The Team
Our award-winning scientific leadership has collectively authored over 450 academic publications and 34 patents
Management
HENRY DUBINA
CHAIRMAN & CEO
HENRY DUBINA
CHAIRMAN & CEO
Mr. Dubina has over 35 years of experience in General Management in the Scientific Instrument Industry. As President and Global Head of Mettler-Toledo AutoChem, he directed the development of the business from inception to the global market leader for enabling tools, software and services for biopharmaceutical and chemical process development.
PROF. JASON HEIN
DIRECTOR & CTO
PROF. JASON HEIN
DIRECTOR & CEO
Prof. Hein leads one of the largest academic chemistry research groups in Canada. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, amassing over 4,000 citations. His expertise spans crystallization, chemical purification, commercial scale-up and the role of automation, robotics, and AI in controlling pharmaceutical production.
DR. JEFFREY SHERMAN
COO
DR. JEFFREY SHERMAN
COO
Jeff comes to Telescope with 30+ years of experience in the scientific instrument industry working in multiple small technology start-ups, mid-sized companies and in the world’s largest companies serving science, including Micromeritics Instrument Corporation, ThermoFisher Scientific, and Mettler-Toledo. In his career, he has been intimately involved with strategy development, mergers, acquisitions, technology licensing, divestitures, and business consolidations. His extensive expertise in market and business development has been developed serving customers and clients in academic research and as well as industry in a variety of business areas like new entity discovery, process, and product development, scale-up and manufacturing in the bio-pharmaceutical, fine chemical, oil & gas, polymer & plastics and mining.
JOHN KIRINCIC
CFO
JOHN KIRINCIC
CFO
Mr. Kirincic has served in various financial and operating leadership roles for over 20 years, including Chief Financial Officer to numerous growth-stage companies. Mr. Kirincic has a deep corporate finance background working with growth-oriented companies in direct roles supporting shareholders and through buy-side investment capital firms building value for stakeholders.
DEBORAH COTTER
CORPORATE SECRETARY
DEBORAH COTTER
CORPORATE SECRETARY
Possessing over three decades of experience in both Canadian and US public and private markets, Ms. Cotter has overseen corporate governance, securities compliance, equity financings, and general administration. She currently serves as Corporate Secretary and/or Governance Professional for numerous public and private corporations in Canada and the US.
Research &
Development
PALOMA PRIETO
VP. OPERATIONS
PALOMA PRIETO
VP. OPERATIONS
Paloma is an established research manager with a background in organic chemistry and materials science. For several years, she has stewarded multimillion-dollar research programs at the University of British Columbia, specializing in pharmaceutical chemistry, process manufacturing, and automated self-driving laboratories.
SHAD GRUNERT
VP. INNOVATION
SHAD GRUNERT
VP. INNOVATION
Shad holds Bachelor of Science from University of British Columbia and an MBA with a specialization in Biotechnology Management from Simon Frazer University Beedie School of Business. He has 16 years of experience in deploying and designing chemistry laboratory technology, with an emphasis on integrated and collaborative automation. His diverse experience spans across analytical instrumentation support, biofuels, and laboratory management.
DR. LARS YUNKER
VP. AUTOMATION
DR. LARS YUNKER
VP. AUTOMATION
Lars completed his PhD at the University of Victoria and transitioned to his roles as a Postdoctoral Researcher, and ultimately Researcher Associate at the University of British Columbia. He specialized in developing Integrated automation for robotic and analytical chemistry systems. He now spearheads automation integration for Telescope’s prototype hardware, bringing his expertise in chemical analysis and advanced process development.
DR. RYAN JANSONIUS
Director of contract research services - chemistry
DR. RYAN JANSONNIUS
TECHNNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CHEMIST
Ryan is a PhD graduate of University of British Columbia. He has made a 10-year career developing low carbon technologies including solar cells, water electrolysis and carbon dioxide conversion. Ryan co-founded a start-up in the final year of his graduate studies, focused on driving hydrogenation reactions using water and electricity as the only inputs. He led the company through the Creative Destruction Labs accelerator and won the Simon Fraser University Venture Pitch.
DR. BLESSING CAO
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENTIST
DR. BLESSING CAO
PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENTIST
Blessing holds a PharmD specializing in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics (Pacific University) and a BSc in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (University of California, Merced). She was previously a staff scientist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, and most recently completed her Postdoctoral Studies at the University of British Columbia. She has over 8 years of specialized training in the design, sythesis, and isolation of pharmaceutical materials, with an emphasis on supporting route scouting and manufacturing scale up.
DR. COREY SANZ
CRYSTALLIZATION CHEMIST
DR. COREY SANZ
CRYSTALLIZATION CHEMIST
Corey holds a PhD from the University of Victoria and has 10 years of experience as a research chemist. Prior to joining Telescope, Corey was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, where he supervised a team of students on a variety of projects focusing on the conversion of nitrogen gas into higher value organic products. He is an expert in the synthesis and crystallization of organic and inorganic compounds and has a strong background in the characterization of crystal morphology and structure.
SEAN CLARK
SENIOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
SEAN CLARK
SENIOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Dean brings over 15 years of software development experience to the team and enjoys building easy-to-use tools that make automation more accessible and productive. He was trained as a computer Engineer at TRU and University of British Columbia, with a focus on operating systems, user experience design, and robotics. In 2018, he began deploying new firmware to help chemists leverage automation for accelerated molecular and material discovery.
HENRY SITU
MECHATRONICS ENGINEER
HENRY SITU
MECHATRONICS ENGINEER
Henry holds a BASc in Mechanical Engineering specializing in Mechatronics and a BSc in Chemistry from University of British Columbia. He has over 6 years of experience developing software and hardware automation technology for chemistry applications. In his spare time Henry enjoys biking and refurbishing gaming consoles.
VERONICA LAI
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
VERONICA LAI
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Veronica holds a BASc in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia where she develops lab automation tools for hardware control, data analysis, autonomous workflows, and intuitive user interfaces and software that makes automation more accessible to researchers. This work began with the development of graphical user interfaces for easy remote control of lab instruments but has most recently extended to the development of a smartphone interface that enables voice control of instruments and automation.
RYAN CORKERY
ROBOTIC ENGINEER
RYAN CORKERY
ROBOTIC ENGINEER
Ryan holds a BASc in Integrated Engineering from the University of British Columbia where he split his course load between electrical and mechanical engineering, with a focus on control theory and robotics. Along with robotics, Ryan brings his R&D and manufacturing expertise to the Telescope team. When Ryan's not working with robotics, you'll find him in the outdoors or playing with his dog.
Dr. Junliang Liu
process chemist
DR. JUNLIANG (LEO) LIU
PROCESS CHEMIST
Junliang recently completed his PhD under the guidance of Professor Jason Hein at UBC. His doctoral research specialized in developing innovative platforms and methodologies for the study of one-pot multistep reactions. His contributions led to an adaptive automated control and analysis system for one-pot telescoped amidation reactions, as optimization strategy development for multistep synthesis. Collaboratively, Junliang helped devise methods to sample, monitor, and analyze reactions by HPLC, with an emphasis on those with non-UV active species and heterogeneous matrices.
CARA CRONIN
Chemist
CARA CRONIN
LAB TECHNICIAN
Cara holds a BSc in in Chemistry from University College Cork, Ireland where she has developed a strong foundation in organic, inorganic and analytical chemistry. She has gained valuable experience during her laboratory courses and periods of research throughout her degree. Cara has a keen interest in analytical, environmental and organic chemistry and recently relocated to Vancouver, BC to begin her career in industry.
LEANNE BEET
LAB & PRODUCTION MANAGER
LEANNE BEET
LAB & PRODUCTION MANAGER
Leanne brings seven years of research management experience to Telescope Innovations. She majored in biochemistry at McGill University and completed additional postgraduate studies in biochemistry, engineering, and data science. She oversees Telescope's health & safety compliance and manages the sourcing, procurement, inventory, and production processes. She also facilitates Telescope's project proposal, budgeting, reporting, development, and product quality assurance.
Advisors
PROF. BARRY SHARPLESS
PROF. BARRY SHARPLESS
Prof. Sharpless is one of only 5 people in history to receive two Nobel Prizes. He was awarded these in the field of chemistry in 2001 and 2022. Sharpless also received the Priestley Medal (the highest honor in the American Chemical Society) in 2019 and is the W.M.Keck Professor of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
PAUL REINHART
PAUL REINHART
Paul Reinhart is the President of Vanhart Capital Corporation, a family held investment company specializing in early-stage business, primarily in the resource and life sciences industries. Paul has been actively investing in Canadian based companies for over 35 years. In addition to providing capital, Vanhart provided capital market services to a select group of companies, including strategic advice and planning, mergers and acquisitions, and special situations/projects. He has also served as a Founding Director on a number of Boards of early-stage companies.
DR. JORDI BURES
DR. JORDI BURES
Dr. Bures is an organic chemist with an extensive knowledge and experience in the understanding of reaction mechanisms. His powerful method of analysis of reaction kinetic profiles, VTNA, is used in academic and industrial groups all around the globe. He received the Thieme Chemistry Journals Award in 2018, the RSEQ Young Researcher Award in 2019, and the Hickinbottom Award in 2020.
DR. SURESH PITRAM
DR. SURESH PITRAM
Dr. Suresh Pitram brings experience evaluating novel and innovative technologies for drug discovery and development. He was part of External Innovation teams at Eli Lilly, Elanco, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals where he worked closely with R&D and Business Development units to identify strategic opportunities and initiate key collaborations. Suresh received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and was a postdoc in the lab of Nobel Laureate K. Barry Sharpless at the Scripps Research Institute.
Board of
Directors
HENRY DUBINA
HENRY DUBINA
DIRECTOR
Mr. Dubina was the president and Strategic Business Unit Head of Mettler-Toledo AutoChem between 1999 and his retirement inn 2022. As the President and Head of Mettler-Toledo AutoChem for over 20 years, he directed the global business from Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Marketing to Sales and Service. MT AutoChem instruments have been ubiquitously deployed in academia and industry for biopharmaceutical, chemical, and advanced materials applications to boost R&D productivity. Prior to this time, Mr. Dubina developed and directed (ASI) Applied Systems Inc, into a multi-million $ ($15m) provider of in-Situ FTIR systems and related sampling and software (ReactIR) before its acquisition in 1999 by Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.
Prof. Jason Hein
PROF. JASON HEIN
DIRECTOR & CEO
Prof. Hein leads one of the largest academic chemistry research groups in Canada. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, amassing over 4,000 citations. His expertise spans crystallization, chemical purification, commercial scale-up and the role of automation, robotics, and AI in controlling pharmaceutical production.
DR. ANDY ROBINSON
DR. ANDY ROBINSON
DIRECTOR
An experienced scientist with a 20+ year successful track record in creating concepts, building companies and teams, and then taking them to successful execution. Andy has held executive and board positions with a range of public and private companies. He is the President, COO & Director of Standard Lithium, a company leveraging unique process chemistry to build the first American commercial lithium project in over 50 years.
ROBERT MINTAK
ROBERT MINTAK
DIRECTOR
20+ years of experience in corporate management in a wide range of private and public companies with a specific emphasis on strategic development, corporate governance, and long-term creation of shareholder value. As the CEO of Standard Lithium, he has led the company to its position among the 50 best performers on the OTCQX market.
ALI PEJMAN
ALI PEJMAN
DIRECTOR
20+ years of experience as an Investment Banker having advised over $25 Billion in M&A transactions and $3Billion in equity financings. He is currently Managing Partner at Fort Capital, a boutique investment bank. Mr. Pejman is an active angel investor and Associate of the Creative Destruction Labs, with current and prior Board positions on Science World, Vancouver Transit Police, and Vancouver/UBC General Hospital. He has been instrumental in large purposed fundraising for brain research and care.
