As a civic university, Dalhousie embraces its role and responsibility in helping our communities thrive. Dalhousie’s emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship programming in recent years has dramatically accelerated its impact on the innovation ecosystem.

Join us for an insightful conversation around this topic with our special guests, top row, left to right are Julia Rivard Dexter (BRec’00), CEO, Shoelace Learning; Dr. Rafaela Andrade-Vieira (PhD’15), co-founder and CEO of Myomar Molecular; and Jeff Larsen, Dalhousie’s AVP, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Site Lead, CDL Atlantic; bottom row, left to right are Dr. Hamed Hanafi (MASc’10, PhD’16), founder and CEO, NovaResp Technologies Inc., and Wade Dawe, president of Brigus Capital Inc.

Register to attend

This event is free and open to the public, but guests must RSVP to participate virtually via livestream on Dalhousie Alumni and Friends Facebook Live and Dalhousie YouTube. All attendees will have an opportunity to engage during the Q&A portion following the discussion.

Panelist Julia Rivard Dexter (top left), panelist Dr. Rafaela Andrade-Vieira (top middle), moderator Jeff Larsen (top right), panelist Dr. Hamed Hanafi (bottom left), and panelist Wade Dawe (bottom right).

About the speakers

• Dr. Rafaela Andrade-Vieira (PhD’15) moved to Canada from Brazil in 2008 to start graduate studies in cancer research. She has always been interested in translational research and finding ways to improve health care. After experiencing life circumstances related to fall injuries and weight gain, she became very interested in muscle biology. In the last year of her post-doctoral fellowship she founded Myomar Molecular to disrupt the way we monitor and prevent muscle loss. Now, she is dedicated to growing the company and improving the quality of lives. Myomar is creating solutions to monitor, prevent and better treat muscle loss.
• Wade Dawe is an accomplished entrepreneur, financier and investor based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has founded and co-founded a number of successful companies and has completed financing and corporate transactions valued over $2 billion. He is active in the technology and healthcare industries, with investments spanning entertainment and mining. He currently serves as chair and CEO of Numus Financial Inc., as director of Kneat.com Inc. and is the former chair of the board of Pivot Technology Solutions Inc. He regularly gives back to the community, mentors young entrepreneurs and financially supports numerous charities.
• Dr. Hamed Hanafi (MASc’10, PhD’16) is an electrical engineer and holds a PhD in biomedical engineering. His area of expertise is technology related to respiratory diagnosis, monitoring and therapy. He is trained in the commercialization of medical devices, has innovated in multiple startup med-tech companies and holds (or has pending) multiple patents in the field of lung health. Dr. Hanafi founded NovaResp in 2016, the company that plans to make respiratory therapy predictive and preventative.
• Julia Rivard Dexter (BRec’00) is an innovative tech entrepreneur, one of the top 50 Canadian women in STEM, former Olympian and mother of four. Julia has founded and led several successful technology ventures, including as CEO of Google’s first North American premier GoogleApps partner. Currently Julia is co-founder and CEO of Shoelace Learning, a platform built to deliver education through popular mobile video games which serves over 200,000 teachers and 5 million students worldwide.

About our moderator

• Jeff Larsen is Dalhousie’s Assistant Vice-President, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as well as the Site Lead for CDL Atlantic. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and an MBA from Imperial College, University of London. He has practiced law, has held senior positions in the investment sector and with the province of Nova Scotia. His work with the province has focused on innovation, startups, entrepreneurship, education, foreign direct investment, trade, as well as knowledge- and technology-based industries. Jeff has entrepreneurial and management experience with new businesses in the energy sector, including as a co-founder of Seaforth Energy, Watts Wind and Katalyst Wind.

Open Dialogue Live events offer an opportunity for audiences to participate in meaningful and thoughtful interdisciplinary discussions on important topics with Dal experts.