Passion to Profit: A Quick-Fire Showcase of Inspired Innovation

Please join us for a showcase of entrepreneurial endeavors that began with a personal passion. Hear the stories of inspired innovation by founders driven to create a business because of the illness of a loved one, an inspiration for change, a new way to meet the needs of their child or community, or a personal challenge.

Itinerary

4:00 p.m.
Doors Open

4:30 p.m.
Welcome
Christy Wyskiel, Senior Advisor to the President, Head of JHTV

4:40 - 5:30 p.m.
Entrepreneur Presentations

Samantha Scott, PhD, Founder and CEO, JuneBrain
Brad Hennessie, CEO, NextStep Robotics
Kim Noonan, PhD, Co-Founder and CSO, WindMIL
Jeff Leek, PhD, Co-Founder, Problem Forward

5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception

Entrepreneur Profiles

JuneBrain
Samantha Scott, PhD, started JuneBrain in 2017 to improve disease monitoring in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating chronic inflammatory disease affecting nearly 1 million people in the United States. Ms. Scott combined her passion for brain research and developing technologies that help brain disease patients.

NextStep Robotics
Dealing with the reality of a grandparent who had had a series of strokes, Brad Hennessie recognized the impact stroke has on the whole family unit. Working with University of Maryland, Baltimore investigators he saw the potential that new technology based therapies could provide and started NextStep Robotics to teach stroke patients how to walk without their assistive devices.

Kim Noonan, PhD, WindMIL WindMIL
WindMIL is harnessing the power of bone marrow derived lymphocytes to develop ground-breaking immunotherapies to treat cancer patients. For co-founder, CSO, and former Johns Hopkins researcher, Kim Noonan, PhD, finding a cure for cancer has been a personal journey that has taken her from bedside to lab to venture capital and clinical trials.

Jeff Leek, Problem Forward Problem Forward
A data science service consulting company, Problem Forward was designed with two goals in mind: (1) to help companies tackle their data needs in a scalable, expert, and resource efficient manner, and (2) to help provide technology employment opportunities for individuals in East Baltimore. The company is founded by Dr. Jeffrey Leek and Jamie McGovern who collectively have more than 25 years of experience in data science, machine learning, and consulting across a range of sectors.