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PRESENTED BY MEDCITY NEWS

HEALTHCARE INVESTMENT CONFERENCE 2024

 SEPT 18, 2024 | PEGASUS PARK | DALLAS, TX

Bringing together all the players at the vanguard of this wholesale transformation who are tackling both dazzling opportunities and thorny problems.

In the financial world, we went from mobile banking to just plain banking. Consumers deposit checks using smartphones, transfer cash without blinking an eye. So how do we get to a similar future in the healthcare world where digital health tools and machine learning get integrated seamlessly?

INVEST Digital Health will bring together healthcare futurists, novel employers, payers, providers, and forward-thinking investors and entrepreneurs who support the broad transformation being spearheaded by digital health technologies.

Who Will Attend:

  • C-level executives from healthcare startups
  • Venture capitalists, angel investors, and investment bankers
  • Corporate business development executive and R&D officers
  • Tech transfer officers, incubators, and healthcare consultants

Agenda

See Full Agenda

What digital health investors are — and aren’t — looking for  

Dr. Tom Hawes, Partner, Sandbox Clinical Ventures and Blue Venture Funds

Janet is a Senior Principal at Distributed Ventures

Emily Durfee is a Director of Corporate Venture Capital at Healthworx

September 18,
3:45 pm
The digital health funding landscape has gone through some major changes in the past  four years. Raises are now taking longer as investors are looking for clear evidence of  future profitability. Hear from leading investors about where new opportunities lie and  which types of startups can make a difference — as well as what turns them off from  making an investment. 

There will be blood: The rise of consumer-focused diagnostic testing startups

Pranitha Patil Co-founder and COO of Function Health

Robert Weigle, CEO, NOW Diagnostics

David Stein, CEO, Ash Wellness

Salvatore Viscomi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Carna Health

September 18,
2:40 pm
Explore the landscape of consumer-focused diagnostic testing startups, which allow  people to test themselves for diseases from the comfort of their own home. This panel of  industry experts will discuss how these startups are democratizing access to diagnostic  testing — and how this empowers consumers to take control of their health and  wellbeing.

How is healthcare dealing with its Achilles heel, cybersecurity?

John Mowery, Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Houston Methodist

Ben Schwering, Chief Information Security Officer, Premier, Inc

Andrew Molosky is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chapters Health System

September 18,
2:00 pm
Cybercriminals’ attacks on the healthcare industry are becoming more sophisticated by  the day. These cyberattacks pose major threats to patient safety, data integrity and stakeholder trust — and are also often a nightmare in terms of regulatory and legal cleanup. Hear how leaders from various corners of the sector are working together to  help bolster their defenses against global hackers. 

How is pharma leveraging AI?  

Dr. Brigham Hyde, CEO and Co-founder, Atropos Health

David Latshaw

September 18,
11:15 am
Pharma, like most industries, is harnessing the power of generative AI. The technology  holds promise to do things like predict drug-target interactions, optimize lead compounds  and generate novel molecular structures. During this session, experts will discuss how  the pharma industry is deploying generative AI to drive better research and accelerate  drug discovery. 

Should startups be selling to employers?

Josh Sturm

Liana Douillet Guzmán, CEO, FOLX Health

Jim Winkler, Chief Strategy Officer for Business Group on Health

September 18,
10:10 am
Over the past few years, it’s become evident that employers are battling point solution  fatigue. But does that mean new startups shouldn’t try to sell to them anymore? During  this session, industry leaders will explore whether or not startups should stop going after  the employer market. 

From pilot to deployment: Avoiding the pitfalls 

Dr. Lyndsey Harper is a Board Certified Ob/Gyn, Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn for Texas A&M COM

Chris Carruthers, Chief Innovation Officer, DexCare

Hubert Zajicek, MD, MBA, is CEO & Co-founder of Health Wildcatters

Ashish Atreja, CIO and CDHO, UCDH

September 18,
9:30 am
In healthcare, tech tools can only be as good as the people that use them. If healthcare  organizations don’t master the change management process when deploying new tools,  they could be putting the success of their pilots in serious jeopardy. Hear leaders share strategies that health systems can use to gain buy-in from their clinician stakeholders,  seamlessly integrate new tools into clinical workflows, and track staff interaction with  newly introduced products. 

What digital health investors are — and aren’t — looking for  

3:45 pm
The digital health funding landscape has gone through some major changes in the past  four years. Raises are now taking longer as investors are looking for clear evidence of  future profitability. Hear from leading investors about where new opportunities lie and  which types of startups can make a difference — as well as what turns them off from  making an investment. 

There will be blood: The rise of consumer-focused diagnostic testing startups

2:40 pm
Explore the landscape of consumer-focused diagnostic testing startups, which allow  people to test themselves for diseases from the comfort of their own home. This panel of  industry experts will discuss how these startups are democratizing access to diagnostic  testing — and how this empowers consumers to take control of their health and  wellbeing.

How is healthcare dealing with its Achilles heel, cybersecurity?

2:00 pm
Cybercriminals’ attacks on the healthcare industry are becoming more sophisticated by  the day. These cyberattacks pose major threats to patient safety, data integrity and stakeholder trust — and are also often a nightmare in terms of regulatory and legal cleanup. Hear how leaders from various corners of the sector are working together to  help bolster their defenses against global hackers. 

How is pharma leveraging AI?  

11:15 am
Pharma, like most industries, is harnessing the power of generative AI. The technology  holds promise to do things like predict drug-target interactions, optimize lead compounds  and generate novel molecular structures. During this session, experts will discuss how  the pharma industry is deploying generative AI to drive better research and accelerate  drug discovery. 

Should startups be selling to employers?

10:10 am
Over the past few years, it’s become evident that employers are battling point solution  fatigue. But does that mean new startups shouldn’t try to sell to them anymore? During  this session, industry leaders will explore whether or not startups should stop going after  the employer market. 

From pilot to deployment: Avoiding the pitfalls 

9:30 am
In healthcare, tech tools can only be as good as the people that use them. If healthcare  organizations don’t master the change management process when deploying new tools,  they could be putting the success of their pilots in serious jeopardy. Hear leaders share strategies that health systems can use to gain buy-in from their clinician stakeholders,  seamlessly integrate new tools into clinical workflows, and track staff interaction with  newly introduced products. 

See Full Agenda

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VENUE

Pegasus Park, Dallas

3000 Pegasus Park Drive
Dallas, TX 75247

MedCity has a block of rooms at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel available at a special group rate.

Book your group

Pegasus Park is a 25-acre mixed-use office campus consisting of more than 750,000 square feet of office and amenities space across multiple buildings, including an 18-story office tower. The campus features three anchors of activity: the Tower, featuring a social impact hub, UT Southwestern’s Office for Technology Development, accelerator programs, and corporate and academic innovation teams; biotechnology and life sciences coworking laboratory and office space; and amenities, including a conference center, entertainment/dining venues, gym, and greenspace. Strategically located between the Dallas Design District and the Southwestern Medical District in Dallas, the Pegasus Park campus is positioned to be a premier hub of innovation and the epicenter for regional life science innovation to prevent, detect, and treat diseases and promote health and wellbeing.

VENUE

What MedCity INVEST attendees say about the event:

“I often find the more targeted industry events provide an environment very conducive to connecting with others. MedCity INVEST definitely falls in that category for me. My most recent angel investment came through a contact first made (and subsequent relationship developed) at the INVEST 2019 conference. A big thank you to the MedCity team!”

Glenn Winokur

Angel Investor

“The lectures are stimulating and interesting. The best part of the conference is Pitch Perfect. A great venue!”

John Atkinson, M.D.

Professor of Neurosurgery Mayo Clinic

“MEDCity INVEST is a very well organized event with an impressive network of entrepreneurs and investors. I was impressed by the level of understanding and sophistication demonstrated by the entrepreneurs.”

Jason Fuller

Partner NEA

“Great networking, venue was outstanding, a lot of fun. This was without a doubt the best event of its type I have ever attended.”

Jeff June

CEO Ischemia Care

“Very well managed. Speakers and panelists were outstanding. Content and subject matters covered during presentations were excellent. Overall I had an outstanding experience!”

Paul Burton

CEO ResQ Pharma, Inc

“This was one of the better conferences that I’ve attended this year. I greatly appreciated the focused approach and the networking opportunities.”

Everett Crosland

VP of Market Access, Reimbursement & Government Affairs Pear Therapeutics

“Great learning opportunity, The Diversity Panel was by far my favorite!”

Nancy Utz

Chief Experience Officer KAC Health

“Great keynote speakers, very good panel discussions, and good networking. Definitely want to come again. Definitely recommend.”

Joel Barrett

Sr. Sales Executive Unosquare

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Dr. Lyndsey Harper

Board Certified Ob/Gyn, Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn, Texas A&M COM

Dr. Lyndsey Harper is a Board Certified Ob/Gyn, Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn for Texas A&M COM, a Fellow of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. Dr. Harper is the founder and CEO of Rosy, an award-winning women’s health technology company that connects women who have sexual health concerns with hope, community, and research-backed solutions. She has been named Forbes Top 53 Women Disrupting Healthcare, People Newspapers’ 20 Under 40, a Top Innovator in North Texas for 2020 and a DBJ Top Woman in Tech.

Josh Sturm

Chief Revenue Officer, Color Health

Josh Sturm joined Color Health as Chief Revenue Officer in 2024, where he will focus on expanding Color’s partnerships with employers, unions, health plans, and the public sector to provide equitable, accessible healthcare services. An accomplished leader in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, Josh previously was a Vice President at Hinge Health, where he focused on new markets and business development, and played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s reach into new territories and complex healthcare ecosystems. Josh’s career includes tenure as a Vice President at Surescripts and at Express Scripts, where he provided strategic oversight and managed significant national accounts. He began his career in sales roles with Allergan and Medicine Shoppe International. Josh earned a B.S. and B.B.A. from Viterbo University, and an M.B.A from Webster University.

David Stein

CEO, Ash Wellness

David Stein is the CEO of Ash Wellness, a B2B at-home diagnostic company launching remote care services for healthcare organizations and D2C businesses. Ash Wellness offers white-lable operations management, testing via a CLIA/CAP certified lab network, kitting and fulfillment, and modern technology infrastructure. In his role, David is responsible for mission vision, strategy oversight, fundraising, and corporate development. He is a graduate of the Cornell Tech MBA program. David lives in New York City and is passionate about healthcare access.

Janet Xu

Senior Principal at Distributed Ventures

Janet is a Senior Principal at Distributed Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm located in Chicago, IL that invests in the Insurtech, Fintech and Employer Solutions (including Health & Benefits) spaces. Active investments include Posterity Health, Tuned, Rx Save Card, Cylinder Health and Kindbody. Recently, her focus has been on employee benefit cost containment solutions.

Prior to this, Janet spent seven years in early-stage companies, including 3 years as the COO of a bootstrapped startup, and was a management consultant for Fortune 100 corporations at Bain & Company. She specializes in strategy and analytics, process optimization, people & talent operations, and negotiations. Janet has a BA in Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.

Dr. Tom Hawes

Partner, Sandbox Clinical Ventures and Blue Venture Funds

Dr. Tom Hawes joined Sandbox in 2008 and is a Partner of Sandbox Clinical Ventures and the Blue Venture Funds. He currently serves on the board of directors of Humata Health, First Dollar, Octave Bioscience, and Upward Health. Dr. Hawes previously served as a board member of AbleTo (acquired by Optum), Healthify (acquired by Wellsky), HeartFlow, InVivoLink (acquired by HCA), PatientCo (acquired by WayStar), Nexidia (acquired by NICE), OncoHealth (acquired by Arsenal Capital Partners and McKesson), Phreesia (NYSE: PHR), and Verata Health (acquired by Olive.Ai), and as a board observer of Thrive Earlier Detection (NASDAQ: EXAS).


Prior to Sandbox, Dr. Hawes matched at Yale School of Medicine for residency. During his medical training, he worked on clinical studies at the ISK Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and on outcomes research at the National Cancer Institute and New York Medical College’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.
Dr. Hawes holds an MD from New York Medical College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BA from Brigham Young University. He is also a Kauffman Fellow.

Pranitha Patil

Co-founder and COO of Function Health

Pranitha Patil is the co-founder and COO of Function Health on a mission to help people live 100 healthy years. Pranitha left Harvard University Graduate school early to build Function Health in 2021. Drawing from her experience as a former manager at Accenture Health Strategy, where she collaborated with both US-based hospital systems and health insurance providers, and global health systems, Patil recognized the need for scalable technology to empower everyone to own their health. Pranitha’s personal health journey helped shape her mission. As a first generation Indian American woman managing her own chronic conditions, including PCOS, pre-diabetes, and genetically high cholesterol, Patil has transformed. She’s improved her insulin and HbA1c levels, gotten a deeper understanding of her lipid particle sizes, and realized she needed to actively manage stress to lower cortisol levels. Determined to empower others, Pranitha believes in giving everyone, especially women, minorities, and BIPOC communities, the power to take control of their health.

Robert Weigle

CEO, NOW Diagnostics

Robert Weigle has been CEO of NOW Diagnostics since April 2023. From October 2020 to March 2023, he was the CEO of AeenaDX, a saliva-based diagnostics company utilizing Genomics.


Mr. Weigle is also currently an executive in residence with DigitalDX, a venture capital firm. Mr. Weigle was CEO and a director of Benvenue Medical from May 2009 until August 2020. Benvenue was a Silicon Valley based medical device company, which raised over $200 million in funding. At Benvenue Mr. Weigle led the growth from pre-clinical to successful clinical trials to the commercial launch of first-generation devices in two distinct markets, one for the treatment of compression fractures in the spine and the second for the treatment of degenerative disc disease, resulting in the first full year run rate exceeding $1 million per month. Mr. Weigle oversaw all early aspects of corporate strategy, including defining, communicating, and executing the company’s overall business model;and represented Benvenue to the investment community.


Mr. Weigle was also a senior executive at numerous healthcare/medical device companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Baxter Healthcare, TherOx, Inc., (Zoll), Cardiac Pathways (Boston Scientific), and Camino Labs (Integra) Corp. Mr. Weigle was a member of the Board at Zyga (acquired by RTI) and currently is a Board member at Tenon, TNON NASDAQ. Mr. Weigle holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Brigham Hyde

CEO and Co-founder, Atropos Health

Dr. Brigham Hyde is CEO and co-founder of Atropos Health since August 2022. He provided funding and support for Atropos Health’s official launch in late 2020. Hyde has a significant track record of building businesses in the health tech and real-world data (RWD) space and most recently served as President of Data & Analytics at Eversana. Prior to that role, Mr. Hyde served as a healthcare partner at the AI venture fund Symphony AI, where he led the investment in, co-founded, and operated Concert AI, an oncology RWD company – most recently valued at $1.9B. Hyde held previous roles as Chief Data Officer at Decision Resources Group, which was acquired by Clarivate for $900M in 2020. He has also served on the Global Data Science Advisory Board for Janssen, as a research faculty at MIT Media Lab, and served as adjunct faculty at Tufts Medical School.

Theresa Lanowitz

Chief Cybersecurity Evangelist, LevelBlue

Theresa Lanowitz is the Chief Cybersecurity Evangelist at LevelBlue, a strategic alliance between AT&T and WillJam Ventures focused on simplifying cybersecurity for businesses that fuel our global economy.

With a distinguished career in the technology industry, she has held influential roles at companies including Gartner, Borland, Taligent, and Sun Microsystems, significantly impacting application security and emerging technologies.

Theresa is a globally respected leader known for her deep and diverse experience in cybersecurity. She frequently speaks at major industry conferences, including RSA, sharing her insights on high tech trends, AI integration, and the evolving threat landscape.

Theresa holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.

Anne Hoverson

Vice President, Digital Transformation, at Florida Blue and GuideWell

Anne Hoverson serves as Vice President, Digital Transformation, at Florida Blue and GuideWell, the parent company. In this role, which she assumed in March 2019, she is responsible for leading digital strategy development and the implementation of digital capabilities for customers, providers, brokers, benefit administrators and GuideWell employees. Hoverson has held a series of progressively responsible roles within the health solutions enterprise prior to assuming her current role, including Senior Director, Digital Channels;IT Manager;Senior Manager, Retail Program Development;and Retail Marketing Communications Manager. Prior to joining GuideWell, Hoverson served as Northeast Florida Regional Marketing Manager and later, Corporate Marketing Services Manager at LandMar Group, LLC/Crescent Resources, LLC, where she created marketing plans and strategies for master-planned communities across Florida and Georgia. Hoverson attended the University of Houston where she studied biology and business administration, and holds certifications in paralegal studies, pragmatic marketing, and agile development.

Chris Carruthers

Chief Innovation Officer, DexCare

Chris Carruthers is the Chief Innovation Officer at DexCare, where he spearheads the creation of cutting-edge products that drive the company’s mission and elevate its service to customers. With deep expertise in leveraging technology to develop scalable, innovative solutions that address complex challenges, Chris is committed to improving patient access and delivering exceptional experiences for both patients and providers.

Before DexCare’s successful spin-out from the Providence Digital Innovation Group (DIG), Chris led technology teams and drove DexCare’s commercialization efforts at DIG. His contributions laid the foundation for what DexCare is today, accelerating its adoption by leading health systems such as Kaiser Permanente, SSM Health, Texas Health Resources, Community Health Network, and Piedmont Health, among many others. His career also includes leadership roles at Slalom Consulting and his own firm, Carhea Technologies, where he delivered IT solutions across healthcare and various other industries.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Chris is a devoted father to his two daughters. He enjoys coaching youth sports, sharing meals with family and friends, and recharging in the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest’s mountains, waterways, and sea.

Becca LaFond

US General Manager, Healthy.io

Becca LaFond is a healthcare industry executive with more than 20 years of experience working within the healthcare system implementing technology and optimizing operations. As an executive leader, she has a successful track record of building and scaling teams, pioneering data-driven decision-making, and delivering value for customers.

She joined Healthy.io as US General Manager in February 2024 to scale commercialization efforts with payers, health systems, and pharmaceutical companies across the US.

Prior to joining Healthy, Becca helped scale Empiric Health as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Service Officer, where she worked to improve clinical decision making using technology. Becca oversaw Empiric’s acquisition by Olive AI— where she leveraged AI to enhance operating performance for a diverse customer portfolio of healthcare providers and payers, working to reduce administrative burden.

Becca is also a leader in non-profit governance, serving as Chair of the Board for Mountain Health Co-Op since 2023, and was previously a Board Member since 2021. Mountain Health Co-Op offers non-profit member-governed health insurance that promotes member engagement
and provides access to high-quality medical care across Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Becca is passionate about and eager to share insights on topics including operational process improvement, change management, analytical problem solving, interdisciplinary team building, and scaling and operating in healthcare.

Becca holds a BA in International Studies and Health Policy from Duke and an MBA and MHA from the University of Washington.

Mary Beth Navarra-Sirio

MBA, RN, Vice President, Product Management and Market Development

Mary Beth Navarra-Sirio, MBA, RN is an innovator and health tech executive who has led the development and go-to-market strategies of digital solutions and medical devices in companies from start-up to Fortune 500. She started her career as a nurse and hospital administrator at UPMC, where she saw firsthand the many challenges of healthcare and how innovation could solve them by improving the work of clinicians and saving the lives of patients. She went on to lead the development and launch of a new-to-world medication safety technology at an early-stage company which was acquired by McKesson. During her tenure at McKesson, she focused on understanding opportunities in the areas of medication management, patient safety, clinical decision support and analytics, leading teams that developed and commercialized solutions to meet those needs. At Philips, she led an innovation team which developed novel partnerships with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh among others, as well as startups to innovate and launch solutions in the hospital and consumer health tech spaces.

Mary Beth has been a champion for public-private collaboration to improve healthcare, having served on numerous industry committees and boards including the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Workgroup, ONC Meaningful Use Workgroup, Organization of Nursing Leadership’s Patient Safety Task Force, and as a long time Board member and Chair of the National Patient Safety Foundation. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and on the Boards of UPMC Enterprises portfolio companies Infectious Disease Connect and Arrive Health.

Hubert Zajicek

MD, MBA, is CEO & Co-founder of Health Wildcatters

Hubert Zajicek, MD, MBA, is CEO & Co-founder of Health Wildcatters, a top ranked healthcare accelerator and fund in Dallas, TX. Health Wildcatters provides mentorship, capital and guidance to up to 12 healthcare related startups during an intensive 3 month program, annually. The fund has invested in 109 healthcare startups, which have attracted over $320M in capital in 11 years. Dr. Zajicek has extensive experience with startups and is an active speaker, panelist and thought leader on healthcare startups, entrepreneurship, financing & healthcare. He serves as advisor, mentor and board member on various organizations and startup companies.


Prior to Health Wildcatters, he was managing director – medical technology at NTEC (North Texas Enterprise Center), where he ran what eventually became the Southwest’s largest medtech investment conference, showcasing startups that attracted in excess of $300M. Prior, he was on faculty at UT Southwestern, as an NIH funded principal investigator, in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Cell Biology. He has an MD from the University of Vienna and an MBA from SMU. He lives in Dallas with his wife, Beth McNally Zajicek, MD and two daughters.

Katie Adams

Senior Reporter, MedCity News

Katie Adams is a senior reporter at MedCity News. Her area of coverage focuses on the challenges that healthcare providers face today and the technology they’re using to solve those problems. Previously, she worked as a healthcare technology editor at Becker’s Hospital Review. Her journalism degree is from DePaul University in Chicago, where she is still based.

Shubhra Jain

Principal, Tarsadia Investments

Dr. Jain leads the health-tech investment practice at Tarsadia Investments, an investment firm managing over $2B in assets. With her experience as a Physician and her passion for leveraging technology in healthcare, she loves working with founders building businesses to enable and build a more equitable, affordable and effective healthcare ecosystem.

Dr. Jain is a Primary Care Physician by background. She also has her M.S. in Engineering from Stanford School of Engineering and her MBA from The Wharton School.

Stephen Hays

Founder, What If Ventures

Stephen Hays is the founder of What If Ventures, a venture firm investing in mental health and disruptive healthcare startups.‍

After decades struggling with addiction, and a mood disorder, Stephen was able to experience a trans-formative change in his life with the help of his loving wife and children, his father, and close friends. This change inspired Stephen to combine his personal recovery experience, with his investing background to help entrepreneurs bring life changing solutions to market.

Since launching What If Ventures in January 2020, Stephen has invested over $85,000,000 in 73 Disruptive Healthcare startups via a syndicate of over 4,100 investors. To date, the firm has seen 3 portfolio companies exit via IPO and 1 company exit via acquisition.

Prior to his career in venture capital, Stephen was an investment banker on Wall Street for 6+ years. He primarily focused on helping large companies raise capital, and execute Mergers & Acquisitions with an industry focus on the multi-industrial, aerospace & defense, and healthcare industries.

Stephen received his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at West Point, and received his MBA from Vanderbilt.

Stephen lives in Frisco, TX with his loving wife Christine, three beautiful children (ages 9, 8 and 1) and their pet bunny rabbit, named Mr. Snuffleupagus.

Erica Murdock

Managing Director, Unseen

Erica Murdock is the Managing Director of Unseen (powered by Seae Ventures), a pre-seed/early seed stage investment firm specializing in tech-enabled healthcare solutions. Erica began her career at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan before transitioning into digital health, having most recently held the role of Chief Operating Officer with Hurdle Health. A former founder and seasoned digital health operator with over two decades of experience, Erica has excelled at early-stage healthcare start-ups, specializing in culture and leadership development, operations, customer success, relationship management, and GTM strategy. Erica is an alumna of the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology.

Scott Ogden

Head of AI, Genmab

Scott Ogden is the Head of AI at Genmab, a global oncology and rare disease biopharma powerhouse. In this role, he leads the advancement of AI-driven change to how work is done- both in research and operations.

Scott has a rich background in leading data science and innovation teams in healthcare, having previously worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Healthfirst, a payor organization in NYC. His expertise lies in leveraging data to drive impactful health outcomes and operational efficiencies.

He holds a graduate degree in Applied Mathematics and is pursuing an executive MBA at Wharton. Outside of his professional achievements, Scott is passionate about music and enjoys starting choirs and a cappella groups. He also has the best 5-year-old son.

Liana Douillet Guzmán

CEO, FOLX Health

Liana Douillet Guzmán is the CEO of FOLX Health, a groundbreaking digital healthcare provider designed by and for the LGBTQIA+ community. Under her leadership, FOLX has brought its affirming and expert healthcare to members of the LGBTQIA+ community across all 50 states and has been recognized for its innovation and impact by TIME and Fast Company, among others. Liana previously served as the Chief Marketing Officer of Skillshare, the leading online learning community for creatives. As CMO, she played a key role in the company’s explosive growth, responsible for brand marketing, acquisition, communications, partnerships, and sales. Prior to joining Skillshare, Liana served as COO of Blockchain, helping grow the company’s usership from 4 million to 40 million within two years. She serves on the Board of Directors at GLAAD, the Elizabeth Park Conservancy, and FOLX. She’s been recognized as one of Fast Company’s Queer 50 for the last three years and as one of NY Observer’s Top 50 Philanthropists. Liana earned her BA in psychology and international studies in 2005 from Connecticut College. She is a member of the 2024 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. When not working, she is often found spending time with her family or playing tennis poorly.

Naomi Fried

PhD, CEO, PharmStars

Naomi Fried PhD, a national thought leader on healthcare innovation, is the founder and CEO of PharmStars, the pharma-focused accelerator for digital health startups. She is also a co-founder and Managing Partner of Ambit Health Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on digital health investing.

Previously, Naomi was founder and CEO of Health Innovation Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in innovation and digital health. She advised pharma companies, providers, and payers on innovation-program design, optimization and activities and on digital health strategy.

Naomi was previously Biogen’s first VP of Innovation and External Partnerships. She developed Biogen’s “innovation beyond the molecule” strategy to deliver non-pharmacological value to patients and providers.

Prior to Biogen, Naomi was the first Chief Innovation Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). At BCH, Naomi built and led the Innovation Acceleration Program, which focused on enhancing the innovation culture, improving care quality, and assisting the hospital in shaping the future of health care. The Innovation Acceleration program supported strategic innovation initiatives, resourced grass roots innovation, and identified unmet innovation opportunities. Naomi oversaw the creation and administration of the Innovestment seed grant program which supported 37 projects and the FastTrack Innovation (FIT) in Technology Program which developed 9 novel clinical software solutions and mobile apps. She also initiated and led the development of BCH’s telehealth strategy.

Before moving to the Boston area, Naomi was the VP of Innovation and Advanced Technology at Kaiser Permanente (KP) in Oakland, California, where she led an effort to identify and assess emerging health care technologies and chaired the board of its internal Innovation Fund for Technology. She formed KP’s Telehealth Working Group and was involved in the start-up and governance of KP’s Innovation lab, the Sidney R. Garfield Center for Health Care Innovation. She was the Managing Director of the Archimedes Project.

Naomi has served on the advisory boards of the HealthCare Business Women’s Association, MedCity News, Digital Collaboration Solutions, the Journal of Clinical Innovation & Technology, as well as a Director of the American Telemedicine Association. She was also appointed a member of the Governor of Massachusetts’ Innovation Council. Her awards include being named one of WEST’s “Notable Women Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology” in 2013 and one of Healthcare IT News’ “2013 Health Information Technology (HIT) Men and Women of the Year Award, Innovators.” Naomi was named “The Emerging Executive of the Year” in 2014 by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and was named one of 40 “Healthcare Transformers of 2016” by MM&M. In 2023 she was recognized by the Women’s Edge as one of the “Extraordinary Women Advancing Healthcare.” Naomi is on the board of directors of WavelyDx and Head Diagnostics. She also has served on the advisory boards of ResApp (aquired by Pfizer) and Remepy. She writes and speaks nationally and internationally on innovation and digital health. Naomi received her Ph.D. in Materials Science from MIT and her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

David Latshaw

CEO and Co-Founder at BioPhy

David Latshaw, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized artificial intelligence and machine learning expert who has spoken publicly on the use of AI in life sciences regularly over the past 10 years. Dave currently serves as the CEO of BioPhy, a venture-backed artificial intelligence company that he founded in 2019. Preceding his role at BioPhy, Dave spent the first six years of his career as a Senior Scientist at Johnson & Johnson, where he worked to find innovative ways for J&J to incorporate AI technology. In this capacity, both National Academy of Engineering and the World Economic Forum highlighted the efforts that Dave conceived of and deployed on a global scale. Dave’s work was eventually utilized by J&J to aid in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Josh Sturm

Josh Sturm, Color Health, Chief Revenue Officer

Josh Sturm joined Color Health as Chief Revenue Officer in 2024, where he will focus on expanding Color’s partnerships with employers, unions, health plans, and the public sector to provide equitable, accessible healthcare services. An accomplished leader in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, Josh previously was a Vice President at Hinge Health, where he focused on new markets and business development, and played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s reach into new territories and complex healthcare ecosystems. Josh’s career includes tenure as a Vice President at Surescripts and at Express Scripts, where he provided strategic oversight and managed significant national accounts. He began his career in sales roles with Allergan and Medicine Shoppe International. Josh earned a B.S. and B.B.A. from Viterbo University, and an M.B.A from Webster University.

Arundhati Parmar

Editor-in-Chief at MedCity News

Arundhati Parmar is vice president and editor-in-chief of MedCity News. In this role, she is in charge of all editorial content as well as the live programming at MedCity’s healthcare events. Arundhati enjoys reporting herself and writes on a variety of healthcare topics, in addition to editing contributed content. She welcomes any tips and scoops you may want to send her way.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in English Honors, Jadavpur University, a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Sydney and a Master’s degree in Journalism, from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Julia Cheek

Founder, CEO of Everly Health

Julia Cheek is the Founder and CEO of Everly Health, a digital health company serving millions of people annually by expanding access to virtual-first disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Julia is a visionary leader, serving on the Board of Directors for Headspace Health and The University of Texas at Austin President’s Innovation Board. She demonstrates her passion for entrepreneurship by supporting underrepresented founders, investing in over a dozen healthcare startups. Julia was named 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year by Springboard Enterprises, Fortune Magazine’s 2022 15 Most Powerful Women in Startups, and Business Insider’s 2022 100 People Transforming Business.

Julia attended Vanderbilt University and earned her MBA from Harvard Business School where she graduated as a Baker Scholar with high distinction. She is based in Austin.

John Mowery

Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Houston Methodist

John Mowery is Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Houston Methodist, a leading academic medical center in the Texas Medical Center, and six community hospitals serving Greater Houston. As VP/CISO, John oversees cybersecurity for all Houston Methodist entities and functions. Before Houston Methodist, John was CISO for Motiva Enterprises, overseeing all business and manufacturing cybersecurity functions for the operator of the largest refinery in North America. Before joining Motiva, John was CISO at ConocoPhillips, directing all global cybersecurity functions, including governance, risk, privacy, operations, and security architecture. Previously, John led security programs for industry-leading cybersecurity software companies, implementing security capabilities for many Fortune 100 companies, and served as Executive Consultant and Chief Technology Officer for a national consulting firm.

John is also active within the cybersecurity field, having served as Board Director for the Oil & Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center, as conference co-chair for the American Petroleum Institute Cybersecurity Conference, and as Adjunct Professor at Lone Star College, where he instructed for the cybersecurity bachelor program.

John has over 30 years of IT and cybersecurity experience across multiple industries, including high-tech, finance, healthcare, energy, and government, and holds many industry-leading cybersecurity certifications. John has a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and a Master of Business Administration from Western Governors University and is a US Army veteran.

Dan Easton

Dan Easton, Principal, Unorthodox Ventures

Dan Easton is a principal at Unorthodox Ventures, the Austin-based investment firm by Big Ass Fans Founder Carey Smith. Dan has led hiring initiatives for portfolio companies, reading countless resumes (seriously … he stopped counting) and interviewing hundreds of candidates. He also helps develop strategies and, on occasion, even serves as an interim executive for portfolio companies to allow founders to focus on what matters most.

Dan joined Unorthodox Ventures following leadership positions in software development, newspaper publishing, and real estate and marketing communications. He began his career as an engineer, building simulation, optimization and economic modeling software for chemical plants and refineries. Dan also owns Austin’s largest art gallery, home to one of the world’s most extensive collections of “The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss,” works produced primarily for adults by the famed artist.

Jim Winkler

Chief Strategy Officer for Business Group on Health

As the Chief Strategy Officer for Business Group on Health, Jim leads key initiatives for the Business Group, focused on enhancing member value. Working with the Business Group’s Leadership Team, Jim identifies emerging areas of member need and potential Business Group solutions.

Prior to joining Business Group on Health Jim was a senior leader at Aon. Over a 25-year career at Aon, Jim worked with large employers on global and US health and well-being strategies. Most recently, Jim led Aon’s Global Health Solutions Advisory & Specialty team, focused on thought leadership, innovation, and advisory support to address complex health and benefits challenges. Previously, Jim led the firm’s strategy regarding health care reform, testifying before the US Congress on this important issue for employers and their employees. Jim built and led Aon’s health innovation program, bringing together topical experts and experience with the emerging vendor landscape to develop and scale solutions for employers.

Jim held various global, national and regional leadership roles with Aon and its predecessor company, Hewitt Associates. Prior to joining Aon, he spent eight years working for a US-based national healthcare company in underwriting, pricing, marketing and sales positions.

Jim earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Hartford.

Ashish Atreja

CIO and CDHO, UCDH

I have formal training in epidemiology and board certification in gastroenterology, clinical informatics and internal medicine. Over the last twenty years, I have led many informatics and digital health initiatives at Cleveland Clinic, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and UC Davis Health including developing online education modules, leading EHR implementation in an integrated delivery network, developing registries, secondary use of healthcare data and developing patient and provider facing apps (applications). I have been involved in patient centered research through Clinical and Translational Scientific Awards (Cleveland Clinic and Mount Sinai), served on dissemination advisory board of PCORI and supported PRO workgroup in NYC- Chronic Disease Research Network (CDRN). I serve as founder and chair of NODE Health, a 501c3 foundation of 32 health systems that aims to build evidence to digital medicine technologies. I also serve on the Innovation Advisory Board for American College of Cardiology and as executive member of FHIR at Scale committee with Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in HHS, which allows me to collaborate nationally with ongoing efforts in interoperability and unlocking data for real-world evidence. In my prior role as Chief Innovation Officer in the Department of Medicine, I have led a scientific core for digital medicine and directed a full-stack technical team with clinical informaticists, UX designers, programmers, directors, app developers and data scientists. The core developed infrastructure for digital engagement and electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO) that supported over 25 funded projects and over 100 investigators.

In my current role as CIO and Chief Digital Health Officer at UC Davis Health, I lead the “Digital Davis vision” through an IT team of over 600 personnel that oversee Epic, IT and research applications, Data, AI, Security, clinical informatics and chief research information office who support the health system, CTSA and medical school. This proposal will leverage and build upon our prior work in AI, mobile apps, electronic informed consent, decision aids, e-PRO, virtual clinical trials and digital participant engagement.

Ben Schwering

Chief Information Security Officer, Premier, Inc

As Chief Information Security Officer at Premier Inc, Ben Schwering is responsible for safeguarding the organization’s digital assets and ensuring robust cybersecurity strategies are in place. With over 20 years of experience in IT and Cybersecurity, Ben has established a reputation for driving innovation and resilience in an evolving threat landscape.

Throughout his career, Ben has demonstrated a commitment to advancing cybersecurity practices through innovation and strategic planning. He has successfully implemented robust security frameworks, orchestrated incident response strategies, and led comprehensive risk management programs to effectively mitigate cyber threats.
Prior to joining Premier Inc, Ben held key positions in multiple IT disciplines including security, data analytics, and infrastructure across Financial Services, Insurance, and Healthcare industries.

Brenda Schmidt

Head of Strategic Growth and Innovation, Redesign Health

Brenda is the Head of Strategic Growth and Innovation at Redesign Health, where her team drives value for healthcare organizations, investors, and their portfolios through Redesign’s innovation platform capabilities. Previously, she founded and led successful ventures including Viridian Health and Solera Health. Brenda also serves as a Director for several healthcare companies, contributes to Fierce Health as an Editorial Board Advisor, and writes for Entrepreneur Magazine. She has received numerous awards including EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, Best MedTech CEO, Becker’s 102 Women Healthcare IT Leaders, and Phoenix Top 10 Business Leaders. Brenda holds a B.S. in Microbiology from Indiana University, a M.S. in Immunology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a MBA from Arizona State University.

Cyril Philip

Vice President of Digital Ventures, Bon Secours Mercy Health

Cyril Philip is the Vice President of Digital Ventures at Bon Secours Mercy Health. He joined the health system in 2022, his responsibilities include identification of new digital health focused technologies, accelerating generative AI adoption, and management/diligence of potential minority investments. Prior to joining BSMH, Cyril spent seven years building the investment platform at Providence Ventures (“PV”), the $300M venture fund of Providence. Cyril started his career in middle-market Private Equity and Investment Banking. Cyril graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. He is currently based in Dallas.

Salvatore Viscomi

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Carna Health

Salvatore is a practising physician, professor, researcher, and entrepreneur. He previously led GoodCell’s product line of genetic and biomarker testing, developing a healthcare platform that harnesses the power of blood to both inform and restore health.

Previously, Salvatore spent 14 years as a member of Harvard Medical School’s faculty and concurrently as a clinician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In that capacity, he held various administrative and clinical roles including Community Hospital Chairman and Director of Admissions of a Harvard Residency Program.

As an expert in medical imaging, Salvatore has published and presented nationally and internationally. Salvatore co-founded Brigham NightWatch, the first academic teleradiology network in the world. In addition, Salvatore served as an executive and board member of FreMon Scientific Inc. where he led the development of a next-generation blood product management solution through FDA approval and ultimately to market.

Salvatore began his path towards medicine while at Columbia University, earning a B.A. in Neuropsychology. Salvatore completed his residency and specialization at Harvard Medical School.

He also serves on the Board of Directors of Make-A-Wish Foundation MA/RI. In 2016, Salvatore completed the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School. Salvatore is a member of the Forbes Technology Council member.

Andrew Molosky

President and Chief Executive Officer of Chapters Health System

Andrew Molosky is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chapters Health System, one of the nation’s premier community-based healthcare delivery systems. Under Andrew’s strategic vision, Chapters Health has redefined its position to become the nation’s largest not-for-profit, end-of-life care organization and a leading community-based population health organization. He’s also the CEO of CareNu, Chapters Health’s value-based subsidiary, which provides predictive analytics, risk modelling, case management and social determinants of health analysis to care delivery. Prior to Chapters Health, Andrew served in executive leadership for more than 20 years spanning an array of geographies and organizations including publicly traded, privately held, and not-for-profit.

Andrew was recognized as one of Modern Healthcare’s top 300 most influential persons, a national distinction. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Home Care 100 advisory board member and a board of directors for the National Partnership for Hospice and Health Innovation. He is a frequent panellist at healthcare conferences across the country, including the Home Healthcare + Investment (Hi2) conference in Chicago and others.

Outside of work, Andrew is an avid Ironman triathlete and was invited to last year’s Ironman World Championship in France. He’s an active outdoor enthusiast, including boating and scuba diving. Along with many other events, he raced in the Tampa Bay Frogman swim to support the Navy Seal Foundation.

Emily Durfee

Director of Corporate Venture Capital at Healthworx

Emily Durfee is a Director of Corporate Venture Capital at Healthworx, an organization committed to innovation and healthcare quality, accessibility, affordability, and equity. As a Partner on Healthworx’s Corporate Venture Capital team, Emily leads Seed through Series B deals in verticals including Medicare, Medicaid, women’s health, behavioral health, appropriate sites of care, therapeutics, health equity, etc.

Emily is an experienced problem-solver with a background across the start-up social enterprise spectrum, including impact investing, technology consulting, and direct execution in start-ups in developed and emerging markets. She has a thorough understanding of the overlap between the complex, highly regulated corporate healthcare industry and the startup sphere, with direct experience investing in and fostering the next wave of healthcare innovators.

She holds an MBA from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and a BS in Foreign Service, Culture, and Politics from Georgetown University.

Marissa Plescia

Reporter at MedCity

Marissa Plescia is a reporter for MedCity News covering payers, employers and health tech. She previously worked at Becker’s Hospital Review as a finance reporter. Before that, she was a data journalism intern at Kansas City PBS for the Dow Jones News Fund. She received her Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Eve Cunningham

Chief of Virtual Care and Digital Health at Providence

As Providence’s Group VP and Chief of Virtual Care and Digital Health, Dr. Cunningham leads a care transformation portfolio of products and services that includes nine enterprise virtual care service lines, a hospital-at-home, remote patient monitoring, remote therapeutic monitoring, a virtual nursing team, and clinically focused digital products. Her team provides products and services to over 100+ hospitals across 8 states. She is also the co-chair of the Clinical AI governance team at Providence that is charged with identifying, vetting and prioritizing AI use cases for clinical care.
Dr. Cunningham is the founder of MedPearl, a patented clinical intelligence engine, designed to support next best actions and surface relevant patient data at the point of care. The platform is currently scaled at Providence and used regularly by thousands of clinicians.

As a national speaker, Dr. Cunningham is a thought leader and advocate for improvements in telehealth, clinician shortages and workforce burnout, clinical innovation and the application of AI in clinical care. She serves on the HIMSS Physician Executive Committee and was a recent recipient of the HIMSS-AMDIS Changemaker Award (2024) and Becker’s Health IT Up and Comers (2023).
Dr. Cunningham joined Providence St. Joseph Health in 2017, initially serving as the Chief Medical Officer of Providence Medical Group Southwest. She is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and has practiced since 2008 in the South Puget Sound community. Prior to joining Providence, Dr. Cunningham served as Women’s and Children’s Service Line Medical Director, Medical Director of Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology and Division Chief of Women’s, Children’s, Urgent Care and Virtual Care Services at CHI-Franciscan Health (currently, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health).

With over 20 years of clinical practice and 12 years of leading and managing clinical operations, Dr. Cunningham has the advantage of understanding the practical technologies, change management, workflow and care transformation strategies that are needed in clinical settings.

Dr. Cunningham received her medical degree at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and postgraduate residency training at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center. She received her Master’s in Business Administration from University of Massachusetts- Amherst. She is passionate about restoring joy in the practice of medicine and addressing some of our greatest challenges in the industry related to workforce shortages, hospital capacity and care fragmentation.