, Leadership, Response Biomedical

Meet the leaders in our industry

Response Biomedical focuses on providing diagnostic tools that aid in the diagnosis of life-threatening diseases and we as a team are passionate about the patient’s experience.

Our focus is on providing lab quality results in minutes and our RAMP technology delivers a total solution for making better, faster decisions.

Dr. Barbara Kinnaird, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer
“Our team at Response is passionate about improving the lives of patients and their families around the world through providing accurate diagnostic test results.  We are a diverse team of people originating from 30 countries which is a key differentiator in driving our global growth strategy.” Proven CEO and industry expert Dr. Barb Kinnaird helps companies bridge the gap between innovation and profitability. With over 20 years in leadership roles primarily in the fields of infectious diseases and point of care diagnostics, Dr. Kinnaird is passionate about guiding leaders through transitions by focusing on mindsets and products that will solidify their value. Dr. Kinnaird has served as Chief Executive Officer of Response Biomedical Corporation since 2015. Through her leadership, Response Biomedical has transformed and expanded from a niche market into a global acute care diagnostics leader, expanding product availability worldwide to improve patient outcomes and support healthcare reform. A patent-holder and author of numerous academic publications, Dr. Kinnaird is an active leader in the global medical diagnostic community and a sought-after mentor to fellow CEOs. Since 2019, she has served as Chairperson of the Board of Acetech, a local non-profit organization designed by CEOs to help CEOs grow and scale tech businesses and stimulate the economy through job creation and global expansion. Dr. Kinnaird holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of British Columbia. She conducted her post-doctoral research at the Michael Smith Laboratories in genomics and gene expression profiling, in collaboration with the B.C. Genome Sciences Centre while acting as a consultant for the Proteomics division of Incyte Genomics Inc. She continues to share her expertise in life sciences as an Advisor to Genome BC and Global Affairs Canada.

eric whitters, Ph.D.

chief operating officer

Eric Whitters Ph.D. has had a long, distinguished career leading successful Research, Development, Quality, Regulatory and Operations teams with Fortune 500 organizations and niche diagnostic companies. Eric is an expert in delivering products to the US and European marketplace after leading development teams of more than eighty (80) assays for the IMMULITE® , TIGRIS®, PANTHER® and ECi® clinical systems. He has exhaustively worked across a diverse spectrum of technologies including Point-of-Care (PoC), serology, immunochemistry, clinical chemistry & molecular diagnostics and within diverse disease states such as Allergy, Cardiac, Thyroid, Autoimmune, Infectious Disease, Sepsis and Anemia.

Eric has served in multiple strategic leadership roles for diverse companies such as Diagnostics Products Corporation [2003 – 2007], Siemens Healthcare [2007 – 2010], Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics [2010 – 2012], OraSure Technologies [2012 – 2015] and Hycor Biomedical [2016 – 2022]. Eric received both a Master’s degree and PhD in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Anastasios Tsonis, CPA, CA

Vice President, Finance and Administration
Anastasios Tsonis joined the Company in 2011 and brings extensive experience in global finance, accounting, and assurance. Mr. Tsonis is responsible for budgeting and forecasting, maintaining effective financial controls, completing the financial reporting requirements, managing treasury requirements, ensuring corporate compliance, and overseeing the day-to-day accounting and finance functions. Mr. Tsonis leads the development and execution of the company’s global long-term financial strategy along with driving profitable growth, maintaining effective financial controls and ensuring corporate compliance. Mr. Tsonis brings a high level of expertise to financial analysis required to support strategic decision-making and business strategy formulation which has been a critical asset to the company’s overall success. Before joining Response, he worked in public accounting with Ernst & Young.

Angela Carter BSC (Hons)

Vice President, Global Channel Strategy
“We’re working strategically with our partners to help them be leaders in their markets.” Angela Carter joined the company in 2005 and is responsible for global channel strategy and Customer Support. Ms. Carter has played a key role in working strategically with Response Biomedical’s distribution partners to increase sales internationally. Her in-depth clinical and technical knowledge is a key driver in continued sales growth at Response. Ms. Carter has extensive expertise in in vitro diagnostics primarily in the areas of new Product Development, Clinical and Technical Support and Sales and Marketing. Her unique experience across multiple laboratory settings provides an exceptional perspective for driving and supporting technical sales and a keen understanding of the diagnostic landscape for multiple disease states.  At Response Ms. Carter has held several management positions including Quality Control and Analytical Development Manager and Manager of Worldwide Product Support.   Ms. Carter holds an Honours degree in Biochemistry and has worked in research labs at Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto in the fields of molecular biology, proteomics and microarrays. Previous to Response, Ms. Carter gained industry experience at Kinetek Biotechnology Ltd. where she focused on innovative diagnostics design for a novel cancer marker and at ID Biomedical where she worked in assay development for drug-resistant bacteria.