Mr. Nitesh Sanghai, is a native of Dhanbad, India. He completed his bachelor’s degree with a certificate of honor, certificate of merit, and silver medal from Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (SHUATS), formerly Allahabad Agricultural Institute, India in 2010. After that, he completed his M.S (PHARM). Degree from National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), under the supervision of Dr. Sankar K. Guchhait from India in 2012. His research under Dr. Gucchait was mainly focused to develop new chemical molecules as anticancer agents. After he started his journey in the field of Pharmacovigilance at Parexel Int. for 6 years, where he worked as a global compliance analyst and safety scientist for Roche. He then joined the graduate program at the College of Pharmacy, the University of Manitoba in 2019, where he is currently a doctoral candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Geoffrey K. Tranmer. His program of studies is particularly inclined to medicinal chemistry to synthesize, characterize and develop new chemical molecules, which could halt the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, like Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His research interests include medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.

Dr. Geoffrey Tranmer, a native of Lindsay Ontario Canada, began his endeavors into scholarly research as an undergraduate at Brock University working in the lab of Professor Fred Capretta as a fourth-year thesis student. Upon completion of his Honors degree in Chemistry, he enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Guelph, studying the “1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions of Nitrones Tethered to Norbornadiene: Scope and Applications”, under the supervision of Professor William Tam. Geoff initiated his post-doctoral studies at Princeton University working with Prof. Martin Semmelhack, studying the application of molecular design towards bacterial quorum sensing. Following this tenure, and an NSERC post-doctoral fellowship, he continued his studies in the group of Professor Steven V. Ley at the University of Cambridge researching the development and application of new technologies in organic synthesis, with a particular focus on Flow Chemistry and Microwave-Assisted Organic Synthesis. Geoff’s first industrial role was as a Senior Research Chemist at Merck Frosst in Montreal as a member of the Technology Enabled Synthesis group, integrating the application of automated synthesis and purification into medicinal chemistry programs. Presently, he is an Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy, the University of Manitoba. His research interests are in the areas of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.