UPMC Enterprises Executive Vice President Jeanne Cunicelli and Rob Hartman will join local and national leaders during Pittsburgh Life Sciences Week to share how Enterprises is driving health care funding and research in the region.
This year’s Pittsburgh Life Sciences Week will be taking place May 13 – May 17 in Oakland, the heart of Pittsburgh’s academic district. The week-long event will feature the theme “Investing in a Smarter Life” and will focus on several areas across the life sciences spectrum: clinical/surgery, corporate partnerships, investments, and policy.
The annual event brings together a diverse mix of life sciences groups from Pittsburgh and across the country, including researchers, entrepreneurs, large corporations, and investors to connect and engage. This year’s event incorporates more AI and machine learning conversations, and an increased focus on life sciences investing and startups.
UPMC Enterprises team members Jeanne Cunicelli and Rob Hartman are among an array of leading life sciences experts who will be presenting. The week kicks off with 2018 Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dr. Frances Arnold on Monday with a keynote presentation in the Carnegie Music Hall.
All Life Sciences Week events, besides the Monday keynote, are open to the public and free of charge. Don’t miss Jeanne and Rob’s sessions below – be sure to register to ensure your seat!
Venture Capital Trends in Health Care
- Thursday, May 16
- Swartz Center of Entrepreneurship
- 2nd Floor of the CMU Tepper Quad
- 1:00PM – 2:00PM
Click here to reserve your seat!
The Venture Capital Trends in Health Care panel will kick off Life Sciences Week’s Investor Day at 1PM and will include an optional buffet lunch at 12PM. Jeanne Cunicelli, leader of UPMC’s immunotherapy commercialization efforts, will join Vivian Lee, Managing Director at Aqua Partners LLC, and Charles McOsker, Chief Technical Operations Officer at BioMotiv. Ms. Lee has over 30 years of experience in life sciences consulting and Dr. McOsker has over 30 years of experience in both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
From incubators, to accelerators, to strategic and corporate VCs – investors are committing heavily to improving health. In 2018 alone, corporate VC funding in health care grew to $10.9 billion from $2.3 billion in 2013. Fortunately, there are several Pittsburgh-based and nearby organizations that are refusing to be left behind. Pittsburgh, already known as a health care leader, is doubling down by continuing to invest in cutting-edge science and technologies like immunotherapy. Just last year, a $200 million commitment was made to create a center that focuses on advancing the science of cancer care, transplantation, and aging-related diseases. Several other local and national organizations are investing more time and money to create innovative health care applications, software, and products that will ultimately impact not just patients, but investment analysts, principals, and partners. This panel will address and analyze changes in the role of the strategic investor within the larger VC landscape, and what the future holds for companies seeking strategic and corporate investment.
Panelists:
- Vivian Lee, Managing Director, Aqua Partners LLC (Moderator)
- Jeanne Cunicelli, Executive Vice President, UPMC Enterprises
- Charles McOsker, Chief Technical Operations Officer, Bio Motiv
Driving Biomedical Research with AI and Robotics
- Tuesday, May 14
- The Oaklander Hotel
- 1:00PM – 1:45PM
The explosion in machine learning and artificial intelligence methodologies has already affected many fields, and has promise to significantly impact biomedical research. Panelists will discuss how this is happening in diverse areas such as automating laboratory instruments, identifying novel antibiotics, and developing rehabilitative technology.
Panelists:
- Mark Collins, Vice President of Innovation and Strategy, Helomics (Moderator)
- Robert Murphy, Department Head, Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University
- Hosein Mohimani, Assistant Professor, Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University
- Rob Hartman, Senior Manager, Business Development, UPMC Enterprises
