2024 AGENDA

Ann Tanabe, Chief Executive Officer, BioHouston 
Brad Burke, Associate Vice President, Rice Innovation + Ion, Executive Director, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Marcus Nelson, VP, Strategy and New Ventures, Texas Medical Center

Introduction: R. Patrick Clayton, PhD, Vice President, Startup Banking, J.P. Morgan

Moderator: Annie Kadota, Vice President, J.P. Morgan

Barbara Alcaraz Silva, PhD, Executive Director, Early Stage Life Sciences and Healthcare, Startup Banking, J.P. Morgan

Christopher Gartin, Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan

Speaker TBA

Omid Veiseh, PhD, Faculty Director, Rice Biotech Launch Pad, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Rice University

Moderator: Zach Hightower, Director of Business Development, Portal Innovations

Bhuvanesh Dave PhD, CEO and Co-Founder, Spanios

Sarah Hein PhD, CEO and Co-Founder, March Biosciences

Derrell Porter, MD, MBA, CEO, cTRL Therapeutics

Meet the Founders: Portal Houston Now Open for Innovation will feature Zach Hightower, Director of Business Development, in conversation with three CEOs from Portal Innovations member companies. The panel will explore why these companies chose Portal, the unique value they’ve experienced, and the benefits such as investor support, access to cutting-edge lab space, and national network. Spotlighting Spanios, MarchBio, and CTRL Therapeutics, the discussion will highlight Portal’s role in accelerating life science innovation both locally and nationwide. Portal Houston officially opened a few weeks ago at the Texas Medical Center's new Helix Park campus with more than 30,000 SF of state-of-the-art lab and office space and a rapidly growing member community of growing startups.

Harpreet Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Immatics

Eva F. Yin, JD, PhD, MPH, Partner, Wilson Sonsini

This session provides an overview of key FDA and healthcare regulatory considerations for startups in the life sciences space as well as recent developments impacting the biotech and medtech industries. 

Snehal Patel, Chief Executive Officer, Greenwich LifeSciences

Robert Schrock, PhD, Senior Director, Global Head of Process Development, Lonza

Michelle Stansbury, Houston Methodist

Mimi Healey, Stimulus Bio   
Elaine Chou
Susan Marriott
Rebecca Berdeaux

Ashok Gowda, Biotex/Medtex Ventures

Life Science Company Funding and Exit Trends and Considerations:  A panel that discusses trends in life science company funding and considerations in raising money and in exits

Speakers TBA

Enhancing Life Sciences Product Development in Houston

A Fireside Chat with Atul Varadhachary, Managing Partner, Fannin Innovation 
(Moderated by Brad Burke)

• Michael E. DeBakey Award - Presented by BioHouston
• 10 Most Promising Life Science Companies - Presented by Greater Houston Partnership
• People’s Choice Award