Alex Muggah
Director

Alex leads Synapse’s efforts to facilitate the commercialization of innovation across Hamilton’s life sciences ecosystem. In this capacity he supports innovators and entrepreneurs to succeed in Canada’s most dynamic research and education health cluster. Through Synapse, Alex is focused on raising the profile of Hamilton and attracting new companies and investments to the city.

Born in Ottawa and raised in Hamilton, Alex is a proud Hamiltonian who is passionate about contributing to his home town’s economic development and prosperity. Prior to joining Synapse, he worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), Harvard’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Deloitte Consulting (in both Canada and US) and most recently the Massachusetts Health Connector.

Connect with Alex via email, on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @SynapseLifeSci

Alek Tirpan
Program Manager, Life Sciences

As Program Manager of the SOPHIE and HEALTHI programs, Alek works to support all companies and institutions that make up the Hamilton Life Science Cluster. Alek is driven by helping life science companies commercialize their innovative products. He supports healthcare innovators and entrepreneurs that are in late stages of commercialization and in need of financing to get to technology validation and first sale. Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Alek has an Armenian background. Alek holds a BSc (Hons.) in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ottawa and has previously worked with healthcare technology start-ups and medical device companies in product development and data analytics.

Connect with Alek via email, on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @SynapseLifeSci

Brandon McIntyre
Program Coordinator, Life Sciences

Brandon McIntyre began working at Innovation Factory in 2023 and is an experienced graduate researcher and teaching assistant. Brandon has over a decade of experience working in the Canadian Armed Forces where he has led, instructed, and managed a variety of teams demonstrating a capacity to work collaboratively and effectively as part of a team. Brandon is an accomplished academic researcher in both wet and dry lab environments where he employed strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills. Brandon holds a Master’s of Science degree in Biology from McMaster University, and a Honours Biomedical Sciences degree from Brock University. In addition to working for the Canadian Armed forces Brandon enjoys camping, exercising, board games, and spending time with family and friends.

Connect with Brandon via email, on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @SynapseLifeSci