NRD 2021 presents…
Alternative Careers Panel
Dr. Scott MacDonald, PhD 2017
Scott earned his PhD in 2017 studying Neuroscience under the supervision of Jody Culham. He is now working at Info-Tech Research Group as the Managing Commercial Director in Sales across North America and Asia-Pacific.
Jessica Benzaquen, MSc 2010
Jessica Benzaquen earned her MSc in 2010 investigating a rodent model of autism spectrum disorder with Drs. Peter Ossenkopp and Martin Kavaliers. She now works at Synapse Medical Communications as the Medical Director. At Synapse, she works collaboratively with clients and a team of medical writers, translating meaningful insights from medical research, to impactful initiatives for pharma and physicians - ultimately aiming to better serve patients touched by various disease states. She's passionate about science, research, and making sure findings that happen in a lab make it beyond medical journals, and into the hands of physicians and patients in an accessible way.
Melanie Kok, PhD 2015
Melanie earned her PhD in 2015 studying auditory cortical plasticity with Dr. Stephen Lomber. She is now working at Novartis Pharma Canada Inc. as a Clinical Research Associate where she works in clinical development overseeing clinical research sites within Canada.
Dr. Adrian Snihur, PhD 2011
Adrian completed his MSc (with Dr. Peter Cain) and PhD (with Dr. Elizabeth Hampson) in Neuroscience at Western, focusing on the prenatal and postnatal effects of hormones on brain and behaviour. He is currently an Engagement Leader and Director, Talent Development at Shift Health, a strategy consultancy focused exclusively on the health research and innovation ecosystem.