January 04, 2016
Vancouver, BC – Genome British Columbia today announced the appointment of Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa as Vice President, Sector Development and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). With over 18 years of international experience in both the academic and private sectors, Dr. Lopez-Correa’s deep understanding of genomics will make her an essential member of the Genome BC leadership team and a key asset in fulfilling the goals outlined in the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan.
Dr. Lopez-Correa holds an MD from UPB University in Colombia, a Masters in Genetics from Paris VII/Pasteur Institute and a PhD in Medical Biosciences-Genetics from KULeuven in Belgium. Most recently she was the Vice-President and CSO, Scientific Affairs, at Genome Quebec where she was instrumental in developing competitive teams for national and provincial research projects, and raising the profile of Genome Quebec on the global stage.
“Dr. Lopez-Correa brings not only passion but clarity of vision to her work. During her tenure at Genome Quebec, she played a pivotal role in developing the health, agrifood, forestry and environment sectors with a keen focus on end-users and industry challenges,” says Dr. Alan Winter, CEO and President, Genome BC. “We look forward to leveraging her experience within our own life sciences community to further catalyze genomic applications that bring tangible benefits to British Columbians.”
Previous experience also includes a role as Senior Scientist with Eli Lilly and Company. During Dr. Lopez-Correa’s time at Eli Lilly, she was part of the Pharmacogenomics and Translational Medicine Group in charge of discovering and validating genetic/genomic biomarkers in different therapeutic areas (oncology, cardio-metabolic and neurosciences). She also helped develop the company’s tailored therapeutics and personalized medicine strategy. Dr. Lopez-Correa also held the position of Head of the Cytogenomics laboratory at deCODE genetics and she has also worked for two different American biotech companies in the UK (Genomica and Informax).
“I am excited to take on this challenge and bring my set of genomic skills and experience in the field to this burgeoning innovation cluster,” says Dr. Lopez-Correa. “There is much work to be done in ensuring the application and achieving impacts for British Columbians and creating meaningful advances addressing economic challenges through genomic tools.”
Since 2002, Dr. Lopez-Correa has served as evaluator for large multinational projects funded by the European Commission, the Innovative Medicine Initiative (IMI) and the NIH and has been recognized by several awards nationally and internationally. As part of her commitment to international development, Dr. Lopez-Correa funded the not for profit organization ODNS (Organisation pour le Développement avec des Nouvelles Solidarités) in 2012 and has been involved in several initiatives aimed at demonstrating the impact of genomics in developing countries.