Speaker Biographies

Specialties: Academic Medical Center and Medical School Policy and Management, Clinical Translational Research Policy and Administration, Clinical Research Barriers, Emergency Preparedness, Bioinformatics, Health IT, Healthcare Delivery Systems, Hospital Payment Systems, Health Economics, Healthcare Finance and Economics, Government Relations, Healthcare Quality Improvement, Strategic Communications, Web Devolpment, Health centers, Clinical Quality Measures, Grant and Program management, Financial Analysis, Performance Measures, and Program Management.

Eliav Barr is senior vice president, head of global clinical development and chief medical officer at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL). He leads all late-stage clinical development for Merck’s Human Health portfolio and pipeline. Prior to his current role, Barr led MRL’s global medical and scientific affairs organization expanding Merck’s scientific engagement and implementation efforts in oncology, vaccines and infectious diseases. Since joining Merck in 1995, Barr has held positions of increasing responsibility including leadership roles in oncology and infectious diseases clinical development. Previously, he served as the therapeutic area head for infectious diseases and managed product development teams across oncology and infectious diseases. Prior to joining Merck, he held a faculty position at the University of Chicago. Barr is a cardiologist by training. He received his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University and his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University. He completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University and subsequently pursued post-doctoral training at the University of Michigan. In 2019, he was a proud recipient of a Penn State Alumni Fellow award for his dedication to the development of medicines and vaccines that treat and prevent infectious diseases. Recognized as a leader giving voice and visibility to the LGBTQ+ community in science, Barr was named to Endpoints News’ 2023 LGBTQ+ biopharma leaders list. He also currently serves as the executive sponsor of Merck’s 3,400-member Rainbow Alliance employee business resource group.

Andy has more than 20 years of experience working in the life sciences industry. His career spans from bench scientist to CEO and he currently serves as a trusted advisor to industry executives on AI and R&D strategies. Andy also leads Deloitte's Life Sciences R&D practice. Prior to Deloitte, Andy served as the CEO and founder of SphynKx Therapeutics, an early stage biotechnology company focused on treating kidney disease. Andy began his career as a cancer biologist with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he worked on the development of VELCADE®, a blockbuster therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Andy has an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, in addition to an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a B.S. in Molecular Biology, both from the University of Connecticut.

Denise N Bronner, PhD, has roughly 15 years of organizational thought leadership experience within the global healthcare space and has held various roles in academia, consulting, pharma, and venture capital. During her career, she has specialized in health equity, data-driven global therapy program strategy development, pitch and storytelling refinement, and identifying business opportunities within pharma. Beyond her professional endeavors, she's passionate about enhancing diversity in STEM fields, serving on advisory boards, participating as a judge in pitch/business competitions, and mentoring young professionals. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Wayne State University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, and certification from the Venture Capital Executive Program from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She is the founder of Empactful Ventures which currently consults healthcare-focused startups and venture funds, and she is a member of the Clinical Leader editorial board.

Wout is the CEO and founder of Deep 6 AI, which uses NLP and AI on clinical data to accelerate clinical trial recruitment and analysis. Deep 6 originated in arguably the world’s most complex data environment, the US Intelligence space.

Guillaume Carbonneau is an accomplished leader in operational insights, specializing in clinical development business problem-solving and decision-making. With two decades in the pharmaceutical industry, he has spent the last 10 years leveraging technology to enhance patient outcomes and foster innovation. As Vice President of Operational Data Insights at Novo Nordisk, he leads a transformative team focused on data-driven decision-making and developing the StudyHub platform. His team’s expertise optimizes clinical trial design, planning, forecasting and execution, ensuring AI-generated insights have real-world impact. They are fostering a culture where data drives decisions across the portfolio. Before Novo Nordisk, Guillaume was Head of Health Data Insights & Design at Novartis. There, he utilized cross-disciplinary experience to develop data-driven methodologies, incorporating profiling methodologies and design thinking to enhance product desirability. His collaborative approach led to innovative healthcare solutions in partnership with external stakeholders, underlining his commitment to transforming clinical practices. Guillaume’s passion for technology, data and AI, continues to drive innovation in data insights, creating actionable outcomes that deliver tangible results.

Jessica Federer is a recognized leader in the global life sciences industry. She was the first Chief Digital Officer for the Bayer AG group, as well as the first woman to hold that role in the industry. She led Bayer’s digital transformation across the pharmaceutical, consumer care, crop science, material science and animal health businesses during record setting years for both sales and EBITDA. Reporting into the Bayer AG Group Management Board, Federer united the company’s digital strategy and investments across divisions to accelerate growth across the 118,00 employees. During her tenure, the company acquired and integrated Merck’s consumer care business and Monsanto, becoming, respectively, the second largest consumer health and the leading agriculture businesses on the planet, and floated their material science division into Covestro. With a focus on scalable digital enablers to business integrations and success, Federer streamlined investments, modernized capabilities, and upskilled the workforce. Prior to leading digital for the group business, Federer established a track record inside Bayer for delivery across regulatory affairs, market access, product launches, and business turnarounds. This includes the launch team for the record holding biologic EYLEA ®, an overhaul in the animal health business, and establishing the market access function globally. Federer regularly contributes to publications and events for the FT, Reuters Health, Bloomberg, and leading consultancies. Ms. Federer joined BMP as a Venture Affiliate in 2018, and is a Partner for the Opportunity Fund. She is a graduate of George Washington University and received an MPH from the Yale School of Public Health.

A partner at Aulis Capital—a venture capital firm with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Menlo Park, and Boston, that specializes in investing in digital health and biotech with other investments in technology. Previous experience was in operational roles at both small and large organizations. Specialties: Digital Health, small company strategy, growth and operations. Notable digital health investments include: Reify Health, Autonomize.AI, Shyld.AI, Twist Bio, Evidation Health, Freenome, WellDoc, Outcomes4me, Carta Health and Pluto Health.

Mr. Goldberg is an Operating Partner of Arsenal where he focuses on networking and sourcing transactions for the healthcare team. Prior to joining Arsenal in 2014, Mr. Goldberg was a Managing Director, Corporate Development of Endo Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he was a founding Partner of ProQuest Investments and the founding CEO or founder of three biotechnology companies that were acquired or taken public. In addition, he also held executive positions at Becton Dickinson and at GSK. He serves on Dana Farber Cancer Institute Visiting Committee and board of NIH/Cambridge/Oxford Scholars program.

I am passionate about creating new paradigms that create meaningful change through innovation in healthcare and clinical research through investing, strategy, M&A and partnerships. I have held a variety of roles in my ~17 years in healthcare technology (EHR and clinical trial tech) in leadership roles spanning corporate strategy, product strategy, product management, and partnerships across stages from company start-up to scale. Through that time I launched six technology products, driving M&A strategic evaluation and processes including completing six strategic acquisitions, developing corporate strategy, and developing and launching partner programs. I have been on the sell side of company exits twice, helping develop a strategic thesis for growth that has continued to be the path the company follows. I have a Bachelor’s in Molecular / Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University, am a mentor to start-up entrepreneurs in Madison, active in helping improve healthcare in Africa, and spend my free time negotiating with my young daughter or outdoors hiking or kayaking.

Ariel Katz is the CEO and Co-founder of H1, the leading healthcare platform that connects the world to the right doctors. Named to the Top 25 HealthTech Entrepreneurs of New York for 2025, Ariel leads H1 in delivering access to the largest network of doctors worldwide to accelerate drug development & commercialization, advance clinical research, and connect patients with the right care. Katz co-founded H1 in 2017 after previously launching ResearchConnection to help connect students with research opportunities, which grew to over 40 universities and was acquired by the Jefferson Accelerator Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Ewing Kauffman Foundation.

Sunny Kumar is a Partner at Informed Ventures, where he primarily invests in early-stage companies deploying emerging technologies to transform healthcare delivery, including lead investments in Medable, Deep 6 AI, and Osso VR. Sunny is a physician as well as a published medical researcher with a focus on applying informatics and artificial intelligence to translational medicine in the fields of neurosurgery and gene therapy. He is a serial entrepreneur and most recently founded a company to reduce readmissions for high-risk patients with chronic diseases using voice-enabled natural language processing technology. Sunny received a BS in Molecular Biology from Yale University, an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine, and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Mark Lee is founder and CEO of N-Power Medicine. Most recently, he was SVP and Global Head for Personalized Healthcare, Product Development at Genentech/Roche, spearheading transformation of drug development and care delivery through data-at-scale and technology. Mark was on the founding team for GRAIL, where he built one of the largest clinical research programs for early cancer detection. Mark’s previous roles also include Lead for Oncology Clinical Sciences at Google[x] Life Sciences, Chief Medical Officer at Boreal Genomics, and Vice President of Oncology Development at Genomic Health, where he led the successful development and validation of the Oncotype DX tests for Colon and Prostate. Mark holds a PhD (Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology) from Harvard University, and his MD from Stanford University, where he completed his internal medicine training and medical oncology fellowship.

As the co-founder and Chief Executive O?cer of Medable, Dr. Michelle Longmire is mission-driven to accelerate the development of new therapies for disease. A Stanford-trained physician-scientist, Dr. Longmire witnessed firsthand the critical barriers to drug development – including the time and costs associated with clinical trial participation. She founded Medable to pioneer a new category of clinical trial technologies that remove traditional roadblocks to participation and radically accelerate the research process. Medable is now the industry leader in decentralized and direct-to-patient research, with the ability to serve patients in over 120 languages, 60 countries, and across all therapeutic areas. In addition to having raised over $500M in venture capital and driving Medable to an industry-leading position, Dr. Longmire has received recognition as a leading innovator and businesswoman, including being named as one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company.

Rana Lonnen is a healthcare technology investor, entrepreneur, and molecular biologist. At Novartis, she leads strategic investments in technology companies, on a mission to transform the healthcare ecosystem and make positive impact on people’s lives. Previously, Rana was Head of Preclinical Development at a UK biotech, Auspherix; investment consultant to IP Group in London; Founder and CSO of a UK-based Biotech, Axendos therapeutics. Prior to this, she was a Wellcome Trust-backed principal investigator in drug discovery in the field of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation, author and inventor on high impact peer-reviewed publications and patents; before this, Rana worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb, in sales and marketing. Rana holds a PhD in molecular biology and an MBA from Imperial College London. She personally cares about equitable healthcare, social justice, sustainability, and the future of antimicrobial resistance. In her downtime, Rana likes to make culinary experiments, be in nature, and read. Rana is a board observer at Aktana, Cota Healthcare, H1 Insights, Koneksa, Mekonos, NuvoAir, and Dopavision. She is based out of Basel, Switzerland.

Jennifer Lum is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Biospring Partners, a growth equity firm that invests in Life Sciences Technology. She is an accomplished investor and entrepreneur. She has co-founded several companies and has worked with many others from formation through to M&A. Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors of Labviva and she is a Board Observer at ixlayer. Jennifer also serves on the Board of Directors of WTA Ventures. She is a Venture Capital Advisor at Harvard Business School and an Advisor at MIT’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship. She is also an Advisory Board member at The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. Jennifer co-founded Forge.AI (acquired by FiscalNote) and Adelphic (acquired by Time). She was an early team member at Quattro Wireless (acquired by Apple), m-Qube (acquired by VeriSign), and WebHosting.com (acquired by AT&T). She has also held various roles as a management consultant with financial services and technology companies.

Expertise in scaling high growth companies focused on health care data and SaaS tech across life sciences, payer, provider. Real-world evidence (RWD / RWE), payment models including value-based care / outcomes based contracting with provider networks / pharmaceutical manufacturers / CMS / HTAs (Europe), bundled payments, Medicare, Medicaid and Special Needs Plans (SNP).

A globally oriented technology executive leading research, biotech, and consumer products organizations through complex changes. I have built organizations for explosive growth, consolidated them in business downturns, and led merger/acquisition/divestiture programs. I have led teams in 20+ countries, led all aspects of IT including major business transformations and culture change across organizations. I am an adept strategic thinker with experience advising several early stage biotech firms, an advisory board member to a software startup, and board chair for large ($100M+) social services agency. I have set technology strategy, implemented global programs, fixed broken operating models, rebuilt teams, negotiated large scale partnerships, and always focused on business success.

Driving change in healthcare through data, analytics, and technology.

April Monge is the Innovation Capability Head of Recruitment (formerly the Novartis Digital Recruiting (NDR) Capability Center) at Novartis Pharma AG based in Basel. The NDR Capability Center was formed in April, 2020 and evolved into the Innovation Capability for Recruitment. Her team leads digital patient recruitment efforts for global development trials. April has been in clinical operations for > 30 years. She has been with Novartis since 2003 covering a variety of roles, responsibilities and therapy areas. For more information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-monge-4583a716/.

Stephanie Oestreich is Managing Director of the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF) and is the chair of the McCloy Alumni Association. She is also on the faculty of MIT, a member of SpringBoard Ventures, an advisor at grIP Venture Studio, to Biognosys (a Bruker company), Invitris, CART company CelineTx and to the drug development and investment company OrangeGrove Bio. Previously she was Chief Business Officer at Galecto, Vice President at cell therapy company Mnemo Therapeutics, a Venture Partner at RA Capital and Executive Vice President at Evotec where she built its North American investment arm and started an incubator with Samsara BioCapital. She also worked as International Business Leader at F. Roche Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and for Novartis in Business Development and in Commercial. Stephanie conducted the research for her Ph.D. in biochemistry in the lab of a Nobel Prize winner at Harvard Medical School and obtained an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

John Pavletic leads Lilly Ventures’ Tech investing strategy globally. This strategy focuses on next generation technologies and business models that can advance drug discovery and development as well as healthcare delivery. Prior to joining the Lilly Ventures team, he led early-stage product strategy for Lilly’s Digital Health group. Prior to Lilly, he held sales, marketing, and finance roles at Abbott across its Animal Health, Molecular Diagnostics, and Health IT business units.

Dr. Mitesh Rao is the Founder and CEO of OMNY, a venture-backed company revolutionizing how healthcare data is shared and valued. A Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician, Dr. Rao practices clinically as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford. Most recently, he served as the Chief Patient Safety Officer at Stanford Healthcare where he led Patient Safety, Quality, and System Redesign for the Enterprise. Dr. Rao began his career as a Fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. As a physician leader and executive, he has helped implement systems-level improvements for quality and safety in institutions across the country and overseas that have had lasting effects on patient care provision. He has also led multiple campaigns and initiatives to improve healthcare quality on a national level. Throughout his career, Dr. Rao has helped implement and scale new technologies within the clinical venue. He also serves as a mentor to multiple startups and accelerator groups across the country in order to help guide the development of innovative solutions that can sustainably impact patient care.

Dr. Said is the Founder and CEO of Outcomes4Me, a health technology company focused on empowering cancer patients with personalized, evidence-based navigation and improving outcomes through better access to innovation. Prior to founding Outcomes4Me, she was Senior Vice President of Global Market Access & Policy at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Vice President of Strategy & External Innovation at Sanofi. Dr. Said is a strong advocate for life sciences innovation and serves on the Board of Directors of Transgene, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, and Home Biosciences. She was a founding member of the Boston Consulting Group Strategy Institute. Dr. Said trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning dual degrees in Biology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a minor in Economics. She also holds a Master of Science in Toxicology, a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science, and a Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Systems Biology, all from MIT.

Dr. Saul is the worldwide lead for healthcare and life sciences at AWS focused on supporting the work of top investors and their most promising healthcare and life sciences start-ups—bringing Amazon technology, resources, and relationships to bear on the unique challenges and opportunities facing those at the cutting edge of healthcare. Dr. Saul began his career practicing clinical neuroradiology while also pursuing a variety of startup ventures and ultimately left clinical practice to fully pursue entrepreneurial ambitions as a founder, CTO, advisor, and investor. Dr. Saul received his medical doctorate from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where he subsequently completed a residency in radiology. He then completed fellowship training in neuroradiology at the University of Arizona. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Sam K. Srivastava is the chief executive officer of WCG, a global leader of clintech solutions that improve the quality and efficiency of clinical research conducted in over 130 countries and enables biopharma, CROs, and institutions to accelerate the delivery of new treatments and therapies to patients. He is a transformative leader with a proven track record of driving growth and innovation in healthcare. Prior to WCG, Sam served as chief executive officer of NeueHealth, a tech-enabled, risk bearing care delivery company with over 1M consumers across 17 states through owned clinics, partnered affiliates and high performing value-based networks. Sam was also chief executive officer of Magellan Healthcare, a leading behavioral, specialty and pharmacy management company serving 50M consumers worldwide. During his tenure, the company doubled in size by launching the nation’s first health plan for the seriously mentally ill, developing digital therapeutics and advanced illness programs. Prior to that, he worked at Cigna Healthcare as president of the national employer and Medicare businesses. He also led US strategy and development, that included the acquisition of HealthSpring and the launch of Cigna Ventures. Sam has held executive positions at UnitedHealth Group and HealthNet (Centene). He also served as a management consultant in the US and Europe, developing integrated delivery systems for providers, insurers, and governments. Sam serves as the Yale School of Public Health advisory council chair and Recovery Centers of America board director. He is a frequent national speaker and has testified to Congress regarding the opioid crisis aiding in the passage of the bipartisan Support Act. Sam graduated from Kent State University with Bachelor of Arts in medical science and humanities and completed graduate work at Yale University in health care management.

Dave Stevenson is COO & Managing Director and a founding partner of Merck GHI Fund since inception in 2010. GHI Fund invests venture capital in start-up companies that improve health care as well as those that improve pharmaceutical operations specifically. Dave is responsible for identifying opportunities in clinical trials and also manages the GHI portfolio and operations. Dave brings more than 25 years of healthcare strategy and operations expertise to the GHI team. Dave started his career with Novartis where he built their first clinical trial management system. He holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a BA from Washington University.

Healthcare Executive with a record of accomplishment leading business development and growth at Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial success through three acquisitions, including M*Modal by 3M for $1.1B, and academic medical center thought leadership shown through the co-founding of MSK’s Clinical Research Innovation Center. Visionary Innovator motivated by developing strategies and delivering industry-first products that enable clinical efficiencies and improve patient care within the healthcare arena. Product Expert with recognized ability in creating and maintaining partnerships with large tech companies, and healthcare systems across every market. Driven Leader known for developing and empowering high-performing, autonomous teams that consistently exceed objectives and expectations.

Kindra is a results driven executive, working with corporations to leverage external innovation and drive growth. A people-first leader, Kindra's expertise in venture investing, corporate strategy, and market research enables her to deliver results for clients and partners while positively impacting culture. She enjoys partnering with ambitious thinkers who are passionate about the intersection of scale and innovation and its power to change the world.

Megann Vaughn Watters is an experienced corporate development executive and investor with over a dozen years of novel technology identification, partnership development, deal execution, alliance management, financial and strategic return, and venture-backed board experience within the healthcare industry. As the Vice President of New Ventures & Strategic Alliances and Managing Partner of Labcorp Venture Fund, Megann manages the venture fund and leads the Corporate Development team tasked to identify, assess, and bring innovative science and technology to Labcorp through partnerships, such as equity investments, licensing, commercial collaborations, including data use agreements and sponsored testing programs with pharma. As one of the founding members of the Labcorp Venture Fund, Megann has managed more than $300M in total equity investments in over 80 early-stage private companies with novel science and technology making healthcare more convenient, accessible, data-driven and personalized. Megann previously held positions at the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner for medical devices and Humacyte conducting tissue engineering research. Megann received her M.B.A. from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business and her B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University Pratt School of Engineering. Megann is a mother of two young kids, wife, daughter, sister, reader, yogi and Peloton enthusiast.

Tracy Warren is an influential leader who devotes deep experience in entrepreneurship and early-stage venture capital investing to American Heart Association Ventures as Senior Managing Director. Passionate about women’s and children’s health, she leads the investment strategy for the Go Red for Women Venture Fund. Notably, Tracy has been an active and successful investor in women’s health through Astarte Ventures, a firm she founded in 2013. Pre-seed investments in Alydia (sold to Organon for $240M), Maven Clinic (the first women’s health unicorn) and Materna Medical have produced significant cash on cash returns, validating the investment case for women’s health. Tracy served as venture capital manager for Healthworx, the venture arm of CareFirst BCBS, prior to joining AHA Ventures. She was previously co-founder and CEO of Astarte Medical, a health IT start-up focused on early life nutrition and gut health for preterm and critically ill infants. Among other game-changing roles, Tracy was co-founder and executive director of FedIMPACT, which commercialized technologies from Department of Energy national laboratories, and co-founder, board chair and CEO of NellOne Therapeutics, Inc., a regenerative biologics company. Tracy is a co-inventor on three patents and has authored numerous articles on early nutrition and pediatric care. Among many board positions, Tracy served on the Board of the Children’s Research Institute at Children’s National Medical Center, where she chaired the Technology & Innovation Advisory Committee, and the Clemson University Research Foundation Board. Tracy holds a BS in Accounting and International Business from New York University and MBA at Columbia Business School in Finance.

Carrie Williams brings 20 years of experience in healthcare from several vantage points within the industry. Prior to joining McKesson Ventures in 2017, Williams served as vice president of strategy and business development for digital health provider Omada Health, having held roles within McKesson’s strategy and business development team previously, working to advance strategies aimed at innovation within hospital pharmacy and clinical trial patient recruitment. She began her career in drug development, where she managed oncology clinical trials in both large pharmaceutical and biotech settings. Williams holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.