Krishna P. Allamneni, DVM, MS/PhD, DABT, is a biopharmaceutical executive with over two decades of experience, contributing to 25+ IND programs and seven marketed products. She has led drug discovery through commercialization across diverse therapeutic areas and modalities, with expertise in integrating science and portfolio strategy. Currently EVP, CDO at Concarlo Therapeutics, she has held leadership roles at Turning Point Therapeutics/BMS, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Genentech, and Celera Genomics. A former board member of the American College of Toxicology, she co-chairs the Chief Development Officer Forum and graduated from the 2023 Women in Bio Boardroom Ready Program. She advises startups through California Life Sciences FAST, HomeLab UCSD, Connect San Diego, CEO Connection, and Founders Corner VC, and has judged UCSD IGE deal flow.

Robert Hill is a seasoned investor, advisor, and board member in the life sciences sector. He is an active member of Life Science Angels and NuFund Venture Group, where he evaluates and supports emerging healthcare and biotech innovations. As a mentor at UC San Diego’s Institute for the Global Entrepreneur and a board member at Social Venture Partners, Robert helps early-stage companies and nonprofit organizations scale with strategic insight and operational excellence.

With over 40 years of experience, Robert is a retired Global Managing Partner at Deloitte Consulting, where he led high-impact transformation programs for Fortune 100 companies across healthcare, technology, automotive, and aerospace industries. His expertise includes M&A, strategy, AI-driven digital transformation, enterprise systems, marketing, supply chain, and finance. He spent years in Tokyo, Japan, serving as Regional Automotive Leader, Regional Technology Leader, and Regional Clients & Markets Leader for Deloitte Asia Pacific, where he built and led global teams for multinational corporations such as Nissan, Toyota, and Honda.

Before his corporate career, Robert served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, holding leadership roles aboard USS Tarawa (LHA-1) and USS McClusky (FFG-41).

Robert holds an M.S. in Management from Georgia Tech and a B.S. in Industrial Systems Engineering from The Ohio State University. He has further honed his expertise through executive education programs at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, and Columbia

Daniela is dedicated to empowering early-stage startups by providing strategic insights, funding guidance, and hands-on mentorship. With a deep understanding of business development and scaling operations, she helps founders navigate the complexities of growing their businesses in highly competitive markets. Passionate about identifying disruptive startups with high growth potential, she works closely with them to refine their business models, develop scalable strategies, and secure the necessary resources to thrive. Her mission is to bridge the gap between visionary founders and the capital and networks they need to succeed. She is a hard-working, dynamic, and determined person who strongly believes in transparency, clarity, loyalty, and competence, and she has based her professional career on these values.

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Greg heads up Precision & Translational Medicine at AffiniT Therapeutics, which is a small, 30 person clinical-stage autologous TCR T cell company based in Boston targeting genitourinary malignancies containing KRAS G12V driver mutations as presented by HLA-A*11:01. Prior to his current opportunity, Greg held a comparable position at Allogene Therapeutics, working in heme and solid malignancies, developing off-the-shelf, unmatched CAR T products targeting CD19, BCMA, and CD70. He started his corporate career more than 25 years ago out on the east coast at Bristol-Myers Squibb and then Merck. Greg earned his B.Sc. with honors from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; he resides here in San Diego in Carmel Valley.

Ugur Eskiocak, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of Voro Therapeutics. Voro is developing a precision medicine platform of tumor-activated multi-specific antibodies for cancer immunotherapy. He has 20 years of experience in oncology research and drug development. He has advanced 6 immuno-oncology programs through IND-enabling studies and into the clinical trials in various leadership roles at Compass Therapeutics, Xilio Therapeutics, Takeda and Janux Therapeutics.

Jennifer Wu, Founder of CanCure LLC. Jennifer Wu is also an entrepreneur. After her first generation of MIC shedding inhibitory antibody being outlicenced through the University of Washington Comotion, Jennifer founded CanCure LLC to advance her ongoing laboratory findings (through University Licensing) to products/technologies that are commercially viable. She inked the partnership of one technology from CanCure in 2019. Currently, she is leading the effort in collaboration with Academic Centers to initiate the First-In-Human trial with CanCure’s leading antibody.

Jennifer Wu received her PhD in Biology from the University of British Columbia in Canada in 2000, followed by a Postdoctoral training in Cancer Immunology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (2000 to 2002), Seattle, WA. In 2003, Jennifer Wu accepted a faculty position at the University of Washington where she successfully developed her independent research program. In 2010, she accepted a position to join the Cancer Immunology Program at the Hollings Cancer Center/Medical University of South Carolina. In 2017, she accepted a position at Northwestern University and Lurie Cancer Center with an endowed Professorship.

Distinguished physician-scientist and serial entrepreneur with four decades of progressive leadership across academic medicine and commercial biotechnology. Following 10+ years of post-graduate specialization beyond medical degree, established a prestigious academic career as a Transplant Surgeon, Professor of Surgery, Program Director, and Institute Director before transitioning to industry 12 years ago. As Scientific Founder of four successful biotech ventures, has driven innovation resulting in six patents while demonstrating comprehensive expertise across the development continuum. Possesses exceptional capability in the design and execution of pre-clinical proof-of-concept validation studies in GLP CROs, FDA engagement, and IND submission strategies, complemented by proven clinical operations leadership including trial design, site/PI selection, and CRO management within ICH guidelines. Offers hands-on experience leading GMP production with CDMOs, including comprehensive QA/QC oversight, while maintaining strong relationships with patient advocacy groups, regulatory authorities, and governance boards. Has secured significant capital through both non-dilutive funding and private investment from VCs and family offices, participating in reverse mergers and M&A transactions, while streamlining applications of data management, statistical modeling, and AI/LLM technologies. Combines deep scientific/medical expertise with proven business acumen to advance breakthrough therapeutics from concept to commercialization. Has led multidisciplinary teams through the execution of successful and complex milestones, mainly focused on cell-based therapies, cancer immunotherapies and gene therapies (https://prognosis-innovation.com/profile-paulo-fontes-md/)

Nancy is an internationally recognized pioneer and expert in biotech innovation. One of the early innovators in cell therapy, she built Organogenesis Inc. as its CSO. She then founded two biotechs serving as President and CEO, one in pancreatic islet transplantation, and another in adoptive cell cancer immunotherapy.  She is currently an executive coach, strategic success partner to biotech CEOs and C-Suite Teams, and an author on leadership strategies for trailblazing biotech.

Brian Newsom is co-founder and CEO of Carrigent, a company focused on changing the paradigm of cell and gene therapy through the development of its CARGO platform; a new cell-based payload delivery system. Brian served in prior roles as CEO of Ares Immunotherapy, and VP of Business Development for the cell therapy CDMO, Theragent. Prior to this, Brian spent six years at KBI Biopharma and almost a decade at Thermo Fisher Scientific (and legacy companies) in BD for their cell and gene therapy businesses. Brian’s technical background includes posts as Head of R&D at Opexa Therapeutics and five years at Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy. Brian began his career in cell therapy at Aastrom Biosciences, one of the industries pioneering companies, in 1992. Brian received his degree in Microbiology from Texas Tech University and an MBA from Texas A&M University.

Dr. Marsha L. Hartman, Ph.D., is a distinguished biotechnology executive and commercial strategist with deep expertise in cell analysis, technology innovation, and the clinical fields of lymphoma, leukemia, immune monitoring in autoimmunity, and cell therapy.   She earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center and completed advanced immunology training at Baylor College of Medicine. Additionally, she holds credentials in healthcare marketing from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Driven by a passion for advancing healthcare solutions in cell analysis, Dr. Hartman has built a career centered on innovation and collaboration, establishing herself as a visionary leader in the biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare industries.

Dr. Sid Kerkar is a physician-scientist with extensive experience and expertise in cancer immunotherapy, having worked on pioneering trials at the National Cancer Institute. He has held significant roles at major pharmaceutical and biotech companies like Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly & Company, and EXUMA Biotech. He is the founder of Kerkar Consulting LLC, where he provides strategic guidance for research and development in biologics and innovative therapies.

Heather Callahan is the fractional CEO for two regenerative medicine companies, Allander Biotechnologies, Inc. and Swan NeuroTech, Inc.  She is also a member of the Scientific Investment Advisory Committee for the Gates Institute at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.  Heather was previously the Director of Licensing for CU Innovations, and responsible for the commercialization of regenerative medicine technologies being developed at CU.  Prior to tech transfer, Heather worked at Intellectual Ventures, Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, and Genset in various legal and executive roles.  Heather started her career as a scientist leading a lab at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in the Division of Experimental Therapeutics.

Meghan Edgar is an accomplished life sciences professional with 20 years of experience spanning discovery research, translational medicine, and clinical development. Meghan is also a Limited Partner, managing a personal investment portfolio and a Diligence Analyst at Aquillius Ventures. Throughout her extensive scientific career, Meghan has contributed to both discovery and clinical development of autologous and allogeneic cell therapy approaches, as well as various gene therapy modalities across multiple disease areas including rare diseases, immunology, and neurology. Her expertise in clinical biomarkers and translational medicine has been instrumental in advancing therapeutic candidates from discovery through clinical proof-of-concept. Previously, Meghan held leadership positions at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Rarebase, and Takeda, where she led cross-functional teams developing novel therapeutic approaches focused on addressing significant unmet need for patients.