Dr. Fast has over 20 years of experience assessing and moving research-based technologies into the private sector as well as facilitating collaborative research partnerships with industry. He is also the lead of the Western Canadian Innovation Offices project, a collaborative effort to boost engagement of post-secondary institutions and industry in Western Canada. Previously, Darren was the Senior Intellectual Property Advisor at the Public Health Agency of Canada. He was also the President of Solalta Advisors, providing market and business development services for early stage, technology-based companies. Darren has also been Chief Technology Officer for the Western Life Sciences Venture Fund, and Manager, Product Planning and Development at Viventia Biotech. He has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Alberta and a M.Sc. in chemistry from the University of Manitoba.