2024

Tri-Valley Life Sciences Summit

Welcome to the 2024 Tri-Valley Life Sciences Summit

Hosted and presented by Kaiser Permanente with Startup Tri-Valley and the City of Pleasanton

October 23, 2024 | 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm | Rosewood Commons Conference Center | Pleasanton, CA

The Summit begins with a networking reception, providing attendees the opportunity to mingle, engage with peers, and foster new connections. The program includes welcoming remarks from City of Pleasanton Mayor, Karla Brown, and Kaiser Permanente, followed by an insightful overview of the State of Tri-Valley Life Sciences from Yolanda Fintschenko of Startup Tri-Valley.

We will then welcome Raydiant Oximetry founder and CEO Neil Ray, MD to the stage for an engaging fireside chat with lead investor Genevieve LeMarchal, Managing Director of Suncoast Ventures, to discuss the key ingredients that led to the successful close of Raydiant Oximetry’s recent expanded Series A round.

Following the fireside chat, we will transition to a panel discussion featuring prominent Tri-Valley life sciences entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders including Daybreak Labs Early Stage Diagnostics Therapeutics advisor, Reem Mahrat, architect of a recent acquisition of RamanID under her leadership, and business development executive Yash Vaishnav of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. This discussion will provide valuable insights into the region’s thriving life sciences ecosystem.

Connect with the Tri-Valley life sciences ecosystem.

Almost 200 local life sciences entrepreneurs and professionals attended the 2023 Tri-Valley Life Sciences Summit. View the 2023 program and sponsors here.

Event Schedule

The Summit is designed to give busy professionals concrete takeaways they can incorporate into their work immediately, as well as plenty of opportunities to connect with peers. This year we have structured the program to provide high-value content for early-stage startups as well as high-growth, later-stage companies. A snapshot of the agenda is to to the right (or below).

4:30 PM

Registration and Networking

5:30 PM

City of Pleasanton Welcome – Mayor Karla Brown

Event Welcome – Kaiser Permanente

5:35 pm

Life Sciences Investment Landscape – Yolanda Fintschenko, Executive Director, i-GATE Innovation Hub

5:45 PM

Keynote – Fireside Chat with Neil Ray, MD CEO and founder of Raydiant Oximetry, moderated by Genevieve LeMarchal.

6:15 PM

Panel Discussion with Life Sciences Entrepreneurs and Ecosystem Leaders

6:45 - 7:30 pm

Closing Remarks and Networking

Speakers, Panelists and Moderators

Genevieve LeMarchal

KEYNOTE MODERATOR

Neil Ray, MD

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Reem Mahrat

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Nan Su

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Yash Vaishnav

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Paco Cifuentes

PANEL DISCUSSION MODERATOR

FAQs

Who should attend?
Scientists, technologists, investors and business professionals working in industries that include or intersect with the life sciences who are entrepreneurs or have entrepreneurial ambitions.

Why should I attend?
This event is designed to relay information, inspiration, and create networking opportunities for the speakers and attendees.

How can I contact the organizers with any questions?
Please complete our contact form.

How do I register for the summit?
Head over to our Eventbrite.

How do I become a sponsor?
Please visit our Sponsorship Page

Photos From Our Previous Summit

2024 Sponsors & Affiliates

We are honored to partner with leading firms in the Tri-Valley who have demonstrated their commitment to growing the life sciences ecosystem in the region.

Hosted and Presented By:

Organized By:

Affiliates

Ecosystem Sponsors

Event Sponsors

Become a Sponsor

2024 TVLSS Organizers

Janelle Muranaka

Operations Executive and Strategist, Daybreak Labs Operations Advisor

Brian Wilson

Office/R&D Leasing and Sales Advisor at Cushman & Wakefield

Lisa Adamos

Economic Development Manager at the City of Pleasanton

Yolanda Fintschenko, Ph.D.

Executive Director, i-GATE Innovation Hub
Director, Startup Tri-Valley and Daybreak Labs

Location

Kaiser Permanente is proud to host and present the Tri-Valley Life Sciences Summit at the Rosewood Commons Conference Center in the City of Pleasanton.

Rosewood Commons Conference Center

Connect with the Tri-Valley startup ecosystem

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KEYNOTE

Genevieve LeMarchal

Managing Partner at Suncoast Ventures

Genevieve LeMarchal is the Managing Partner of Suncoast Ventures which backs resilient early stage healthcare tech, digital health and medical device founders. Prior to Suncoast she launched and ran Expert Dojo’s healthcare program and ran 3 full cohorts of health tech and medtech companies, becoming one of the most prolific early stage vc investors in Southern California (Crunchbase, 2022) and winner of the 2022 Biocom Lifescience Catalyst Award. She is passionate about entrepreneurs, and advising an mentoring founders. She loves to innovate financial models and find better ways to structure and fund companies and do deals.

She previously served as Partner at a science focused advisory and fund in formation, was a General Partner at a small Oregon-based VC Fund, and she is co-founder of the Pacific NW based non-profit organization, XXcelerate. She is the host of the AdVentureous Podcast and often writes and delivers talks, keynotes and training to entrepreneurs and investors about venture capital and entrepreneurship, impact and equity investing and more.

She is a Pacific Northwest native and a new resident to the East Bay area and now resides in Walnut Creek.

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Neil Ray

CEO & Founder Raydiant Oximetry, Inc.

Dr. Neil Ray is a pediatric anesthesiologist who observed the number of unneeded C-sections he was performing due to the lack of quality fetal pulse oximetry data during delivery. Inspired by the ability to make non-invasive oxygen measurements in the brain, he decided to leave his medical practice and form a company devoted to taking a more reliable fetal pulse oximeter to the market. He has lead Raydiant Oximetry since 2016 as founder and CEO. The Raydiant Oximetry team is dedicated to improving women's and fetal health by preventing unnecessary Caesarian sections with a more accurate measurement of fetal distress during delivery using Raydiant's novel, non-invasive fetal pulse oximetry technology.

PANEL DISCUSSION MODERATOR

Landon Merrill

Principal at Genoa Ventures

Landon is a Principal at Genoa Ventures, where he brings world-class skills in structured, rigorous product strategy and development to deal diligence and portfolio company support. With a wide range of technical and commercial leadership experience in organizations ranging from startups to multinationals, from life science tools to pharma discovery platforms, Landon brings a diverse set of experiences and a keen ability to identify opportunities for cross-pollination. Landon also leads sales and marketing for a local product development firm servicing the life sciences, diagnostics, and medical device markets.

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Reem Mahrat

CEO & Founder, RamanID

CEO & Co-founder, EGE

Reem is a visionary serial entrepreneur and a respected leader in clinical research and biotechnology. With a foundation in chemical engineering, she has been at the forefront of pioneering ventures in chemistry, biology, and artificial intelligence propelling advancements in next-generation diagnostics. Over the past two decades, Reem has significantly contributed to antibody development for both therapeutics and diagnostics, expertly guiding candidates from the preclinical stages to clinical development. Her combined expertise in chemical engineering and business management enables her to drive innovation and success in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Reem Mahrat's career is defined by influential roles and groundbreaking initiatives. She has served as an advisor at Daybreak Labs, founded, led, and sold RamanID and Calico Bio Labs as CEO. She also co-founded Verano Bioscience and established Precision Biopharma, where she currently serves as Research Lead. Reem is a passionate advocate for precision medicine through the American Association for Precision Medicine. Reem is an active member of the top research, health care, and disease advocacy organizations (AACR, ASCO, SITC, HBA) and chapter leader for together women rise.

As someone living with an autoimmune disease, sharing her experiences is incredibly important to her. By opening up about her journey, she aims to provide support, raise awareness, and inspire others facing similar challenges.

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Nan Su

Co-founder, President and CEO, Aopia Bioscience

Nan has 20 years experience in molecular biology and RUO/IVD technology development. Previously Founder and CEO of Acepix Biosciences and Sr. Director of R&D at Advanced Cell Diagnostics. Aopia Biosciences, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to providing the most revolutionary bioengineering solutions and tools for biomedical research, diagnostics, and therapeutic applications.

PANEL DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT

Yash Vaisnav

Business Development Executive, LLNL

Yash is an experienced business development and technology transfer executive with a proven record of success in licensing, industry alliances, and relationship building with a variety of stakeholders. His licensing experience spans therapeutic, diagnostic, medical device and platform technologies. In-depth knowledge in various therapeutic areas, particularly oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, CNS disorders, and infectious diseases. He most recently had responsibility for the partnership between LLNL and BridgeBio that led to the AI-assisted discovery of a new drug currently undergoing clinical trials.

PANEL DISCUSSION MODERATOR

Paco Cifuentes

VP Commercial Development at General Inception

Paco is a recognized business leader in the genomics field with extensive operational experience in developing cutting-edge technologies and introducing disruptive products into the market.
He began his career as a Postdoctoral Researcher at UCSF and made the switch to the private industry when the genomics technologies and businesses started to develop. He spent his first years in the private sector at Agilent Technologies, where he advanced his career and ultimately brought several genomics products to market. He continued his efforts in the microarrays field and led the DNA microarrays groups at Affymetrix. After that, Paco joined Nanostring where he oversaw the commercialization of several applications and the initiation of the diagnostics instrument and assays. The competition in the DNA sequencing market was at its highest point and Paco joined Thermo Fisher to lead the commercialization of sequencing applications. After the acquisition of Ion Torrent, his team developed and commercialized AmpliSeq, still one of the most successful sequencing products in the market. He stayed at Thermo Fisher leading different business teams until he joined Natera to direct their NIPT and Oncology product management teams. Before joining Genoa Ventures, he worked in the Life Sciences team at LAM Research where he was in charge of the commercial efforts.

Paco has a unique professional background having held several operational, strategic, and business leadership positions combined with strong technical expertise.

Paco earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He has several publications in prestigious journals and has authored several patents in the field of genomics.