With their combined expertise and experience, these panelists offer a compelling narrative of resilience, innovation, and mentorship in the biotech landscape. Through candid conversations and personal anecdotes, they illuminate the challenges and opportunities encountered on their entrepreneurial journeys, emphasizing the pivotal role of mentorship in navigating the complexities of the industry. From pioneering groundbreaking research to enabling successful startups, each panelist embodies the spirit of female entrepreneurship, inspiring others to pursue their passions and break barriers in the male-dominated field of biotech. By sharing their insights and lessons learned, they foster a supportive community of aspiring women leaders, empowering them to chart their own paths to success in this dynamic and ever-evolving realm of science and innovation.

This event is expected to sell out; please register early. No on-site registrations will be available.

Program

6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.  Check-in and networking
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.  Panel discussion
7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  Q&A and networking

Speaker Bios

Alice Chen, PhD, Chief Operating Officer of Curve Biosciences

Alice is a health tech executive and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in healthcare innovation, strategy, and operations. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Curve Biosciences, an epigenetics insights startup with a mission to improve the lives of patients with chronic disease. Prior to Curve, Alice’s leadership roles included Senior Vice President of Product and Head of Program Management at GRAIL, where she helped launch Galleri, a blood test for multi-cancer early detection, Director of Product Management at Natera, Director of Biomedical Research at Progyny, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Sienna Biopharmaceuticals. She also held research roles at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Alice is a published author who has been recognized with several awards for leadership, innovation, and mentorship of women and underrepresented youth pursuing careers in science and technology. She has served as an Executive-in-Residence at General Inception, a startup igniter, and she continues to advise health tech companies in their startup and scaleup stages. Alice received a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, a master's in engineering sciences from Harvard University, and a PhD in medical engineering and medical physics from MIT and Harvard.

Alicia Chung, PhD, Moderator

Alicia has transitioned from scientist to drug developer to deal-maker and currently serves as a business advisor for emerging oncology biotechs, supporting founders with portfolio/business planning, fundraising, and strategic partnerships. She has over 15 years of R&D and business leadership experience in the biotechnology industry, spanning drug discovery, clinical development, commercial, corporate/business development, and alliance management. Formerly the SVP of Strategy and Business Development at Bionaut Labs, Alicia co-led a successful Ser B raise, developed and brought in the company’s first strategic partnership for a first-of-its-kind micro-robotic drug delivery technology. Prior to that, she served as Head of Corporate Development at Amphivena Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, where she was responsible for the company’s portfolio planning, partnership transactions, company build-out, and operations. Alicia also led Strategy and Business Development at Halozyme Therapeutics, where she established partnerships with pharma and biotech partners and contributed to corporate strategy development. Alicia began her career at Roche-Genentech, where she held positions of increasing responsibility in R&D, commercial and business development, and was responsible for asset in-licensing and M&A for the immunotherapy, oncology, and hematology franchises. She’s an author of numerous high-impact publications in the areas of oncology and drug discovery platform development. She holds a PhD in biochemistry from Brown University and was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

Danica Harbaugh, PhD, CEO & Founder of BriteScan, Inc.

Danica s an experienced scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur deeply committed to advancing disruptive and innovative testing technologies, spanning from AI to DNA. She earned her BA and PhD from the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, focusing on botanical genetics, plant taxonomy, and evolution. In 2010, Danica established AuthenTechnologies LLC, the pioneering contract lab specializing in DNA-based botanical authentication for quality control in natural products industries. This venture garnered significant recognition, ultimately being acquired by the global nonprofit standards and certification organization NSF International in 2015. Following her tenure as Global Director of Scientific Innovation at NSF, Danica embarked on her next solo endeavor in 2018, founding BriteScan, Inc. BriteScan was conceived to develop and patent a range of affordable, portable testing devices utilizing imaging and AI technology to authenticate various materials, from herbs to fish, meat, collectibles, and diamonds. Danica's overarching goal is to democratize access to reliable testing, ensuring it reaches stakeholders across the spectrum, from farmers to manufacturers and, ultimately, end consumers. Her vision is to empower individuals with the tools needed to verify product integrity rapidly, accurately, and affordably.

Rowena Mittal, PhD, Fractional Product Executive and Advisor

Dr. Mittal has 20 years of industry experience at startups and publicly traded corporations developing and managing products in diagnostics, medical devices, and research tools from concept to launch and from lifecycle to retirement. Today, she is a fractional product executive and advisor helping startups commercialize promising health technology. Previously, Dr. Mittal was Director of Product Management and Portfolio Strategy at Exact Sciences, where she managed the precision oncology portfolio of lab-developed cancer tests and a team of product managers. Prior to Exact Sciences, Dr. Mittal was Director of Product Management and R&D at Progenity, Inc., where she managed the innovation portfolio and successfully led the development of Preecludia, a rule-out test for preeclampsia with the potential to be the first-of-its-kind test in the US to help healthcare providers evaluate patients who have signs and symptoms of possible preeclampsia. Prior to Progenity, Dr. Mittal was a product development consultant and helped over 20 biotech and health technology startups, venture capital firms, and accelerator/incubators launch and grow. A published author, Dr. Mittal has been an R&D Director, Scientist, and Engineer who developed RUO, LDT, and IVD diagnostics products at Theranova, LLC, BioProcessors Corporation, Gigagen Incorporated, Fluidigm Corporation, and Integrated Plasmonics Corporation. Dr. Mittal holds a BS in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a minor in biomedical/bioengineering and two humanities concentrations in women/gender studies and French language. Her MS/PhD in biomedical engineering is from Carnegie Mellon University. In addition to improving lives through health technology, Dr. Mittal has taught yoga philosophy and practices in San Francisco, CA, for over a decade.

Mili Shroff, Innovation Activation Manager at JLABS

As an Innovation Activation Manager at JLABS South San Francisco, Mili is currently incubating 22 startups on-site. In this role, she provides mentorship and support to these startups, facilitating events such as investor panels to meet their needs and amplify their presence in the ecosystem and globally. Her journey began with 13 years at Johnson & Johnson's medical device sector, transitioning from sales to professional education. Prior to that, Mili contributed to heart failure and patient care initiatives at Boston Scientific and embarked on her academic journey at UCLA for undergraduate studies
 

Pricing Information

Registration by June 19

• Members: $15
• Non-members*: $25
• Students: $15
• Active Military/Veterans: $15

Registration after June 19

• Members: $25
• Non-members*: $35
• Students: $15
• Active Military/Veterans: $15

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Note: A confirmation email will be sent after registration has been completed. 

Maximum Capacity

60

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