Life Science Innovation Northwest 2026

Dr. Milad Alucozai, recognised by Business Insider as “one of the top 100 early-stage investors”, is a neuroscientist, founder, and active investor dedicated to translating exceptional science and technology into scalable commercial ventures. He currently serves as a Co-founder and General Partner at Pamir Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that invests in technical pioneers developing B2B companies utilising AI in antiquated industries. He is also a co-founder of Revalia Bio, a leading AI company enabling “Human Data Trials” to accelerate drug development with real human data before the first clinical trial begins. Throughout his operating and investing career, Milad has played a crucial role in helping founders secure hundreds of millions in capital and facilitating billions in startup-pharma partnerships.

Nick Brown is Washington State’s 19^th Attorney General. A graduate of Harvard Law and a former Army JAG lawyer and Bronze Star recipient, Nick served as lead counsel for Governor Jay Inslee and then as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington under President Biden. As the state’s chief legal and law enforcement officer, Nick is committed to protecting public safety, advancing environmental and worker protections, standing up for civil rights, and holding the powerful to account when they violate our laws and harm the people of our state.

As President & CEO of Life Science Washington (LSW), Marc sets the strategic direction, guides policy priorities, and directs business operations to ensure our members have the talent, investment, and partnerships needed to sustain the industry’s robust growth and solidify Washington state’s reputation as one of the top life science clusters in the nation. Marc also serves as the Chair of the Life Science Washington Institute, which is an affiliated non-profit focused on supporting life science entrepreneurs and growing start-up companies in Washington.

Before taking the helm as President & CEO, Marc served as Vice President, Public Policy & External Affairs for LSW. Prior to joining Life Science Washington, he served as Director of Policy & External Affairs for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where he was actively involved in creating and advocating for several statewide bioscience initiatives including the Life Sciences Discovery Fund. He was also deeply involved in a range of PNNL’s philanthropic science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education partnerships and science education initiatives. Prior to moving to Washington state, Marc held a variety of policy and consulting positions in Washington, D.C.

Allison Gaw is a Principal at Amplitude, having joined after helping to grow, mature, and set up multiple biotech startups for exit. An experienced life science and drug development business professional with 20 years of experience managing strategy at the interface of science and business, Allison supports Amplitude’s funds in driving investments in precision medicine technologies from Canada and the US and advising strategic planning and business development for portfolio companies.

Allison’s previous roles include VP of Business Development at Chinook Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis) and Senior Director of Business Development, IP, and Corporate Strategy at Sierra Oncology (acquired by GSK). Allison was also a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and LEK Consulting. She holds a BS and an MS in biological sciences from Stanford University, and an MBA in health care management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

Dr. M. Ragan Hart is the senior associate for strategic investments at Washington Research Foundation, where she leverages over a decade of experience in health economics, diagnostics, artificial intelligence and tech-enabled services to guide WRF’s venture investments in Washington-based startups. Prior to joining WRF, Dr. Hart was a senior associate at MultiCare Capital Partners, leading investments in healthtech and AI-driven healthcare solutions.

Dr. Hart co-founded MDisrupt, a platform connecting life-sciences experts with companies to accelerate healthcare product development, and previously co-led venture creation efforts at F-Prime Capital focused on health data sciences.

Dr. Hart holds a Ph.D. in public health genetics with a concentration in health economics from the University of Washington and completed  postdoctoral research in biomedical data science at Stanford University. She earned a master’s in genetic epidemiology and a certificate in biomedical regulatory affairs from the University of Washington following a bachelor’s in exercise science from Auburn University.

In addition to her role with WRF, Dr. Hart is a member of the board of directors for OUTbio Seattle and serves as a scholarship and community grants application reviewer for Pride Foundation in Seattle.

Andrew Hickl is the Chief Technology Officer of the Allen Institute, where he leads efforts to integrate cutting-edge computational techniques into bioscience research. Prior to joining the Allen Institute, he was Managing Director at Accenture, serving as Global Chief Innovation Officer and Data Science Lead for North America. His leadership roles in AI extend to Microsoft, Intel, Rewired Ventures, and Vulcan Inc., where he acted as Executive Technical Advisor to Paul G. Allen and was part of the founding team of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Jeff Holder, PhD, is a Managing Director and Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s Life Sciences practice, based in San Francisco. He advises biopharma, life science tools and pharma services companies on growth strategy, innovation, portfolio planning, and organization & performance with a particular focus on advanced therapeutic modalities including cell and gene therapies.

Jeff brings deep expertise across the discovery, development, and manufacturing value chain, helping organizations navigate the scientific, operational and commercial complexities required to scale breakthrough therapies. He has extensive experience supporting strategic transactions and business development initiatives across the life science tools and pharma services sectors. Jeff joined L.E.K. in 2016. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, a BA in chemistry from Harvard University and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, MD, MS, is the Global Chief Science and Technology Officer of GE HealthCare and an acclaimed innovator at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Merging his background in interventional cardiology with AI and machine learning, he is driving advancements in AI-based medical imaging, diagnostics, and health system operational efficiency at GE HealthCare. In this role, he is also responsible for prioritizing the company’s research and development efforts. From 2023–2025, he was the inaugural Chair of AdvaMed’s Digital Health Tech Division Board.

Dr. Kil is the Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer of Sound Pharma and has led their hearing loss and tinnitus R&D since its inception in 2002. He has served on the Board of Trustees at Harborview Medical Center/University of Washington since 2014, and the Board of Trustees for the Woodland Park Zoo since 2022. In addition, Jonathan has served on the Boards of several independent K-12 schools in Seattle. He is an advisor to the DoD Hearing Center of Excellence, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. 

Andrew Lam is the Managing Director, Head of Biotech Private Equity at Ally Bridge Group (ABG), a global healthcare investment firm focused on high-impact life science innovation. Andrew oversees the firm's private investments strategy in therapeutics. His investments include Alumis, CG Oncology, Endeavor BioMedicines, Epicrispr Biotechnologies, ProfoundBio (acquired by Genmab in 2024 for $1.8bn), RayzeBio (acquired by BMS in 2023 for $4.1bn), Solve Therapeutics, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, and Whitehawk Therapeutics. He is a Director on the boards of Endeavor BioMedicines, Epicrispr Biotechnology, and previously of ProfoundBio.

Andrew is a clinical pharmacist by training with over 20 years of therapeutics-focused professional experience spanning late-stage venture/crossover investing, investment banking, equity research, and operating roles within the industry. He received his PharmD from Long Island University and his MBA from Drexel University.

Alice serves as a Principal on Alexandria’s Venture Investments and Science & Tech teams where she engages the company’s investment and tenant portfolios based in the Pacific Northwest, respectively. Additionally, as the Head of Alexandria LaunchLabs – Seattle, Alice collaborates with entrepreneurs and supports early-stage companies in the Seattle region. Ultimately, these roles contribute to Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ efforts in fueling the growth and development of each of Alexandria’s regional life science innovation clusters located around the United States.

Kelly is a VP at Curie.Bio where she works alongside founders to advance the development of innovative therapeutics companies. She has a mix of operational and investing experience. Previously, at Third Rock Ventures, Kelly was involved in the formation and launch of multiple companies in the immunology space, including Celsius Therapeutics, Abata Therapeutics, and Asher Biotherapeutics. After the launch of Asher, she joined full time and operated for 4 years as Program Team Lead for AB248, the first CD8 cis-targeted IL-2 to enter clinical development, leading the project from initiation through 18 months of clinical development. Her scientific background is in immunology, and she holds a Ph.D. from MIT, where she trained with Darrell Irvine and Dane Wittrup.

Bobby Patrick, VI is Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at AdvaMed, the MedTech Association. He leads AdvaMed’s state affairs work and partnerships with external stakeholders, including state biotech trade associations and patient advocacy groups. Previously, Bobby served as the vice president of strategic growth and policy at the Medical Alley Association, a Minnesota-based state healthcare trade association, where he led the state and federal advocacy efforts, as well as membership growth and retention.

Kevin Reilly joined Ally Bridge Group in 2021 and is a Managing Director, Head of Medtech, for the private equity strategy, focused on transactions across healthcare subsectors. Before joining Ally Bridge Group, Kevin was a Principal at CRG, a healthcare investment management firm providing growth capital to companies through the form of long-term debt and equity. Kevin began his career in the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at Stifel. Kevin holds a B.S. in Finance and Information Systems from the University of Maryland.

Kate Rochlin, PhD, serves as President and Chief Operating Officer, bringing more than 15 years of leadership experience across early-stage biotechnology, company building, and strategic operations. Since joining the company in 2020, she has played a central role in shaping corporate strategy, strengthening operational execution, advancing intellectual property strategy, and building high-performing cross-functional teams. She was appointed Chief Operating Officer in December 2021 and elevated to President in recognition of her broad leadership impact.

Prior to joining, Dr. Rochlin held senior leadership roles at Curadigm, a Cambridge, MA–based biotechnology company spun out of Nanobiotix, where she most recently served as Chief Business Officer. There, she helped lead the company’s spin-out and built strategic collaborations around a novel platform designed to enhance therapeutic bioavailability. Dr. Rochlin has been recognized for her leadership and impact in biotechnology, including being named one of Crain’s New York Business’ Top Women in Tech.

As Head of Discovery and Preclinical Research, Karen guides BioCentury’s coverage of emerging biology and technologies. She has written extensively about immunology, synthetic biology, and data science, covering innovative breakthroughs in industry and academia, and dissecting trends in company formation and investments around new science. She oversees BioCentury's Distillery feature, and coordinates activities and interactions with BioCentury’s Scientific Advisory Board. She is a frequent guest on the BioCentury This Week, guiding the podcast’s monthly “What’s on Tap in the Distillery” feature.

Karen joined BioCentury in 2015 after a postdoctoral research fellowship in Stanford University’s Department of Chemical and Systems Biology. She holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from Weill Cornell Medicine and a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California Berkeley. Outside of BioCentury, she is passionate about youth leadership development and land use policy.