Dayan Goodenowe, PhD
Dayan Goodenowe was born on January 2, 1969 at Union Hospital in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He is the fourth of six living generations of his family in Saskatchewan, descending from his great-grandfather Frank Goodenowe, who settled south of Moose Jaw in 1909. The family's roots in North America extend ten generations to Thomas Goodenowe, who arrived in Boston on April 24, 1638.
In 1990, he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Chemistry. In November 1993, at age 24, he successfully defended his PhD in Medicine (Psychiatry) at the University of Alberta, with research focused on the biochemical and neurochemical mechanisms of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. His PhD work produced five peer-reviewed research papers.
Dayan Goodenowe is not a medical doctor and has never claimed to be. He uses the title "Dr." in accordance with standard academic convention worldwide for PhD holders. This distinction is clearly stated here and throughout this site.
Career
From Saskatchewan to the world, and back
From 1993 to 2000, Dr. Goodenowe developed deep expertise in mass spectrometry technologies and their application to the study of biological systems. In May 1999, he invented an advanced mass spectrometry platform capable of non-targeted metabolomics, the comprehensive measurement of thousands of biochemicals in a single biological sample. Initial feasibility studies were conducted in October 1999 and confirmed the technology's potential. A Canadian patent application was filed on February 2, 2000, followed by an international patent application in February 2001.
In November 2000, Dr. Goodenowe was invited to Saskatoon, SK to give a seminar on the technology and to tour Innovation Place as a potential home for a new company. The facilities and the availability of skilled labour from the university were the primary reasons he chose Saskatoon.
On December 19, 2000, he incorporated a numbered company (101015930 Saskatchewan Ltd.) as a wholly-owned subsidiary of his holding company, Yolbolsum Canada Inc. (YBCI). On March 15, 2001, the company was renamed Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. (PDI). Dr. Goodenowe was never an employee of PDI. His services as President and CEO were provided through YBCI under a management services agreement, and his compensation was structured accordingly. In January 2008, an independent review by Deloitte and Touche found that his compensation was below the 25th percentile of comparable Canadian companies.
Under Dr. Goodenowe's leadership, PDI grew to approximately 50 employees. Between 2008 and 2010, PDI conducted the largest colon cancer screening trial in Saskatchewan history, in partnership with the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region. The company developed diagnostic platforms for colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, and held a portfolio of 20 patent families.
From 2015 to 2016, Dr. Goodenowe held a Saskatchewan Medical Laboratory License and was recognized as a Qualified Professional under the Saskatchewan Medical Laboratory Licensing Act.
Following Phenomenome's receivership, Dr. Goodenowe founded new ventures in both Canada and the United States. He incorporated Prodrome Sciences Inc. in Saskatchewan in July 2016 and Prodrome Sciences USA LLC in Temecula, California shortly after. Through these ventures, he developed a new generation of plasmalogen formulations, built the ProdromeScan blood analysis platform, and established working relationships with more than 3,000 health professionals worldwide. Prodrome Sciences was recognized by USA Today as one of the most innovative companies in the United States to watch in 2025.
Dr. Goodenowe has authored more than 90 published research papers, 35 of which are indexed on PubMed, and his work has been cited more than 5,700 times in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. His patent portfolio spans biomarker technology, mass spectrometry instrumentation, cancer screening, autism research, plasmalogen synthesis, and pharmaceutical compounds.
The return
Coming home to Moose Jaw
In 2024, Dr. Goodenowe returned to Moose Jaw. In April 2025, he announced the $100 million Moose Jaw Vitality Project, a community health initiative providing residents with free access to advanced biochemical assessment, brain imaging, and targeted nutritional protocols.
The project comprises five facilities, three of which are open, and employs more than 50 people locally. Its facilities are being equipped with advanced technologies for measuring and improving health and quality of life of a kind most communities of this size would not typically have access to, including advanced biochemical monitoring, 3T functional MRI, cardiac imaging and ultrasound, photobiomodulation, ECG, EEG, and advanced vision and hearing assessment.
Dr. Goodenowe chose to base the project in Moose Jaw, a city of approximately 34,000, rather than in a larger research centre. His family has lived in the region for six generations.