WHO
WE ARE
IPTN’s Board of Directors is a group of passionate and experienced professionals who share an interest in transforming healthcare.
Board Members.
Board Chair
Dr. Jim Johnson
PhD
Dr. Johnson is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He is also a member of the Life Sciences Institute’s Diabetes Research Group; a collaborative team of eight laboratories and more than 70 staff and trainees. His research at UBC focuses on the pathophysiology and signalling mechanisms that drive diabetes, obesity, longevity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and pancreatic cancer. Dr. Johnson is the Editor-in-Chief of Islets and has previously served on the editorial boards of Diabetes and Endocrinology. He was also the inaugural Site Head of the Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford, a $200M academic–industry partnership, and served as Vice President and a member of the Global Research Board at Novo Nordisk A/S.
Dr. Ana Andreazza
PhD
Dr. Andreazza is a Professor at the University of Toronto with appointments in the Departments of Pharmacology & Toxicology and Psychiatry. A recipient of numerous awards and the author of more than 150 journal articles, her research centres on mitochondrial function in health and disease, with a particular focus on mental illness and cellular metabolism. She is the Founder and Scientific Director of the Mitochondrial Innovation Initiative (MITO2i), which promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration and accelerates the development of effective therapeutic approaches—including therapeutic nutrition—for treating mitochondrial dysfunction. Dr. Andreazza’s collaborative work is driving major advances in the biological understanding and clinical treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction, supporting pioneering discoveries that benefit both patients and society.
Dr. Brendan Byrne
MD
Dr Byrne has been a physician and digital pioneer for the past 25 years. Trained at Yale and McGill, he has had a parallel career as an entrepreneur. From his original practice in New Westminster, Brendan created electronic medical record software and built a business that eventually was acquired by TELUS Health and currently serves over 50% of Canadian physicians. From 2015 to 2018, he served as the Chief Innovation Officer for TELUS Health. In addition to the IPTN board, he also sits on the board of the BC Academic Health Sciences Network.
Dr. Charles Helm
MD
A family physician in the Northern BC community of Tumbler Ridge from 1992 to 2021, Dr. Helm received numerous awards for his service to BC healthcare, especially in medical education and rural medicine. He organizes regular conferences, with a particular focus on evolutionary biology, reducing polypharmacy, Indigenous health, and health promotion through healthy lifestyle. After his son and a friend discovered the first BC dinosaur trackway near Tumbler Ridge, he became fascinated with palaeontology, making numerous discoveries and spearheading the designation of the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark. He is keen to raise awareness about therapeutic nutrition for chronic disease prevention and reversal.
Mr. Sia Moussavi
A senior healthcare technology advisor and former global GE Healthcare executive, Sia Moussavi has more than 25 years of experience leading cross-functional teams and driving patient-centric, technology-enabled solutions in collaboration with clinical staff and physicians. He is highly skilled in organizational alignment and management operating systems, with a strong track record in developing talent and supporting succession planning.
Dr. Sunita Vohra
MD
Dr. Vohra is a physician and clinician scientist at the University of Alberta. Trained in pediatrics, clinical pharmacology, and clinical epidemiology, her primary research focus is improving clinical research methods, including innovative clinical trial design, active safety surveillance, and enhanced outcomes reporting. She has applied this work largely to advancing understanding of patients’ use of complementary therapies. Dr. Vohra believes that nutrition plays an essential role in health and in empowering people to make evidence-informed choices.
Chief Executive Officer
Sean McKelvey
Sean graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1990 and is a recognized leader in pharmacy practice change across Canada. He has been acknowledged numerous times for his innovative clinical programs including the Canadian Pharmacists Association Patient Care Achievement Award for Innovation and the BC Pharmacy Association Ben Gant award for Innovation. Sean was also awarded the prestigious Len Mark’s Award which recognizes an individual for demonstrating outstanding dedication to the advancement of pharmacy. Most recently, he was selected as one of the 2019 Leaders in Pharmacy.