Our Leaders
Executive Team
At Artemis, we create intelligent discovery systems designed to keep pace with living science.
By integrating frontier AI, advanced machine learning, and deep domain expertise, we turn overwhelming complexity into actionable insight—freeing innovators to focus on what matters most: meaningful scientific progress.
Frank Holler
Executive Chairman
Frank Holler is a builder of companies, a catalyst for innovation, and a lifelong champion of turning bold science into real-world impact. Over a career that spans some of Canada’s most successful life sciences stories, Frank has helped shape organizations that don’t just participate in markets—they create them.
He is the Founder of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, former President & CEO of ID Biomedical (acquired by GSK for $1.6 billion), and the Founding CEO of Xenon Pharmaceuticals, now a NASDAQ-listed company valued at over $3.2 billion. His leadership has consistently bridged visionary science with disciplined execution, accelerating discoveries from bench to bedside.
A recipient of the Life Sciences BC Award, Frank brings to Artemis Discovery not only an extraordinary track record, but a deep belief in the power of collaboration, courage, and timing. He guides Artemis with a steady hand and an expansive lens—helping the team build not just great technology, but enduring value for patients, partners, and the global health ecosystem.
Artem Cherkasov, PhD
Co-Founder and CTO
Dr. Artem Cherkasov stands at the intersection of artificial intelligence, chemistry, and medicine—where data becomes discovery and discovery becomes hope.
A Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Precision Cancer Drug Discovery, Artem has authored more than 200 scientific publications, secured over $100 million in research funding, and helped advance three drugs into clinical trials. His work has shaped how computational methods are used to dramatically accelerate the drug discovery process.
At Artemis Discovery, Artem leads the technological vision behind Deep Docking and next-generation AI platforms that search chemical space at unprecedented scale and speed. But beyond the algorithms, Artem is driven by a simple, powerful mission: to shorten the path between scientific insight and patient impact.
His leadership ensures that Artemis is not just pushing boundaries in AI—but doing so with purpose, precision, and relentless scientific integrity.
Mads Daugaard, Phd
Co-Founder and CSO
Dr. Mads Daugaard is a translational scientist at heart—focused on understanding disease deeply, and then moving fast to change its outcome.
A Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Senior Research Scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, and Head of the Molecular Pathology Core, Mads brings exceptional biological insight to Artemis Discovery’s AI-driven platform. His research explores the molecular drivers of cancer progression and resistance, with the goal of uncovering vulnerabilities that can be targeted with precision therapies.
Mads is also a proven entrepreneur, having co-founded multiple biotech companies including Rakovina Therapeutics, SnapCyte, and VAR2—each translating cutting-edge science into therapeutic and diagnostic innovation.
At Artemis, Mads ensures that every computational prediction is grounded in biological reality, and every discovery pathway is guided by clinical relevance. His presence anchors Artemis in what matters most: meaningful science, real patients, and therapies that can truly change outcomes.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Alex Tropsha
Alex Tropsha is one of the foundational architects of modern computational drug discovery, with a career defined by rigor, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to scientific validity.
A Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Associate Dean at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Alex has spent decades shaping how cheminformatics and quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) modeling are applied to real-world drug discovery challenges. His work has helped establish the standards by which computational models are evaluated, interpreted, and trusted—bridging theoretical innovation with translational relevance.
Internationally recognized for his contributions to the field, Alex is the recipient of numerous prestigious honors, including the John Scott Award, Keppler Prize, and George Gamow Award, and is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Beyond accolades, he is widely respected for advancing a principled approach to AI and modeling—one that prioritizes model validity, transparency, and scientific accountability.
At Artemis Discovery, Alex brings not only deep technical expertise, but a steady scientific compass. His guidance helps ensure that innovation remains grounded, claims remain defensible, and the platform evolves with the discipline and care required to turn computational insight into meaningful therapeutic impact.
Dr. Gisbert Schneider
Gisbert Schneider is a global leader in artificial intelligence–driven drug discovery, known for advancing how machine learning transforms the way new medicines are designed and developed.
A Professor of Computer-Assisted Drug Design at ETH Zurich and former Director of the Singapore-ETH Centre, Gisbert has spent his career operating at the frontier where AI, chemistry, and biology converge. His research has helped define how modern machine-learning methods are responsibly and effectively applied to drug discovery, shaping both academic thought and real-world innovation across international research ecosystems.
Widely recognized for his contributions, Gisbert is the recipient of numerous prestigious honors, including the Ernst Schering Prize, Herman Skolnik Award, the Gmelin-Beilstein Medal, and the Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery. These distinctions reflect not only technical excellence, but sustained leadership in translating computational advances into meaningful scientific progress.
At Artemis Discovery, Gisbert brings a globally informed perspective and a future-facing mindset. His guidance helps ensure the platform remains at the leading edge of AI innovation—balancing ambition with rigor, and pushing the boundaries of what intelligent discovery systems can achieve at scale.
Dr. Poul Sorenson
Poul Sorensen is a physician-scientist and translational medicine leader whose work has helped bridge the gap between discovery science and real-world impact for patients, particularly in childhood cancer.
A Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Johal Endowed Chair in Childhood Cancer Research, and Director of the Academy of Translational Medicine at UBC, Poul has built his career at the interface of laboratory insight and clinical application. His leadership has advanced how promising discoveries are translated into meaningful therapeutic strategies, with a deep focus on improving outcomes for children and families facing cancer.
Recognized nationally and internationally for his contributions, Poul is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a recipient of numerous prestigious honors, including the Doctors of BC Terry Fox Medal, the Dr. Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research, and the Bloom Burton Award for innovative cancer research. These distinctions reflect a career defined by both scientific excellence and human-centered impact.
At Artemis Discovery, Poul brings a vital clinical and translational perspective—ensuring that scientific innovation remains connected to patient realities. His guidance helps shape a platform that not only accelerates discovery, but does so with purpose, responsibility, and a clear line of sight to meaningful clinical outcomes.
Dr. Abe Stern
Dr. Abe Stern is a leader at the forefront of AI-enabled drug discovery, bringing deep expertise in computational science and large-scale accelerated computing to the translation of advanced research into real-world impact.
As a Senior Product Manager at NVIDIA and the company’s lead for BioNeMo, NVIDIA’s AI drug discovery platform, Abe plays a central role in shaping how cutting-edge AI technologies are applied to chemistry and biology at scale. His work focuses on enabling researchers to harness GPU-accelerated tools to explore complex biological systems, accelerate discovery workflows, and unlock new possibilities in molecular design.
At Artemis Discovery, Abe contributes a powerful industry perspective—bridging state-of-the-art AI infrastructure with practical scientific application. His guidance helps ensure the platform is built not only on strong scientific foundations, but also on scalable, high-performance technologies capable of supporting the next generation of discovery.
Let’s Advance Discovery Together
If you are interested in partnering, investing, or exploring scientific collaboration, we welcome the conversation.