Priyanka Kanal, Investor, McKesson Ventures (Moderator)
Priyanka is an investor at McKesson Ventures and focuses on healthcare software and tech-enabled services companies. She is passionate about elevating underrepresented founders across the healthcare ecosystem. Prior to joining McKesson Ventures, she was a Manager at Accenture Strategy advising pharmaceutical companies on drug commercialization, product launch, and digital innovation. Priyanka holds a B.S. in Economics and B.A. in Public Policy Studies from Duke University.

Ian Chiang, Partner, Flare Capital Partners
Ian is a Partner at Flare Capital, where he leads investments in healthcare and technology startups, including Knownwell, Inbound Health, and RightMove, where he serves as a Board member. He also spearheads Flare Scholar Ventures’ investments in early-stage companies. Before Flare, Ian was a Senior Vice President at Cigna, co-founding CareAllies and developing innovative healthcare solutions. He co-founded XcelDx, partnering with Scanwell Health, which was later acquired by BD. With a career starting at McKinsey & Company, Ian holds a BS in Biological Engineering from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard Business School, actively advising and mentoring healthcare startups.

Tomoko Ishikura, Partner, Kicker Ventures
Tomoko is a Managing Partner at Kicker Ventures. She specializes in cross-cultural communications and partnerships, and leads the I/O and Global Fit Programs at Kicker. She mentors global entrepreneurs and is especially skilled at creating impactful connections and providing thoughtful proactive support. Before founding Kicker Ventures, Tomoko served as Business Development Advisor to Nipro, a global medical device company. In the past, she worked for Axios International in France, UNICEF in Rwanda, PwC’s PRTM and Aqumen Biopharmaceutical—a biotech startup in Japan. In addition to her role at Kicker Ventures, Tomoko teaches meditation classes in San Francisco and brings thoughtful and practical approaches back to her work. Tomoko is a pharmacist by training and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Jun Jeon, Principal, Khosla Ventures
Jun Jeon is a Principal on the investment team, focusing on life sciences and healthcare investments. With over a decade of experience in bench and clinical research, Jun has contributed to immuno-oncology, microfluidics, rare diseases, and clinical trials, earning multiple peer-reviewed publications and NIH fellowships. His career includes roles at Oshi Health and Octant Bio in business development, and he co-founded Bio Launch (now Nucleate Philly) while pursuing his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. Jun’s expertise spans from academia to venture capital, where he drives innovation and equity in healthcare through strategic investments and operational leadership.

Michka Sharpe, Senior Associate, BrightEdge
Michka joins the BrightEdge team from Flagship Pioneering, where she helped build transformative companies in health, sustainability, and agriculture. She led R&D teams, developed venture concepts, and served as Interim Director of Discovery, utilizing machine learning to advance RNA tools. Michka earned a Ph.D. in developmental and regenerative biology from Harvard Medical School, studying cardiomyocyte proliferation. Her work has been published in top-tier journals, and she received several prestigious fellowships, including the National Science Foundation grant. Michka also founded a tech venture, raising capital and winning the Manne Prize Innovator’s Award. She holds a B.Sc. in Neuroscience from Emory University and enjoys squash and using game theory to model Formula 1 strategies.

Elia Stupka, Managing Director (Rome/Singapore), Angelini Ventures
Elia is a visionary leader with over 20 years of experience in healthcare, technology, and life sciences. Currently a board member at Genialis, an AI drug discovery company, Elia has held influential roles including Senior Vice President and General Manager at Health Catalyst, where he led the Life Sciences business through its IPO. His extensive background spans academia, industry, and clinical settings, with contributions to the human genome annotation, gene therapy development, and data science at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Elia advises and supports fast-growing biotech and health-tech startups globally, leveraging his deep expertise to drive innovation and transformative solutions in the life sciences.