From researcher to entrepreneur: A conversation with Dr. Nicole Rosin of FibroDynamx

Nicole Rosin is a research associate in the Biernaskie Lab at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). She has spent years exploring the complexities of regenerative medicine. Now, as the CEO of FibroDynamx, a venture spun from the lab’s research, she’s navigating the uncharted waters of entrepreneurship. In this Q-and-A, Dr. Rosin, PhD, shares her insights on learning to lead as a “scientific CEO,” the importance of understanding her product deeply, and the strategies that have helped her bridge the gap between academia and the business world.

How did you enter entrepreneurship?

It all started when my supervisor, Dr. Jeff Biernaskie, PhD, gave a presentation at a conference, and someone from a leading pharmaceutical company, renowned for its pursuit of innovative solutions, approached him afterward. They asked, “Have you considered commercializing some of the outputs from this big paper you just published (in Cell)?” That conversation sparked the idea. It wasn’t something we initiated ourselves; it emerged from their interest, the opportunity they recognized in our research.

What is FibroDynamx?

FibroDynamx is a regenerative medicine company focused on developing therapies to improve healing and reduce scarring. Our work is rooted in unique research involving UCVM’s herd of reindeer, whose antler skin possesses a remarkable non-scarring healing property.

All reindeer have a really unique skin type. We aim to leverage these insights into medical interventions that could prevent scarring for burn victims.

How do you expect this will affect patients’ lives?

It’s pretty hard to capture just how life-changing this could be.

Currently, there’s a lack of treatments that effectively address scarring in patients, despite numerous products aimed at improving healing.

In our interviews with burn survivors, often firefighters, we’ve learned that scarring usually causes severe itchiness, mobility issues, and psychological impacts. Many patients express that losing functional skin is the most frustrating aspect.

In the United States alone, approximately 400,000 burn victims face these challenges every year. By targeting deep skin injuries and large wounds, our therapies might help burn survivors avoid life-altering scarring.

How far along is FibroDynamx in bringing its solutions to patient care?

We’re making strong progress but are still in the preclinical stages.

Our first product, a protein-based drug designed to improve regenerative healing, has shown promising results in cell cultures and mice. If successful, these trials will pave the way for applying to regulatory agencies like the FDA and Health Canada to initiate human clinical trials. Our goal is to begin human trials within the next three to five years.

What kind of CEO would you hope others would identify you as?

I'd say something like a “Scientific CEO.”

That's interesting! What does that mean to you?

For me, being a scientific CEO is about staying closely connected to the science while leading the company. It’s crucial to thoroughly understand the product because, without a solid idea, the business has no foundation.

That expertise also brings credibility — when you can talk about the science confidently, it builds trust with investors and collaborators. Venture capitalists (VC), for example, want to know that the person leading the company understands the technology inside out.

In fact, VCs will often see your academic credentials and affiliations as proof of your technology's legitimacy, directing their screening efforts towards your business fundamentals instead. This gives you a big leg up for funding over innovations emerging outside academia.

Entrepreneurship is not easy. What keeps you going?

Two things.

First, I want to bring safe and effective solutions to patients as soon as possible to prevent future scarring complications.

Second, I love learning new things and entrepreneurship certainly fulfills this daily!

You talk about bringing solutions to market as soon as possible. Could you speak to the speed component?

It’s simple...

Scarring is life-altering, and once it occurs, it’s permanent. The sooner we can get our solutions to market, the more long-term suffering we can prevent for patients. This is particularly critical for burn survivors and others dealing with deep skin injuries.

The entrepreneurial pathway allows for much quicker progress compared to the traditional academic route. In academia, the timeline for translating research into real-world applications can be incredibly long due to the focus on incremental findings, peer-reviewed publications, and grant cycles.

By contrast, a startup operates with urgency, driven by the need to meet milestones and attract investment.

This fast-paced environment means we can focus on scaling the technology and bringing it to patients as efficiently as possible.

This is one of the main reasons we decided to form a company. The much quicker pace!

You say you’re also motivated by learning. What have you been learning on your entrepreneurial journey?

It’s been a mix of high-level strategic learning and pragmatic skills.

On one hand, I’ve been exploring how to formulate a long-term business strategy, which involves understanding market dynamics and scaling operations. On the other, I’ve been diving into more practical areas like constructing an effective capitalization table, navigating intellectual property law, preparing regulatory pathways, and more.

These dual aspects — the vision and the execution — are both critical for running a successful company. I’ve also been refining how to pitch complex science in a way that resonates with investors, which has been one of the most rewarding challenges.

How have you managed to figure this all out?

Haha well I certainly haven't figured it all out! But we're making progress.

I'd say it starts with having an overall goal in mind. Once you have that, you need to start working at it, even if the steps aren't entirely clear at first.

Then, and this is the most essential thing, you need to find the right support. After that, it's a cycle of trying, reflecting, and adjusting again and again. Entrepreneurship is as much about persistence as it is about innovation.

Can you speak to the support you've received?

The support I’ve received has been absolutely crucial to our progress.

First of all, I couldn't have asked for a better supervisor and co-founder than Dr. Biernaskie. The swap in leadership roles has been largely seamless. I worked for years within the lab he runs, now I've adopted the leadership role as CEO of FibroDynamx and he’s now the scientific lead. His unwavering support in both situations has been invaluable. As CEO, I’m making key connections, pursuing funding, and making final decisions. As scientific lead he’s constantly looking to leverage the science towards our product development. We’re both committed to FibroDynamx’s success.

Outside support has always been an integral part of our journey. The Evolve to Innovate (e2i) program originally run by Innovate Calgary, now run out of the Hunter Hub, set us in the right direction from the get-go. It provided an initial structure and introduced us to key concepts — like formalizing a value proposition — and the next relevant resources we might need — like the Aeir mentorship program.

Aeir has been a cornerstone of this journey. Their mentorship is customized to you. They meet you where you are, providing advice that’s not only practical but directly relevant to the stage you’re at. Dr. Paula Berton, PhD, and Dr. Adam Pidlisecky, PhD, have been key mentors, offering guidance on everything from creating a capitalization table to navigating complex conversations. They’ve helped us prioritize tasks and connect us with the right people and supports. They also helped us get into Creative Destruction Lab (CDL).

We're now in CDL-Vancouver's biomedical engineering stream. This has also been a gamechanger.

Congrats on getting into CDL! What does being a part of CDL mean to you and what has it been like?

Being a part of CDL is like receiving a stamp of approval. Just getting into the program is a compelling endorsement of your company and its potential, but making it through the program is an even stronger validation. It signals to investors and collaborators that you’re building something serious and impactful.

The experience itself has been intense but incredibly rewarding. The rapid feedback from seasoned entrepreneurs and investors challenges you to think strategically and refine your objectives in real time.

It’s a space where you’re constantly pushed to elevate your game, and it’s helping us prepare for the challenges we’ll face as we scale our company.

How are you feeling about FibroDynamx's progress and direction?

Honestly, I’m busy and often tired, but I’m also invigorated and excited about where we’re headed. We’re progressing steadily, and every step we take feels like we’re one step closer to making a real difference for patients.

What’s really exciting is my confidence in the likelihood of success. The feedback we’ve received from programs like CDL and from investors has reinforced that we’re on the right track. Hearing from others that our work has real potential keeps me energized and optimistic about our future.

What are you working towards next?

Our next big focus is on fundraising. We’re at a stage where we need significant resources to move our work forward, particularly to support the preclinical trials, and move towards clinical trials. Raising funds will also help us expand our team and build the infrastructure for larger-scale testing and development. It’s an exciting but challenging phase, but we’re ready to take it on.

We have a really promising and exciting opportunity here and we'd love to involve the right people in making it a reality.

Any final thoughts?

Honestly, I’d just encourage other researchers to consider entrepreneurship. The things you’ll learn, the people you’ll meet, the experiences you’ll have are all so transformational. It might open up new doors you never considered.

Just go for it!