Nanostics is a medical device and biotechnology company with a mission to provide clarity to people about their health by enabling better diagnosis and improving health care decisions through machine learning and extracellular vesicle detection.
Our Leadership Team
– M A N A G E M E N T –
John D. Lewis | PhD, Founder, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer
John Lewis is the Bird Dogs Chair in Translational Oncology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Lewis is the co-founder of Innovascreen Inc., a successful preclinical CRO in operation since 2005, and the founder and CEO of Entos Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines, incorporated in 2007. His research involves cancer diagnostics, non-invasive molecular imaging, and targeting of angiogenesis and metastasis using multivalent nanoparticles. He trained at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA where he developed targeted molecular imaging technologies. John Lewis earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Victoria.
Eric Hyndman | MD, FRCS(C), PhD, Medical Officer
Eric Hyndman is an active uro-oncology surgeon at the Southern Alberta Institute of Urology (SAIU) in Calgary, Alberta, and clinical assistant professor of urology who subspecializes in minimally invasive, robotic and open surgical treatment of urologic malignancies. He earned both his PhD in medical sciences and his MD at the University of Calgary. Dr. Hyndman completed a residency in Urology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and continued his studies with a fellowship at Johns Hopkins in Urologic Oncology. Dr. Hyndman also has an active and expanding research program investigating prostate and bladder cancers. In particular, he leads the prostate cancer active surveillance program in Calgary and is researching what causes progression to an aggressive disease within this population.
Catalina Vasquez | MSc., CIM, Chief Operating Officer
Catalina Vasquez has over 12 years of management experience. Ms. Vasquez is the former Program Director for the Alberta Prostate Cancer Research Initiative (APCaRI), where she coordinated the translational goals of the team. APCaRI’s overall goal is to develop new diagnostic tests for prostate cancer, to discover novel biomarkers for aggressive prostate cancer, and to conduct clinical trials to establish the value of new diagnostics in the clinic. She was also the lead at the Prostate Cancer Registry and Biorepository in Edmonton, Alberta. Prior to coming to Alberta, she served as Project Manager for Investigator Initiated Trials with the Lawson Health Research Institute at the London Health Sciences Centre, and as Laboratory Manager in Dr. John Lewis’ laboratory at Western University. Ms. Vasquez earned her MSc. in Medical Biophysics at Western University in 2011.
Desmond Pink | PhD, Chief Scientific Officer
Desmond Pink is the lead researcher in the development and validation of the Nanostics diagnostics platform and has considerable expertise in scientific team management, biochemistry, protein synthesis, and experimental therapeutics. Dr. Pink earned his Ph.D. in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. Prior to joining Nanostics, he was the Senior Research Scientist and Project Manager at Entos Pharmaceuticals and Project Manager with Innovascreen Inc. Dr. Pink also investigated the cell signaling machinery of intestinal cancer cells as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University.
Robert Paproski | PhD, Chief Technology Officer
Robert Paproski is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nanostics, which develops medical devices using machine learning models. Since earning his B.Sc. in Pharmacology and Ph.D. in Oncology at the University of Alberta, Dr. Paproski has developed expertise in laboratory assay development and computational analysis. Within Nanostics, Dr. Paproski oversees machine learning and software development, and regulatory compliance for software products.
Colin Coros | PhD, MBA, ICD.D, Chief Commercialization Officer
Colin Coros is an experienced executive specializing in life sciences and health technologies. As the former CEO of the Delta Genomics Centre, Dr. Coros built a national diagnostics company for the livestock industry. He is also the co-founder of Helios Genomics, a metagenomics company specializing in the Energy sector. Colin earned a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario, an MBA from the Edward School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and completed Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Wadsworth Centre in Albany, New York, and the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta.
– B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S –
John D. Lewis | PhD, Founder, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer
John Lewis is the Bird Dogs Chair in Translational Oncology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. In addition to his academic work, Dr. Lewis is the co-founder of Innovascreen Inc., a successful preclinical CRO in operation since 2005, and the founder and CEO of Entos Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines, incorporated in 2007. His research involves cancer diagnostics, non-invasive molecular imaging, and targeting of angiogenesis and metastasis using multivalent nanoparticles. He trained at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA where he developed targeted molecular imaging technologies. John Lewis earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Victoria.
Armen G. Aprikian | M.D., F.R.C.S.(C), Richard Tomlinson Professor in Prostate Cancer, McGill University
Armen Aprikian graduated from the University of Sherbrooke Medical School in Quebec in 1985 and completed his urology residency training at McGill University in 1990. He then pursued a 3-year research and clinical fellowship in urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City. In 2004 he became the Head of the Division of Urology at McGill University and the Chief of Urology at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). In 2007 he became Full Professor of Surgery and Oncology and in 2009 he was appointed the Medical Director of the MUHC Cancer Care Mission and Chief of the Department of Oncology. Finally, in 2010 he was appointed the McGill University Richard Tomlinson Professor in Prostate Cancer. Dr. Aprikian has been awarded the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award, the American Urologic Association Practicing Urologist Award, the Canadian Urology Association Scholarship, the McGill University William Dawson Scholar Career Award and the Quebec FRSQ Senior Clinician Scientist Award. He has obtained independent peer-reviewed grants from several organizations including the US Department of Defense and the National Cancer Institute. He is actively involved in a leadership role in provincial guidelines in prostate and bladder cancer surgery outcomes and has published over 230 peer-reviewed original scientific papers. Finally, in 2020 he will become the President of the Canadian Urology Association.
Aubrey Rankin | Entrepreneur/Strategic Investor.
Aubrey Rankin’s experience spans divergent industries including MedTech, FinTech, Software, and Professional Services, and has held various leadership roles including founder, CEO, board member, and investor. Most recently, he served as President of Innovation (Software) and Member of the Board of Directors at Revance (Nasdaq:RVNC) where he oversaw the integration of HintMD, a FinTech company he co-founded in 2014. Revance (Nasdaq:RVNC) acquired HintMD’s Patient-Provider Subscription platform that supports personalized patient treatment plans in 2020. Aubrey’s additional experience includes serving as Vice President of Asia-Pacific at ZELTIQ (formerly Nasdaq: ZLTQ), bringing innovative marketing strategies and physician training academies to the medical aesthetics industry. He was also a director with PwC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory group, assisting multinational clients with billion-dollar M&A, divestitures, and strategic alliance projects. Currently, Mr. Rankin serves on the board of directors of FriendMedia, and the advisory boards of two early-stage companies, RapidFort and PB&B.
B. Melina Cimler | Ph.D. CEO and Founder, PandiaDx LLC.
Melina Cimler is the CEO and Founder of PandiaDx LLC. She has over 28 years of experience in the life science and FDA-regulated diagnostic industry, leading regulatory, quality systems, clinical affairs, research, and product development organizations, with a focus on precision medicine. Dr. Cimler served as Senior Vice President of Regulatory & Quality at Adaptive Biotechnologies until April 2018. She was previously Head of Global Quality and Vice President of Quality, Regulatory, Clinical, and Government Affairs at Illumina Inc. She defined and executed on the regulatory strategy resulting in the first next generation sequencing platform receiving FDA marketing authorization (Illumina’s MiSeqDx). Previously, she held leadership positions in quality, regulatory and government affairs as Senior Vice President at Beckman Coulter Inc. She also served in senior quality, clinical and regulatory roles at Abbott Molecular, Gen-Probe Inc., and C.R. Bard, and as head of Product Development at Epitope, Inc. (now OraSure Technologies). Dr. Cimler earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Washington.
Mike Schoenberger | CEO of Sunco Communication and Installation Ltd.
Mr. Schoenberger is the founder and CEO of Sunco Communication and Installation Ltd. Sunco is a full-service telco that supports business communication and technology needs. Under his leadership, Mr. Schoenberger has grown Sunco from a small cabling company with two employees to a national telecommunications firm servicing over 1,600 clients. In addition to his entrepreneurial leadership, Mr. Schoenberger has extensive experience executing sales and marketing strategies targeting medium to large-sized businesses. Mr. Schoenberger is a committed member of the business community and is an active advisory council member at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology – Mawji Centre advising for the success of the NAIT entrepreneurs. He is also a serving board member of the Edmonton chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization.