Panels
A Conversation with Investors
Tuesday, October 28th – 9:35-10:35am
Audience: Scientists and entrepreneurs (early to mid-stage founders) and technology transfer groups.
Panel Description
Fundraising in 2025 isn’t for the faint of heart. Deals are taking longer, lead investors are harder to lock in, and warm intros aren’t enough anymore. You can’t just “get in front of the right people”…you have to know who’s still writing checks, what their portfolio already tells you about their appetite, and whether they’ve ever backed someone like you before.
This session goes beyond generic advice. We’ll dig into how to reverse-engineer investor behavior: tracking who’s leading rounds, who’s signaling follow-on potential, and how to tailor your approach based on what actually gets funded. We’ll also talk about how founders are getting scrappy: building momentum without a clear lead, reframing bridge rounds to protect valuation, and staying credible in a down market.
Expect straight answers, not platitudes, from investors who’ve been active through this cycle and still believe great science finds its way to capital—if you play it smart.
Panelists
Founding Partner, Health Innovation Capital
Andrew Meadow is the Founding Partner of Health Innovation Capital, a venture firm focused on impact investing in pediatric health and unmet medical needs across therapeutics, medtech, and digital health. Health Innovation Capital is one of the few independent U.S. venture firms with an integrated pediatric thesis, often partnering with children’s hospitals and academic medical centers to drive translational innovation. Andrew’s background spans venture investment, business development, and healthcare operations, giving him a unique perspective on how to structure multi-stakeholder syndicates in complex markets.
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, 1834 Ventures
Evan Nicoll is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 1834 Ventures, a New Orleans-based venture fund investing in early-stage startups connected to the Gulf South innovation community. 1834 Ventures operates as a Louisiana SSBCI partner, offering pre-seed and seed capital with checks ranging from $50K to $1M, while also supporting university-affiliated and regional entrepreneurs. Evan also serves as adjunct faculty at Tulane University, where he mentors founders and investors alike.
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, 1834 Ventures
Patrick Hernandez is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of 1834 Ventures, where he focuses on portfolio development, investor relations, and partnership-building within Louisiana’s early-stage ecosystem. Together with co-founder Evan Nicoll, he’s building one of the first dedicated regional venture funds tied to Tulane’s innovation community and the state’s SSBCI investment initiatives. Patrick’s work emphasizes community-rooted investing and bridging the gap between academic research and scalable commercialization.
Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer, Tulane Innovation Institute
Dr. Kimberly Gramm is the David and Marion Mussafer Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer at Tulane University, where she leads the Tulane Innovation Institute. She oversees innovation strategy, startup acceleration, and venture engagement, including Tulane Ventures, the university’s investment arm. Previously, she founded and led the FAU Tech Runway and the Texas Tech Accelerator, where she helped launch more than 300 startups that collectively raised over $470 million. Her work focuses on translating academic discoveries into investable opportunities and preparing founders for investor engagement.
Principal, Solas BioVentures
Josh Eckelberry is a Principal at Solas BioVentures, a Chattanooga-based venture firm investing across biopharma, medtech, and diagnostics. He brings a background in biochemistry, medicine, and business to evaluating emerging healthcare technologies. Solas BioVentures focuses on early and growth-stage life science companies that improve patient outcomes and system efficiency. Josh has been involved in major financings such as the $80M Series C for Francis Medical and is known for his practical insights into deal structure, diligence, and syndication in tight markets.
How to Win Friends and Influence Innovation
Tuesday, October 28th – 1:25PM
Audience: Scientists and entrepreneurs (early to mid-stage founders) and technology transfer groups.
Panel Description
Behind every funded grant, signed license, or policy breakthrough is a network of people who help science move: funders, advocates, consultants, and communicators. This panel pulls back the curtain on that ecosystem.
Our experts come from different corners of innovation: SBIR consulting, science policy, venture and business strategy, and technology transfer communications. Together, they will show how to position your science for visibility, credibility, and impact.
We will talk about how to speak science in DC, how to translate your work into language that investors and reviewers actually hear, and how to use tools like grants, partnerships, and storytelling to build unstoppable momentum.
The goal is to help scientists understand the full breadth of tools and allies available to advance their work and how to use each one effectively.
Panelists
Chief Executive Officer, TechPipeline
Robert Lowe is the Chief Executive Officer of TechPipeline, the publisher of Technology Transfer Tactics and Industry–University Engagement Advisor and a leading provider of educational resources, reports, and webinars for technology transfer and partnership professionals.
Beyond his current work with TechPipeline, Rob has served as CEO of three university-based spinouts — PittPatt (Carnegie Mellon), Ripple Science (University of Michigan), and Wellspring (Carnegie Mellon). Each company was built around licensed university innovations and faculty founders, giving him firsthand experience navigating the complex path from research discovery to commercialization.
Earlier in his career, Rob led the ventures program at Carnegie Mellon University, where he supported faculty startups and technology licensing initiatives. With more than two decades of experience across innovation management, entrepreneurship, and IP commercialization, Rob brings a rare 360-degree perspective to building and communicating value in research-driven organizations.
Senior Associate, Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
Srinu Sonti is a Senior Associate at Lewis-Burke Associates, a leading government relations firm that represents universities, research organizations, and scientific societies in Washington, D.C. He works at the intersection of policy and research, helping clients navigate federal priorities, funding mechanisms, and engagement strategies with agencies such as NIH, NSF, DOE, and DOD.
With a background in bioengineering and public policy, Srinu focuses on ensuring that scientific voices are heard in the policymaking process. He is passionate about helping researchers translate complex science into clear, actionable messages that resonate with decision-makers.
Investment and Business Strategy Consultant
Jennifer (Jenn) Hartt is a consultant and advisor specializing in early-stage investment strategy, portfolio development, and commercialization planning. Formerly a Director of Investments at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Jenn managed a diverse portfolio of biotech, digital health, and advanced manufacturing companies.
She now advises startups, investors, and research institutions on strategy, capital formation, and governance. Jenn helps teams refine business models, evaluate market readiness, and prepare for investor engagement, blending her background in venture capital and economic development with a deep understanding of scientific innovation.
Senior Consultant, EGC (Entrepreneurial Growth Consulting)
Katharine Korunes is a Senior Consultant with EGC, where she works with early-stage companies and research organizations to secure federal funding through programs such as SBIR and STTR. She specializes in proposal strategy, compliance review, and aligning applications with NIH and NSF evaluation criteria.
Katharine has extensive experience guiding scientists and entrepreneurs through the grant development process, helping them build competitive proposals that are both technically strong and commercially viable. Her work bridges the gap between research and business, ensuring that good science gets the support it needs to reach the marketplace.
From Pilot to Partnership: How Industry and Investors Engage Early
Wednesday, October 29th –10:00AM
Audience: Scientists and entrepreneurs (early to mid-stage founders) and technology transfer groups.
Goal: Give attendees real tactics to find and engage with partners and collaborators in a difficult market.
Panel Description
Everyone talks about “partnering with industry,” but what does that actually mean when the big players keep pushing engagement later and later into the development cycle? This session cuts through the polished language and gets real about how to catch a company’s attention early, before you have a Phase 2 trial or a global license package.
We’ll explore creative collaboration models that actually work in 2025: companies funding an FTE instead of a huge sponsored deal, co-authoring grants, running shared data or screening pilots, or quietly testing chemistry before a contract ever exists. Expect practical stories, examples, and even a few “how we hacked it” moments from people who have made early relationships stick.
For founders, researchers, and BD leads alike, this is about getting your science noticed now without waiting until you are “big enough to partner.
Panelists
Renee Williams is the Chief Business Officer at Signify Bio, a biotechnology company developing in situ protein therapeutics through proprietary SEND and iPhos LNP platforms. Signify Bio recently launched with investment from the Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund, Eli Lilly, Danaher Ventures, and BrightEdge, and partners with UT Southwestern to advance nucleic acid–encoded biologics.
Renee brings more than 20 years of experience in business development, fundraising, and strategy for emerging biotech companies. She has also served as a fractional CBO and strategic advisor for early-stage therapeutics ventures including AGS Therapeutics, helping founders translate cutting-edge science into commercial partnerships.
Chief Impact Officer, StartUp Health Alzheimer’s Moonshot
Board of Overseers, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
Phyllis Barkman Ferrell leads the Alzheimer’s Moonshot at StartUp Health, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers to accelerate prevention, early detection, and treatment innovation in brain health. She serves on the Board of Overseers for the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), is a Strategic Advisor to the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, and previously spent over 20 years at Eli Lilly, where she led Alzheimer’s external engagement and launched key products including Amyvid, Tauvid, and donanemab (Kisunla).
Phyllis is widely recognized for building cross-sector collaborations that align pharma, digital health, and patient advocacy around shared clinical and economic outcomes.
Founder and Managing Partner, KdT Ventures
Dr. Cain McClary founded KdT Ventures, one of the earliest firms to focus exclusively on the intersection of computation and life sciences. Based in Austin, KdT backs “the physical layer of computation” across biology, chemistry, and materials science. The firm is typically a first check investor, with portfolio companies including Solugen, Terray Therapeutics, Dyno Therapeutics, and Elegen. A former physician turned investor, Cain brings a science-first approach to evaluating teams and is known for his candor about founder readiness and conviction-building in deep tech.
Technology Scout, Nissan Chemical America
Aziz Abadsafian is Technology Scout for Nissan Chemical America, where he leads efforts to identify and evaluate new scientific and business collaboration opportunities across biotech, medtech, and advanced materials. His work focuses on building early academic and startup partnerships that align with Nissan’s innovation goals in life sciences and performance materials.
He has a background in molecular biology and experience in venture development, combining technical fluency with a practical understanding of how early collaborations move from concept to commercial engagement.
Hot Topics for Patent, Licensing, and Federal Funding in University Technology Commercialization
Wednesday, October 29th –12:20PM
Panelists
- (moderator) Paula Estrada de Martin
- (co-moderator) Kirsten Termine
- Luna Acosta, Director of Technology Transfer; Director, Catalyst Innovation Center
- Andrew Williams, Licensing Manager, University of Louisville
- Tasha Bibb, Senior Program Manager, Mississippi State University