The Thera-Business Team

Meet the Team

We are driven and know that our work is of utmost importance to patient care! Our consultants are detail-oriented team players with the ability to work to tight deadlines. We are committed to understanding your needs and providing solutions that contribute to your success.

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Dr. Isabella Steffensen

Dr. Isabella Steffensen

President

Dr. Steffensen is a biomedical scientist with a B.Sc. Honours Biology (cum laude) and Ph.D. in Cellular Biology from the University of Ottawa. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship with a leading neurologist at the Ottawa Health Research Institute where she performed research on stroke and spinal cord injury.


Over the past 25+ years, Dr. Steffensen has assisted pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology and diagnostic companies with regulatory, marketing, technical, and business development issues. She has widespread experience preparing regulatory documents, as well as other evidence based-reports such as practice guidelines and systematic reviews. Dr. Steffensen has completed hundreds of projects in the life sciences sector, embracing biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and bio-pharmaceuticals, medical devices, technology and diagnostics. She is a specialist at Clinical Evaluation Report remediation and helping medical device companies fulfill current regulatory requirements in the European Union. Dr. Steffensen is responsible for the overall operations and performance of Thera-Business, where she mentors a highly-skilled group of executives and staff. She is a well-respected leader with the strategic foresight to develop and promote a compelling vision for the future of Thera-Business.

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Dr. Red Thaddeus Miguel

Dr. Red Thaddeus Miguel

Vice-President and Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Miguel provides leadership and builds the roadmap for health research projects and data analysis with a particular focus on creating customized solutions to best meet the clients’ diverse needs. As a specialist in evidence-based practices and health research methodologies, he directs and oversees health research initiatives including performing complex health research analyses using large datasets.


He began his career as a University Researcher for the Health Policy Hub and the National Institutes of Health of the University of the Philippines. There he was the Lead Research Associate for a number of studies including the national valuation of EQ-5D-5L, the Philippines baseline study on child restraints, the modelling of the burden and cost for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and the national evaluation of a health insurance package for catastrophic illnesses. During that time, he was also a Research Fellow for the Asia Pacific Center for Evidence Based Healthcare where he undertook studies on methods for clinical practice guidelines and a Researcher for the Kalusugan ng Mag-Ina, Inc. (Health of Mother and Child) where he worked on research for new health insurance packages and clinical practice guidelines. Dr. Miguel has since authored a number of papers in his field and won numerous awards in research. Most recently he received the Award of Excellence in recognition of winning People’s Choice Award at the global health conference hosted by the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Medicine.


Prior to joining Thera-Business, Dr. Miguel worked as a consultant for health economics and insurance evaluation studies. His research interests include health insurance, clinical practice guidelines development, and methods for quantitative data synthesis. He holds a B.Sc. in Health Sciences from the Ateneo de Manila University, and a dual degree of M.D. and M.B.A. from the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health and the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. While obtaining his degrees, Dr. Miguel was elected National President of the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges – Student Network. Most recently, Dr. Miguel completed his MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care at the University of Oxford with the award of Distinction. On his free time, he is a reviewer for a number of scientific journals and a regular contributor to health websites, where he writes about the cost effectiveness of technologies in health.

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Mimi Kim

Dr. Mimi Kim

Vice-President, Scientific Affairs and Strategic Growth

Dr. Kim is a research scientist with a B.A. and M.Sc. from Columbia University, New York. She completed a Ph.D. in Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Duke University Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry. Her postdoctoral research focused on examining co-occurring drug addiction and severe and persistent mental illness and, in particular, the implementation of psychiatric advanced directives. She has over 20+ years of experience in leading the strategic planning and execution of complex health research studies/programs by leveraging evidence-based practices, and focusing on rigorous research methodologies. Dr. Kim has established strong credibility with both academia and industry as a research scientist with expertise in methodology and scientific dissemination. Most recently, she demonstrated her skills by successfully navigating the dynamic landscape of health care regulation in her role as a Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Senior Director. In this role, she created and led teams of scientists to develop and deliver numerous successful regulatory applications focused on improving population health. Dr. Kim has robust regulatory expertise and is proficient in steering through complex FDA requirements. She is also a strategic, analytic leader who is well-versed in real-world evidence and health outcomes research.

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Lindsay Kemp

Ms. Lindsay Kemp

Director of Operations

Lindsay Kemp has over 14 years of experience in the health sciences sector, where she has accumulated extensive experience managing projects, communicating with clients to understand their needs, preparing and submitting regulatory submissions, and researching and writing reports. Previously, Lindsay has spent time in technology transfer at both the University of Victoria and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. As a Technology Transfer Officer and Manager, Lindsay collaborated with faculty, researchers, and students to evaluate, protect and transfer their research and innovations to the private sector. Additionally, she assisted scientists in the planning and preparation of large and small grant applications. Prior to moving to the Business Operations Manager role, Lindsay worked at Thera-Business as a Research Officer, supporting the medical research/writing team, and helping to develop internal best practices adhering to regulatory standards. Previous to working at Thera-Business, Lindsay worked as a senior consultant, providing expertise to pharmaceutical industry clients on government regulations and drug product pricing assessments.


Lindsay Kemp received her MSc from the University of Guelph in Biomedical Science, where her research focused on prothrombin synthesis and thrombin generation in the ovarian follicle. She is a primary author and co-author on several scientific articles in peer-reviewed publications.

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Dr. Pranav Kumar

Dr. Pranav Kumar

Senior Medical Writer / Researcher

Dr. Pranav Kumar is a biomedical scientist, with a PhD in Life Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University and an MBA in International Business from Laval University in Quebec. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute. Dr Kumar has received training and certification in clinical research, pharmaceutical regulations, and bioscience management. Prior to joining Thera-Business, Dr Kumar worked as a medical writer and a business development consultant for pharmaceutical companies, and as a research professional at the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (Laval University). He previously completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie (Laval University), and at the KECK Graduate Institute in California. Dr Kumar’s research interests were in the development of a point-of-care testing device for TB diagnosis in peripheral settings, and deciphering the molecular mechanism of drug action and resistance for infectious diseases. He has published thirteen research articles in scientific journals during his academic career and received various fellowships for his scientific research.

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Dr. Daniel Anzola

Dr. Daniel Anzola

Senior Medical Writer / Researcher

Dr. Daniel Anzola is a medical professional with over 14 years of experience in healthcare research, project management, knowledge translation, and evidence synthesis. He earned his medical degree from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in his native Colombia, and honed his expertise in systematic reviews while working with the Cochrane Collaboration at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Spain. Dr. Anzola is an expert in methodologies underlying evidence-based research, and has extensive experience conducting systematic reviews to support the development of clinical practice guidelines, and conducting healthcare research using a variety of methodological approaches (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods). He has worked with numerous institutes, including the Colombian National Cancer Institute, Georgian College, Athabasca University, DeafBlind Ontario Services, the Royal Victoria Hospital, and the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. He has published his research findings in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at international conferences. Dr. Anzola is also a passionate educator and scientific communicator, having taught statistics and project management to post-graduate students at Georgian College.

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Dr. Isabelle Fakhoury

Dr. Isabelle Fakhoury

Senior Medical Writer / Researcher

Dr. Isabelle Fakhoury holds a MSc in Genetics from Paris 7 University, France, and a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Lebanese American University in the area of cancer cell motility, where she also managed research labs and taught academic courses in a number of areas including general biology. Since 2021, Dr. Fakhoury has worked as medical writer structuring different types of medical documents and crafting compelling and accurate clinical narratives. She is skilled in conducting literature reviews, preparing medical educational slide decks, grant writing, and communicating science to diverse audiences. Her previous areas of expertise include drug development, cancer biology, genetics, and nanotechnology. She is a multidisciplinary scientist and seasoned medical writer who has published several research articles in scientific journals, and has received several awards and personal recognitions.

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Dr. Zeina Salloum

Dr. Zeina Salloum

Senior Medical Writer / Researcher

Dr. Zeina Salloum holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, where she studied the effects of metal ions released from orthopedic implants on energy metabolism in macrophages. Dr. Salloum has diverse research expertise in molecular genetics and cancerology. Prior to joining Thera-Business, Dr. Salloum completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) in the chronic disease program studying the effects of cholesterol levels on epigenetic reprogramming and the immune response. She previously worked at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancerology (IRIC), affiliated with the University of Montreal, where she obtained her M.Sc. in Molecular Biology with a focus on systems biology. Prior to that, she was a visiting research student at University Claude Bernard-Lyon 1 in France where she conducted research that contributed to her obtaining an M.Sc. in Human Genetics at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Lebanon. Dr. Salloum has been an avid educator with experience at both the collegiate and university undergraduate levels where she taught courses in the biomedical sciences. She has also been an instructor for case-based learning sessions related to immunology (HIV) for first-year medical students at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Salloum has contributed to and authored multiple research articles published in high-impact and specialized scientific journals.

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Mrs. Manal El Joumaa

Mrs. Manal El Joumaa

Medical Writer / Researcher

Mrs. Manal El Joumaa holds a Master’s of Science degree in Biochemistry from the Beirut Arab University in Lebanon. Her thesis research focused on investigating the effect of a medicinal herb extract on colorectal carcinogenesis in rodents. While completing her Master’s degree, Mrs. El Joumaa also worked at the Beirut Arab University as a teaching assistant, teaching biology and biochemistry courses to undergraduate students. After completing her Master’s degree, she continued her career as a research assistant at the Beirut Arab University. She authored nine scientific publications on a range of topics, including oncology, environmental pollution, nanotechnology, and epidemiology. Mrs. El Joumaa is passionate about medical writing and has worked as a freelance medical writer since 2018, combining her scientific knowledge with her writing skills to produce high quality documents for a targeted audience. She is an expert in researching and analyzing medical and scientific data, and in writing and editing documents to ensure quality and accuracy.

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Mr. Vladimir Kuznetsov

Mr. Vladimir Kuznetsov

Director of Software Development

Mr. Kuznetsov received his B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from Carleton University in 2015. Mr. Kuznetsov is an expert with programming languages such as JavaScript, SQL, and PHP. Mr. Kuznetsov has performed multiple subcontracting projects which has allowed him to diversify his knowledge with MongoDB, Express, React, and Node frameworks. During his time at Carleton University studying electrical engineering, Mr. Kuznetsov participated in an internship at Ericsson in Ottawa working on product debugging, as well as testing of logic circuits. In addition to his academic credentials, he has taken multiple courses to update and improve his knowledge on various topics relating to software languages.

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Ms. Yi Li

Ms. Yi Li

Senior Research Analyst

Ms. Li holds a master’s degree in Statistics from University of Ottawa after completing B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics. With a strong background in math and statistics, Ms. Li practiced and built her skills in handling pooled datasets with theoretical and advanced knowledge (such as machine learning, time series, etc) by using Python, R, SQL and Tableau. By assisting a project for Climate Center of Guangdong Province in China, she constructed a CNN model to predict the daily precipitation for the extended-range and the paper had been submitted to Mathematical Theory and Application. As a data enthusiast, Ms. Li likes to extract information from data, discover features, and use concrete results to explain abstract phenomena. When approaching the area of bioscience and healthcare, she is ready to contribute and take on challenges.

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Ms. Diana Kao

Ms. Diana Kao

Senior Health Research Analyst

Ms. Kao received her M.Sc. in Epidemiology from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London, after completing her BSc in Biology at The University of British Columbia. Ms. Kao also obtained an Advanced Diploma in Geographic Information System from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Ms. Kao has multiple years of research experiences in both quantitative and qualitative public health/epidemiological studies on infectious and chronic diseases. Through both academic and past work trainings, Ms. Kao has acquired strong knowledge and practical experience in performing data management and data analysis, descriptive and regression statistics, predictive model building, cohort and clustering analysis, and data visualization using SAS, R, STATA, and Tableau. Ms. Kao also co-authored and edited papers published in peer-reviewed journals.

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Mr. Sheldon Yu

Mr. Sheldon Yu

Senior Research Analyst

Mr. Yu received his M.Sc. in Statistics from Carleton University after completing his BSc in Statistics and Economics. Mr. Yu is an expert in theoretical and applied statistics, with extensive experience in mixed modelling, survival analyses, data mining, and using software (R, SAS, Python, Matlab) to analyze large datasets. During his graduate studies he worked as a research assistant studying the associations between long term exposure to air pollution and the incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment. Previous experience includes working as a data analyst with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where he analyzed diagnostic scanning methodologies, as well as working as a data analyst with Health Canada, where he used statistical analyses to perform risk assessments of chemical substances. In addition to his academic credentials, he is an SAS Certified Base and Advanced Programmer, and has completed the actuarial exam for probability.

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Mr. Rami Ali

Mr. Rami Ali

Project Manager

Mr. Ali is a MSc in Public Health graduate from McGill University, with a BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Ottawa. He was initially drawn into this field of work by discovering a great interest in working to elevate and promote the population’s health through the application of epidemiological principles. To date, Mr. Ali has gained both knowledge and experience in data analysis, narrative and systematic reviews, epidemiological surveys, and the preparation of manuscripts and technical reports. While completing his undergraduate degree he did a placement at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, where he used administrative data to examine the effect of different cardiovascular surgery procedures on various patient outcomes. Most recently, he worked with a team of experts at the Division of Cancer Epidemiology at McGill University to develop multiple reviews and a pan-Canadian survey aimed at analyzing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care and control services. Mr. Ali is a motivated professional in the field of Public Health and Epidemiology who is always looking to put his skills and knowledge into practice in order to tackle difficult public health issues with the goal of improving health outcomes.

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Mr. Karlos Ye

Mr. Karlos Ye

Programmer / Data Analyst

Mr. Karlos Ye received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from McMaster University. During his undergraduate studies, he participated in a research internship, which provided him with valuable experience in inspecting economic issues and analyzing large-scale economic data. In addition to his undergraduate degree, Mr. Ye has also obtained a technical diploma in Web Development and Internet Application from Algonquin College. Throughout his academic journey, he has developed a keen interest in computer programming. His strong programming knowledge allows him to apply his skills in data analytics and full-stack web development, enabling him to build visually appealing web applications with an efficient back-end platform. Mr. Ye's knowledge in data analytics frameworks such as R, SAS, and Python has enabled him to utilize these tools effectively in his work. Additionally, he has a strong passion for employing web frameworks such as React.js, Node.js, and ASP.NET to develop front-end user interfaces that are aesthetically designed and user-friendly.

We've completed 500+ projects for leading medical device and pharmaceutical companies, as well as government health agencies.