Governance

President and CEO of CATALIS Quebec

Danika Laberge has more than 30 years of professional experience in the research sector and in the health and social services network. With her expertise, her approach oriented towards operational excellence, her leadership and her mobilization skills, she has successfully implemented an organizational structure that capitalizes on the expertise of the CATALIS Network to identify provincial issues in clinical research and to develop effective collaborative solutions to optimize the start-up and conduct of clinical trials. Among her recent major achievements, she has orchestrated the harmonization of administrative practices in clinical research, with the commitment of the CATALIS Network and a dedicated internal team, allowing the creation of the FAST TRACK Evaluation Service, which aims to evaluate and approve clinical trials in Quebec in less than 8 weeks.

Respect, ethics, innovation and efficiency are at the heart of Danika Laberge’s priorities to identify and implement provincial best practices to optimize the clinical research environment in Quebec.

Director Finance and Administration – CATALIS Quebec

Paul Lohnes is a senior executive with over 40 years of experience in professional services organizations in Canada. His credentials include: audit and professional practice as a partner with KPMG in Montreal and The Netherlands; senior roles in audit standard-setting and audit regulation and quality control; and chief executive of a not-for-profit organization in the public sector. In addition to financial and audit acumen, he brings to CATALIS expertise in governance and human resources management. Paul has a keen interest in healthcare research and in contributing to achieving CATALIS’ mission. He is currently a member of the Board and the Audit and Infrastructure Committee of the Montréal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre, a member of the executive committee of the Interdisciplinary Canadian Collaborative Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Research Network (ICanCME), and a member of the Board of NOVA Hudson.

Director, public and patient engagement – CATALIS Quebec

With over ten years of professional experience in the general and operational management of health organizations, Olivier Jérôme has overseen various mandates that focused on patients and their family caregivers. A seasoned administrator in the organizational development and operationalization of health programs, he has actively participated in creating, reorganizing, and expanding the units he was responsible for, including those in reproductive medicine, obstetrics, oncology, and rare diseases. Olivier also has a comprehensive understanding of the political environment and governmental affairs in health at the federal and provincial levels. He will use this expertise to benefit patients and family caregivers by facilitating and accelerating access to innovative health treatments. He joins the CATALIS team with a passion for both research and access to innovation in health care and will undoubtedly contribute to the success of its mission.

Director of Communications – CATALIS Quebec

Isabelle began her career as a science journalist, a role that allowed her to cover topics such as neurodevelopmental disorders affecting Canadian children and stem cell transplants for the treatment of cancer. A quadrilingual communications professional specialized in digital marketing, she is passionate about health and innovation; she was the project manager of the award-winning injury prevention program at the McGill University Health Centre. Isabelle has led national and international marketing communications initiatives in Canada and abroad in areas ranging from healthcare reform to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality, namely in collaboration with the University of Montreal Hospital Centre.

A brand builder and a seasoned strategist, Isabelle looks forward to joining the CATALIS team to elevate the organization’s profile and promote Quebec’s expertise in clinical research, and ultimately participate in the acceleration of innovative treatments.

Patient and Clinician Support Service Coordinator – CATALIS Quebec

Maryse Patenaude holds a Master of Genetic Counseling from the Université de Montréal and a Specialized Studies Diploma in Management from HEC Montreal. She has been working in the health field for almost twenty years. Having acquired experience in clinical research with the Breast Cancer Research Group (Groupe de recherche en cancer du sein), Maryse then worked as a genetic counselor for over 10 years. She was able to share her knowledge of medical genetics with many patients and health professionals, mainly in the fields of prenatal genetics, reproduction, and oncology. Maryse then participated in the coordination and management of a research unit in the field of medical data analysis and integration, while ensuring the utmost respect for patient confidentiality, as well as for current standards and regulations.

Having developed an empathetic, patient-oriented approach, and with her vast experience in the Quebec health sector, Maryse is enthusiastically joining the CATALIS team to participate in the development of the personalized clinical trial support service.

Project Manager – CATALIS Quebec

Alexandra brings close to 10 years of experience in the field of clinical research. During that time, she has led several Phase I to IV clinical trials, both industry and investigator initiated. Having overseen the continuous ethics review for the Office of Responsible Conduct in Research at the Université de Montréal and having been a member of the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Ethics Board, she has built up an expertise in the fields of research ethics and the regulatory environment of clinical research in Quebec. This knowledge was put into use and refined when she coordinated all clinical research, at the macro level, of a hospitalization unit at the CHU Sainte-Justine.

As Project Manager, Alexandra is responsible, in collaboration with the CEO, for the coordination of the various advisory committees of the CATALIS Network and participates in the development of common provincial tools aimed at optimizing the clinical research environment in Quebec.

Project Lead – CATALIS Quebec

Natalie holds a BSc in Neuroscience and a MSc in Occupational Therapy, both from McGill University. Upon completing her Master’s degree she worked as a clinical research coordinator for several international phase 1-3 ALS studies at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, a top enrolling site. Natalie has extensive knowledge in neuromuscular diseases, good clinical practice, and clinical outcome measures. Before joining CATALIS, Natalie mentored a team of clinical research coordinators in ALS, overseeing approximately 15 trials at a time, while also partaking in start-up activities for new ALS studies.

Passionate about patient care and education, Natalie has participated in ALS support groups, educated newly diagnosed patients about clinical research, and contributed to clinical management research studies. She has attended and presented at national and international conferences for ALS, networking with researchers and sponsors around the world. As a Project Lead, Natalie will partake in the FAST TRACK program with the goal of helping patients obtain better access to clinical trials in Quebec.

Patient and Healthcare Professional Services Agent – CATALIS Quebec

Kristina holds a Master of Science in Chronic Pain from McGill University. Over the past few years, Kristina has been involved in a number of research projects related to patient partnership and patient experience in the healthcare system. Kristina also holds a Yellow Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a skill that will undoubtedly contribute to the development of CATALIS’ Quality Management and Continuous Service Improvement Program. Kristina also applies this knowledge in her volunteer activities with the office of Quality and Continuous Improvement at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, where she helps maintain quality improvement and optimize the quality of life of the users of this institution. Kristina’s professional goal is to promote a patient-centred approach to care and to improve and facilitate access to clinical trials in Quebec for all medical conditions.

Operations Manager – CATALIS Quebec

Dorothy started our working as a clinical research coordinator/manager in rheumatology at the for 26 years, Clinical Trial Monitor at Nymox start-up for Phase III studies throughout the US including IRB submissions for all sites, budget negotiations and monitoring the sites for 3 years.  She started at the Research Institute of the MUHC in 2011 in the role of auditor and was promoted to Manager, Pediatric/Adult and Regulatory team including submissions and budgets. She acted as interim Associate Director of Operations for 2 years which included many managers, project managers, biostatisticians, data management, quality assurance.  Her team was multidisciplinary with research coordinators, nurses, respiratory therapists, kinesiologists, and physiotherapist in all indications not including oncology.

As Operations Manager at CATALIS, Dorothy will be responsible for the implementation, supervision, and performance of the FAST TRACK Evaluation Service and will collaborate in the management of other operational activities of CATALIS Quebec.

Project Lead – CATALIS Quebec

Mireille holds two master’s degrees in science, one in molecular biology from the Université de Montréal, and a second in experimental medicine from McGill University. Over the past few years, Mireille has worked as a clinical research coordinator in hospitals, as well as a clinical trials coordinator in pharmaceutical settings.

Having started working in the field of basic research during her studies, she then became interested in the clinical aspect of oncology research. Mireille has worked in the fields of sarcoma, breast cancer, colorectal cancer and melanoma, which makes her a versatile project manager who will certainly be useful during the CATALIS FAST TRACK Evaluation Service pilot project. Mireille has always been a supporter of optimization in all aspects, and it is with great enthusiasm that she has joined the CATALIS team to contribute to the optimization and outreach of clinical research in Quebec.

Communications Advisor – CATALIS Quebec

Orosca-Maria holds a master’s degree in Public Communication from Laval University and has benefited from qualitative education on both sides of the Atlantic, in Belgium and Canada.

Passionate about her field of expertise, communication, she acquired multiple professional experiences in journalism, writing, digital marketing, and even scientific research when she took part in the project “Pawòl Famn”: Intersectionality and Francophone Journalism in Quebec.

Lately, she developed her leadership skills by being involved in various organizations such as AIESEC. To positively impact the community, she wants to give meaning to her career. Orosca-Maria intends to make every effort to promote CATALIS’s mission in order to achieve strategic objectives and help position Quebec as a leading figure in clinical research.

Patient and Healthcare Professional Services Agent – CATALIS Quebec

Salomé holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ottawa and a MSc in Public Health from the Université de Montréal. Before joining CATALIS, Salomé worked in public health in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, supervising case-contact tracing and managing outbreaks. Over the past few years, Salomé has also been involved in volunteer work for causes that she is passionate about, such as food security and environmental protection.

Through her experiences, Salomé has developed a real desire to improve overall population health and access to healthcare. It is with a strategic approach and the ambition of contributing to facilitating access to clinical research that Salomé joins the CATALIS team, where she will participate in the development of the Personalized Clinical Trial Support Service.

Accounting and Administration Technician – CATALIS Quebec

Line has more than 10 years of experience in general accounting. She worked for the Adonis Group Inc. in accounting and was promoted to Accounts Payable Supervisor in 2020. In this role, she demonstrated her management and administrative skills through by supervising a team of 30 accounting clerks. In addition, Line was involved in one of the largest finance projects at Adonis ⁄ Metro: the integration of a new SAP accounting system.

Line also has expertise in payables, receivables, sales, physical inventory counts, bank reconciliation, accrued and prepaid expenses, and amortization.

As an Accounting and Administration Technician, Line will put her skills to work for the CATALIS mission and will contribute to position Quebec as a global leader in clinical research.

Quality Systems and Training Specialist (Clinical Research) – CATALIS Quebec

Xavier has over 34 years of professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry, in hospital settings and in academic research. He has 12 years of experience in hospital pharmacy manufacturing control in Europe and he decided to pursue his career in Quebec in 2000.  Upon arrival, Xavier was introduced to clinical research at a major Montreal Clinical Research Organization (CRO) and spent 17 years working in quality assurance with sponsors and regulatory agencies from around the world.

In 2018, Xavier joined the MUHC Research Institute, where he developed a deeper understanding of the diversity of structures and methods that prevent the research community from achieving the success it deserves. Xavier’s goal is to find effective solutions to counter this phenomenon and to implement tools to facilitate the daily life of teams.

As a Specialist in Quality Systems and Training at CATALIS Quebec, Xavier wants to concretize his ideal of transposing best practices to the world of research, now at a provincial level, while privileging simplicity to the service of human potential. He is convinced that sharing ideas, tools and knowledge will help to promote the many strengths of Quebec’s clinical research ecosystem well beyond the province’s borders.

Project Lead – CATALIS Quebec

Cristina holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) from the University of Montreal and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from abroad.  She worked as a Research Coordinator at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), where she collaborated with several researchers in the Department of Transplantation, the Cedars Cancer Centre, and the Centre for Innovative Medicine (CIM). Specialised in clinical research for the last 5 years, Cristina has been involved in phase II-IV clinical trials and biobanks, which has allowed her to be in constant contact with patients, to collaborate with several health professionals, and to work with research ethics committees.

Before joining the CATALIS team, Cristina also worked as a Clinical Research Associate for a Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) – a professional experience through which she developed skills in confidentiality agreements, ethical review of multi-centre research projects in the Health and Social Services Network (HSSN), as well as in centralized ethics submission.

As a Project Lead, Cristina will contribute to the development of the FAST TRACK Evaluation Service with the goal of helping patients obtain better access to clinical trials in Quebec.

Communications Advisor – CATALIS Quebec

Simon holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Politics from the Université de Montréal and has worked as a communicator for public and private organizations for over 8 years. As such, he has planned and implemented a variety of online and offline outreach activities, organized dozens of events, and developed and maintained lasting strategic partnerships.

As part of the communications team at the Foundation of Greater Montreal, he contributed to the creation and distribution of the 2017 Vital Signs Socioeconomic Report. He also managed online communications (social networks, newsletters), press relations and correspondence with members.
In 2019, Simon joined Adoc Talent Management, where he managed communications for the company’s three offices in Montreal, Paris and Brussels. More specifically, he orchestrated the launch and distribution of the PhDétectives survey, which focuses on the career paths of scientists in Canada.

As a Communications Advisor at CATALIS, Simon will coordinate the promotion, awareness and public engagement activities for CATALIS and the Clinical Trials Quebec brand.