Membership List - Expert Advisory Committee on Veterinary Natural Health Products

Cheryl Yuill (Chair)

Dr. Cheryl Yuill is a veterinarian who owns and operates a private companion animal practice in Kitchener, Ontario. She holds a veterinary degree from the Ontario Veterinary College, and completed a Master of Science degree from the same institution. In addition, she has completed both the Professional and Advanced Courses in veterinary homeopathy, and is a Certified Veterinary Homeopath with the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy. She has been in private practice for over 20 years, and has been involved with homeopathic care of animals for 10 years.

Dr. Yuill has been involved in regulatory affairs since the early 1990's, serving on the College of Veterinarians of Ontario in various capacities from 1993-2004, including Chair of the Complaints Committee, member of Council, and President. She continues to work with the College, providing expert opinions on selected cases for complaints and discipline committees and consulting with respect to other issues of practice importance.

She has been active in the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy, serving as Chair on the Board of Directors of this organization for 2 years. She also is an executive member of the Golden Triangle Veterinary Academy.

Dr. Yuill is one of three authors of the Supplements Series of Client Education Handouts and is currently a veterinary editor for Lifelearn Inc., a veterinary continuing education group that publishes multimedia programs and information documents for veterinarians, veterinary staff, and veterinary clients.

Guy Chamberland (Co-chair)

Dr. Guy Chamberland joined Biotanika Inc in 2007, as Vice-President, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs. In the past, he has held within the pharmaceutical industry a number of positions in the areas of product development and regulatory affairs.

Dr. Chamberland received a B.Sc. degree in Agricultural Chemistry from McGill University, a Masters of Science in Animal Anatomy and Physiology (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal) and obtained a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Montreal.

Dr. Chamberland first began working on the development of Natural Health Products (NHP) in 1996 when he worked for a company that aimed at characterizing and developing a new type of drug product that was derived from shark cartilage extract.

Since then he has worked with several companies on the development of many NHPs, biologics, drugs and drug/biologic device combination products for both animals and humans. Dr. Chamberland is currently responsible for the development of intellectual property, manufacturing, nonclinical and clinical development of NHPs for both animals and humans at Biotanika Inc.

Pierre Gadbois

Dr. Pierre Gadbois is a veterinarian. He is currently employed as Director of Scientific Affairs by Vetoquinol Canada Inc., a French pharmaceutical society exclusively devoted to the animal health domain. As such, he is in charge of technical services, regulatory affairs, and Research/Development for this enterprise in Canada.

After he had practiced veterinary medicine in the seventies, Dr. Gadbois joined the pharmaceutical industry in the early eighties, and this is how he accumulated extensive experience in the fields of pharmaceutical and nutritional products development. This also made him more than familiar with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) as applied to pharmaceutical products.

Gregory Tilford

Mr. Gregory Tilford is a well-known expert, author, consultant and teacher in the field of veterinary botanical medicine, his career encompassing over 20 years of work. Mr. Tilford is the CEO and co-founder of Animal Essentials Inc. and Animals Apawthecary Co., two companies that manufacture and distribute natural pet supplements. He serves as a professional consultant and custom formulator to hundreds of veterinarians worldwide.

Mr. Tilford sits on the board of trustees for the American Herbal Products Association (APHA), where he also chairs the AHPA Animal Products Committee - a trade group whose mission is to promote and protect responsible commerce of herb products that are intended for use in animals. He also is a charter member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Animal Supplements Council (NASC) in the United States.

An accomplished writer and international lecturer, Mr. Tilford has written and presented continuing education courses for several leading academic institutions and is a frequent contributor to several consumer and scientific periodicals. He was contributing editor and herb consultant for Natural Pet magazine (Fancy Publications) from 1994 through 1996.

Mr. Tilford's published work includes five books: All You Ever Wanted to Know about Herbs for Pets (Bowtie/Fancy Publications 1999), From Earth to Herbalist (Mountain Press Publishing, 1998), Herbal Remedies for Dogs & Cats (Mountain Weed Publishing, 1997), Edible & Medicinal Plants of the West (Mountain Press Publishing, 1997) and The EcoHerbalist's Fieldbook, Mountain Weed Publishing, 1993).

Steve Marsden

Dr. Steve Marsden is one of the chief educators of veterinarians worldwide in the use of complementary and alternative therapies. His goal is to elevate the skill of veterinarians in the use of complementary therapies, in the hopes their clinical experiences will inspire research advances that benefit veterinarians as a whole.

Dr. Marsden regularly lectures for the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association. He has been a guest speaker for veterinary courses, colleges, and associations spanning five continents, and is co-founder of the College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies, an Australia-based institution offering distance learning programs in integrative medicine. He is also a director of the National College of Natural Medicine, a fully accredited and leading educational institution in the United States offering comprehensive training in a diversity of alternative therapies for physicians. His textbook on natural veterinary medicine, published by Elsevier, has been translated into multiple languages, and is a leading resource worldwide.

Dr. Marsden is extensively trained in alternative medicine, receiving one of the first Master's of Science degrees in Oriental Medicine ever to be awarded in North America, as well as board certifications in Chinese herbology, acupuncture and naturopathic medicine. When not teaching, he divides his time equally between veterinary and naturopathic medical practice in Edmonton, Alberta.

Pauline Nadlersmith

Mrs. Pauline Nadlersmith was raised on a dairy farm and has various livestock on her own acreage. She has a long history with organic methods and is very knowledgeable about natural health treatments. She currently is the Manitoba Field Manager for Organic Meadow, a farmer-owned cooperative which processes and markets organic products throughout Canada, and also works as a Canadian regulatory consultant for a United States based company, Crystal Creek. She also periodically organizes seminars on behalf of that company for farmers and closely works with their nutritionists to help them finding the proper tools available to aid in the care and well being of their livestock.

Over the last several years, Mrs. Nadlersmith has become one of the main local sources of information for the industry with regards to organic livestock management tools in Manitoba and Canada.

Mrs. Nadlersmith is also very dedicated to the members her family and capably manages their wellbeing owing to her extensive knowledge of natural health treatments. She is an active member of the local Community Development Corporation Agriculture Committee which has had some successful events in the Boissevain area. She has also been a member of Round Table discussion groups regarding the environment and was a Consumer Representative for the Mid-Wifery Implementation Committee for the Assiniboine Regional Health Authority.

Gerrit Rietveld

Mr. Gerrit Rietveld was formally trained as a veterinary technologist specializing in research, companion and agricultural species. He cumulates more than 23 years of experience inspecting equine facilities, research facilities, municipal animal shelters and licensed livestock medicine outlets.

Mr. Rietveld is currently employed by the Animal Health and Welfare Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as an Animal Care Specialist. He is appointed under several Acts including the Livestock Medicines Act, The Animals for Research Act, and the Food Safety and Quality Act.

Besides administering and regulating the Livestock Medicines Act as an inspector, Mr. Rietveld sits as secretary on the Livestock Medicines Advisory Committee, an advocacy group charged with making recommendations to the Minister on matters pertaining to the over-the-counter sale of veterinary medicines.

William Bookout

Mr. William Bookout is a founding member of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) and serves currently as president. This trade association currently has over 100 members and is comprised of animal supplement manufacturers and other stakeholders involved with the industry of companion animal supplements. NASC has established standards for their industry members, including an adverse event reporting system.

Mr. Bookout is also president of Genesis Limited, a company that produces animal supplements. Prior to founding Genesis, he spent 15 years in the human medical device and animal health industries.

Mr. Bookout is an industry advisor to the Association of American Feed Control Officials. As president of NASC, he has worked with the United States' Food & Drug Administration and state control officials on regulatory issues involving animal supplements.

Wendy Pearson

Dr. Wendy Pearson obtained her Ph.D. degree in 2007, after several years of research with emphasis put on medical herbs and nutraceuticals for horses. She is currently employed as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Plant Agriculture of the University of Guelph. Dr. Pearson is a well known and respected scientist who is regularly invited to lecture at international symposia and fora on the topic of use of nutraceuticals in equine health.

Dr. Pearson founded the Nutraceutical Alliance in 1998 and for 6 years, she acted as President/CEO of this company whose mission was to provide research and consulting services for the veterinary nutraceutical sector.

More recently, Dr. Pearson has worked with Cantox Health Sciences International as a scientific and regulatory consultant in the areas of animal science and animal nutrition before she decided to reconnect to the academic research.

Robert Tremblay

Dr. Robert Tremblay is currently employed by Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd, as a technical services veterinarian.

He was practicing veterinary medicine in the early eighties in New-Brunswick, when he decided to undergo further graduate studies at the University of Guelph. This is where he obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Science degree in 1988. He remained at OVC as faculty in Large Animal Medicine and became a Diplomat in Large Animal Internal Medicine with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1991.

Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Tremblay had been working for several years as a Health Consultant for cattle and ruminants with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. He is quite familiar with both provincial and federal sets of regulations, industry objectives and concerns, and current research.

Dr. Tremblay's extensive experience and expertise makes him an in demand expert to work on food-producing-animal-related advisory committees, such as the Technical Committees of the Canadian Quality Milk program (Dairy Farmers of Canada) and the of the Verified Beef Production program (Canadian Cattlemen Association), amongst others.

Paul Dick

Dr. Paul Dick is currently appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Chemaphor, a biotechnology research and development company that uses its core expertise in organic chemistry to develop products that include pharmaceuticals and veterinary natural health products.

Dr. Dick holds a veterinary degree with advanced training in the fields of infectiology and immunology. Over the last 20 years, he has held positions of increasing responsibility with multinational companies, including Elanco, a division of Eli Lilly and Company.

Throughout his career he has been a member of various professional veterinary associations and he has been part of numerous scientific committees, including Health Canada's Animal Antimicrobial Resistance Advisory Committee from 1999 to 2002.

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