Lisa Mckerracher

Lisa McKerracher, Ph.D. is the Founder and CEO of BioAxone BioSciences. She is a serial entrepreneur with experience in company start-up, drug development, preclinical research, and clinical trial strategy and implementation. Dr. McKerracher spent 15 years as a university professor with an active academic research program at McGill University and then Université de Montréal before leaving a tenured position to pursue her passion for drug development. Dr. McKerracher is a recognized leader in regenerative medicine and translational neuroscience and has received multiple awards throughout her career. She was a co-recipient of the Christopher Reeve Research Medal for Spinal Cord Repair in 2000 with Dr. Albert Aguayo and was invited to join the prestigious Springboard program for women entrepreneurs leading high-growth companies in 2013. She was previously CEO of Emerillon Therapeutics, a genomics-based company, VP at a clean tech company, and CSO of BioAxone (Canada), a university spin-out company.

Dr. McKerracher is currently a member of the Consortium Advisory Panel for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, is a Scientific Officer for the commercialization panel for the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and a member of the Leaders Council for the Tannenbaum Open Science Institute at McGill University. She is also a founding member of the Boston BioPharma Executive Council and serves on the NIH SBIR grant panel for the Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She has had past roles in strategic planning for The Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health, and Addiction of CIHR, and The Rick Hansen Foundation. In 2014, Dr. McKerracher negotiated an out-license to Vertex Pharmaceuticals for BioAxone’s Phase 2 drug to treat spinal cord injury, a deal that included over $100 M in upfront and milestone payments in addition to royalties. Since 2014, Dr. McKerracher has brought in over $6M dollars in non-dilutive SBIR grant funding for BioAxone as Principal Investigator.

Dr. McKerracher holds a BSc from McGill University and Ph.D. from York University and received post-doctoral training at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology (Massachusetts) and McGill University. Dr. McKerracher continues to hold an Adjunct Professor position in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, at McGill University.