Main Stage Talks

How can we imbue the magic of life-saving science with the magic of living?

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In this deeply personal talk, Lindsey Wahlstrom-Edwards shares the lessons she learned as both a clinical research professional and a mother navigating her daughter Rona’s rare disease treatment.

How do we get outside of the garage and into the garden?

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Enrique challenges the way we think about innovation. Instead of a garage or assembly line, he sees it as an organic, interconnected process. Drawing from his work with top institutions, he argues that we’ve misunderstood innovation, getting stuck in myths like the “garage inventor.” For Enrique, innovation isn’t a rigid process, but a living ecosystem.

What is slowing down the usage of AI in Drug Development? Is AI just another hype? Or the key to unlocking drug development potential?

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With AI’s rapid advancements outpacing Moore’s Law, why hasn’t it dramatically improved the efficiency of pharmaceutical innovation? Dr. Fakhouri explores how AI could help us decipher the "language of biology" and streamline drug discovery, while addressing the myths and challenges that regulatory bodies like the FDA must navigate.

How to learn from the past without repeating our mistakes?

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Lisa Moneymaker dives into the evolving role of data and AI in clinical trials, and the need to control for biases and historical underrepresentation in the data that trains AI models. “We can’t just copy and paste.”

How can we go fast AND far in clinical trials to deliver the treatments patients need?

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Data interoperability is critical to clinical trials, ensuring systems and stakeholders work together smoothly. It’s like texting between iOS and Android—without alignment, communication falters. Bill highlights similar challenges in clinical trials, where a lack of standardized protocols leads to delays and fragmented data.

What does it take to turn visionary ideas into sustainable solutions? And what keeps that from happening?

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Despite countless great ideas, many fail to become lasting solutions. Laura explores the pitfalls that keep transformative innovations from reaching their potential. We must embrace risk intelligently, collaborate, and listen deeply to build for a change where we can save more lives through innovation.

What is keeping patients worldwide from accessing life-changing research?

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The answer lies in the translation bottleneck. Outdated localization practices are excluding patients who could benefit most. Jonathan reveals how outdated localization practices impact inclusion and calls for a change. What can we do—as sponsors, tech vendors, and localization teams—to reduce barriers, making trials truly accessible for all?

Why is it important to transform vendors from rescuers to partners?

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Despite the industry's push for patient-centricity, vendor relationships in pharma often stay transactional. Denise shines a light on this and offers three ways to change the dynamic. How can we foster deeper collaboration between vendors and pharma—and why does it matter?

How to use technology to accelerate, not as a set back?

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What is causing this friction between data managers and technology? Julius delves into the complexities of driving innovation within pharmaceutical organizations. Through real-world examples, Julius highlights how misalignment between processes and tools leads to inefficiency and frustration.

Is unseen friction creating uncomfortable blockage?

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Laura delves into the pressing issue of FRICTION in clinical trials—how it builds up unnoticed (...like a certain personal health issue) and blocks progress. Laura shares candid stories and industry data, pointing out key areas where friction slows enrollment and site performance.

How can we build technology that we don’t have to hate?

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Donna Mongiello dives into the necessity of future-proofing patient-facing technology in clinical trials, focusing on user-centric design and adaptability. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, trial software must evolve alongside it.

Professor Zenios of Stanford's Startup Garage took the Innovation Network Gathering to school on how design thinking can benefit human-centric clinical trials

At the Innovation Network Gathering 2023, Brad literally showed what the clinical trial experience is like from the sites’ perspective - how it feels and functions on a day-to-day basis.

Dr. Ghayath Janoudi, co-founder of Loon, explores the audience the bigger story and context driving AI, and how AI can best amplify, not replace, the human experience.

Britt Gottstschalk, founding CEO of Geno.Me, reveals the importance of understanding your value within the clinical landscape by monetizing your health data.

Rohit reminded us at the Innovation Network Gathering 2023 that access to data is what fuels AI and to enable effective problem solving and treatments we need true data sharing.

Mike Wenger of Florence Health Care reminds us how competitive moats for incumbents are blocking innovation in clinical research, and how we can help.

At the Innovation Network Gathering 2023, Dave share some important takeaways on AI and it’s potential impact on the clinical trial industry.

At the Innovation Network Gathering in 2023, Rosie reminded the audience that we need sites more than they need us and how we can honor that relationship with a few common sense innovations.

At the 2023 Innovation Network Gathering, Ryan Brown challenged the audience to consider how lessons from supporting first-time home ownership might be applied to making clinical trials more inclusive and make studies more representative.

Join Aaron Horowitz (CEO and Founder | Empath Labs), Jen Horonjeff (Founder & CEO | Saavy Cooperative), and Shawn Blackburn (Founder of YPrime and President of YPrime Labs) as they discuss how they started their companies and what important lessons they learned along the way.

At the Innovation Network Gathering 2022, Laura challenged the audience to think of all the ways innovation is blocked and what we can do to change that.

In 2022, Nelia took us on an adventure to show how experiences from different perspectives can guides us regarding innovation in the clinical trial industry.

At the 2022 Innovation Network Gathering, Ander focused on the technology piece that some how goes missing when talking about Biotech.

Ian and Dave provided some important insight about using technology to drive consumer engagement and it’s impact.

At the 2022 Innovation Network Gathering, Dr. Kate asked the audience to consider the human element when engaging patients.

Paul encouraged the 2022 Innovation Gathering Network to consider experiences from communities that are often overlooked because of their rural locations.

Lisa encouraged the 2022 Innovation Network Gathering to consider the patients side of clinical trials.