Brian Underdown, PhD

Managing Director, Lumira Capital
Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Underdown is Managing Director of Lumira Capital, where he concentrates on investments in North American therapeutics companies at all stages of development.  He had earlier been Assistant Vice-President for Research at Pasteur Merieux Connaught, where he headed the Canadian Universities Research program and several global programs to develop vaccines. During his academic career, he was Associate Dean of Research at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine and at McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Dr. Underdown has held senior positions on national and international bodies concerned with science policy and university-industry collaboration.  He has served on boards of such life sciences companies as Argos Therapeutics, Ception Therapeutics, Cytochroma Inc., Golden Horseshoe Biotechnology Network, ID Biomedical, Nysa Membrane Technologies, Trillium Therapeutics, Transmolecular Therapeutics, and Viron Therapeutics.

He received his PhD in Immunology from McGill University and undertook postdoctoral studies at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  Dr. Underdown’s experience in academic research, venture investment, and operational knowledge in commercial biotechnology should enhance MIP’s efforts to facilitate and catalyse the impact of research in the greater Hamilton area.