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Day One

Tuesday, May 21

11:00 am

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12:00 pm

PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP

All You Ever Needed to Know About Government Funding of Startups

Did you know the U.S. Government is a great source of both financial and expertise support for small businesses? In this session, Chris Sasiela, Director, Innovator SEED Innovator Support Services, from the National Institutes of Health SEED Office will share information about the non-dilutive NIH Small Business award programs, and the resources and programs available to enhance a portfolio startup’s success. Topics will include access to entrepreneurs-in-residence, subject matter experts in regulatory and reimbursement, gap analyses, entrepreneurial training and more.

SPEAKERS

Chris Sasiela

Director Innovator Support Services
National Institutes of Health SEED

Full Bio

12:00 pm

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1:15 pm

Lunch

Lunch will be provided.

1:30 pm

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1:35 pm

Opening Remarks

SPEAKERS

Arundhati Parmar

Editor-in-Chief
MedCity News

Full Bio

1:35 pm

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2:15 pm

Investment Trends in Healthcare

Fewer deals, slower investment pace, smaller check sizes, more deal scrutiny and more pragmatic valuations. That is the current reality of investing in healthcare innovation. Paradoxically, does this scenario imply that superior startups are securing funding, increasing the likelihood of them achieving profitability? Gain insights from influential investors as they discuss trends in the healthcare investment arena.

MODERATOR

Jack Stockert

Managing Director
Health2047

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Nancy Sullivan

CEO & Managing Partner
Illinois Ventures

Full Bio

Shawn Ellis

Co-founder and Managing Partner
Distributed Ventures

Full Bio

George Khalife

Vice President of Midwest U.S.
Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

Full Bio

Fatima Husain

Co-founder & Managing Partner
Mosaic General Partnership

Full Bio

SPONSORED BY

2:15 pm

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3:25 pm

Biopharma Pitch Track

Startups focused on oncology

CONTESTANTS

Amplified Sciences

Enzyme By Design

miRecule, Inc.

Modulation Therapeutics

OncoSwab

Talus Biosciences

EMCEE

Frank Vinluan

Senior Biopharma Reporter
MedCity News

Full Bio

JUDGES

Nancy Sullivan

CEO & Managing Partner
Illinois Ventures

Full Bio

Ryan Kole

Partner
VCapital

Full Bio

Meredith Wilkerson

Investment Principal
Plains VC

Full Bio

3:25 pm

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3:45 pm

Networking Break

3:45 pm

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4:25 pm

Employers Embrace Value-Based Care

Employers are jumping on value-based care for a number of reasons: VBC aligns with their goals of controlling costs, improving employee health outcomes, enhancing satisfaction, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of their workforce. Hear from prominent employers and their service providers about employer-focused VBC strategies.

MODERATOR

Rivka Friedman

Head of Health Care Innovation, Morgan Health
JPMorgan Chase

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Cheryl Larson

President and CEO
Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH)

Full Bio

Steven Knight

Chief Operating Officer
Quantum Health

Full Bio

Henry H. Ting

Senior Vice President, Chief Health & Wellness Officer
Delta

Full Bio

SPONSORED BY

4:25 pm

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5:35 pm

Healthtech: Payer/Provider Pitch Track

Startups addressing burnout and operational efficiency.

CONTESTANTS

DNASafe

Healcisio

Kemtai

Samaritan

Somnea Health

Syntax Health, Inc.

EMCEE

Marissa Plescia

Reporter
MedCity News

Full Bio

JUDGES

Dipa Mehta

Managing Partner
Cobalt Ventures

Full Bio

Jane Rho

Director, Fund & AI
DaVita Ventures

Full Bio

Jasmi Shah

Managing Director
Cigna Ventures

Full Bio

5:35 pm

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7:10 pm

Opening Reception

Day Two

Wednesday, May 22

8:00 am

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9:15 am

Breakfast + Ask the Investor

9:15 am

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9:55 am

Risky Move? How the Healthcare Industry is Taking On Risk

To get to the promised land of value-based care — improved outcomes, lowered cost, and greater patient and physician satisfaction — companies need to stand behind their products and services. That requires taking on risks in customer contracts and for payers to think about payment innovation. Learn from these leaders about how the healthcare industry is embracing risk.

MODERATOR

Michael Greeley

Co-Founder & General Partner
Flare Capital Partners

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Diana Rhyne

Executive Director, Research & Innovation
WakeMed Health & Hospitals

Full Bio

Seth Zuckerman

Chief Business Officer
Upward Health

Full Bio

Brian Montgomery

Chief Strategy Officer
GE Healthcare

Full Bio

9:55 am

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11:05 am

Devices/Diagnostics Pitch Track

Startups focused on cardiology

CONTESTANTS

BioMEMS Diagnostics

CoraVie Medical

General Prognostics (GPx)

JB HealthTech

Polynova Cardiovascular

The Shape Sensing Company

EMCEE

Katie Adams

Senior Reporter
MedCity News

Full Bio

JUDGES

Lewis Kilongo

Principal
Unorthodox Ventures

Full Bio

David Kereiakes

Managing Partner
Windham Venture Partners

Full Bio

Ken Nelson

Partner
Medtech Advantage Fund

Full Bio

11:05 am

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11:30 am

Networking Break

11:30 am

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12:10 pm

How are Glp-1 Drugs Reshaping the Healthcare Industry?

Glp-1 drugs have fundamentally transformed the obesity crisis in the U.S. providing hope to many, and while these drugs are expensive, they have also reshaped the healthcare industry overall. Startups serving patients on Glp-1 drugs have cropped up helping patients get services beyond just the weekly injections. Doctors who weren’t treating obesity patients are now providing Glp-1 programs. Learn how are payers, service providers and doctors are viewing this landscape through an expert panel that will discuss the far-reaching impacts of these highly-touted drug class.

MODERATOR

Betty Pio

Partner
Kearney

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Sheila Shah

Managing Director
L.E.K. Consulting

Full Bio

Dr. Rekha Kumar

Chief Medical Officer
Found

Full Bio

Alexander Singh

Head of Analytics
knownwell

Full Bio

12:10 pm

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12:40 pm

Fireside Chat

Change Healthcare’s cybersecurity incident in February brought a large chunk of the healthcare industry to its knees affecting everyone from patients, providers, pharmacies and health systems. What can be done to stem the rising tide of cyber attacks on the health industry? Do policies need to change? What kind of investment do companies need to make to secure their data? Learn from a senior government official charged with protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.

MODERATOR

Arundhati Parmar

Editor-in-Chief
MedCity News

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Nitin Natarajan

Deputy Director
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Full Bio

12:40 pm

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2:00 pm

Lunch

Lunch will be provided.

2:00 pm

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2:35 pm

The Evolution of Precision Medicine

Initially, precision medicine primarily focused on genetic factors to tailor treatments to individual patients. However, the landscape has expanded to encompass a broader array of data sources, including genomic, clinical, environmental and lifestyle information. AI and ML now play a pivotal role in analyzing massive datasets, enabling more precise diagnostics and personalized treatment plans. Hear more about this paradigm shift from top players in the field.

MODERATOR

Carly Cook

Client Relationship Executive
Deloitte

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Jordan Zwick

Chief Business Officer
Mirador Therapeutics

Full Bio

Cindy Atwell

Chief Business Officer
Precision BioSciences

Full Bio

Chris Dingman

Chief Commercial Officer
OncoHost

Full Bio

2:35 pm

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3:00 pm

Canadian Startup Pitch Competition

CONTESTANTS

FemTherapeutics

OPTT Health

PragmaClin Research

Reach Orthopaedics

3:00 pm

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3:30 pm

Women’s Health Sector Matures

In 2024, there’s a welcome shift in investors finally giving women’s health the attention it deserves. While past investments concentrated on obstetrics/gynecology platforms and fertility services, there’s now a gradual diversification. Investors are expanding their interests in women’s health to encompass primary care, mental health, wellness, and various other services. Although pregnancy, fertility, and menopause remain substantial areas of investment, we are entering the next phase of advancing women’s health.

MODERATOR

Christiana DelloRusso

Partner
LRVHealth

Full Bio

SPEAKERS

Melissa Dennis

Chief Medical Officer
Partum Health

Full Bio

Melissa Lederer

Chief Experience Officer and Managing Partner
mHUB & mHUB Ventures

Full Bio

Joe Connolly

Co-founder & CEO
Visana Health

Full Bio

3:30 pm

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4:00 pm

Networking Break

4:00 pm

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5:10 pm

Healthtech: Consumer/Employer Pitch Track

Startups addressing women’s health

CONTESTANTS

Coologics

Estrigenix Therapeutics

GoNo Food Finder

Marma

Mother’s Milk

NOMA AI

EMCEE

Marissa Plescia

Reporter
MedCity News

Full Bio

JUDGES

Julien L. Pham

Founder and Managing Partner
3CC | Third Culture Capital

Full Bio

Carli Sapir

Founding Partner
Amboy Street Ventures

Full Bio

Samir Batra

Managing Partner
HIP

Full Bio

5:10 pm

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5:20 pm

Pitch Awards & Closing Remarks

5:20 pm

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7:00 pm

Closing Reception

MedCityNews.com is one of the leading sites focused on B2B healthcare innovation and producer of investing driven events that gather industry experts and innovators to address the challenges facing the healthcare ecosystem.

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Contact us

Cindy Atwell

Chief Business Officer, Precision BioSciences

Cindy Atwell is the Chief Business Officer at Precision BioSciences, leading the business development, alliance management, program leadership and program management teams. She joined Precision BioSciences in 2019 and holds 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with most of her time spent in business development and commercial roles. Over the course of her career, Cindy has led and participated in the negotiation of a number of transactions totaling >$10Bn in value. This includes negotiating Precision’s sickle cell collaboration with Novartis as well as the divesture and licensing of the Precision’s cell therapy capabilities and products to Imugene and TG Therapeutics. Prior to Precision BioSciences, she led oncology and drug delivery deals as well as strategy projects at Halozyme. Over the years, Cindy has held various roles within the business development and commercial organizations at AbbVie, Amylin, and Impax. She also participated in discovery research at a start-up biotechnology company early in her career. Cindy holds a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from the University of California, San Diego’s Rady School of Management.

Jordan Zwick

Chief Business Officer, Mirador Therapeutics

Jordan Zwick is the Chief Business Officer of Mirador Therapeutics. Mr. Zwick is an experienced leader in corporate strategy and business development in the biopharmaceutical sector. Mr. Zwick served as strategic advisor to Prometheus Biosciences prior to its sale to Merck in June 2023. Previously, Mr. Zwick served as SVP, Corporate Business Development and Investor Relations at Amarin Corp (AMRN), closing multiple transactions for global partnering of the lead asset. Jordan served as SVP, Chief Strategy Officer at InflaRx N.V. (IFRX), where he was responsible for leading corporate strategy, business & corporate development, investor relations and was instrumental in the public financings of the Company. Mr. Zwick has vast industry operational experience at companies such as Medtronic, Salix Pharmaceuticals and Bausch Health. As part of the team that sold Salix to Valeant Pharmaceuticals (now Bausch Health Companies) for $14.5 billion in 2015, Mr. Zwick eventually became head of strategy at the Salix business unit, responsible for leading all business development transactions, alliance management, strategic planning and portfolio management, playing a key role in the turnaround story of Bausch Health. Mr. Zwick also serves on the board of directors at Theratechnologies (Nasdaq: THTX). He holds B.A., M.S. degrees from Florida Atlantic University and a M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco.

Sheila Shah

Managing Director, L.E.K. Consulting

Sheila Shah is a Managing Director in L.E.K. Consulting’s Chicago office and serves as leader of the firm’s Digital Healthcare practice. Sheila’s experience covers a range of areas, with a particular focus on healthcare technology, due diligence, commercial strategy, healthcare supply chain, growth opportunity assessment and organizational design.

Prior to joining L.E.K., Sheila interned in Janssen’s Healthcare Innovation Group at Johnson & Johnson and worked in Strategic Sourcing at New York Presbyterian Hospital and in EY’s Healthcare Advisory practice. She holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Political Science from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Shawn Ellis

Co-founder and Managing Partner, Distributed Ventures

Shawn Ellis is co-founder and Managing Partner of Distributed Ventures. Prior to Distributed Ventures, Shawn built and led NFP Ventures, a captive early-stage venture fund sponsored by NFP Corp, the diversified global insurance brokerage and financial services company now owned by Aon. He currently serves on the boards of Pillar, Posterity Health, Sage, Tuned and Wingspan. In addition, he has lead investments in Vivante Health, Kindbody, and Wellth, among others.

Shawn’s investment approach leverages his prior venture-backed operational, strategic and investment experience. Previously, as President and founding team member of Zest Health, he led the company’s growth from concept to over half a million paid subscribers and partnerships with several major medical health plans in less than three years. Zest was eventually rebranded as Yaro and acquired by Virgin Pulse.

Prior to Zest, Shawn focused on healthcare technology investments at 7wire Ventures. He was a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and began his career at Lazard Middle Market’s Healthcare M&A practice.

Shawn holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the The Economic Club of Chicago and a board member of the Linden Foundation. Shawn lives in Chicago with his wife and children.

Nancy Sullivan

CEO & Managing Partner, Illinois Ventures

Nancy Sullivan leads the Illinois Ventures team in fundraising, investment strategy, and limited partner relationships. A key advisor to startups, Ms. Sullivan assists companies in obtaining venture capital funding, recruiting management teams, and advising on business development and commercialization matters. Prior to joining Illinois Ventures, she served as Senior Director of Business Development for an early-stage biotechnology company where she led business development and managed the corporate office operations.

Carly Cook

Client Relationship Executive, Deloitte

Carly is a leader in Deloitte’s Life Sciences practice, with a focus on the Health Care, Life Sciences, and Medical Technology sectors. She has more than 20 years of experience in operational management and strategic planning – delivering impactful solutions in response to marketplace and organizational issues for the clients she serves.

In her current role, Carly brings insights and aligns the appropriate Deloitte resources to help organizations address complex business issues, capitalize on innovation opportunities, and drive growth. She leverages her extensive experience with Deloitte’s Greenhouse® Lab methodology and Executive Accelerators to facilitate immersive workshops to help both teams and individuals navigate moments that matter, including career transitions, and organizational growth and evolution. Carly spends a lot of her time at the intersection of the Life Sciences, Medical Technology, High Tech and Consumer sectors, helping her clients develop and accelerate their digital and connected healthcare priorities.

As a lifelong athlete with an interest in all things health-related, Carly combines passion and purpose to help her clients deliver on their corporate missions. She serves as a Board Member for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign and is an active member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA).

Melissa Dennis

Chief Medical Officer, Partum Health

Dr. Melissa Dennis is the Chief Medical Officer at Partum Health, a parent-founded startup that provides interdisciplinary pregnancy and postpartum care that complements what women receive from their OBs and midwives. She completed her training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Rush University in Chicago after obtaining her undergraduate and medical degrees in the accelerated BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In addition to her undergraduate and medical degrees, Dr. Dennis holds her Master’s in Healthcare Administration, conferred by The Oklahoma State University. Throughout her over 20 years in healthcare, Dr. Dennis has provided high-skilled, evidence-based, and compassionate care to her patients in the ambulatory and inpatient settings. While caring for both low-risk and high-risk pregnancies, Dr. Dennis honed her leadership skills in many roles at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, including her roles as the Director of Obstetrics, Associate Chair, and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has proven to be a leading medical expert for media consultation and has demonstrated strong entrepreneurial skills as the co-founder of Citizen-MD and in her role as a medical advisor for NBC Universal’s “One Chicago” series. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Andrew, and her two teenage children, Minnie and Ethan.

 

Ryan Kole

Partner, VCapital

Ryan made the rare transition from an options trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange to a founder of a startup and a venture capitalist. It helped that while trading he formed a company, RK Inventions, LLC, focusing on bringing innovative products to market plus consulting for others. He has six patents issued and numerous more pending. Ryan has licensed out one of his inventions and is in the process of licensing out others. He also is the Co-Founder of Beyond Barriers Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage company developing a therapeutic for traumatic brain injury and other disorders of the CNS. After graduating from business school, Ryan joined VCapital (a Chicago-based venture capital firm) where he is currently a Partner. His role at VCapital is to source, review and analyze deals for consideration of becoming a portfolio company and then working with the startups once an investment is made. Ryan formed the Midwest Venture Capital Consortium which merged with VentureNext, where he is now on the executive committee. Ryan received his BS at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Cheryl Larson

President and CEO, Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH)

Cheryl Larson is President and CEO of the non-profit Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH), a coalition of more than 150 mid, large and jumbo, self-funded, public and private employers who represent more than 4M lives. MBGH seeks to advance leadership, collaboration, and knowledge among employers and stakeholders to continuously improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health benefits, health care, and community health. She currently serves on multiple boards and committees representing the purchaser perspective, including the Institute of Medicine Chicago – Board of Directors and Fellow, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasing Coalitions – Board of Governors, University of Michigan Value Based Insurance Design (VBID) – National Task Force on Low-Value Care.

Christiana DelloRusso

Partner, LRVHealth Moderator

Christiana DelloRusso joined LRVHealth as a Partner in 2021 with 20+ years of experience in technical product, business and funding strategy of early-to-mid-stage for-profit and non-profit ventures. Her experience as an “insider” strategic healthcare investor includes her role as one of the three initial Partners to launch Providence Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of the Providence health system, in 2014. There Christiana led the firm’s investments in Omada Health, Lyra Health, and N-of-One (acquired by Qiagen). Before Providence Ventures, Christiana held roles as VP of Commercialization at Life Science Washington and Managing Director of WINGS, a medical technology angel investor network. Previous experience also includes consulting at venture-funded startup companies. Christiana earned her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Michigan, and completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Washington and Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School.

Julien L. Pham

Founder and Managing Partner of 3CC | Third Culture Capital Judge

Julien L. Pham, MD, MPH, is Founder and Managing Partner of 3CC | Third Culture Capital, an immigrant-founded, physician-led, and diversity-certified seed-stage VC firm focused on emerging healthtech and techbio companies that are revolutionizing modern care delivery while optimizing and reshaping the experience of care for both patients and providers.

Dr. Pham has over 15 years of leadership experience in clinical settings and in emerging medical technology companies, including over a decade as a serial healthcare entrepreneur. He is a “Third Culture” individual who, by the age of 15, experienced 3 different cultures, growing up on 3 continents. This has deeply influenced his and 3CC’s ethos around diversity, equity, and purpose. 3CC’s mission is to change the face of healthcare innovation by backing founders with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

George Khalife

Vice President of Midwest U.S. for the Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange

George Khalife is the Vice President of Midwest U.S. for the Toronto Stock Exchange & TSX Venture Exchange, based in Chicago. In his role, George partners with U.S.-based companies to help them access the Canadian capital markets, raise public venture capital, and eventually go public.

Previous to joining the TSX, George led the marketing & business development for a growing FinTech Startup called owl.co and before that led the business development for Canada’s #1 tech-focused M&A firm called Sampford Advisors. On the side, George hosts a top-10 business podcast called Let’s Grab Coffee where he has published more than 140 episodes and has featured individuals like the Cofounders of Netflix, Starbucks, Reebok to the Music Video Director of Drake (DirectorX).

Carli Sapir

Founding Partner, Amboy Street Ventures

Carli Sapir is the Founding Partner of Amboy Street Ventures and leads the investment team. Carli has an affinity for startups in the women’s health and sexual wellbeing landscape due to her personal health journey. She is also the founder of the Female Founded Club (FFC), a global platform that introduces venture capital investors to high-quality female founded startups. While operating the FFC, Carli recognized that the lack of venture capital distributed to women’s health and sexual wellness was stunting the growth of startups tackling significant health problems that half of the world’s population experience. Carli founded Amboy Street Ventures to shift the funding landscape that, until now, dictated the innovation in this space. Carli has a background in private equity and engineering. In 2023, Carli was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Melissa Lederer

Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, mHUB & mHUB Ventures

Melissa Lederer, chief experience officer, is focused on leading teams to design solutions that drive engagement, collaboration and success for mHUB corporate partners and startups. She is also a managing partner of the mHUB Product Impact Fund. A seasoned business professional with more than 20 years of broad experience in both corporate and agency settings, Melissa has served a variety of technology-based businesses of all sizes and has a special passion for supporting high-growth startups on brand formation and scaling into new markets.

Over the past 10 years, Melissa has been an active force in helping to build Chicago’s robust entrepreneurial community. Melissa was a member of the founding team of 1871, Chicago’s innovation hub recognized by UBI Global as the #1 university-affiliated incubator in the world and served as its chief marketing officer for more than two years. Following 1871, Melissa helped found Chicago’s healthcare incubator and innovation center MATTER, where she was responsible for defining and building the MATTER brand and managing all areas of the company’s marketing, communications and events. Melissa continues to support MATTER strategic initiatives and special projects.

Prior to her years focused on driving civic entrepreneurship, Melissa served as the SVP of marketing for Q Interactive (formerly CoolSavings) where she oversaw all marketing, communications and creative functions and served on the company’s senior leadership team. Melissa was recognized in 2019 and 2020 in the Crain’s Chicago Business “Notable Women in Manufacturing”. She lives with her husband and two children in Glencoe, Illinois.

Lewis Kilongo

Principal, Unorthodox Ventures Judge

Lewis leads medtech investments for Austin-based Unorthodox Ventures, the VC firm by Big Ass Fans Founder Carey Smith. Lewis brings a background in corporate finance and economics to his role, which also sees him serve as a director or board observer for medtech firms including Elucid, Laza Medical, Corporis Medical and DiaMonTech.

Betty Pio

Partner, Kearney Moderator

Betty is a Partner at Kearney, a global management consulting firm, where she focuses on commercial strategies for biopharmaceutical and medtech clients in Kearney’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice. She has nearly 2 decades of experience as a management consultant, working in portfolio strategy, growth strategy, corporate strategy, commercial development, and pricing and market access.

Prior to consulting, Betty spent 7 years in nuclear medicine clinical research. She holds a BS in Molecular, Cell, and Development Biology from UCLA and an MS in Regulatory Science from the USC School of Pharmacy.

Nitin Natarajan

Deputy Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Nitin Natarajan was appointed as the Deputy Director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on February 16, 2021. Prior to joining CISA, Natarajan served in a variety of public and private sector positions spanning over 30 years. Most recently he served as a consulting firm executive, providing subject matter expertise on a variety of national security topics. Natarajan also held a number of federal government roles, including Deputy Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of Critical Infrastructure Policy at the
White House/National Security Council, and a Director at the U.S. Health and Human Services overseeing healthcare and public health programs. At the beginning of his career, Natarajan spent 13 years as a first responder in New York, which included service as a flight paramedic. He was the Commander of a federal medical response team based in New York and has extensive experience deploying to natural and man-made disasters throughout the nation. He holds an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York and a graduate degree from the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

Margaret Rehayem

Vice President, National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions

Margaret Rehayem is an experienced healthcare leader who brings care and enthusiasm to her role with the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. As vice president, she provides leadership for national initiatives that support member collaboration, helping coalitions leverage regional efforts at the national level to drive health, innovation, equity and value. Her focus has been in health and wellbeing, total person health, and various areas in delivery and payment reform such as hospital pricing, drug management, and high-cost claims.

 

Margaret has over 20 years’ experience working with employers in various areas of healthcare strategic planning. She has developed and executed projects with continuous improvement frameworks, national employer roundtables, and multi-stakeholder learning collaboratives that support organizational improvement and business/community partnerships. She also oversees a number of grant activities that have included national organizations such as CDC Foundation, Patient-centered Outcomes Research Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and United Health Foundation. She serves as a main contact for member coalitions, fostering relationships and supporting regional coalition members through networking and capacity building. She also helps drive the direction of the organization’s National Health Leadership Council and engages with public and private employers of different industries through the National Purchaser Leadership Council. She also coordinates the Health Equity Advisory Council that meets throughout the year.

 

Margaret is a national speaker on a number of healthcare topics including business performance and leadership, health benefits, medical and pharmacy drugs, biosimilars, employee engagement, and organizational culture, and the impact of health equity, social needs, and wellbeing in organizations.

 

Before joining the National Alliance, she was on the leadership team at the Midwest Business Group on Health, a leading business coalition in Chicago. Early on in her career, she created and managed an award-winning employee health and wellness program for 11 years at a community college. She has been involved with various advisory boards including with the National Health Council, the Innovative Value Initiative, and Act4Biosimilars. She has been an adjunct faculty professor since 2008 and most recently taught corporate health and entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 
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.

Diana Rhyne

Executive Director, Research & Innovation. WakeMed Health & Hospitals

With more than fifteen years of experience in healthcare, Diana provides executive leadership for clinical research and innovation activities at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, NC. Diana works closely with start-up companies who need a real-world health system partner for their research, validation, and development activities. Additionally, Diana co-manages the WakeMed Innovation Venture Fund with Hatteras Venture Partners, which provides early-stage investment for medical device, diagnostic, and healthcare technology companies.

Frank Vinluan

Senior Biopharma Reporter, MedCity News

Frank Vinluan is senior biopharma reporter for MedCity News, covering all things biotechnology. He previously held business reporting positions at Xconomy, The Seattle Times, The Des Moines Register, and the Triangle Business Journal. He is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Samir Batra

Managing Partner, HIP

Samir is the Founder and Managing partner of HIP, an early-stage healthcare only focused venture capital fund that uses a multidisciplinary collaborative ecosystem model to invest and advise startups in digital health, health IT, MedTech and life sciences. In parallel, Samir oversees BAHA, a boutique healthcare advisory firm. He serves as a board member or advisor for over 5 health tech companies, and he gives his time to many innovation and healthcare organizations such as, ATA (American Telemedicine Association), UCSF Health Innovation Judge, HITLAB (Women’s Health Tech), and TechStars Melinda Gates Foundation and Pivotal Ventures Longevity Accelerator, and Cedars Sinai Accelerator.

Prior to his move into the investment space with HIP, Samir spent 16 years across the healthcare industry, which included 12 years as a healthcare entrepreneur across 4 startups which included 3 major milestones;and 4 years as a management consultant with the Advisory Board Company (now part of Optum – United Healthcare) working with provider organizations in implementing evidence based best practices to optimize revenue, operations, quality and through put.

He spends his time obsessing over how to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams while making a sustainable impact in the health and wellness spaces.

Arundhati Parmar

Editor-in-Chief, 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.

Marissa Plescia

Reporter, MedCity News

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.

Seth Zuckerman

Chief Business Officer, Upward Health

Seth is the Chief Business Officer of Upward Health, responsible for business development, client implementation and services, and marketing, among other functions. Seth is responsible for creating new and managing existing risk-bearing relationship with Upward Health’s health plan partners. Originally, Seth joined Upward Health as the VP of Corporate Development and Strategy, with a focus on M&A and completing Upward Health’s acquisition of Nalari Health, standing up Upward Health’s first in-market operations in Rhode Island.

Prior to Upward Health, Seth was a healthcare investor at Safeguard Scientifics, an early-stage venture firm focused technology companies across a range of industry verticals. At Safeguard, Seth co-led several new investments and participated on the boards of nearly 10 Safeguard healthcare technology portfolio companies. Prior to joining Safeguard, Seth was a Manager at the strategy consultancy Monitor Deloitte, formerly Monitor Group. At Monitor, he advised payers, providers, and pharmaceutical / medical device companies on growth strategy opportunities. Seth received a B.A. in Economics and Political Science and an M.B.A. in Finance and Economics from Columbia University. Seth serves on the Board of Directors for Gaudenzia, a provider of substance use disorder services to patients in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC.

Dr. Rekha Kumar

Chief Medical Officer, Weill Cornell Medical College

Dr. Rekha Kumar is recognized as an international leader in the field of Obesity Medicine. She is Chief Medical Officer at the weight care platform Found, as well as a practising endocrinologist in New York City at NewYork-Presbyterian. She also served as the former medical director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Dr. Kumar has lectured internationally on the topic of the medical assessment and treatment of obesity, published several papers and textbook chapters in her field serves as an Associate Editor of the journal Obesity, and is frequently quoted in the media on topics ranging from diabetes epidemic in the United States to discussing fad diets, exercise trends, and more. Dr Kumar’s areas of expertise include the clinical assessment of patients’ obesity and metabolic syndrome, the effect of obesity on reproductive health and fertility, as well as thyroid disease.

Dr. Kumar completed her undergraduate studies at Duke University and then received her master’s degree in Physiology from Georgetown University. She continued on to receive her M.D. from New York Medical College and completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell Medical College. Dr. Kumar obtained her clinical fellowship in the combined Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism program at the Weill-Cornell Medical College/New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr Kumar has travelled abroad to India, China, and Tanzania to understand the scope of metabolic disease globally. She serves on the board of advisors of the Duke Global Health Institute. Dr. Kumar is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Metabolism, and Obesity Medicine.

Jasmi Shah

Managing Director, Cigna Ventures

Jasmi leads all aspects of the investment process from deal sourcing through board engagement. She is responsible for identifying, investing in and partnering with entrepreneurs who are unlocking new growth possibilities in health care to further accelerate The Cigna Group’s mission. Jasmi brings over 20 years of experience focused on the health care sector across venture capital, private equity, operations management, strategy consulting and investment banking. She earned a BBA from Schulich School of Business, York University, and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Jasmi currently resides in Chicago with her family. She is an avid traveler, having been to over 70 countries, a food aficionado and an extreme sports enthusiast.

David Kereiakes

Managing Partner

David is a successful healthcare investor helping to lead Windham Venture Partners, a healthtech investment firm focused on enabling the convergence of digital health and medical devices that improve clinical outcomes and increase access to quality healthcare for all. David most recently was involved in driving strategic growth initiatives and investments for Providence, helping to shape the future of one of America’s largest comprehensive health care organizations.

As an investor and board member, David has helped support talented entrepreneurs realize over $1 billion in value. Over his career, he has led or co-led over $250 million in private placements including investments in Bolder Surgical (sold), Veran Medical (sold), TissueTech (sold), Advanced Practice Strategies (sold), SurgiQuest (sold), TailorMed, MacroHealth, OrthAlign, and NICO Corporation. Additionally, David currently serves on the Board of Directors of DexCare, Wildflower Health, and AVIA Health.

Dipa Mehta

Managing Partner, Cobalt Ventures

Dipa is a Managing Partner at Cobalt Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. Cobalt’s investment model drives a flywheel of value creation by aligning the strategic priorities of healthcare payers and providers with the achievement of key commercial milestones for our portfolio companies. She sits on the board of OncoHealth and MedArrive.

Dipa formerly led Corporate Development and Ventures group at Advocate Health Enterprises (AAE), an Advocate Health subsidiary that aims further the AH mission to help people live well by advancing innovative solutions that go beyond traditional clinical care. She led investments into Foodsmart, Xealth, and acquisitions into companies helping seniors to age in their home for longer. Dipa was also previously a Managing Director at Sandbox Industries, a venture capital firm which is the investment manager to the Blue Venture Fund. During her time at Sandbox, Dipa served on the boards of Contessa Health, Upward Health, Oncology Analytics, AbleTo, and Lumiata. Prior to Sandbox, Dipa was at Amgen Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Amgen. Dipa started her career in the Global Healthcare Group at UBS and the Healthcare Fund at Paul Capital Partners, which invested in late-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Dipa holds a BS from the New York University Stern School of Business and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where she received the Chicago Booth Leadership Award of Distinction. Dipa has also completed the Kauffman Fellowship, a prestigious two-year program for venture capitalists. Dipa is currently an Investor in Residence with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at Booth where she advises students and teaches workshops.

Dipa lives in Chicago with her husband and twin boys.

Fatima Husain

Co-founder & Managing Partner

Fatima is an operator turned investor with a passion for healthcare. Post her Masters in Public Health, she started her career in US healthcare policy, then went on to become a Management Consultant at Bain & Company, followed by a six-year rollercoaster ride leading product and growth at Airbnb. Fatima is a high-conviction investor focused on early stage opportunities, and an active proponent of founders who are underrepresented in venture. She has been named Top 25 Rising Investors in Healthcare and an influencer for DEI in tech and venture. Fatima has worked with Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and developed policy recommendations used to reduce forced labor trafficking in South Asia. Currently all her time outside of work is spent exploring the world afresh with her infant son!

Jane Rho

Director, Fund & AI, DaVita Ventures

Jane is the Director of DaVita’s fund and enterprise AI efforts, focused on investing in and partnering with companies who help serve polychronic patients and create operational efficiencies for physicians and broader care teams.

Laura Fox

Director, Payment Innovation

Laura Fox, MPH, currently holds the position of Director of Payment Innovation at Blue Shield of California and is a leading expert in value-based care. Within the Provider Performance, Quality, and Affordability team, Laura leads a dedicated group focused on conceiving, building, testing, and expanding innovative approaches to appropriately reward and incentivize healthcare providers. The overarching goal is to promote the delivery of care that meets the standards of being “worthy of our family and friends” while ensuring financial sustainability. Under Laura’s guidance, the Payment Innovation team has successfully developed and scaled more than 16 value-based payment models for primary care, hospitals, and specialty services throughout California.

Marking her 8-year anniversary with Blue Shield of California, Laura previously held the role of Director of Chronic Disease Prevention for the Baltimore City Health Department. During her tenure in this position, she led initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes for residents of Baltimore City.

Laura holds a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Brandeis University.

Meredith Wilkerson

Investment Principal

Meredith serves as the primary subject matter expert within Plains Ventures in evaluating life sciences and biotech investment opportunities. Prior to joining Plains Ventures, Meredith worked in the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Oklahoma. In this role she identified technologies that were ready for a coordinated strategy of intellectual property protection and marketing to potential industry partners.
Meredith earned her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Kansas and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Lynn Health Institute in Oklahoma City. She has experience coordinating and managing clinical trials at the research site level across a myriad of conditions. She is dedicated to using her professional perspectives from academia, clinical trials, and technology transfer to support innovative life sciences and biotech ventures.

Steven Knight

Chief Operating Officer

Steven prioritizes the people who power Quantum Health’s Remarkable Results®. He adeptly and successfully oversees the delivery of our operations excellence, service and support teams, including clinical and support team operations, Pods, healthcare ecosystem partnerships, enterprise project management, operations excellence and human resources management.

During his tenure Steven has helped lead Quantum Health in tripling its growth while simultaneously increasing its Net Promoter Score® (NPS®).

Steven has successfully traversed through several different roles at Quantum Health, including executive vice president of total experience, senior vice president of member engagement, director of client development, client executive and provider relations coordinator. He also previously worked for Cardinal Health.

Rivka Friedman

Head of Health Care Innovation

Rivka leads Morgan Health’s Health Care Innovation team, overseeing the organization’s pilots, data and research work. Rivka works closely with Morgan Health’s portfolio companies, advising them on successful health care delivery and payment innovations, and she supports JPMorgan Chase’s Benefits organization in their ongoing efforts to evolve the firm’s health care benefit.

 

Rivka previously ran population health and state-based payment innovation for Medicare and Medicaid at the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI). Prior to that, Rivka spent a decade at the Advisory Board Company, where she led health system research and professional services and helped build the physician group professional services business.

 

Rivka holds degrees in psychology from Barnard College of Columbia University and in Talmudic Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Nirdesh K. Gupta

Managing Director

Nirdesh is Managing Director of Cedars-Sinai Technology Ventures and the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator. He also leads and provides key operations leadership to Business Units and Commercial Enterprises at Cedars-Sinai such as 3rd Street Technologies, The Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) & Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center (CBC). Dr. Gupta directed CSTV’s Seed Fund and Equity investments and have $1B+ in equity under management representing over 20 companies, with multiple significant financial exits notably Prometheus Biosciences. Dr. Gupta is passionate about working closely with, and mentoring, world-class scientists and entrepreneurs to build companies to develop innovative products and platforms that address critical healthcare needs.

Brian Montgomery

Chief Strategy Officer GE Healthcare

Brian leads Strategy for GE HealthCare, responsible for accelerating GE HealthCare’s strategic goals and leading the business development function.

Immediately prior to his appointment, Brian was the acting Chief Financial Officer of GE HealthCare from June 2020 after serving as the Head of FP&A and CFO of the HealthCare Systems segment since January 2016.

Brian joined GE HealthCare in 2009 as the FP&A Leader for the Life Sciences segment. Relocating in 2012 to Sweden, he then served as CFO of the Bioprocess division, a leading provider of products, services and solutions to the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry. He went on to lead the acquisition and integration of several business units into Life Sciences, followed by serving as the CEO of Clarient Diagnostics, where he led a turnaround and navigated a complex divestiture.

He first came to GE in 2002 in the Operations Management Leadership Program at GE Aviation. He continued in roles of increasing responsibility within the Corporate Audit Staff between 2005 and 2009.

Brian received his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech and continues to serve on several alumni advisory boards

Chris Dingman

Chief Commercial Officer

A top-performing commercial executive focused on building and scaling oncology molecular diagnostic companies. A proven history of company growth & successful M&A’s. I have a passion for supporting cancer patients and providers by helping to design, develop and launch new laboratory developed tests (LDT’s) that answer important clinical questions.

Experienced in guiding clinical evidence decisions to support CMS & commercial reimbursement, managing commercial lab operations, building and scaling top tier sales teams, and KOL development. I have been fortunate to work with and learn from some of the best companies and leaders in the pharmaceutical and diagnostics space and care deeply about sharing what I have learned with others. I look forward to many more years of supporting the growth of the diagnostics industry while always focusing on the impact it has on patients and the providers that support them.

Chris Sasiela

Director Innovator Support Services (Presenter Pre-conference workshop)

Dr. Sasiela has over 15 years of experience educating and enabling academic innovators and small businesses engaged in therapeutic, device, and diagnostic product development programs. As the Director of Innovator Support Services in the SEED (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) Office at the National Institutes of Health, Chris coordinates the activities of a team of seasoned professionals with experience in business strategy, business development, fundraising, partnerships, reimbursement, and regulatory affairs and oversees the Company Showcase, TABA Needs Assessment, TABA Consulting Services, and Business, Regulatory, Reimbursement, and SOW Development Consult Programs. Chris is passionate about enabling NIH’s innovator community to progress their discoveries as far as science and human biology permit. Starting her career as a basic science researcher, Chris quickly decided to get closer to human impact in her work and engaged in drug discovery, development, and improvement with several employers before moving even closer to human impact as a regulatory professional. Throughout her tenure at NIH, Chris has worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and is currently in the Office of the Director. In addition to the formal programs mentioned earlier, Chris and her team deliver educational seminars and develop educational resources for internal and external stakeholders supporting solution development addressing a full spectrum of human disease and disorders.

Ellen Herlacher

Partner

Ellen Herlacher is a healthcare investor with a deep background in investment management, healthcare operations, and corporate strategy. As Partner at LRVHealth, Ellen co-leads the firm’s research and investments in new care delivery, behavioral health, workforce transformation, and government sponsored payers. In this role, she led LRVHealth’s investments in Diana Health, a reimagined maternity care company, and Cortica, a physician-led, whole-child, value-based autism services company. She also supports the firm’s investments in Reimagine Care, DotCom Therapy, Greater Good Health, and Season. Before joining LRVHealth in 2020, Ellen was director of Tufts Health Ventures, the corporate development and corporate investment arm of Tufts Health Plan (now Point32 Health). Prior to joining Tufts, she held management roles at athenahealth and investment and consulting roles at Goldman Sachs and Bain & Company. Ellen earned a B.A. from Cornell University and M.B.A. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Henry H. Ting, MD, MBA

Senior Vice President, Chief Health & Wellness Officer, Delta

World-renowned cardiologist Dr. Henry Ting joined Delta in 2021 as the global airline’s senior vice president and Chief Health and Wellness Officer – a first for a U.S. carrier.

 

Dr. Ting became familiar with Delta both as a long-time Medallion customer and helped shape Delta’s strategies and operations during the pandemic. From testing and air quality to vaccines and analytics, Dr. Ting’s expertise positioned him as a key voice for Delta as the airline worked to protect the health and safety of employees and customers while emerging stronger and better prepared for the future.

 

Dr. Ting’s responsibilities at Delta include overseeing healthcare benefits, wellness programs, injuries and disability, food footprint, and people data platform and analytics. He and his team take a holistic approach by researching and investing in physical, emotional, financial, and social wellness for Delta’s people, customers, and communities. This ecosystem of care is being built using customer-driven,

digital technologies, advanced analytics and innovative partnerships to elevate health and wellness for our people and customers.

 

In his prior role as Mayo Clinic’s enterprise Chief Value Officer, Dr. Ting provided vision and strategic leadership to enable Mayo Clinic to be the world’s most trusted health care system. Dr. Ting and his team oversaw quality of care, patient safety, patient experience, and affordability.

 

In addition to his role at Delta, Dr. Ting serves as Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Emory University and Professor Emeritus at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Ting’s academic focus includes health services research and implementation science. He has lectured worldwide and authored over 200 journal articles and publications. Dr. Ting received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Cornell University and doctorate

of medicine from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ting completed his cardiovascular and interventional cardiology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He completed a master’s degree in Business Administration from University of St. Thomas and received a health care executive certification from Harvard Business School.

Jack Stockert

Managing Director

Jack is a Managing Director at Health2047. He is passionate about driving system-level change through collaboration and innovation to improve the way people live and the way physicians practice in the healthcare system. Jack’s experience as a physician, combined with his strong analytic capabilities and a healthcare system view that was refined at McKinsey & Company, delivers a broad skillset and contextual depth of understanding of the challenges and opportunities in healthcare. Jack also has entrepreneurial experience building a venture-backed company, HealthEngine, global health exposure working at the WHO, and financial and investment experience at Morgan Stanley. He received his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He earned his AB, with honors, from the University of Chicago.

Joe Connolly

Co-founder & CEO, Visana Health

Joe Connolly is the Co-Founder and CEO of Visana Health, a virtual-first women’s healthcare company that provides comprehensive, whole-person, coordinated care from menstruation through menopause. The company’s clinical model is designed to help women achieve optimal health while reducing the total cost of care for health plans and employers. After watching his mother navigate the challenges of undiagnosed endometriosis and uterine fibroids, Joe co-founded Visana to deliver better outcomes for women at scale. Visana offers the first and only tech-enabled clinical model that enhances patient care by seamlessly integrating high-touch technology and data-driven insights that lead to more efficient diagnoses, personalized treatment plans and improved health outcomes. Joe holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Clemson University and a MEng in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. Prior to co-founding Visana, Joe was at Boston Scientific leading digital health, virtual care, and strategic planning initiatives. Joe also holds nine medical device patents. A Minnesota native, Joe is a member of the Medical Alley Starts Advisory Committee, a Medical Alley Association initiative to lower the cost of starting, scaling, and pivoting new ventures in Minnesota, the global epicentre of health innovation and care. Joe is also a Founding Member and serves on the Steering Committee for IMPACT, the Virtual-First Medical Practice Collaboration through the Digital Medicine Society. (DiMe)

Ken Nelson

Partner, Medtech Advantage Fund (Judge)

Ken Nelson currently serves as a partner in the Medtech Advantage Fund, which has an exclusive partnership with Medtech Innovator (www.medtechinnovator.org ), the largest MedTech and Digital Health startup accelerator globally. In addition, he serves as Chairman of the Board for CardiaCare and is an active board member for HeartX, HeartBeam (NASDAQ: BEAT), Happitech, and a handful of other disruptive cardiac Digital Health and MedTech startups.

Over the past 10 years, Ken has led commercial efforts for disruptive technologies in the digital health, wearables, and cardiac remote patient monitoring industries, playing a significant role in building the teams, cultures, and infrastructures for 3 of the top 4 market share players in cardiac digital health and remote patient monitoring, including #1 (BioTelemetry as VP of Sales), #2 (iRhythm as VP of Sales & Marketing), and #4 (Bardy Diagnostics as Chief Commercial Officer). Most recently, he served as Head of Digital Health, Diagnostics, and Monitoring for Biotronik, a leading cardiac digital health and medical device company.

Overall, he is a 20-year digital health, medical device, and remote patient monitoring executive and innovator with successful senior leadership experience ranging from a Fortune 500 company (Boston Scientific) to a #1 market share leading medium-sized company (Biotelemetry, acquisition by Philips for $2.8 Billion announced in December ’20) to 3 start-ups, 1 of which eventually led to an extremely successful IPO (iRhythm) and another which was just acquired by HillRom/ Baxter (Bardy Diagnostics) in August 2021 for $400M+ after milestone payments.

Ken earned a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University, is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, and resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and 3 children.

Meghan Doyle

CEO & Co-founder

Meghan Doyle is the CEO and cofounder of Partum Health, where she combines her years of experience in consumer health with her passion for supporting women and families. Prior to founding Partum, Meghan was a senior principal at Boston Consulting Group where she partnered with leading health systems, payers and health services clients to develop and launch growth strategies. Meghan was also an early team member at DrLullaby, a digital health startup addressing pediatric sleep, where she worked alongside the founder on a mobile application to deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for parents and kids. Meghan started her career focused on consumer insights and is passionate about building healthcare that works for humans. She is also a mom, and was inspired to found Partum after cobbling together (and doing without) essential specialty care before and after the birth of her two children. Meghan has an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two school aged kids who keep her laughing and on the move.

Michael Greeley

Co-Founder & General Partner, Flare Capital Partners

Michael is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Flare Capital Partners. Previously, Michael was the founding General Partner of Flybridge Capital Partners, and earlier in his career was with Polaris Partners, as well as held positions at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co.

 

Current and prior board seats include Aspen RxHealth, Author Health, Axuall, BlueTarp Financial, Cayaba Care, Circulation, Cohere Health, Explorys, Functional Neuromodulation, HealthVerity, higi, Inbound Health, Iora Health, MicroCHIPS, Nuvesse, Oshi Health, PolyRemedy, Predictive Biosciences, Predilytics, RightMove Health, T2 Biosystems, TARIS Biomedical, VidSys, and Welltok (observer). Additionally, Michael served on the board of International Data Group, the founding partner of IDG Capital, a leading venture capital firm in China and other important innovation centers in Asia. He is also on the board of ADA Forsyth Institute, the leading Harvard-affiliated oral health research organization.

 

Michael has served on various innovation and investment advisory boards for Advocate Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, MedStar Health, and MGB Ventures, as well as serving on the Governor’s Digital Health Council and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Michael also serves on the Investment Committee for the Partners Innovation Fund and is on the Advisory Board of Harvard Business School’s Health Care Initiative. He was past chairman of the New England Venture Capital Association and on the board and executive committee of the National Venture Capital Association. Michael earned a BA with honors in chemistry from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Michael authors a blog focused on venture capital, innovation, and healthcare called On the Flying Bridge.

Alexander Singh

Head of Analytics, knownwell

Alexander Singh is Head of Analytics for knownwell, an in-person and virtual, weight-inclusive primary care and metabolic health company backed by A16Z and Flare Capital Partners, amongst others. He previously founded Alfie Health, where he led development of AI-powered clinical decision support tools to create precision care plans for metabolic health patients. Alexander also invests in digital health companies as a Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund, the most active seed investor in 2023 according to Pitchbook, excluding accelerators. His background is in AI and biomedical engineering, including experience building technology at the FDA.