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.

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.

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. 

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.