Calgary, Canada · Patiala, India
I founded and run Cethos Linguistics, a Calgary company that brings clinical outcome assessments and clinical content into 95+ languages for pharma sponsors, CROs and COA developers. Eighteen years in language services, starting as an editor in Patiala, with teams today in Canada, the UAE and India.
The rest of the time I write, travel between my two homes, and take too many photos at conferences.
Now
Updated 20 Oct 2026
Work
Linguistic validation, cognitive debriefing and clinician review of clinical outcome assessments, plus medical and clinical translation and eCOA screenshot review. We work directly with sponsors and CROs and provide back-end linguistic validation for several of the largest language service providers.
About 16 people across three divisions, a head office on the 30th floor at 421 7 Ave SW in Calgary, and a 24/7 remote team. ISO 17100-aligned with 34 version-controlled SOPs. In June 2026 a top-three global CRO ran a two-day COA vendor quality audit and recommended approval.
cethos.com →Services
Standards and recognitions
The path
Twenty years, two countries, one trade: making sure words mean the same thing to the person reading them as they did to the person who wrote them.
Other hats
Appointed by the Province of Alberta. Affidavits, statutory declarations, travel consent letters and IRCC invitation letters, by appointment downtown at 421 7 Ave SW, with a second Calgary location in the northeast and mobile service. Commissioning from $30.
Book at calgaryoaths.com →Government of Alberta approved translator. Certified documents for IRCC and provincial submissions, with the certification statement, stamps and mirrored layout that keep a file from coming back.
Through Cethos →AI-powered marketing and automation for growing businesses in Canada, India and the UAE: real estate, healthcare, legal and e-commerce firms that need to reach customers in more than one language.
ascelo.io →Send love, send gifts, anywhere in India. Cakes, flowers, plants, hampers and personalised gifts, delivered in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula first, with more cities on the way. Run from Patiala.
giftscart.in →Writing
Short pieces on linguistic validation and clinical translation, first published on LinkedIn.
Linguistic validation is not a translation problem. It is a measurement problem, and the patient still has the final say.
Pin down the target locales at the protocol stage, not after the first files come back.
Forward and back translation catch the linguistic errors. Cognitive debriefing catches the human ones.
Accurate and readable are two different approvals. A trial needs both, and only one is usually on the checklist.
Most IRCC rejections are process errors, not translation errors: the statement, the stamps, the layout, the spelling of a name.
DE-AT is an adaptation of DE-DE, not a fresh translation. EN-ML is probably Malayalam, not Malay. Check the list before the quote.
Off the clock
Two homes, a lot of airports, and a habit of writing things down. Here is some of what fills the hours outside Cethos.
Home since 2019. The mountains are ninety minutes west, which is the right distance for a weekend.
Patiala is where I started, at a daily newspaper, and Chandigarh is where the first translation team came together. Both teams are still there, and so is most of the family.
I was a writer before I was anything else: six years of prospectuses, profiles and reports for other people. The habit stayed. Most of it now ends up on LinkedIn.
Gallery
Conferences, stands, panels and the dinners afterwards. One album per event, newest first. Photos are on their way.
[City] · [Month year]
[City] · [Month year]
Where to find me
Two conferences in November, a week apart. If you are at either, book twenty minutes and we will find a quiet corner. And if you pass through Calgary or Banff, say hello.
4 – 5 Nov 2026 · Calgary
Canada HealthTech Innovation Symposium, Calgary TELUS Convention Centre.
Book 20 minutes at CHTIS8 – 11 Nov 2026 · Vienna
Austria Center Vienna. I am there all three conference days.
Book 20 minutes at ISPORCalgary or Banff
Send me a note with what you are working on. If our calendars line up while you are here, the coffee is on me.
Send a noteNot travelling? Book a 20-minute Teams call or find me on LinkedIn.