Rob Otway

Rob Otway is chair of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation Canada, the Edmonton foundation that funds cure-based type 1 diabetes research. A civil engineer, he spent his career in construction and retired as vice president and district manager for Northern Alberta at PCL Construction. He is also chief executive of DiaCell Therapeutics, which is developing a personalized approach that turns a patient's own cells into insulin producers. The aim is to reduce or eliminate the lifelong immunosuppression that islet transplantation normally demands. The scientific program is led by Dr. A.M. James Shapiro, inventor of the 2000 Edmonton Protocol and director of transplant surgery at the University of Alberta. His group reports more than 765 islet transplants completed and proof of concept reversing diabetes in mice using human cells. DiaCell targets first-in-human trials within 18 to 24 months.

Affiliation

Chair, Diabetes Research Institute Foundation Canada and CEO, DiaCell Therapeutics

Location

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada