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Chris O'Connor

Founder, Think Research

Health TechToronto

Chris O'Connor founded Think Research in 2006. An intensivist and former director of medical informatics at Trillium Health Partners, he built digital order sets after finding handwritten ICU orders slow and error-prone, borrowing the airline industry's checklist discipline. Think Research's company overview calls him founder and former president. A 2024 conference page lists him as CEO of FirstHx.

Chris hasn’t spoken on a TechTO, TechVancouver or TechWaterloo stage. This profile is here because Chris co-founded Think Research, which appears in 2 talks in the archive.

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Quick answers

Who is Chris O'Connor?

The founder of Think Research. The company's own company-overview page, checked in September 2026, calls him "our founder and former president" and credits him with identifying that handwritten, unstructured orders for ICU patients were slow and error-prone.

How did Think Research start?

Think Research's company overview, checked in September 2026, says O'Connor was inspired by the checklists used in the airline industry and realised that turning ordering processes into digital checklists would improve efficiency and care quality. That work led to the company being established in 2006.

What does Chris O'Connor do now?

The CTO Clinical Trials Conference speaker page for its 2024 event describes him as a critical care physician, former director of medical informatics at Trillium Health Partners, and founder and former president of Think Research, and says that in his role as CEO he has been instrumental in bringing FirstHx to market. Think Research's leadership page, checked in September 2026, does not list him.

Has he spoken publicly about the company?

Yes. MaRS Discovery District wrote up his MaRS Mornings talk on the entrepreneurial mission in April 2018, and interviewed him again in April 2020 about working in the ICU at Trillium Health Partners during COVID-19.

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Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Sep 17, 2026