Bench, Bedside & Breakthrough: Health Tech Innova from SV to DC

• Insight into how unmet clinical needs translate into health tech innovation
• Practical pathways from concept to product development and regulatory readiness
• Perspectives on data governance, safety, and compliance in AI-driven healthcare
• Strategies for commercialization, revenue models, and venture investment
• Opportunities to engage with leaders shaping the future of clinician-led innovation

• Healthcare clinicians and frontline providers
• AI and health tech researchers, developers, and innovators
• Startups, investors, and industry leaders
• Government and federal stakeholders
• Community organizations and healthcare advocates

This event is designed for those committed to advancing clinician-driven, real-world AI solutions that improve patient care and health system outcomes.

Bench, Bedside & Breakthrough

Health Tech Innovation from Silicon Valley to BioHealth Capital Region

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 · 9:00 AM – 7:30 PM · MedStar-Georgetown AI CoLab

2115 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC

A one-day symposium where domain-expert founders, clinicians, scientists, and investors map the journey from insight to impact.

VISION → NEED → BUILD & APPROVE → FUND → LOCALIZE → LEAD

8:30 AM | Registration & Badge Pickup

Conference center entrance, 1st floor. Badge pickup remains open until 3:30 PM.

9:30 AM | Coffee & Networking

10:00 AM | Opening & Welcome Remarks

• Nawar Shara · Director, AI CoLab, MedStar Health (Event Chair)

10:15 AM | OPENING KEYNOTE · Vision

“The Domain-Expert Founder as Architect: From Insight to Regulatory-Ready Product”

Sets the North Star for the day. The speaker traces the full arc from insight to artifact, showing how domain-expert founders (clinicians and scientists) translate frontline or laboratory insight into products designed from day one for clinical, regulatory, and operational success.

Speaker

• Therese Canares · CEO, CurieDx

11:15 AM | PANEL 1 · Need

“From Bench and Bedside to Breakthrough: Identifying Unmet Needs as the Foundation for Health Tech Innovation”

Clinicians, biomedical scientists, and informaticians on how the most durable health tech products begin with rigorous problem definition, not technology in search of a use case.

Panelists

• Julia Finkel · Children’s National Hospital

• George Tetz · Second Life Group

• Lori Irvin · Uncommon Cures

• Senan Ebrahim · Delfina

• April Zambelli-Weiner · Johns Hopkins University

Moderator: Ahmad Saleh · Sufra

12:00 PM | Lunch & Networking

Catering on-site. Open networking across all attendee groups.

1:00 PM | PANEL 2 · Build & Approve

“Navigating the Pipeline: Regulation, Evidence Generation & Public-Private Pathways to Market”

Former federal regulators, public-health-security leaders, and a regulatory strategist on FDA pathways for software and AI/ML devices, ONC interoperability, and BARDA-supported pathways for medical countermeasures and rapid-response health tech.

Panelists

• Judy Costello · Montgomery County Executive Office

• Tammi Thomas · TEDCO

Moderator: Daniela Drago · NDA Partners

2:00 PM | FIRESIDE / KEYNOTE · Fund

“Capital, Founders & Commercialization: The Investor Perspective on Founder-Led Health Tech Startups”

An investor’s-eye view of founder-led health tech: what investors look for in a domain-expert founder, how to value pre-revenue companies in regulated markets, and how to structure a startup so technical and clinical risks are de-risked in the right sequence.

Guest

• Katherine Hill Ritchie · TEDCO

Moderator: Kolaleh Eskandanian · MedStar Health

2:45 PM | Coffee Break

3:00 PM | PANEL 3 · Localize

“Building Here: The DC / Maryland / Virginia Health Innovation Ecosystem”

Local CEOs join Georgetown’s tech commercialization lead to map the assets actually available to founders in our region: NIH and FDA proximity, BARDA, university IP and licensing, county-level incentives, talent pipelines, and capital sources.

Panelists

• Patrick Cheng · eKare

• John Sanvo · Wearable Dose

• Therese Canares · CurieDx

• Tatiana Litvin-Vechnyak · Georgetown University

Moderator: Kolaleh Eskandanian · MedStar Health

4:00 PM | CLOSING KEYNOTE · Lead

“The Future of Founder-Led Health Tech: Policy, Equity & Responsible Innovation”

The day closes by zooming back out. What kind of healthcare system should founder-led innovation be building toward? Topics include health equity and access, responsible deployment of AI in clinical settings, and the policy environment shaping the next decade.

Speakers

• Vasum Peiris · Former FDA CMO for Pediatrics and Special Populations

Moderator: Heather Colvin · Johnson & Johnson MedTech

4:45 PM | Closing Remarks

5:00 – 6:30 PM | Reception

Networking across clinicians, founders, investors, and DMV ecosystem leaders.

PRESENTED BY

Georgetown University · MedStar Health · AI CoLab · Sufra Health

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