Women's Health Innovation Summit 2024

Women's Health Innovation Summit, USA

Accelerating innovation, investment, research and partnerships, to improve the access and quality of healthcare for women worldwide.

Download 2023 Agenda
Boston, MA, USA
24-25 September, 2024

What to expect in 2024

3
Days
15+
Dedicated Networking Hours
700+
Attendees
New
Conference Tracks
Improved
Innovation Showcase

Check Out This Year's Content

  • Research & Development
    Is your business developing new products, processes, or services related to women’s health? The Research & Development track at WHIS USA aims to highlight the latest innovative trends and technological developments at the forefront of women’s health and tackle some of the biggest challenges. You can expect to hear form experts about topics relating to clinical evidence generation, protecting your IP and data privacy that will improve your business outcomes.
  • Business Development
    Looking to grow your organization and foster cross-stakeholder relationships? At WHIS USA, the Business Development track covers key topics that aim to address the biggest factors to consider when looking to expand business opportunities. Hear from leaders about strategic growth through partnership and investment opportunities, and the role that technological advancements play in improving business outcomes.
  • Advocacy
    Is your organisation or business advocating for a particular healthcare cause or looking to expand your product reach? The advocacy track is designed to bridge the public-private sector gap and highlight the important role that NPOs and advocacy groups play in promoting better outcomes in healthcare. Expect to learn about how to leverage community work, amplifying health equity within business models and working with stakeholders to achieve improved health outcomes.

2023 Speakers

Congratulations to our 2023 Innovation Showcase Winners!

Early Stage Audience Choice Winner

Novocuff

Judge's Choice Award: Dr, Lindsay Harper, Rosy

Later Stage Audience Choice Winner

Proov

Judge's Choice Award: Piyani Patel, Emblem

2023 Selection Committee

Author:

Laurel Touby

Managing Director
Supernode Ventures

Laurel Touby

Managing Director
Supernode Ventures

Author:

Donna Parr

Managing Partner
Cross Border Impact Ventures

Donna Parr

Managing Partner
Cross Border Impact Ventures

Author:

Stasia Obremskey

Managing Director
RH Capital

Before joining, Stasia served in 2018 as the first Fellow of the Tara Health Foundation. She has more than twenty-five years of experience providing financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S. and Asia. She has joined management teams as the interim Chief Financial Officer on a short term and extended term basis to provide finance, accounting and strategic planning expertise to startups, fast growing companies and non-profit organizations. Current and past clients include 18Birdies, Posit Science, Circlepoint, West Shore Technologies and We Care Solar. She has lived for over 8 years in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong, China. She began her consulting career as a management consultant with Bain & Company. Previously, she worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley & Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In addition to her consulting work, she has extensive experience as a member of several nonprofit boards where she has held a number of leadership positions.

Stasia Obremskey

Managing Director
RH Capital

Before joining, Stasia served in 2018 as the first Fellow of the Tara Health Foundation. She has more than twenty-five years of experience providing financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S. and Asia. She has joined management teams as the interim Chief Financial Officer on a short term and extended term basis to provide finance, accounting and strategic planning expertise to startups, fast growing companies and non-profit organizations. Current and past clients include 18Birdies, Posit Science, Circlepoint, West Shore Technologies and We Care Solar. She has lived for over 8 years in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong, China. She began her consulting career as a management consultant with Bain & Company. Previously, she worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley & Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In addition to her consulting work, she has extensive experience as a member of several nonprofit boards where she has held a number of leadership positions.

Author:

Jenny Yip

Managing Partner
Adjuvant Capital

Jenny Yip

Managing Partner
Adjuvant Capital

Author:

Anula Jayasuriya

Founder and Managing Director
EXXclaim Capital

Anula Jayasuriya

Founder and Managing Director
EXXclaim Capital

Author:

Casey Albert

Managing Partner
SteelSky

Casey Albert

Managing Partner
SteelSky

Author:

Linda Greub

General Partner
Avestria

Linda Greub

General Partner
Avestria

Author:

Haley Gahan

Principal
Recharge Capital

Haley Gahan (Principal at Recharge Capital): Haley is an investor at Recharge Capital where she focuses primarily on investment opportunities and business applications within the women’s healthcare space and the healthcare space broadly. Prior to Recharge, Haley was most recently at Orkila Capital, a consumer growth equity firm, where she focused on market research, deal execution, and portfolio company operations.  Haley holds a BA from Amherst College and a MA in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art.

Haley Gahan

Principal
Recharge Capital

Haley Gahan (Principal at Recharge Capital): Haley is an investor at Recharge Capital where she focuses primarily on investment opportunities and business applications within the women’s healthcare space and the healthcare space broadly. Prior to Recharge, Haley was most recently at Orkila Capital, a consumer growth equity firm, where she focused on market research, deal execution, and portfolio company operations.  Haley holds a BA from Amherst College and a MA in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art.

Author:

April Oury

Capital Managing Director
Prota Ventures

April Oury

Capital Managing Director
Prota Ventures

Author:

Naseem Sayani

Co-Founder & Managing Director
Emmeline Ventures

Naseem Sayani

Co-Founder & Managing Director
Emmeline Ventures

Author:

Ankita Vashistha

Founder & General Partner
StrongHer Ventures

Ankita Vashistha

Founder & General Partner
StrongHer Ventures

Author:

Sara Brand

Founding General Partner
True Wealth Ventures

Sara Brand

Founding General Partner
True Wealth Ventures

Author:

Arianne Kidder

Partner
Seae Ventures

Arianne Kidder

Partner
Seae Ventures

Author:

Saki Oshima

Head of Femtech Partnerships
Scrum Ventures

Saki Oshima

Head of Femtech Partnerships
Scrum Ventures

Author:

Gilan Megeed

Principal of Medtech
Deerfield Management

Gilan Megeed

Principal of Medtech
Deerfield Management

Author:

Michele Colucci

Founder & Managing Partner
DigitalDx Ventures

Michele Colucci

Founder & Managing Partner
DigitalDx Ventures

Author:

Shalanda Armstrong

Managing Partner
100KM Ventures

Shalanda Armstrong

Managing Partner
100KM Ventures

2023 Gallery

    2023 Agenda Highlights


    Championing Research: Investing & Partnering in Early-Stage Discovery

    Improving the benchmark for measuring disease modification and reducing the use of symptomology is imperative for addressing underserved areas in women’s health such as ovarian cancer and endometriosis. This panel discussion will deep dive into the importance of prioritizing research through a sex & gender lens to identify new molecules, exploring the challenges and opportunities in investing in early-stage research, partnering with research institutions, and considering what more can be done.

    Author:

    Oriana Papin-Zoghbi

    CEO & Co-Founder
    AOA Dx

    Oriana Papin-Zoghbi

    CEO & Co-Founder
    AOA Dx

    Author:

    Sandy Milligan, MD, JD

    Head of Research & Development
    Organon

    Sandy Milligan, MD, JD

    Head of Research & Development
    Organon

    Author:

    Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD

    Scientific Director, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital

    Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD

    Scientific Director, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology
    Brigham and Women’s Hospital

    At the Heart of the Issue: Precise, Personalized and Preventative Care to Improve Women’s Cardiovascular Health

    According to the American Heart Association, nearly 75% of coronary heart disease cases in women can be prevented. Identifying sex-specific
    risk factors through personalized risk assessments is an important step in creating precise treatment options to improve heart health. Join this panel discussion to hear from those leading the way in reducing the number one death of women in the US.

    Author:

    Carolee Lee

    Founder & CEO
    WHAM (Women's Health Access Matters)

    Carolee Lee is an innovator, entrepreneur and thought leader dedicated to improving women’s health and wellbeing, and their opportunities to succeed. She was founder and CEO of Carolee Designs, one of the world’s leading accessories brands. Carolee launched WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters), a nonprofit organization working to bring awareness and funding to women’s health research to transform women’s lives. Carolee forged a research partnership with the RAND Corporation to create The WHAM Report, the first study to analyze the economic costs, benefits and social impacts of health research that focuses specifically on women. The WHAM Report is changing the conversation around women’s health research, proving women’s health research is an economic issue we cannot afford to ignore. Through partnerships with leading advocacy groups, business leaders, researchers and economists, WHAM is using this data drive change.

     

    Carolee is also a mentor and leader in business, philanthropic and educational organizations. She is a past Chair and Foundation Board Chair of the Committee of 200, a community of the most successful women in business, and has served as director on the board of DSW, Inc. Carolee is a founding board member of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, where she has served since 1986. She currently sits on the Women’s Leadership Board at The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

    Carolee Lee

    Founder & CEO
    WHAM (Women's Health Access Matters)

    Carolee Lee is an innovator, entrepreneur and thought leader dedicated to improving women’s health and wellbeing, and their opportunities to succeed. She was founder and CEO of Carolee Designs, one of the world’s leading accessories brands. Carolee launched WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters), a nonprofit organization working to bring awareness and funding to women’s health research to transform women’s lives. Carolee forged a research partnership with the RAND Corporation to create The WHAM Report, the first study to analyze the economic costs, benefits and social impacts of health research that focuses specifically on women. The WHAM Report is changing the conversation around women’s health research, proving women’s health research is an economic issue we cannot afford to ignore. Through partnerships with leading advocacy groups, business leaders, researchers and economists, WHAM is using this data drive change.

     

    Carolee is also a mentor and leader in business, philanthropic and educational organizations. She is a past Chair and Foundation Board Chair of the Committee of 200, a community of the most successful women in business, and has served as director on the board of DSW, Inc. Carolee is a founding board member of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, where she has served since 1986. She currently sits on the Women’s Leadership Board at The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

    Author:

    Suzanne Steinbaum

    CEO & Founder
    Heart-tech Health

    Suzanne Steinbaum

    CEO & Founder
    Heart-tech Health

    Author:

    Rachel Robinson

    Chief Operating Officer
    MassMedic

    Rachel Robinson

    Chief Operating Officer
    MassMedic

    Sustained Drug-Eluting Dosage Forms in Women’s Health: Leveraging Patient Centric Delivery

    This presentation will cover VitalDose’s role in patient centric delivery within Women’s Health, exploring how using the sustained release of single or multiple drugs can relieve patient burden in chronic diseases and provide a benefit to the formulation of small molecule API to larger molecule or complex therapeutics.

    Author:

    Brian Wilson

    New Business Development Partner, Pharma and Medical Businesses
    Celanese

    Brian Wilson

    New Business Development Partner, Pharma and Medical Businesses
    Celanese

    Investment Strategies for Long Term Success

    With more investment in women’s health than ever before, there are newer and more exciting opportunities for innovation, but it’s important to consider what types of investment will achieve the best ROI. Join this discussion to hear from a panel of experts about the investment strategies they’ve adopted, understand the innovation that’s exciting to them, and consider the key factors for long term financial success.

    Author:

    Mimi Ghosh

    Middle Market Financial Sponsors Group
    Bank of America

    Mimi Ghosh

    Middle Market Financial Sponsors Group
    Bank of America

    Author:

    Laura Veroneau

    Managing Partner
    Optum Ventures

    Laura Veroneau

    Managing Partner
    Optum Ventures

    Author:

    Zhenni Liu

    Partner
    MaC Venture Capital

    Zhenni Liu

    Partner
    MaC Venture Capital

    Author:

    Elizabeth Bailey

    Managing Director
    RH Capital

    Elizabeth Bailey

    Managing Director
    RH Capital

    Other events you might be interested in:

    Women's Healthy Aging Innovation Summit

    Women's Health Innovation Summit, Europe

    Reproductive Health Innovation Summit