Krishnan Allampallam is a seasoned marketing and product management leader with over 25 years of experience in the life sciences, diagnostics, and oncology industries. As the founder of Biotech Bridge Media, he specializes in new product development, global marketing strategy, market research, competitor analysis, and digital marketing. He has a proven track record of launching multiple innovative products, including those in next-generation sequencing (NGS) and point-of-care diagnostics, while leading cross-functional teams to achieve business growth. Krishnan holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and Molecular Medicine and an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. His passion lies in bridging the gap between research and commercialization, empowering inventors to translate groundbreaking ideas into impactful market solutions. As an advisor at Georgetown Tech Ventures, he aims to inspire and guide the next generation of entrepreneurs in navigating the complex journey from concept to market success.
Bringing an invention from the lab to the market and witnessing its impact is an exciting journey, and I am thrilled to help Georgetown inventors turn their ideas into transformative ventures.
Ryan Callahan is a Georgetown alum who has held consulting, leadership, and business-building roles across the global life sciences and healthcare sectors. He is currently Head of US for Prova Health, a London-based consultancy that helps healthcare innovators grow through evidence development, market access, and health system partnerships worldwide. Ryan’s entrepreneurial journey began on the Hilltop where he became CEO and President of the Corp, the largest entirely student-run business in the country, while studying Biotechnology and Global Health in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. In prior roles, he was a consultant for McKinsey & Company in their Chicago, London, and New Jersey offices and President of Orthos, a PE-backed digital health company focused on AI enablement of business operations for independent orthopedic providers. Ryan has published on healthtech topics in leading academic journals and has experience engaging with life science and digital health innovators as an advisor and investor across several therapeutic areas including oncology, musculoskeletal, cardiometabolic, and behavioral health. He is an expert in revenue cycle and reimbursement and is passionate about new technologies achieving not only approval and adoption but also viable long-term revenue models to drive future innovation.
Georgetown’s scientific and intellectual achievements have always had an outsized impact on the world, and I am honored to help fellow Hoya innovators build the next generation of businesses that will positively impact human health and wellbeing.
Matt Caspari is a Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures, where he leads the Deep Tech, Georgetown (Potomac Ventures) and UC Berkeley (Strawberry Creek Ventures) funds. He invests in mission-driven founders developing groundbreaking technologies. His investments encompass a diverse range of sectors, including AI, agriculture, aviation, battery technology, biotechnology, cybersecurity, energy generation, longevity, robotics and space. Prior to Alumni Ventures, Matt gained operational experience as a two-time venture-backed founder/CEO and as a leader of the innovation team at Nike. He was the founding CEO of Aurora Biofuels, a deep tech venture that grew to 100+ employees, secured over $100 million in funding and was acquired by Reliance Industries. In earlier roles, Matt served as a strategic management consultant at Cambridge Pharma Consultancy, later acquired by IMS Health, and gained experience on the M&A team at Bloomberg. He holds a BS in Biochemistry from Georgetown University and an MBA with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from UC Berkeley.
I’m excited to leverage my experience as an entrepreneur and investor to help Georgetown bridge the gap between academic research and innovative businesses that can positively impact society.
Matt Caspari
Yair Harel
New Ventures | Technology Commercialization | Business Development | Licensing | M&A
Yair Harel has four decades of experience with new ventures, commercialization of innovative technologies, licensing, business development, project management, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). For the past 20 years, he has focused on facilitating the creation of and providing fundraising and business development support to, over 100 startups based on academic inventions across diverse fields, including life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. Yair enjoys the intellectual and operational challenges involved in the process of creating and building new companies that aim to translate scientific and technological innovations into products and services for the benefit of individuals and society.
“Startups are like babies, fun to conceive but hell to deliver.” The above quote is not mine, but it accurately describes the reality of creating and building most startups. My goal/role in working with new startups is to make this process focused, methodical, effective, and even enjoyable.
Yair Harel
Reid Lewis
Technology Product Leader | Entrepreneur | Community Builder
Reid Lewis helps people accomplish their goals and works as part of teams that change the world by creating new software, hardware, and online communities. He advises, invests, and works as a contract executive in early-stage companies with TRL Growth Advisors and Yabusame Partners, LLC. At James Madison Innovations, he works as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), helping to commercialize research with the support of VIPC. At Trinity College Entrepreneurship Center, he works as an EIR helping students learn through experience how to build and test innovations and commercialize those through entrepreneurial ventures. Before this, he worked as Chief of Product to build fundraising tools at FrontStream and a new mobile expense app at Mastercard. He also worked as a contract product management executive for startup Thermohalt to improve lithium-ion batteries which power renewable energy. Lewis worked with startups Transplant Logistics, tracking organ delivery with IoT, and Heuresy, in hardware wallets to secure cryptocurrency credentials. Reid co-founded and helped lead Proxidyne, where they created IoT solutions, and GroupLogic, where they created software solutions including activEcho, mobilEcho, ExtremeZ-IP file server solution and the MassTransit file transfer solution. Reid helps entrepreneurs as a Mindshare alum, a co-founder of DukeGEN, a community for Duke entrepreneurs, DukeJournos, a community for Duke journalists, mentor for Duke I&E, and with Maryland’s TEDCO. To help everyone easily make introductions and give referrals, he created Induco app for iPhone. During long trips by car, train or plane, and on bike rides and runs, he reads or listens to audio books and podcasts including The Full Ratchet, Projectified, TheLongNow and Main Engine Cutoff. He can be found on Mastodon or Twitter and LinkedIn or contacted via email at reid@reidlewis.com .
I help innovators invent the future and make money for their investors.
Reid Lewis
Jim Lindsay
Healthcare Executive | Consultant | Professor | Board Member
An experienced executive, Jim has worked in home health, consulting, and business operations for over 30 years. As Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Jim teaches marketing, finance, and business development at the Master’s Degree level. As a consultant and board member of several organizations, Jim’s portfolio of consulting engagements range from start-ups to small/medium established companies across a large swath of industries and sectors. Jim has experience in finance, management, acquisitions, marketing, and sales. Jim leads three companies which, together, are executing first a national expansion followed by an international expansion. Working in start-up and acquisition modes, Jim has broad experience in all aspects of home care as well as operations, marketing, and recruiting. Jim has attained the ‘Black Belt’ certification in Lean Six Sigma from the Defense Department and IBM and certificate in ‘Leadership in Disruptive Times’ from Seton Hall University. Jim was selected by Industry Tech Outlook (ITO) magazine (300,300 subscribers) as one of the “Inspirational Leaders of 2024.” Jim was knighted in 2008 into the Sovereign Order of Saint John Hospitalis and he travels between the offices of his company about 120 days a year.
I am eager to advise Georgetown entrepreneurs to rise up from the idea phase to an on-going business, moving through the different levels of start-ups until you see your idea come into a profitable company!
Tom currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer for Big Idea Ventures (“BIV”), a New York and Singapore-based venture capital firm. BIV currently operates the New Protein Fund family of funds that makes seed stage investments in alternative protein companies and Generation Food Rural Partners which partners with US universities to commercialize intellectual property in the areas of food, protein and agriculture. He serves as a director of TerraSafe Materials, BioBond Adhesives, DisSolves, BioCloak, and Bayou Best Foods. Prior to joining BIV, Tom was a Founding Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Tyson Foods. While at Tyson, Tom led investments in Beyond Meat, Clear Labs, FoodLogiQ, Future Meat Technologies, Memphis Meats, MycoTechnology, New Wave Foods, Tovala, and BIV’s New Protein Fund. Prior to Tyson Foods, Tom held senior leadership positions at several New York-based private equity funds, including Advance Venture Partners, RedBird Capital Partners, and Palladium Equity Partners. Tom has over 20 years of experience in alternative asset management and finance. Tom began his career in public accounting and received a BS in Accountancy from Villanova University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (NY-inactive) and holds the Chartered Global Management Accountant designation from the AICPA. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and their four children.
When asked to join as an Advisor for Georgetown’s Tech Ventures Program, I was honored to accept the invitation. Collaborating with university faculty is a personal and professional passion of mine and my hope is this program serves as a model for other universities that want to harness the intellectual capital within their halls.
Tom Mastrobuoni
Lydia McClure
Innovation Advocate | CEO | Technology Commercialization Expert
Lydia McClure is an advocate for academic inventors, scientist, investor, and policy advisor. She leads Research Bridge Partners (RBP) as CEO, working with promising innovators at midcontinent universities to help translate their innovations into the real economy. Prior to RBP, Lydia was with NSF leading the NSF I-Corps program focused on training technologists to identify market opportunities for technology-based innovations and as an expert for the SBIR/STTR. She earned a B.A. with a concentration in Biochemistry from Carleton College and Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Scientific co-founders deserve an unbiased resource for the many large (and small) decisions that need to be made as new ventures are built.
Lydia McClure
Ronak Savla
Director | Global Scientific Affairs Manager | Investor | Board Member
Ronak Savla is current serves as Director, Strategic Ventures at Catalent Pharma Solutions. In his role, Ronak is responsible for expanding and nurturing the company’s strategic partnerships with life science venture capital firms, biotechnology incubators, consulting firms, and academic technology transfer offices. Ronak manages Catalent’s fund-of-funds representing the company’s strategic limited partnership (LP) positions with leading life science and biotechnology VC firms. Previously, Ronak led the Medical Affairs and New Product Planning at Innate Pharma, a biotechnology company harnessing the innate immune to develop novel therapeutics. Ronak supported the commercial launch of a novel agent for a rare leukemia and was responsible for all aspects of Medical Affairs including medical information, medical education, medical science liaisons, investigator-sponsored clinical trials, Phase 4 post-marketing safety study, and KOL engagement. Ronak built the New Product Planning function at Innate Pharma to drive better informed business decisions regarding asset prioritization and indication selection. Outside of his professional role, Ronak is an Angel Investor with the HealthTech Capital group focused on funding and mentoring startups in the health technology and digital health spaces and has invested in multiple Series A rounds. Ronak serves on the board or an advisor to university spinouts. Ronak is a scientific reviewer for the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Ronak is an Adjunct Associate Professor within the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Rutgers University. Ronak has a Pharm.D. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University and a M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School.
I look forward to bringing my experience and network to support the researchers and start-ups in advancing these technologies and making a positive impact on patients.
Ronak Savla
Barbara White
Founder | Entrepreneur in Residence | Investor | Board Member
Barbara White is a recognized strategist, entrepreneur, consultant, and operator whose experience ranges from Fortune 500 companies to U.S. Federal Agencies to start-ups. For 30 years, she has dedicated her work to helping companies, leaders, and their teams translate theoretical and strategic ideas into actionable, integrated, and effective solutions to achieve their goals and move their missions forward. Prior to founding The Avoka Group, she spent 12 years with Accenture focused on technology strategy before joining a Washington-based start-up firm. As Chief Strategy Officer of Arc Aspicio, she was responsible for planning and delivering the firm’s multi-year strategy that helped grow it into a profitable and sustainable organization winning awards for rapid growth, innovation, and a strong company culture. As a Board Member and Investor, she focuses her resources on supporting women and under-resourced founders, including as a Board Member with Citrine Angels, a women-investing-in-women angel group in the DC Metro Area, and as an Advisor for The 2nd Bloom Angel Network, focused on funding experienced entrepreneurs launching businesses later in their career. She is a frequent speaker on topics including leadership, entrepreneurism, strategy, and organizational culture. She is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University and in 2019 was selected by both Johns Hopkins and Georgetown University as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence. She is also an Adjunct Professor at The Johns Hopkins University teaching classes in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital.
Getting innovations into the hands of the people who really need them can be a long and challenging journey, and none of us can do it alone. If I can pair my talents with the talents of others to make this a reality, we can all win.
