Team

Dr. Phillips is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Djavad Mowafagian Centre for Brain Health at the University of British Columbia (UBC). His pioneering research focuses on the role of dopamine in motivation, memory, and substance misuse, and most recently, on novel options for the treatment of substance use disorders, including the preclinical evaluation of the TGIR botanical formulation. He has held various leadership positions, published >300 peer-reviewed papers, and received numerous awards. Translational research is a prominent feature of his professional career, with Resilience Biosciences being his 4th biotech start-up,  previously serving as a founder and treasurer of QLT.

Dr. Krausz is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Program Director of Addiction Psychiatry, and PHC/UBC LEEF BC Leadership Chair in Addiction Research. He conducts clinical research related to substance use and concurrent disorders. He was involved in the first heroin substitution trial in North America (NAOMI ‘North American Opiate Medication Initiative’) and led several other notable addiction-related trials (SALOME ‘Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness’; German Heroin Trial; European Cocaine Project), with >300 scientific papers.

Dr. Roberts is an accomplished innovation executive with over 25 years of success at Abbott, Nestle, and NBTY. He is focused on driving growth-phase market opportunities across the food, pharma, nutrition, and agricultural sectors. He has achieved outstanding results in commercial and research functions, leading to successful introduction of new food products, ingredients, science, and technology which then delivered real business results in the marketplace. He also has extensive experience in corporate innovation strategy, stage gate processes, and corporate partnerships. As a scientist, Matthew managed a variety of teams and projects with significant annual budgetary responsibility. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed and edited scientific publications, is an inventor and a patent holder.

Dr. Choi is a Research Scientist at the BC Children’s hospital and a former Research Associate in Dr. Krausz’ Addiction and Concurrent Disorders Research Group at UBC. She previously completed her PhD in Neuroscience at UBC in Dr. Phillips’ lab, with a focus on preclinical models of addiction. She holds the HSBC Fellowship in Addiction Research, exploring factors associated with substance use disorders, trauma and related psychopathology. She is also involved in the development of an integrated mental health web platform for vulnerable youth. She brings extensive expertise in clinical research design and trial management in the area of substance use disorder treatments.

Dr. Aleksandrova is a research associate in the Phillips’ lab in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, where she coordinates a research excellence cluster on translational research and innovation in neuropsychiatry. She obtained her MSc degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Toronto, before completing her PhD in Neuroscience at UBC, under the co-supervision of Drs. Phillips and Wang. She has extensive research experience at basic neuroscience and clinical research labs, studying interventions for neuropsychiatric disorders. She brings a strong background in drug development, emerging treatments for mental health and substance use disorders, regulatory affairs, and commercialization.

Dr. Ahn is a Senior Research Associate at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia. She leads preclinical research programs focused on the development and evaluation of novel therapeutic candidates for substance use disorders, pain, and cognitive dysfunction. Her expertise spans in vivo neurochemistry and behavioural pharmacology, with extensive experience using translational animal models of opioid dependence, withdrawal, hyperalgesia, and cognitive impairment. She has led multiple efficacy and mechanism of action studies supporting the advancement of non-opioid and small-molecule compounds towards clinical translation.

Before becoming a Mitacs-funded postdoctoral fellow with RBI, Dr. Bedard was a postdoc in Dr. Sammis’ Lab at the Department of Chemistry at UBC, focusing on chemically modified fentanyl derivatives for use in calibrating and improving a fentanyl detection system. He obtained his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at Brock University, where he worked on the total synthesis of anti-cancer natural products and their unnatural analogues, as well as exploiting enzymatic transformations in total synthesis. He has collaborated with local biotech companies to assist with the synthesis of novel ionizable lipids and helper lipids for use in lipid nanoparticle formulations.

With over 20 years of experience in executive assistant and administrative positions, Diane has a track record of effectively supporting management, creating and overseeing efficient office systems, and coordinating board meetings, conferences and public events. As the Administrative Officer of Resilience Biosciences Inc, Diane ensures the smooth operation of the company with a thorough knowledge of office management and administrative functions.