ECHO Pitch Judging Panel

As Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS Canada, Dozie is responsible for external engagement, innovation sourcing, company onboarding, portfolio management, operational excellence, educational programming and P&L. He catalyzes and supports the translation of science and technology into valuable solutions for patients and consumers across the pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer and healthtech sectors. Dozie joined the JLABS team from the Nonclinical Safety – Pathology function of the Discovery, Product Development and Supply Organization at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson where he led the US Discovery and Project Pathology team. Dozie and his team helped drive the acquisition and internal discovery of over 20 biopharmaceutical entities across 10 modalities from early discovery to clinical development, and some up to approval. Dozie also initiated and led the cross-functional oligonucleotide working group that has helped shape strategies for RNAi therapies in discovery and was a critical driver for understanding the pathobiology of cancer immunotherapies in discovery and development. Dozie earned a dual-major Ph.D. in Comparative Medicine and Integrative Toxicological Sciences at Michigan State University and completed a residency in Veterinary Pathology at Michigan State. He also received a D.V.M from University of Nigeria and is a Diplomate with American Board of Toxicology, as well as a Diplomate of American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

Evelyn Pau joined Amplitude as a Principal in August 2024. She works directly with Amplitude’s portfolio companies while supporting the deal team on active diligence and nomination.

Prior to joining Amplitude, Evelyn was the Vice President, Investment Banking at Bloom Burton & Co., a healthcare-focused investment banking firm. At Bloom Burton, her responsibilities included deal origination, strategic advisory, and venture creation for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare companies. Previous to that, Evelyn was a Business Development Analyst at Tornado Medical Systems (acquired by Bruker) and a Research Fellow at SECOR Consulting (acquired by KPMG). She completed her PhD in immunology at the University of Toronto, specializing in the genetics of lupus, and her BMSc (Hons) in microbiology and immunology at Western University.

Heather Cartwright is President of Power Ten Investments Ltd, a private holding company. She is an investor, philanthropist and advocate. Her philanthropy supports leadership development in athletic coaching, Indigenous youth sports and fellowships in cardiology, as well as advancing research of inherited cardiac arrhythmias. Her advocacy is in protecting fair and safe sport for women and girls and for patient rights. A former rower, Heather was diagnosed at age 21 with ARVC and later, with heart failure. She is a board member of the Canadian SADS (Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes) Foundation and the new host of the “Let’s Talk SADS Live” podcast. 

Dr. Farah Sheikh is an entrepreneur and Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego who has successfully translated cutting-edge science into biotechnology ventures. She launched and exited ARVC Therapeutics Inc. and Stelios Therapeutics Inc., whose assets fueled the acquiring company’s IPO, with her role recognized at NASDAQ. Building on that success, she is now spearheading new ventures, MyoTherapeutix and Papillon Therapeutics, focused on advancing next-generation therapies for acquired and systemic based cardiac diseases. Her scientific program is internationally recognized for pioneering discoveries on the genetic cardiac disease, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Her laboratory has developed human-relevant models, uncovered novel therapeutic targets, and advanced adeno-associated viral-based gene therapy into Phase 1/2 clinical trials, with publications in top-tier journals including The Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Sheikh also plays a leading role in shaping the cardiovascular research and biotech ecosystem. She is Chair of the American Heart Association Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) conference and serves on the BCVS Leadership Council. She is Past Chair of the American Physiological Society (APS) Cardiovascular Section and a newly elected APS Board member, as well as Councilor for the International Society for Heart Research–North American Section. At UC San Diego, she is Associate Director of the NHLBI Cardiology T32 training grant, serves on the Board of the UCSD Gene Therapy Initiative, and Director of the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Life Sciences and Associate Editor of npj Regenerative Medicine.

Heather Ross CM, MD, DSc, MHSc, FRCP (C), FACC is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and Head of the Division of Cardiology at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. She received the Order of Canada in 2020 (CM), and an Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) from Queen’s University 2021. She is the Site lead for the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, and holds the Loretta A. Rogers Chair in Heart Function and the Pfizer Chair in Cardiovascular Research. She received her medical degree from the University of British Columbia, Canada, Cardiology training at Dalhousie University, and Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cardiac Transplantation at Stanford University, California. She earned her Master’s Degree in Bioethics from the University of Toronto. She has published over 450 peer reviewed articles, with an H index of 80 and > 26k citations, trained > 45 highly qualified personnel and received > 46 million dollars in peer reviewed research funding. She has won numerous awards including Inventor of the year (UHN 2022), the Inter-American Society of Cardiology Lifetime Achievement Award (2025), the Canadian Society of Transplantation Lifetime Achievement Award (2022), the inaugural CCS Women in Cardiovascular Medicine/Science Mentorship Award (2020) and the Canadian Heart Failure Society Annual Achievement Award (2019). Importantly, her work with Indigenous communities in Ontario was recently awarded an Ontario Health Quality Award (2024). 

An accomplished healthcare and life sciences executive, Prakash brings over 25 years of diverse experience across biopharma, capital markets, and entrepreneurship. His track record spans private and public companies, startups and large corporations, and different business models, healthcare verticals and emerging sectors.  As a leader and strategist, he has held responsibility for people, P&Ls, financing, licensing, M&A, and go-public leadership.

He currently serves as Vice President at TIAP, a not-for-profit that identifies and accelerates medical innovations into high-potential Canadian companies, leading investment strategy, company mentorship, and portfolio management.

Prior to TIAP, Prakash was Chief Operating Officer and Head of Corporate Development at a mental health and psychedelic medicine company, where he led the development of a clinic network, took the company public, managed U.S. operations, and oversaw acquisitions and the eventual sale of the business.  Previously, as co-founder of a health technology company focused on individualized treatment strategies in a newly regulated market, he helped build the team, launch the product, and guide the company through to acquisition.

Prakash is also an experienced capital markets professional, having served in senior biotech equity research and investment banking roles at CIBC World Markets, National Bank Financial, and Canaccord Capital.  The foundation of his career was built over many years in commercial operations and new product development in the pharmaceutical industry.

Prakash serves on the boards of BioSyent (RX-TSXV), Appili Therapeutics (APLI-TSX) and HDAX Therapeutics (private), and has previously served as Director at FendX Technologies and Isotechnika Pharma (now Aurinia Pharmaceuticals). He holds an MBA from McGill University, degrees in Pharmacy and Zoology from the University of British Columbia, and is a Chartered Director.

Dr. Seema Mital is a Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist and Head of Cardiovascular Research at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. She is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the SickKids Research Institute. She is also the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada / Robert M Freedom Chair of Cardiovascular Science, and Scientific Lead of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research. Mital has a strong translational research program focused on genomics, pharmacogenomics and stem cell applications to model childhood heart disease and discover new therapies. She has extensive experience in the genetics/genomics of congenital heart disease and heart failure, personalized medicine and clinical trials. She established the SickKids Heart Centre Biobank, a multi-centre biorepository of children and adults with childhood onset heart disease for genomics research, one of the largest international repositories of its kind. Mital is the Principal Investigator of the CIHR-funded INSERT-HCM multi-centre project aimed at implementing digital health technology, the NIH-funded Pediatric Heart Network for clinical trials, and leads the international ERAPerMed funded PROCEED network for Personalized Genomics in congenital heart disease.