Women's Health Innovation Summit 2024

Women's Health Innovation Summit, USA

Accelerating innovation, investment, research and partnerships, to improve the access and quality of healthcare for women worldwide.

Download 2023 Agenda
Boston, MA, USA
17-19 September, 2024
3
Days
55+
Industry Leading Speakers
10+
Dedicated Networking Hours
750+
Industry Leaders

Why Attend

  1. Meet the who’s who in women’s health innovation. Our sector specific audience enables perfectly aligned networking with like-minded leaders to boost partnership opportunities.
  2. Our investor network is unmatched. With the biggest investment players in the women’s health and healthtech, this is where you need to be if you’re looking for funding.
  3. Our three-tracked agenda approach enables you to tailor your 3 days to meet your specific business needs. With the inclusion of our pre-day and multiple roundtables – every session will give you tangible, solution-led takeaways for you to implement into your strategy.
  4. 5 years of bringing the industry together to facilitate partnerships, investment and innovation . That’s 15 events, 3,500 delegates and over 15,000 meetings. We know what we’re delivering. Our credibility is unmatched in the space.
  5. Time for networking? We can’t get enough. From pre-event access to our networking app, over 10 hours of dedicated meeting time and follow up check-ins, we understand the importance of year-round communication.

Our 2023 Tracks

  • Research & Development
    Is your business developing new products, processes, or services related to women’s health? The Research & Development track at WHIS USA aims to highlight the latest innovative trends and technological developments at the forefront of women’s health and tackle some of the biggest challenges. You can expect to hear form experts about topics relating to clinical evidence generation, protecting your IP and data privacy that will improve your business outcomes.
  • Business Development
    Looking to grow your organization and foster cross-stakeholder relationships? At WHIS USA, the Business Development track covers key topics that aim to address the biggest factors to consider when looking to expand business opportunities. Hear from leaders about strategic growth through partnership and investment opportunities, and the role that technological advancements play in improving business outcomes.
  • Advocacy
    Is your organisation or business advocating for a particular healthcare cause or looking to expand your product reach? The advocacy track is designed to bridge the public-private sector gap and highlight the important role that NPOs and advocacy groups play in promoting better outcomes in healthcare. Expect to learn about how to leverage community work, amplifying health equity within business models and working with stakeholders to achieve improved health outcomes.

2023 Speakers

2023 Agenda Highlights


Championing Research: Investing & Partnering in Early-Stage Discovery

Improving the benchmark for measuring disease modification and reducing the use of symptomology is imperative for addressing underserved areas in women’s health such as ovarian cancer and endometriosis. This panel discussion will deep dive into the importance of prioritizing research through a sex & gender lens to identify new molecules, exploring the challenges and opportunities in investing in early-stage research, partnering with research institutions, and considering what more can be done.

Author:

Oriana Papin-Zoghbi

CEO & Co-Founder
AOA Dx

Oriana Papin-Zoghbi

CEO & Co-Founder
AOA Dx

Author:

Sandy Milligan, MD, JD

Head of Research & Development
Organon

Sandy Milligan, MD, JD

Head of Research & Development
Organon

Author:

Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD

Scientific Director, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD

Scientific Director, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

At the Heart of the Issue: Precise, Personalized and Preventative Care to Improve Women’s Cardiovascular Health

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 75% of coronary heart disease cases in women can be prevented. Identifying sex-specific
risk factors through personalized risk assessments is an important step in creating precise treatment options to improve heart health. Join this panel discussion to hear from those leading the way in reducing the number one death of women in the US.

Author:

Carolee Lee

Founder & CEO
WHAM (Women's Health Access Matters)

Carolee Lee is an innovator, entrepreneur and thought leader dedicated to improving women’s health and wellbeing, and their opportunities to succeed. She was founder and CEO of Carolee Designs, one of the world’s leading accessories brands. Carolee launched WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters), a nonprofit organization working to bring awareness and funding to women’s health research to transform women’s lives. Carolee forged a research partnership with the RAND Corporation to create The WHAM Report, the first study to analyze the economic costs, benefits and social impacts of health research that focuses specifically on women. The WHAM Report is changing the conversation around women’s health research, proving women’s health research is an economic issue we cannot afford to ignore. Through partnerships with leading advocacy groups, business leaders, researchers and economists, WHAM is using this data drive change.

 

Carolee is also a mentor and leader in business, philanthropic and educational organizations. She is a past Chair and Foundation Board Chair of the Committee of 200, a community of the most successful women in business, and has served as director on the board of DSW, Inc. Carolee is a founding board member of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, where she has served since 1986. She currently sits on the Women’s Leadership Board at The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Carolee Lee

Founder & CEO
WHAM (Women's Health Access Matters)

Carolee Lee is an innovator, entrepreneur and thought leader dedicated to improving women’s health and wellbeing, and their opportunities to succeed. She was founder and CEO of Carolee Designs, one of the world’s leading accessories brands. Carolee launched WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters), a nonprofit organization working to bring awareness and funding to women’s health research to transform women’s lives. Carolee forged a research partnership with the RAND Corporation to create The WHAM Report, the first study to analyze the economic costs, benefits and social impacts of health research that focuses specifically on women. The WHAM Report is changing the conversation around women’s health research, proving women’s health research is an economic issue we cannot afford to ignore. Through partnerships with leading advocacy groups, business leaders, researchers and economists, WHAM is using this data drive change.

 

Carolee is also a mentor and leader in business, philanthropic and educational organizations. She is a past Chair and Foundation Board Chair of the Committee of 200, a community of the most successful women in business, and has served as director on the board of DSW, Inc. Carolee is a founding board member of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, where she has served since 1986. She currently sits on the Women’s Leadership Board at The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Author:

Suzanne Steinbaum

CEO & Founder
Heart-tech Health

Suzanne Steinbaum

CEO & Founder
Heart-tech Health

Author:

Rachel Robinson

Chief Operating Officer
MassMedic

Rachel Robinson

Chief Operating Officer
MassMedic

Sustained Drug-Eluting Dosage Forms in Women’s Health: Leveraging Patient Centric Delivery

This presentation will cover VitalDose’s role in patient centric delivery within Women’s Health, exploring how using the sustained release of single or multiple drugs can relieve patient burden in chronic diseases and provide a benefit to the formulation of small molecule API to larger molecule or complex therapeutics.

Author:

Brian Wilson

New Business Development Partner, Pharma and Medical Businesses
Celanese

Brian Wilson

New Business Development Partner, Pharma and Medical Businesses
Celanese

Investment Strategies for Long Term Success

With more investment in women’s health than ever before, there are newer and more exciting opportunities for innovation, but it’s important to consider what types of investment will achieve the best ROI. Join this discussion to hear from a panel of experts about the investment strategies they’ve adopted, understand the innovation that’s exciting to them, and consider the key factors for long term financial success.

Author:

Mimi Ghosh

Financial Sponsors Coverage
Bank of America

Mimi Ghosh

Financial Sponsors Coverage
Bank of America

Author:

Laura Veroneau

Managing Partner
Optum Ventures

Laura Veroneau

Managing Partner
Optum Ventures

Author:

Zhenni Liu

Partner
MaC Venture Capital

Zhenni Liu

Partner
MaC Venture Capital

Author:

Elizabeth Bailey

Managing Director
RH Capital

Elizabeth Bailey

Managing Director
RH Capital

2023 Partners

Innovation Showcase

Begin your application

The Innovation Showcase is a unique opportunity for emerging companies with a disruptive technology, product, or service to present in front of the industry’s most influential partners, investors, and decision makers.

Split across two days and focused on early-stage funding and later-stage funding, 24 start-up finalists, hand-picked by our Selection Committee, will spotlight their innovation, highlight their achievements, and gain industry exposure.

In 2023, we introduced prize bundles for the two winners, as well as an intimate drinks reception for all applicants who attend the summit.

2023 Prize Bundle

All Applicants:

  • 10% off your delegate ticket to WHIS USA
  • Dedicated social media post to the WHIS LinkedIn network
  • Access to our onsite drinks reception for registered applicants

2023 Finalists

  • 10% off your delegate ticket to WHIS USA
  • Dedicated social media post to the WHIS LinkedIn network
  • Access to our onsite drinks reception for registered applicants
  • Content insertion into our WHIS quarterly newsletter
  • Access to our exclusive CEO & Founders Forum ay WHIS USA
  • 1 week priority access to networking app

2023 Winners

  • Cash Prize to be announced!
  • Prize from Media Partner MassMEDIC
  • Prize from Media Partner Springboard Enterprises
  • Post-Summit Interview piece created with WHIS and distributed to our network (30,000 Industry Leaders)
  • 2x free passes to a future WHIS event

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED

Academic Poster Session: Verticals that Differently or Predominantly Affect Women

We showcased your innovative research that focused on verticals that differently or predominantly affect women. During our networking break, 5 chosen academic posters were displayed to our audience of potential partners, funders, and accelerators.

2023 Selection Committee

Author:

Laurel Touby

Managing Director
Supernode Ventures

Laurel Touby

Managing Director
Supernode Ventures

Author:

Donna Parr

Managing Partner
Cross Border Impact Ventures

Donna Parr

Managing Partner
Cross Border Impact Ventures

Author:

Stasia Obremskey

Managing Director
RH Capital

Before joining, Stasia served in 2018 as the first Fellow of the Tara Health Foundation. She has more than twenty-five years of experience providing financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S. and Asia. She has joined management teams as the interim Chief Financial Officer on a short term and extended term basis to provide finance, accounting and strategic planning expertise to startups, fast growing companies and non-profit organizations. Current and past clients include 18Birdies, Posit Science, Circlepoint, West Shore Technologies and We Care Solar. She has lived for over 8 years in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong, China. She began her consulting career as a management consultant with Bain & Company. Previously, she worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley & Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In addition to her consulting work, she has extensive experience as a member of several nonprofit boards where she has held a number of leadership positions.

Stasia Obremskey

Managing Director
RH Capital

Before joining, Stasia served in 2018 as the first Fellow of the Tara Health Foundation. She has more than twenty-five years of experience providing financial and strategic planning consulting to organizations in the U.S. and Asia. She has joined management teams as the interim Chief Financial Officer on a short term and extended term basis to provide finance, accounting and strategic planning expertise to startups, fast growing companies and non-profit organizations. Current and past clients include 18Birdies, Posit Science, Circlepoint, West Shore Technologies and We Care Solar. She has lived for over 8 years in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong, China. She began her consulting career as a management consultant with Bain & Company. Previously, she worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley & Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. In addition to her consulting work, she has extensive experience as a member of several nonprofit boards where she has held a number of leadership positions.

Author:

Jenny Yip

Managing Partner
Adjuvant Capital

Jenny Yip

Managing Partner
Adjuvant Capital

Author:

Anula Jayasuriya

Founder and Managing Director
EXXclaim Capital

Anula Jayasuriya

Founder and Managing Director
EXXclaim Capital

Author:

Casey Albert

Managing Partner
SteelSky

Casey Albert

Managing Partner
SteelSky

Author:

Linda Greub

General Partner
Avestria

Linda Greub

General Partner
Avestria

Author:

Haley Gahan

Principal
Recharge Capital

Haley Gahan (Principal at Recharge Capital): Haley is an investor at Recharge Capital where she focuses primarily on investment opportunities and business applications within the women’s healthcare space and the healthcare space broadly. Prior to Recharge, Haley was most recently at Orkila Capital, a consumer growth equity firm, where she focused on market research, deal execution, and portfolio company operations.  Haley holds a BA from Amherst College and a MA in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art.

Haley Gahan

Principal
Recharge Capital

Haley Gahan (Principal at Recharge Capital): Haley is an investor at Recharge Capital where she focuses primarily on investment opportunities and business applications within the women’s healthcare space and the healthcare space broadly. Prior to Recharge, Haley was most recently at Orkila Capital, a consumer growth equity firm, where she focused on market research, deal execution, and portfolio company operations.  Haley holds a BA from Amherst College and a MA in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art.

Author:

April Oury

Capital Managing Director
Prota Ventures

April Oury

Capital Managing Director
Prota Ventures

Author:

Naseem Sayani

Co-Founder & Managing Director
Emmeline Ventures

Naseem Sayani

Co-Founder & Managing Director
Emmeline Ventures

Author:

Ankita Vashistha

Founder & General Partner
StrongHer Ventures

Ankita Vashistha

Founder & General Partner
StrongHer Ventures

Author:

Sara Brand

Founding General Partner
True Wealth Ventures

Sara Brand

Founding General Partner
True Wealth Ventures

Author:

Arianne Kidder

Partner
Seae Ventures

Arianne Kidder

Partner
Seae Ventures

Author:

Saki Oshima

Head of Femtech Partnerships
Scrum Ventures

Saki Oshima

Head of Femtech Partnerships
Scrum Ventures

Author:

Gilan Megeed

Principal of Medtech
Deerfield Management

Gilan Megeed

Principal of Medtech
Deerfield Management

Author:

Michele Colucci

Founder & Managing Partner
DigitalDx Ventures

Michele Colucci

Founder & Managing Partner
DigitalDx Ventures

Author:

Shalanda Armstrong

Managing Partner
100KM Ventures

Shalanda Armstrong

Managing Partner
100KM Ventures

2023 Gallery

    Testimonials & Success Stories

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