Dr. Lakshmi P. Kotra is a medicinal chemist, biotech founder, and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, as well as a Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and University Health Network. Over a 20+ year career, he has led drug-discovery programs in neurodegeneration, neuropathy, infectious disease, and cannabinoid science, authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, and is an inventor on numerous patents. As a co-founder of WinSanTor, a clinical-stage company developing nerve-regenerating therapies for peripheral neuropathies, including diabetic, chemo-induced, and HIV-associated neuropathies, Dr. Kotra brings deep expertise in translational drug development and formulation strategy to advance WST-057 and the broader pipeline. He has also founded or co-founded Lucid Psycheceuticals, CannScience/Scientus Pharma, and CIDAVA Innovations, reflecting a strong track record of moving discoveries toward patients, and he trained the next generation of scientists after earning his B.Pharm (Honours) from BITS Pilani and a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Georgia.