Monique Knighten

Monique Knighten, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of Beacon CoLab in Houston, Texas, where she oversees daily operations and leads strategic initiatives to support and accelerate early-stage life science startups. She develops programs that engage founders, strengthen partnerships across industry and academia, and works to advance Houston’s growing biotech ecosystem.

Dr. Knighten earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Southern University and A&M College and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Indiana University School of Medicine. With more than 15 years of experience supporting research scientists and clinicians, she served as a Technical Sales Consultant at Miltenyi Biotec and later as Regional Sales Manager for Sartorius Stedim North America’s Bioprocessing Solutions division, where she built and led a team of account managers across the Central U.S. Prior to joining Beacon CoLab, she served as Executive Director for Portal Innovations in Texas.

She is passionate about bridging science and business to help innovators translate breakthrough research into real-world impact.