Dr. Halla Thorsteinsdóttir

Biography:
Dr. Halla Thorsteinsdóttir is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and a member of the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health, University Health Network. She completed her doctoral studies in Science and Technology Policy in 1999 at SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Prior to that, she completed a master’s degree in Development Economics from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa Canada as well as a master’s degree in Psychology from the same university. Halla’s research is focused on health biotechnology innovation in developing countries. Her current projects examine collaboration in health biotechnology both between Canada and developing countries (north-south collaboration) and amongst developing countries (south-south collaboration) as well as regenerative medicine innovation systems in several emerging countries. Halla is the recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of Genetics Maud Menten New Principal Investigator Prize (2005-2006) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, New Principal Investigator Award (2007-2012).

Abstract:
Forming bonds? Mapping Canada’s Health Biotechnology Collaborations with Developing Countries. Halla Thorsteinsdóttir and Monali Ray

The presentation will look at the rationale for Canada’s collaboration with developing countries in the health biotechnology field and present results of studies that mapped both research and entrepreneurial collaborations. Co-authored papers by researchers from Canada and at least one low and middle income country were used as a proxy for research collaboration and we analysed the levels and patterns of the linkages. To map Canada’s entrepreneurial collaborations, we surveyed all health biotech firms we could identify in Canada and asked them about the levels and characteristics of their linkages with low and middle income countries. We will compare Canada’s north-south collaborations with collaborations of other high income countries with developing nations and discuss what the comparisons imply about Canada’s roles in international health biotechnology networks.

Monali Ray is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto. She completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons) at McMaster University. Under Dr. Halla Thorsteinsdóttir, Monali's thesis work is exploring Canada's research and entrepreneurial collaboration with India and Brazil in the field of health biotechnology.