Speakers

From his childhood on a farm in southern Ontario, David Fraser has maintained a fascination with animals throughout his 50-year research career. His career included some of the earliest research on the welfare of intensively raised pigs (Edinburgh, 1971-1975), and research on the behaviour and management of moose (Ontario, 1975-1981). He then developed a research team on farm animal welfare and behaviour at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa (1981-1997). In 1997 he was appointed NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare at UBC where he developed and taught several courses in animal welfare and mentored a long list of valued graduate students.

Prof. Fraser has worked with many organizations to find practical ways to improve the lives of animals. He has served as an advisor on animal welfare to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, Rome), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE, Paris), the Food Marketing Institute and National Council of Chain Restaurants (Washington), and several major corporations. He was one of the founding members of Canada’s National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council. In 2005 he was appointed Member of the Order of Canada for his role as a pioneer of animal welfare science.

For a video of Dr. David Fraser on animal welfare and the ethics of animal use, click here. For more information see Dr. Fraser’s faculty page.

From his early academic years in chemistry, Morten Meldal has pursued a career marked by innovation and international recognition. In 2022, his groundbreaking work in click chemistry was honoured with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Professor Meldal has built his career at the University of Copenhagen, where he is head of the Center of Evolutionary Chemical Biology. He has also served as Deputy Head of Department for Education (VILU) at the Department of Chemistry, shaping the academic development of future scientists. Over the years, his research has had a profound influence on peptide and combinatorial chemistry, with contributions spanning organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, artificial receptors and enzymes, nano assays, biomolecular recognition, molecular immunology, and more.

He was the founder and remains president of the Society of Combinatorial Sciences, reflecting his long-standing leadership in the field. With more than 300 scientific publications and 21 patents, he has helped shape both academic research and applied science. In addition to his academic achievements, he is also the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Betamab, a biotechnology company engaged in pharmacological research, diagnostics, and drug development.