Dr. Harvey Schipper BASc (Eng.), MD, FRCP(C) is currently Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Trained as both an engineer and a physician, he combines disciplines to bring innovation to the health and life sciences sector from research bench, to the bedside and to public policy. His career has bridged five continents as cancer specialist, innovator, health systems designer, businessman and advisor to government, academe and the corporate sector.  As a physician he was Professor of Medicine and Director of the Regional Cancer Care system in Manitoba, and established the WHO Collaborating Centre for Quality of Life Research in Cancer, which catalyzed patient-centred outcome research on a global basis. Over 40 years he has helped design cancer programs and health care systems around the world.  During his tenure as a strategic Corporate Vice-President at MDS, at the time the largest health and life sciences conglomerate in Canada, he was deeply involved in health venture capital allocation, and has advised start-ups and established ventures ever since.  His particular skill has been setting each initiative in the broad context of the health care environment. His work with governments and large health systems focuses on future orientation and transformation.

Out of a long-standing interest in the interface of medicine, law and public policy, he has played a substantive role in critical issues.  These include the tainted blood crisis, where he was a Founding Director of Canadian Blood Services, and recently in the deliberations around ‘assisted dying’ where he served on the Federal Expert Panel, and in deliberations in the Senate.