John received a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1988 and a PhD from Toronto in 1997. After completing his doctorate, John took a position at Dalhousie University in Halifax in the Department of Industrial Engineering. He also holds an adjunct appointment in the Faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University. Since 2011 John has been seconded to Canadian Blood Services where he acts as a research engineer and staff scientist.