also an elected member of the International Organization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD) reflecting his status in the area. He was awarded the CAG Visiting Professor Award in 2016 for his contribution o the field of Gastroenterology in Canada. He is ranked amongst the top ten experts in the field worldwide (www.expertscape.com). He presently holds a senior leadership position within Alberta Health Services as the Medical Lead for Systems Integration with the mandate of improving the efficiency and quality of care that is delivered to patients.
Professor East is one of Europe’s leading colonoscopists and is a Consultant Gastroenterologist & Endoscopist and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer specializing in advanced luminal GI endoscopy. He is the Endoscopy Research Lead for the Translational Gastroenterology Unit, Clinical Lead for Endoscopy at the John Radcliffe Hospital, and Clinical Director for Bowel Cancer Screening Oxfordshire.
He graduated from Edinburgh University in 1999, and trained in Gastroenterology and General (Internal) Medicine on the North West London rotation. He was awarded an MD (Res) in 2009 from Imperial College London after research into dysplasia detection at colonoscopy at St. Mark’s Hospital. He was appointed Consultant Gastroenterologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust in January 2010, and become an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford in July 2018.
His clinical practice focuses on general gastroenterology including heartburn, gastro-oesophageal reflux, nausea and vomiting, swallowing problems, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, anaemia and rectal bleeding. He also has a specialist interest in advanced upper and lower GI endoscopy, as well as endoscopic screening and surveillance.
About
Dr. Schaeffer is the Head & Medical Director, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Vancouver – Acute Services at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) where he practices as a gastrointestinal pathologist. In this role as Head of Laboratory Services, Dr. Schaeffer is in charge of Vancouver’s Laboratory Services approach to COVID-19.
Dr Schaeffer is also an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at University of British Columbia.
Dr. Schaeffer obtained his medical degree from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. After a residency program in Anatomical Pathology in Vancouver he completed his gastrointestinal pathology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Schaeffer is a co-director of Pancreas Centre BC and also heads the Gastrointestinal Biobank (GIBB) at VGH. He has an active research program focusing predominately on translational research in colonic and pancreatic cancer.
Dr. William E. Karnes is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Director of the High-Risk Clinic, and Director of Colonoscopy Quality. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Summa Cum Laude in 1977, where he completed Internal Medicine training and served as Chief Resident. He completed his Gastroenterology fellowship training at UCLA in 1987, where he joined the faculty for one year before joining the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. His primary area of interest is colorectal cancer prevention.
After several years as an RO1-funded researcher and Director of Research in the Colorectal Neoplasia Clinic at the Mayo Clinic, he transitioned to private practice for ten years. He was subsequently recruited to UCI in 2012 to spearhead efforts to reduce the colorectal cancer burden in Orange County. As part of these efforts, he established a browser-based Colonoscopy Quality Database to promote high-quality colonoscopy exams among Orange County providers.
An area of his particular interest is the application of artificial intelligence to improve and report quality in colonoscopy. Toward this aim, he co-founded Docbot (later acquired by Satisfai) to develop neural networks that accurately record quality measures and assist in discovering and characterizing precancerous lesions during live colonoscopy. Utilizing the extensive colonoscopy quality database for training and validation, he led the development of several highly accurate deep-learning algorithms, including polyp detection/localization, optical pathology, IBD mucosal severity scoring, and measures of cecal intubation, preparation quality, and withdrawal time. These algorithms simultaneously process and display outputs during live colonoscopy and are under clinical validation. Using machine learning, he is also leveraging the UCI Colonoscopy Quality Database and electronic health records to develop novel risk models for precancerous polyps.
Ford Nicholson is a Managing Principal and founder of Kepis & Pobe Financial Group which specializes in developing international energy and other natural resource assets. Over the past 25 years Ford has invested in and provided executive management to multiple international projects. Most recently, the firm has acted on behalf of various parties providing advisory services for the purposes of transacting in large scale assets in the South Atlantic basin.
Mr. Nicholson is the former deputy chairman of the board of InterOil Corporation, a fully integrated company developing LNG for Asian markets formerly listed on the NYSE before its sale to ExxonMobil. He was a co-founder and Director of Nations Energy Ltd. in Kazakhstan and a co-founder and former board member of Bankers Petroleum Ltd. in Albania. Ford is also a former member of the President’s council of the International Crisis Group.
Most recently, Dr. Azam was the Head of the Cell & Gene Therapies Unit at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and was a member of the Pharmaceutical Executive Committee. He has an extensive US, Global and International pharmaceutical industry background, with strong experiences in science, clinical development, regulatory and commercial activities. While at Novartis, he lived and worked in the US and Switzerland. Previous roles at Novartis included Head of Global Medical Affairs & HEOR General Medicines, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of US Clinical Development & Medical Affairs and Global Head Regulatory Affairs for the Neurosciences & Ophthalmic Franchise.
Prior to Novartis, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Novaccel Therapeutics LLC, a company he founded focusing on accelerating assets in the translational medicine setting. Prior to this he served as Chief Medical Officer at Aspreva Pharmaceutics Inc, a company that focused on orphan and rare autoimmune disease states. Aspreva was acquired by Galenica SA in 2008. Prior to this he worked at Johnson & Johnson in Pharmaceutical Research & Development and in Medical Devices at Johnson & Johnson Ethicon. He started his life sciences career with Warner Lambert-Parke Davis in 1998. Dr. Azam is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Azam is a graduate of the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, where he completed undergraduate studies in Human Biology & Anatomy. He graduated from the University of Liverpool School of Medicine and attained board certification as an Obstetrician & Gynecologist in the UK.
