Our Board of Directors
Aled edwards, chairperson
Aled is the founding and current CEO of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), a charitable open science research organization. He is a Professor at the University of Toronto, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Oxford and McGill University. He trained as a protein biochemist at McGill University (with Peter Braun) and at Stanford University (with Roger Kornberg). In 2015, Aled was elected a Senior Ashoka Fellow for his social entrepreneurship.
ELS Torreele, director
Els Torreele is a medical innovation & access researcher and advocate. A Bioengineer and PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Free University Brussels (VUB), she became involved in pharmaceutical, science and access policy issues in 2000 through the lens of neglected diseases as co-chair of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hosted working group that incubated the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). She joined DNDi as founding member in 2003, spearheading R&D projects from discovery to clinical development, and advocacy for affordable access and innovation. A major outcome from that period is the development of fexinidazole, a new drug for sleeping sickness. From 2009-16, she was the director of Access to Medicines and Innovation at Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Public Health Program, fostering civil society activism around innovation for access globally. She rejoined MSF to lead their Access Campaign from 2017-mid 2020. She’s a Science Fellow at the VUB, and Visiting Policy Fellow at the Institute for Innovation and Public purpose (IIPP) at University College London.
Michael Morgan, director
Michael graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, and obtained his PhD from Leicester University. He joined the Wellcome Trust in 1983 and prior to his retirement was chief executive of the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambs. He was then appointed Chief Scientific Officer of Genome Canada, finally retiring in 2009. He led the Trust team that initiated and developed the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, including the Sanger Centre and the European Bioinformatics Institute. Along with Francis Collins and Ari Patrinos, he played a major role in the international coordination of the human genome project. From 1996 he arranged the Bermuda meetings and was a major advocate of the Bermuda Principles of data release. During this period he also led the development of DIAMOND, a new third generation synchrotron; the SNPs Consortium (TSC), and the Structural Genomics Consortium. Since 2008 Michael has developed new skills, such as making sourdough bread using his own sourdough culture. He is also struggling to complete writing a history of the Human Genome Project that he intends will emphasize the contribution of international partners in the project.
mark krembil, director
Mark Krembil is the President and CEO of the Krembil Foundation; a charitable foundation with the goal to accelerate research and impact lives through scientific discoveries leading to advancements in medicine. He received his BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Mark currently sits on the board of various organizations: Arthritis Innovation Corporation, Agora Open Science Trust, PanCella, Arthur Inc., NoNo Inc., Brain Canada, Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegeneration Steering Committee, Tanenbaum Open Science Steering Committee, and the University of Toronto Pre Campaign Steering Committee.