The Canadian Centre for Aging & Brain Health Innovation (CC-ABHI) is pleased to announce its dynamic new leadership team!
Established in 2015 through funding of $124 million (CAD), CC-ABHI is the result of the largest investment in brain health and aging in Canadian history, and one of the largest investments of its kind in the world. Its mission is to help the world’s leading innovators perfect their solutions through the gathering of scientific data to support the effectiveness of their solutions, and to connect those innovative solutions to a vast and growing aging and brain health market.
CC-ABHI enables innovators and companies to seamlessly bring novel solutions from the proof-of-concept stage of development through to dissemination and adoption by front-line staff, older adults and caregivers. In doing so, CC-ABHI aims to help drive healthcare quality as well as improved access to innovative solutions and efficiencies in the health system.
CC-ABHI’s leadership team will be responsible for providing strategic direction and management of its funding programs. Together with its entire team, CC-ABHI delivers an unparalleled range of service offerings that span the gamut of the innovation pathway including: providing solution design and development support, facilitating investments, enabling clinical testing and validation at health care trial partner sites, providing channels for dissemination and distribution of solutions, and brokering relationships between inventors and trial partners.
The CC-ABHI team is proud to grow its national and international scope. We currently have fifteen 15 members on our staff, comprised of smart, driven and enthusiastic people who are dedicated to driving innovation and growth in the aging and brain health sector.
The CC-ABHI Leadership Team
Dr. William E. Reichman, MD
Dr. William E. Reichman is President and CEO of Baycrest, among the world’s premier academic health sciences centres focused on aging and brain function. Dr. Reichman is also professor of psychiatry on the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He studied psychiatry at the University of California at Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute and fellowship training in neurobehavior at the Reed Neurological Research Institute.
Dr. Reichman is a former president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation and has been a consultant to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice on the quality of dementia and mental health-care delivery within nursing homes. Dr. Reichman also recently served as Chair of the Seniors Quality Leap Initiative, a collaborative of prominent eldercare organizations and affiliated universities in North America working together to advance the effectiveness of long-term care across the globe.
Ron Riesenbach, BSc., MSc., MBA, P.Eng, CPHIMS-CA
Ron is the Vice-President of Innovation and Chief Technology Officer at Baycrest Health Sciences and Managing Director of the Canadian Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CC-ABHI). In addition to running the day-to-day needs of Baycrest, Ron leads the CC-ABHI team which now supports dozens of multi-disciplinary projects driving innovation and creating economic activity at Baycrest and across North America.
Prior to joining Baycrest, Ron worked as Vice-President of Emerging Business and as Vice-President and CIO with the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN). Ron’s team at OTN built the computing and telecommunications services which now support over 500,000 videoconference-based clinical consults per year as well as provided healthcare professionals with store-forward and telehomecare services. He is active in the global eHealth community, presenting to government and industry associations and advising on technical strategy. Ron sits on several advisory boards and was the co-chair of the telemedicine technology group of Canada’s Health Informatics Association. He is a Professional Engineer, holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering and an MBA.
Raymond King, BA, B.Comm, MBA
Raymond King is Director, Business Development with CC-ABHI, and serves as the focal point of contact for all existing and future partners as he actively seeks out new opportunities to support the continued Canadian and international growth of CC-ABHI.
Raymond brings to CC-ABHI over 25 years of international business development and corporate finance experience, most recently as Director, Business Development with SickKids International at The Hospital for Sick Children (jointly also Director, International Patient Program with SickKids). Prior thereto, he was Head, Business Development for Global Diversified Industries with Toronto Stock Exchange. Raymond has an MBA, with a focus on international strategic development, from McGill University. He also has a Bachelor of Arts in Modern European Political History from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Commerce in International Finance from the University of Calgary.
Bianca Stern, BA, MSc
Bianca Stern is Executive Director, Health Innovations at CC-ABHI. Bianca’s career spans over 35 years in health care in private and public sectors and she has been involved at university and college levels in curriculum design, research and student supervision. Bianca has built on her Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy and Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Science, creatively intersecting the art and science of healthcare with innovation, technology, and industry.
Bianca is a thought leader in the area of innovation, blending design thinking and arts based tools with an inclusive, participatory user focus, capitalizing on emerging technologies and theoretical knowledge to stimulate innovative solutions for the journey of aging. Bianca currently oversees the innovation team at CC-ABHI including the Innovation, Technology & Design Lab, CC-ABHI project intake office and project pipeline. She is also actively involved in helping to foster a culture of innovation and knowledge mobilization at Baycrest and across CC-ABHI network partner sites.
Jane van Alphen, BScN, M.Sc., MBA
Jane van Alphen is Director, Programs and Operations at CC-ABHI. She is responsible for monitoring progress and impact, and day to day operations within the centre, and has oversight of human resource, legal, information technology and programs.
Jane previously served as the Vice-President, Operations at OICR from 2006 to 2016, where she created and oversaw the infrastructure of the new cancer research institute. Prior to that, she was clinical health services director at Sick Kids in Toronto from 1999 to 2006. She has also served as the perinatal manager at the Toronto General Hospital and as clinical leader and registered nurse at Doctors Hospital, Toronto. Jane completed a Bachelor of Science at University of Windsor, a Master’s of Science in Physiology at the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. She lectured at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University and published in the fields of neurology and physiology. Jane has served as a volunteer board member for Humewood House.
Simon Cheesman, BA, MA
Simon Cheesman is CC-ABHI’s Business Lead, Innovation and New Initiatives. He is responsible for CC-ABHI’s Innovation Office, the operational hub of our funding and support programs. He works with a diverse cast of innovators to accelerate putting the best new ideas into the hands of clients, caregivers and clinicians.
Prior to coming to CC-ABHI, Simon led the Ontario Telemedicine Network’s (OTN) portfolio of Remote Patient Monitoring products, focusing on chronic disease management and community telemedicine initiatives. The Telehomecare program he helped to pioneer serves thousands of people across Ontario every day, helping them to stay healthier, at home. Simon has a Masters of Mass Communications from Carleton’s School of Journalism.
Anish Shah, BE, MBA
Anish Shah is Senior Manager, Programs & Operations at CABHI. He is responsible for designing and managing CC-ABHI’s funding programs, reporting on key performance indicators to CC-ABHI’s stakeholders, developing project charters and budgets for new projects. Anish is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of international experience.
Prior to joining CC-ABHI, Anish was Product Manager at the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) where he helped to improve health system efficiencies by leading successful implementation of cost-effective, mobile, web-based, real-time videoconferencing and store-forward tele-health solutions serving over 600,000 patient remote consultations annually. Anish holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. He also has a number of professional certifications including New Product Development Professional (NPDP), Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) and Six Sigma.
Alisha Tharani, BSc, MHA
Alisha Tharani is Manager of Strategic Partnerships at CC-ABHI. She is responsible for identifying, building and leading relationships with key CC-ABHI partners, including government, SQLI, and other network partners. Alisha has more than ten years of experience in the healthcare system, with a focus on driving and executing strategic collaborations between policy makers, industry, academia and healthcare providers.
Most recently, Alisha was Manager at the Toronto Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CAHO) where this dual role encompassed shared responsibilities for both organizations in the areas of health research policy and academic collaborations. In addition to her professional experience, Alisha received a Master’s Degree in Health Administration from the University of Ottawa, a Certificate in Health Service Management from Ryerson University and Bachelor of Science in the field of Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo.
Ryan A. Webster, CPA, CA
Ryan Webster is Manager of Finance, Research & Innovation at CABHI. He is responsible for maintaining fiscal stewardship in the Research and Innovation divisions of Baycrest, articulating annual budgets, grant proposals and financial reports. He is also responsible for the fiscal management of CC-ABHI, and has been actively involved in establishing the governance structure and financial framework for the Centre. Since joining Baycrest four years ago, Ryan developed a benchmarking initiative that supported decision making in the determination of annual savings targets. He was also tasked with re-engineering Baycrest’s health system funding model to forecast current hospital performance as it relates to future funding outcomes.
Prior to Baycrest, Ryan worked as an Audit and Assurance Accountant at BDO Canada. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Nipissing University, where he was the Vice-President of the Nipissing University Business Association and later became an interim professor.
The entire CC-ABHI Team
