Science
Q&A with CDRD’s President and CEO Gordon McCauley Taking it up another notch: CDRD discusses the newest addition to their Academy Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I am your host – Michelle Currie. Today, I am joined with a special guest, the president and Chief Executive Officer of the centre for drug research and development, Gordon McCauley, who will be discussing the recent addition of the Executive Institute to CDRD’s Academy. I will start with asking about the highlights of CDRD – what CDRD does and what they are currently working on now, how they are translating discoveries, etc. (Feel free to elaborate and educate the listeners of Biotechnology Focus Radio of the success and potential of this centre for commercialization.) I know that you made an announcement earlier this year about adding a new program to the CDRD Academy, but before we delve into that, could you tell me a little bit about the CDRD Academy in general? When and why was it started? What are the benefits of attending the Academy? How many graduates have there been? Is it available to everybody? What are the requirements? What are some of the companies that have arisen in the Canadian life sciences sector from previous graduates? Now, in the Spring, CDRD unveiled the newest program to the Academy – The Executive Institute – could you tell me more about this latest addition? (What is the duration? How does the collaboration of global training leaders and the not-for-profit Center for Creative Leadership work?) How is the program funded? (I know Pfizer is, but if you can explain the connection and why they are doing so.) What does Pfizer expect to achieve through this investment? The members of the first inaugural cohort were released not long ago. I am sure it was a challenging task to narrow down to the 20 executive-level life sciences professionals who were accepted into the program. I am sure there were many great applicants. How did you choose the executives that you did? What was the application criteria and process? I believe they met for the first time this September 12-13th in Vancouver. How did that first meeting go? Was there a lot of excitement, especially from being chosen in the first cohort? How many times a year will the cohort meet? Will it always be in Vancouver? What can we expect to see from this executive development program? How will this benefit the life sciences sector and Canada as a whole? Have I missed anything that you would like to touch on?