James Berger, Ph.D.

Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences

Welcome and Introduction

Jamie Spangler, Ph.D.

William R. Brody Faculty Scholar, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The Great Pitch: Merging Research and Business

As a biomedical engineer, Jamie Spangler’s research focuses on developing antibodies to fight cancer. With the help of key partnerships, she has grown her research into collaborative business ventures. An entrepreneurial leader, Spangler helps inspire other scientists to do the same. In this talk, she will discuss her journey to entrepreneurship and the steps other women can make to successfully launch new ventures.

Sujatha Kannan, M.B.B.S.

Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The Ultimate Goal: Bringing Research to Practice Through Entrepreneurship

Scientists embarking on a research career can journey down a number of paths — for example, focusing on foundational discoveries, clinical applications or technological inventions. For Sujatha Kannan, her goal was to develop therapies not only for her specialty, pediatric brain disorders, but also for many other conditions. This inspired her to cofound Ashvattha Therapeutics. The science startup industry rarely includes women, but Kannan has emerged as an entrepreneurial innovator.

Christy Wyskiel

Senior Adviser to the President of The Johns Hopkins University for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Executive Director, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures

Entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins: Building a Robust, Inclusive Ecosystem

The Johns Hopkins University’s chief entrepreneur, Christy Wyskiel runs Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, the university’s entrepreneurship and commercialization hub through which faculty engages in research partnerships, commercializes technologies and forms startup companies. Leveraging Johns Hopkins’ excellence in the life sciences, engineering, digital health and more — as well as her background as a life sciences investor and entrepreneur — Wyskiel has grown the university’s commercialization portfolio to encompass 40 corporate sponsored research collaborations, 1,800 technologies available for licensing and more than 160 commercial startups backed by over $4.5 billion in venture funding. In a field dominated by men, this woman stands out.

Panel Discussion

Women in Biotech Entrepreneurship

Women found almost 40% of companies in the United States annually, but receive only 2% of venture funding. In this panel moderated by Christy Wyskiel, Senior Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins University for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, two Hopkins women startup founders, Sujatha Kannan of Ashvattha Therapeutics and Jamie Spangler of AbMeta Therapeutics, will talk about their paths to commercialization and the challenges and benefits of entrepreneurship.

Jeremy Nathans, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Neuroscience, and Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The X Factor: The Female Advantage in Our DNA

Geneticist and neuroscientist Jeremy Nathans has transformed our understanding of how humans see the world. When it comes to color vision and other biological processes, Nathans will describe how the X chromosome gives females a genetic advantage.