Access to Genetic Resources and Sharing the Benefits of Their Use in Canada: Opportunities for a New Policy Direction
In addition to being a research fellow with Dr. Oguamanam, Chris was the Research Coordinator and Project Manager of ABS Canada, a SSRHC-funded research initiative based at the University of Ottawa, where he completed his Juris Doctor degree. Chris also completed a Masters in International Affairs at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, where he worked as a teaching assistant, as part of the joint J.D./M.A. program. Chris is a 2013 honours graduate of the Arthur Kroger College of Public Affairs at Carleton University, where he minored in law and human rights. He currently works as Counsel in the Trade Law Bureau, a joint unit of the Department of Justice and Global Affairs Canada. Chris is originally from Victoria on Canada’s beautiful west coast.
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Precious Osegbo is a student in the Master of Laws program with a concentration in Law and Technology at the University of Ottawa. She completed a Bachelor of Laws program at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Anambra State, Nigeria, and the Nigerian Law School, and was admitted into the Nigerian Bar in November 2019. Her interest in the intersection of law and technology was piqued by her quest to know how rapid technological advancements impacted humans. As a legal practitioner, she was concerned with the implications of the technology revolution on human rights, which informed her job roles in data privacy and, subsequently, the decision to further her legal studies in law and technology. Her research interests include privacy, artificial intelligence governance, and health law and policy.
Vipal graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor in 2018. Alongside her studies, Vipal worked as a researcher with Professor Oguamanam from December 2015 until May 2018. Her interest in international intellectual property, biotechnology, and sustainable development made her particularly valuable to both the Open AIR Network and the ABS Canada project; in fact, during her research, Vipal produced more content for the ABS blog than any other member of the team (except for Prof. Oguamanam himself).
Vipal also holds a Bachelor of Science, with a specialization in genetics and biotechnology, from the University of Toronto. She is the co-founder of BioTown, a nonprofit organization in Ottawa that encourages accessible science.
Nicole is passionate about international development issues, specifically strengthening trade in Africa, refugee affairs, international law, and equitable access to health systems including strengthening regional drug and vaccine manufacturing in Africa. Leveraging her own experience living as a refugee in Uganda, Nicole is also a researcher for the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network. She is also a Research Assistant with Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Canada focusing on Indigenous stakeholders in Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) over genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge as well as Digital Sequencing Information and its associated DSI. Nicole is looking forward to collaborating with other NERGs and other like-minded researchers on topics of mutual interest.
Her previous work with Open AIR investigated how refugees leverage their entrepreneurial and innovative characteristics to create community-owned, sustainable solutions to the intersectional issues they face. She has presented her work on refugee innovation at conferences in Rwanda and Canada. She co-authored a chapter on refugee innovation in Research Handbook on Development and the Informal Economy with Professor Jeremy de Beer.
Nicole holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University. She will be finishing the last semester of her Juris Doctor (J.D.) in December 2023. She has worked in various roles with Global Affairs Canada as a Policy Analyst on trade, development, and equitable immunization in developing countries.
Clarence is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Professors Chidi Oguamanam and Jeremy de Beer. His research aims to study the influence of patent law on Nigeria’s solar energy sector and explore how distributive justice principles can be applied to ensure equitable access to solar technology for sustainable development in Nigeria. He obtained his LLB at Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria. He is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, where he practiced before deciding to pursue a postgraduate degree. He holds an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Cape Town, with his thesis titled, “An Examination of South Africa’s Efforts at Patent System Reform: TRIPS Flexibilities Fully Appropriated for Public Health Needs?”
Prior to law school, Ahmed graduated with distinction from the University of Windsor, where he obtained his Combined Honours Bachelor of Arts in Digital Journalism and Political Science. During law school, Ahmed interned with the Research and Statistics Division at the Department of Justice – National Capital Region. He was also a Student Clinician at the University of Ottawa – Prison Law Clinic. Ahmed is currently serving as Legislative Development Intern in the Office of Senator Kim Pate. Ahmed will be completing his articles at the Department of Justice – National Capital Region.
Ahmed is actively involved with the Canadian Palestinian Research Centre, a group that conducts research on Palestinian Human Rights. By way of this group Ahmed has met with many Members of Parliament to advocate for Palestinian Human Rights.
Ahmed’s reading interests are in the intersections of religion, law, history, and politics. In his spare time Ahmed likes to hike and paddle board.
Bertina is a first-year law student in the University of Ottawa’s English Common Law program interested in specializing in Law and Technology. She holds a Master’s in Sociology from Western University and 6 years of combined experience in policy, advocacy, and social science research. Having worked for Canadian organizations such as the Assembly of First Nations and the Government of Canada, Bertina is delighted to be part of ABS Canada to help address gaps in Canada’s intellectual property framework to adequately protect Indigenous rights over their genetic resources.
Anmol Patel is pursuing a PhD at Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa under the supervision of Prof. Chidi Oguamanam. He has worked at IFIM Law School, India as Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean, Dean’s Office where he taught Law of Contracts, Intellectual Property Rights, Labour Law, and Legal Methods to undergraduate students of law. He also established the school’s first IP Clinic, organized faculty development programs, coached teams that won laurels at national moot court competitions, and spearheaded efforts to build international collaborations apart from overseeing academic delivery and ranking and accreditation.
He completed his Master of Laws program at Faculty of Law, University of Toronto where he discovered his interest in Critical Theoretical approaches to Traditional Knowledge, which is also the subject of his doctoral work. This was preceded by his work as a consultant for India with the Law School Admission Council, USA during its scaling up of operations in India. He has also worked as a Research Fellow at Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University, India focusing on interdisciplinary research as well as taking up teaching assignments, organising National seminars and skill-building workshops, and co-chairing the University’s Moot Court Society. He completed his BBA LLB from School of Law, Auro University as a silver medallist securing merit-based scholarships throughout the five years. He has to his credit a book chapter publication in the area of Competition law and Intellectual Property Rights published by Springer, Singapore in 2018 and another one in the area of Traditional Knowledge and Patent-intensive Industries (forthcoming) also to be published by Springer. Having served as the President of Auro University’s mooting committee, he has also participated in 4 national moot court competitions and secured the runner-up team position at the 2nd Anand National Moot Court Competition. He has interned under advocates and think-tanks including Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani and Centre for Human Rights Studies, O.P. Jindal Global University. His current research interests are in the area of Critical Legal Studies, Intellectual Property Law, Legal Pluralism, and Health Law and Bioethics.
Miranda Minassian is J.D. Candidate in the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Common Law Program. She completed a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph College of Social and Applied Human Sciences.
She is interested in issues of Indigenous sovereignty, traditional knowledge, and contemporary IP rights. For nearly four years, Miranda worked in rural Cambodia, developing and maintaining ethical tourism partnerships and learning Khmer.
Sarah O’Flaherty is a first year juris doctor (JD) student at the University of Ottawa. Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, she completed her Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) at Queen’s University in Political Studies and English Language and Literature. She is Co-President of the International Commercial and Trade Law Students’ Association, the Treasurer of LEAF Ottawa, and an Associate Editor of the Ottawa Law Review.
Jessica Hennings is a student in the joint JD/MA program between the University of Ottawa and the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. She previously completed a Bachelor of Arts at Queen’s University, where she developed her interest in the intersection between international relations and development studies. During this time, Jessica completed an internship with the municipal government in Arviat, Nunavut, which exposed her to Inuit perspectives on development. Having begun her legal education, she focuses on the interplay of international and domestic legal systems, as well as the role of international governance in human and social development.
Kelsea is in the third year of a joint J.D. / M.A. at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, focusing on International Law and International Affairs. She is working as a research assistant for projects relating to data sovereignty, international trade, food security and food sovereignty, and Indigenous issues; she was also heavily involved in the preparation of Dr. Oguamanam’s biography of Justice Oke (now published) and in updating Professor Oguamanam’s Contract Law casebook for the 2019-2020 academic year. From September 2019 to April 2020, she served as research coordinator for Professor Oguamanam, organizing his team of RAs and taking a leading role in his largest research projects.
In 2017, Kelsea completed her Bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science at Concordia University of Edmonton with High Distinction. She has worked in strategic policy, focusing on legislative reform and cross-jurisdictional research, and spends her spare time working on educational conferences for post-secondary students such as the National Model United Nations (in New York, Washington D.C., and Alberta) and Carleton University’s Model NATO.
Nailah completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph in Microbiology and French, where she also published her undergraduate thesis analyzing the impacts of probotic technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa. After completing her Masters in French literature, focusing on the impacts of colonization on women in Algeria, she took on a sessional lecturer position at the University of Waterloo; there, along with teaching, she conducted research on Aboriginal literature in Canada. Her passion for science and international development led her to pursue a degree in Law.
Prof. Chidi Oguamanam is the Principal Investigator of The ABS Canada Project. He joined the Faculty of Law (Common Law Section) at the University of Ottawa in July 2011 and is affiliated with the Centre for Law, Technology and Society; the Centre for the Environment and Global Sustainability; and the Centre for Health Law Policy and Ethics. He teaches Contract Law; Intellectual Property and Human Rights; Agricultural Knowledge Systems and the Law; and Biodiversity, Food Security and Suitability. Before his academic career, Oguamanam practised IP and corporate law. He then pursued graduate studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he obtained his LLM and PhD degrees in law.
Oguamanam began his academic career as a Fellow of the Canada Institutes of Health Research Program in Health Law and Ethics at Dalhousie University, and later joined the Dalhousie Law Faculty (now the Schulich School of Law) in Halifax. There, he served as the Director of the Law and Technology Institute. Oguamanam is a member of both the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and the Nigerian Bar Association, and is affiliated with the law firm Blackfriars LLP in Lagos.
Oguamanam’s diverse and multidisciplinary research interests include global knowledge governance, IP, and technology law – with an emphasis on biodiversity and biotechnology, including agricultural biotechnology. His research explores the intersections of traditional/indigenous knowledge and Western science in the context of the development discourse and knowledge governance. He has published on diverse topics including international IP lawmaking; globalisation; global governance; digitisation; biotechnology in the context of health and agriculture; food security; traditional medicine; global public health crises; health law and ethics; indigenous peoples; and indigenous knowledge.
Oguamanam provides consulting and support services to state and non-state actors, intergovernmental bodies (including United Nations affiliates), and indigenous and local communities (ILCs). In additional to several peer-reviewed articles, he is the author of International Law and Indigenous Knowledge: Intellectual Property, Plant Biodiversity, and Traditional Medicine (University of Toronto Press, 2006), and Intellectual Property in Global Governance: A Development Question (New York: Routledge, 2012) and was an editor of Innovation and Intellectual Property: Collaborative Dynamics in Africa (Cape Town: UCT Press, 2014).
