Team & Advisory Board

The people behind the engine.
All scientists first.

Founded by a computational cell biologist and an experimental immunologist who spent their careers studying how proteins meet, get degraded, and get presented inside the cell. Guided by advisors who have built clinical-stage biotechs, run research institutes, and taken therapies to market.

Team research published in

Nature
Cell
Nature Immunology
Molecular Systems Biology

Experience from

IRCM
Université de Montréal
McGill
Novartis
Debiopharm
Applied Biosystems
Feldan Therapeutics
BioMotiv

Leadership

CEO & Co-Founder

Jonathan Boulais, PhD

Computational cell biologist and architect of the ProxAI generative design engine.

Jonathan has spent his career mapping how proteins find each other inside the cell. Trained in systems biology in Prof. Michel Desjardins' laboratory at the Université de Montréal, he contributed to large-scale proteomic maps of the phagosome published in Nature and Molecular Systems Biology. At ProxAI he leads company strategy, partnerships, and the computational platform that turns protein–protein interaction data into designed binders and degraders.

Expertise

Protein–protein interactions
Proteomics & systems biology
Generative protein design

Selected publications

A systems biology analysis of the Drosophila phagosome Nature · 2007
Molecular characterization of the evolution of phagosomes Mol. Syst. Biol. · 2010

CSO & Co-Founder

Luc English, PhD, MBA

Immunologist and cell biologist leading ProxAI's experimental validation engine.

Luc runs ProxAI's wet lab at the IRCM, where every computationally designed candidate is expressed, screened, and ranked in a high-throughput validation loop. He was first author of a Nature Immunology study showing that autophagy — one of the cell's core protein-degradation pathways — shapes how viral antigens are presented to the immune system. That grounding in how cells break down and display proteins now drives ProxAI's degrader and bioPROTAC programs.

Expertise

Targeted protein degradation
Immunology & antigen presentation
High-throughput cellular assays

Selected publication

Autophagy enhances the presentation of endogenous viral antigens on MHC class I molecules during HSV-1 infection Nature Immunology · 2009

Advisory Board

Scientific, translational, and commercial leaders who pressure-test our programs — from target biology through IND-enabling strategy to partnering and market access.

Scientific & Business Advisor

François-Thomas Michaud, PhD

CEO & Co-Founder, Feldan Therapeutics

Co-founded Feldan during his PhD in chemical engineering and has led it as CEO into the clinic on the strength of the Feldan Shuttle, a peptide-based platform for delivering biologics inside cells. Advises ProxAI on platform strategy, lead optimization, and the path to IND.

Scientific Advisor

Michel Desjardins, PhD

Full Professor, Pathology & Cell Biology, Université de Montréal

Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada whose work on phagocytosis and antigen cross-presentation helped define how immune cells process proteins. His lab produced the first direct evidence that T-cell–driven autoimmunity can trigger Parkinson's disease. Advises ProxAI on immune-cell biology and target selection.

Scientific Advisor

Jean-François Côté, PhD

President & Scientific Director, IRCM

Internationally recognized cancer biologist and head of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute, ProxAI's laboratory home. Holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cell Signalling and Cancer Metastasis and is a Full Professor at the Université de Montréal. PhD, McGill; postdoctoral training at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

Scientific & Business Advisor

Mika Guérard, PhD, MBA

Director, Foresight & Business Intelligence, Axelys

Scientist-turned venture builder with 15+ years bridging early drug discovery, company creation, and translational strategy. At BioMotiv she helped launch biotech companies and led eight therapeutic development programs across the portfolio. Guides ProxAI's lead-optimization and IND-enabling strategy for induced-proximity targets.

Business Advisor

Marina Massingham

Pharma & Health-Tech Executive

Commercial leader across pharma and health tech. As CEO of Aifred Health she led the team to 1st place in North America in the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE. Previously VP Marketing at Aequus Pharmaceuticals, co-founder of TeOra Health, and Head of Commercial Talent Development at Novartis. Advises ProxAI on go-to-market and commercial strategy.

Scientific & Business Advisor

Margaret Bywater-Ekegärd, PhD

Co-Founder, Morphocell Technologies

Serial biotech founder with 30+ years building and commercializing life-science technologies. Co-founded Morphocell (US$50M Series A); previously VP Business Development & Licensing at Debiopharm, President & CSO of Nova Molecular, and General Manager at Applied Biosystems. Coach to District 3's biotech stream. PhD, Uppsala University.

The people behind the engine.
All scientists first.