Hear from 3 Leaders on our Lab2Launch venture building stream

evolution is a podcast shining light on our ecosystem’s stories of innovation, impact and hustle throughout their venture building journey. Join us as we build community and knowledge related to entrepreneurship during the course of COVID-19. 

This week on our podcast evolution, host and entrepreneurship@UBC’s Creative Specialist, MJ Araujo, chats with 3 leaders in this special episode highlighting varying perspectives on building a research based venture through our Lab2Launch stream. All integral to our ecosystem and the program at large, hear from Associate Director, Lab2Launch Sean Lumb, Co-founder of venture ABOzymes Spence Macdonald and Mentor, Dr. Geoff Houlton, as they share their unique experiences and insights as part of our Lab2Launch community.

About our Guests

Sean Lumb is passionate about translating research innovation into transformative startup opportunities and working with entrepreneurial researchers. Trained as a research chemist (PhD'99, UBC Dept of Chemistry), Sean's career spans technology licensing and commercialization, startup founding and fundraising, seed-stage investment analysis, and mentoring entrepreneurial researchers to investigate and develop new ventures based on their research innovation. Currently, Sean is an Associate Director at entrepreneurship@UBC, leading the Lab2Launch Venture Building Program.

Spence Macdonald studies high-throughput enzyme discovery as a Ph.D. candidate in Stephen Withers’ lab at the University of British Columbia. During his Ph.D. Spence has focused on developing translational research to solve real world problems, which lead him to co-found ABOzymes Biomedical.

ABOzymes is making blood types obsolete. Built upon the discoveries of Dr. Peter Rahfeld and Professor Stephen G. Withers of the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia, their innovative technologies utilize enzymes from our own microbiomes to convert the ABO blood surface antigens to the Universal Donor Blood Group.

Dr. Geoff Houlton qualified in medicine from Ninewells Medical School at the University of Dundee. Following residency training in anesthesiology, he joined CIBA-Geigy (now Novartis) in the UK as a medical advisor in product development. In 1986 he was recruited to Canada to lead the development of the Medical Affairs Department of Glaxo Canada Inc. now Glaxo SmithKline (GSK). The success of his product development activities enabled his transfer in 1989 to venture capital with MDS Health Sciences, later MDS Capital Corporation. He was a Founding Partner, Director, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of BioCatalyst Yorkton Inc., a venture management company.  Dr. Houlton also worked as a Health Sciences Analyst for a number of Canadian investment banks and was appointed CEO and a Director of Heart Force Medical Inc. in 2009. Now, Dr. Houlton provides mentoring, consulting and advisory services.