Science in service of something bigger

Patients deserve the best treatments possible.

At MFI, we apply our knowledge, software, and collaborative approach to advance discovery research and contribute to the development of life-changing therapies.

Meet the team

Our team spans medicinal, synthetic, and computational chemistry, CADD, machine learning, and software development. It is this mix of disciplines, experiences, and perspectives that allows MFI to approach complex discovery questions from more than one direction.

Josh Pottel, Ph.D.

CEO

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Ph.D. from McGill. Research focus: software development in chemo- and bioinformatics. Post-doc research as an NRSA and CERSI fellow at UCSF. Co-inventor of VIRTUAL CHEMIST platform.

Nicolas Moitessier, Ph.D.

Co-founder and CSO

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Full Professor at McGill and co-founder of Molecular Forecaster. Ph.D. from Université Henri Poincaré-Nancy (France), post-doc at UdM. Current interests: integrating computational chemistry, organic/medicinal chemistry, and software development.

Mihai Burai-Patrascu, Ph.D.

Director of Product Strategy

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He earned his B.Sc. in Chemistry (JUB, Germany, 2015) and Ph.D. (McGill University, Canada, 2020), specializing in computational tools for organic and medicinal chemistry. With expertise in drug design, cheminformatics, and software development, he holds two invention certificates and has received multiple awards and grants. His work appears in top journals, including Nature Catalysis and JACS.

Sébastien Alazet, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist

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Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Université of Lyon 1 (2015) and Post-doc at EPFL Lausanne and University of Toronto. 

Research focus: Medicinal chemistry from hit identification to lead optimization. Expertise in the design and synthesis of small molecules in integrating SAR and ADME properties to drive medicinal chemistry strategy. 

Sebastien also worked as a medicinal chemist at Nuchem Science, Evotec SA and adMare Bioinnovation, before joining MFI. 

Agathe Fayet, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist

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Ph.D. From Sorbonne Université and Ecole Polytechnique. Research focus: DFT and Organic synthesis. Agathe also worked at the Broad Institute in Cambridge MA and completed an internship at McGill under the supervision of Pr. Nicolas Moitessier.

Ophelie Rostaing, M.Sc.

Senior Scientist

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M.Sc. from Université de Paris (France). Research focus: structure-based drug design. Ophélie previously completed an internship at McGill under the supervision of Pr. Nicolas Moitessier.

Matej Janezic, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

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Ph. D. from the University of Tokyo. Research focus: structure and ligand-based drug design. Matej previously worked at the National Institute of Chemistry in Slovenia.

Anne Labarre, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

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Ph.D. Chemistry and B.Sc. Pharmacology from McGill University. Anne has worked in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at McGill University. Research focus: Structure-based drug design and organic synthesis.

Benjamin Weiser, B.Sc.

Mitacs Fellow

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Ph.D. student from McGill University, B.Sc. Honours in physics and chemistry from Carleton University: Developing machine learning tools for therapeutical and molecular design applications.

Wasay Saeed, B.Sc.

Associate Software Developer

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BSC student in Computer Science and Bioinformatics at University of Waterloo. Wasay has previously worked as a full-stack developer at PointClickCare, a backend developer at Toyota, and a Software Developer in Test at Plooto.

Mathieu Geoffroy, B.Eng.

Senior Software Developer

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B.Eng. in Software Engineering from McGill university. Mathieu has previous experience in technical consulting at Deloitte, as well as in full-stack software development at CAE.

Jonah Zoldan, B.Sc.

Associate Software Developer

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B.Sc. in Computer Science and Biology from McGill University. Jonah worked in Computational Neuroscience research at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI). Research focus: machine learning for predicting off-target drug interactions.

Chris Wang, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

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Ph.D. in Chemistry from McGill University, M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Manitoba. Research focus: structure-based drug design, development of biochemical and biophysical assays to characterize drug-target interactions.

Eva Otell

Junior Developer

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B.Eng. student in Bioengineering at McGill University with a minor in Applied AI. Eva specializes in computational methods in bioengineering and biomedical engineering. She has worked at Bowhead Health and as a research assistant between the Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering. She is currently contributing to a microfluidic detection device that passively traps airborne particles and measures them electrochemically.

Heena Punjabi

Director of Operations

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10+ years of experience in program and business operations, process improvement, and stakeholder engagement. Background in innovation programming and ESG research, with a focus on end-to-end execution, cross-functional coordination, and building systems that connect strategy to delivery. Experience in events, partnerships, and scaling operations across growing teams.

Shubham Ramgoolam M.Sc.

Scientist

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M.Sc. in Pharmacy from the School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, where his research — funded by MITACS — focused on developing a knowledge-driven drug discovery platform for facilitating inhibitor development against Betacoronavirus main proteases.

MSc research areas: drug discovery, with an emphasis on machine learning, software development, and data analysis. These culminated in two peer-reviewed publications and two conference oral presentations.
Shubham also holds an Honours Degree in Biochemistry (CSC Accredited) and a Joint Honours Degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo

Our Advisors

Rebecca Swett, Ph.D.

Advisor, Research & Technology

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Dr. R.J. Swett is a Computational Chemist with over a decade of pharma experience. She holds a PhD from Wayne State University and completed a Presidential Postdoc at Novartis partnered with Stanford. Dr. Swett has worked on rare disease and oncology targets at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Relay Therapeutics. She is currently the Director of Computational Chemistry Innovation at X-Chem.

Didier Leconte, MBA.

Advisor, Business Development & Finance

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Didier is a seasoned investor and leader in the Canadian life sciences sector, with experience at Investissement Quebec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ. He has managed seed investment funds, collaborated with entrepreneurs, and advises life sciences clients. Didier holds an MBA in Technology Management and an engineering degree in Material Sciences.

Tamsin Mansley, Ph.D., CChem, CSci

Advisor, Product Strategy, Scientific Positioning, & Customer Adoption

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Founder and Principal at Mansley Scientific, bringing 25 years of pattern recognition across science, software, and commercial leadership, from medicinal and computational chemistry through application science leadership to founding her own life sciences software strategy practice. Former President of Optibrium Inc. and Global Head of Application Science, with deep expertise in translating scientific software into solutions that integrate into real-world drug discovery workflows.

The company we keep

MFI works with discovery teams and organisations around the world. These relationships reflect the collaborative approach at the centre of how we work.

Our values

MFI has a strong, organically grown culture. Our values are reflected in how we approach the science, work with clients, and treat one another.

Integrity

We only take on projects where we believe we can contribute. We let the data speak for itself and prioritise honesty and accuracy in our research and reporting.

Transparency

We maintain open, ongoing communication with our clients. If we make a mistake, we acknowledge it.

Due Diligence

We approach our work with curiosity and thoroughness. We follow the evidence and do not leave important questions unanswered.

Collaboration

We bring together the knowledge, experience, and resources of our team and our clients to achieve the strongest possible results.

Scientific Contribution

We aim to advance or accelerate as many potential treatments as possible through our early-stage discovery model.

In our clients’ words

Bring a difficult question

If you are working through a complex small-molecule discovery challenge, talk to us about what your team is trying to understand, evaluate, or advance.