Our people

Siyaram Pandey, PhD

Interim President

Windsor, ON

Siyaram Pandey is a Distinguished University Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Windsor. He obtained his B. Sc. Hons (Chemistry) and M. Sc. In Biochemistry from Banaras Hindu University, India, PhD from JNU (Delhi) and CCMB Hyderabad, India, did postdoctoral training at McGill university, worked at NRC as associate and Research Officer before joining the University of Windsor in 2000. Dr. Pandey’s research is focused on apoptosis (cell suicide), which is central to various aspects of human health including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. He has published more than 93 research articles and has 3 patents (two awarded and one filed). He was the President of the Natural Health Product Research Society of Canada from 2013-1015 and currently member of the board of director of NHPRS. He was the Founder Director and CSO of the Windsor Botanical Therapeutics Inc. Toronto (2015-2017). He is currently Scientific Advisor for Next Remedis Inc Toronto (2022). His group is known for their discovery of the novel natural anti-cancer compound Pancratistatin, and Dandelion Root extract which is in phase i/ii clinical trial for cancer patients. His group in collaboration with Dr. Arnason’s lab at the University of Ottawa has pioneered discovery of different novel natural extracts with very selective anti-cancer activities. Currently he is leading the development of natural extract for cancer treatment collaborating with Synthite Industries Ltd. Cochin, India and oncologists at the Cochin Cancer Research Center in India. He is member of Society of Toxicology, USA, His research team has demonstrated that Ubisol Q10 (a water-soluble formulation of Coq10 and Ashwagandha extract in combination are capable of halting the progression of neurodegeneration and motor and cognition deficits in rodent models of AD and PD. He has been working in collaboration with Nextremedies Inc to develop this neuroprotective therapy, and with Nextremedies In for developing neuroprotective agents. He is academic editor for PLoS ONE, member of editorial board of Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (ECAM), J. Alzhiemer’s Disease, Integrative Cancer Therapies. His recent work on targeting cancer cells’ metabolic and oxidative vulnerability has opened up a new platform for anti-cancer drug development (Ma et al 2017 and Pignanelli et al 2017 Nature Scientific Reports 2017). He has given a TEDx talk that was viewed by more than 125,000 times, has given three public lectures and several invited talk. His publications have received very good readership (more than 8800) and citations (H index more than 48 as per Google Scholar https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=LonJTxMAAAAJ&hl=en

Krista Coventry, MSc

Vice-President

Guelph, ON

Krista is a regulatory affairs specialist with 14 years of industry experience focusing on regulatory project management and strategic planning of client-based regulatory initiatives in the North American health products marketplace. If you have a concept for a new health product, or want to tailor an existing product for the North American marketplace, Krista can help you navigate the regulatory hurdles required to gain market access. Krista has expert knowledge of the acts, regulations, policies and guidelines relating to Natural Health Products (NHPs), foods, supplemented foods and organic foods in Canada. She has advised numerous clients with products at the interface of NHP, food, cosmetic and drug regulations. Krista routinely speaks at international conferences, workshops and seminars on current regulatory topics, regulatory modernization initiatives, health claims, and trending ingredients in these industries.

Alain Cuerrier, PhD

Treasurer

Montréal, QC

Researcher at the Montreal Botanical Garden and writer, Dr. Alain Cuerrier earned his PhD in plant systematics (University of Montreal with one year at Harvard University) before switching to ethnobotany in 2001. He participated at the creation of the First-Nations Garden in Montreal as well as in Laquenexy (France). Since then, he has started ethnobotanical and ethno-ecological projects with the Inuit, Innu, Naskapi, Cree, Squamish people of Canada as well as Palikur (French Guiana) and Cabécar (Costa Rica). As member of the Canadian Institute Health Research Team in Aboriginal Antidiabetic Medecines, he has been active in traditional medicine since 2003. Alain Cuerrier is a member of the Plant Biology Research Institute, ajunct professor at University of Montreal, member of ArcticNet, and Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science. He has been vice-president of the Natural Health Product Research Society of Canada from 2010-2013 and was president of the International Society of Ethnobiology (2014-2016). Dr. Alain Cuerrier has published more than 12 books on plant uses by First Nations and Inuit of Canada as well as on the philosophy of biology.

Braydon Hall, MSc

Secretary

Ottawa, ON

Braydon is a Lab Manager at the University of Ottawa. He works on projects oriented around the biochemical profiling and analysis of pharmacodynamics of potentially medicinal plants. He has worked on plants such as medicinal plants from the Cree and Squamish, saffron, and cannabis.

Connie Kehler

Member at Large

Saskatoon, SK

Connie Kehler is the executive director of the Canadian Herb, Specialty Agriculture and Natural Health Product Coalition. She is one of the founders of NHPRS. Connie also was on the Industry Liaison Committee for Health Canada NHPD. One of her roles was to lead the Botanical Good Manufacturing Practices Teams of NHPD. Connie and her team worked with the WHO, NHPRS, CFIA, AAFC and AHPA to develop the first certified Good Agriculture and Collection Practice program that is now recognized internationally. Connie had worked with the natural health product industry on many initiatives to support the science and the industry moving forward.

Marleny Saldaña, PhD

Member at Large

Edmonton, AB

Dr. Saldaña is a tenured professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta. She has a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering with specialization in Process Engineering. She is internationally recognized for her work on emerging processing technologies, including sub/super-critical carbon dioxide and water processing, ultrasound and high-pressure processing to treat food, crops, biomass and agricultural residues to obtain high-value bioactive compounds, biopolymers and chemicals for use in nutraceutical, functional food and industrial applications. Dr. Saldaña has received various international awards from academia and industry, including the 2017-2018 McCalla Professorship award. She is a reviewer for national/international grant applications. She was the chair for the Natural Health Product (NHP) Conference held in Edmonton in 2019. She has served in the NSERC RTI committee. Dr. Saldaña is a member of various associations such as CIFST (Membership Director for the AB Section), NHPRS (Member at Large), IFT-NDP (Member at Large), ISSF, among others. She is currently Editor of the Journal of Food Engineering Reviews.

Anika Singh, PhD

Member at Large

Vancouver, BC

Dr. Anika Singh is a food scientist working as a Project Leader at British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver, BC. Dr Singh's research interests include Post-Harvest Processing, Food Chemistry, Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Bioactives, Digestion of Food and Natural Health Products, Food Emulsions, Packaging Film Design, HPLC and GC Analysis of Food Components. Dr. Singh is helping many small and medium scale Canadian Food Industries to solve their R&D challenges. Before joining NRG, Dr. Singh worked as a Research Associate at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia (UBC). At UBC, Dr. Singh contributed significantly to the development of collaborative research projects and the implementation of innovative research strategies and managing research partnerships between local BC food industries, government, and academia. Dr. Singh received her PhD degree in Food Science from McGill University in 2016. Soon after finishing her PhD, Dr. Singh won the Talent Edge Fellowship in Ontario, Canada, and was appointed as a Manager of Compliance & Technical Services at Allergen Control Group (ACG), Toronto. At ACG, Anika worked with food safety regulators and enforcement agencies around the globe to harmonize the standard against management certification of facilitates producing gluten-free food products. She has extensive work experience in various novel food processing techniques such as thermal, high pressure, pulsed light & microwave processing and has researched food safety and microbial validation. Dr. Singh is an expert in food quality and safety with working knowledge of Canadian & US food & drug regulations and food quality/safety policies. She has 38+ publications in renowned journals in food science and presentations at international conferences.

Kieran Cooley, ND

Member at Large

New Westminster, BC

Kieran Cooley, ND (non-clinical) is Director of Research at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. His research experience includes conducting whole-practice clinical trials on naturopathic care, evaluating the quality and impact of both naturopathic and integrative medicine, as well as collaborating with various institutions to evaluate natural health products. He is currently past-Chair of the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Researchers (INCAM) and Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Technology, Sydney through the International Naturopathy Research Leadership and Capacity Building Program. Kieran is co-editor in chief of the Journal of Natural Health Product Research (JNHPR), the official journal of the Natural Health Product Research Society (NHPRS). He is fortunate to have collaborated widely and sits on Research Working Groups of the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF) and Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM).

Pierre S. Haddad, PhD

Member at Large

Montréal, QC

Dr. Haddad is a tenured professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the Université de Montréal. His fields of expertise include: Natural Health Products, Traditional medicine, Metabolic diseases, Diabetes, and Obesity. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and is recognized internationally for his work on medicinal plants and functional foods in metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes, notably relating to Indigenous health.

Joe Betz, PhD

Member at Large

Joseph Betz was Acting Director of the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health from 2018 until his retirement in 2022. He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy. After serving as a research chemist at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and as the American Herbal Product Association’s vice president for science, Joe joined NIH in 2002 to manage the ODS Analytical Methods and Reference Materials (AMRM) program. As AMRM director, he oversaw initiatives providing validated analytical methods and reference materials for natural products in research, industrial, and regulatory settings. He is adjunct professor at the Georgetown University, a member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, and fellow of AOAC International School of Medicine and adjunct Professor at the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research. He is a member of the USP’s Expert Committee on Dietary Supplements and served on a scientific advisory committee for Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate. He is a member of the International Advisory Board for the Hong Kong government’s Chinese Medicine Division and a member of the American Botanical Council Board of Trustees. He is current vice president of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. Joe is author or co-author of over 100 publications and has earned numerous awards, including ABC’s Farnsworth Award, AHPA Herbal Insight Award, AHPA Lifetime Achievement in Collaboration Award, AOAC’s Wiley Award, ASP’s Tyler Prize, and the Natural Health Product Research Society of Canada’s Neil Towers Award.

Robin Marles, PhD

Member at Large

Dr. Marles is the volunteer chair of the U.S. Pharmacopeia Botanical Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines Expert Committee. From 2013 until his retirement in 2023, Dr. Robin Marles was the Senior Scientific Advisor, Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, Food Directorate, Health Canada. He advised on safety, quality and claims for botanical, nutrient, and bioactive ingredients, novel foods, food additives, and clinical trials on foods for a special dietary purpose. At Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate (2003–2013) he was the science advisor for finalizing Canada’s Natural Health Products Regulations and Director of the Bureau of Clinical Trials and Health Sciences. As a professor at Brandon University, Manitoba (1992–2002), he taught biology, botany, economic botany, ethnobotany, plant ecology, plant taxonomy, phytochemistry, and herbal medicine continuing education for pharmacists and physicians. His scientific publications deal with quality, safety, and claims for botanicals, phytochemicals, and nutrients; anticancer, antiviral, antidiabetic, and antimigraine plant-derived drug discovery; and ethnobotany. His education includes a BSc (Biology, U. Victoria 1977), MSc (Biology, U. Saskatchewan 1984), PhD (Pharmacognosy, U. Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy 1988), and two postdoctoral research fellowships (marigold-derived botanical pesticides, U. Ottawa, 1988-1990; feverfew herbal drug standardization, U. Ottawa / Health Canada, 1990-1992).

Satya Prakash

Member at Large

David St. Pierre

Member at Large

Montréal, QC

Sharan Sidhu

Member at Large

Victoria, BC