ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub Convened Southeast Health Tech Experts To Share Creative Strategies and Sustainable Solutions for an Innovation Ecosystem

Spoke members, including academic institutions, life sciences companies, nonprofits, and investment firms, gathered in Atlanta last month to share ideas and foster collaboration within the Southeast health innovation ecosystem. The ARPA-H Investor Catalyst Hub welcomed spokes from 11 states in the Southeastern U.S. for a day of health innovation networking and community-building, co-hosted by the Georgia Tech Center for MedTech Excellence.

Investor Catalyst Hub Director Chelsea Schiller networks with event attendees.

The Southeast Regional Spoke Meetup event at Portal Innovations in Atlanta’s Science Square neighborhood, a life sciences district on Georgia Tech’s campus, reflected the gathering’s convergence of industries and expertise.

The Southeast region feels a greater impact of America’s disparity gaps in healthcare for racial and ethnic minorities and rural populations, and health equity and access were recurring themes across the day’s discussions. Residents of southern states like Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana face higher rates of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, and shorter average life expectancy than Americans in other regions.

Keynote speaker Maria Thacker Goethe, president and CEO of Georgia Bio, noted that these disparities result in significant health and financial costs for residents of southern states. She reminded attendees that gaps in healthcare access require multi-stakeholder models built on shared accountability, with organizations from academia, government, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector coming together for reliable research, creative strategies, and sustainable solutions.

Baindu Bayon Paicely and Nakia Melecio in conversation about commercialization in the Southeast. Photo credit: Georgia Tech.

Baindu Bayon Paicely, the Investor Catalyst Hub’s network lead, joined Nakia Melecio, director of the Center for MedTech Excellence at Georgia Tech, in a conversation about the current state of commercialization in Georgia and beyond. Melecio, who supports early-stage life science, drug development, and medical device technologies through the MedTech Center and its Scaleup Lab, advised expanding beyond the “cookie cutter” approach to commercialization.

“You can’t take a drug development company through the same commercialization process as a fintech app—that doesn’t work,” said Melecio, whose novel approach has helped founders secure $20 million in capital investments and led to the creation of more than 200 jobs. “There’s a huge gap between what happens in your lab and what happens in industry. Startups need tailored training to meet that challenge and really understand the science of business.”

In a panel discussion about unlocking the potential of the Southeastern health tech innovation ecosystem, speakers brought their diverse perspectives to answer questions about the challenges to fostering collaboration in the region, how to draw and retain major life sciences companies and health tech talent in the area, and rewriting the story of the Southeast’s unique value among the country’s health tech hubs.

Rebekah Neal, VentureWell, moderates a conversation with panelists Kirk L. Barnes, TransPharMed; Morgan Greenleaf, Emory University; Katie Thompson, Winrock International; and James Lillard, Morehouse School of Medicine.

Panelist Katie Thompson, executive director of the Science Venture Studio at Winrock International, pointed out a recent, encouraging shift toward more cross-functional collaboration. “Federal agencies are starting to say that you have to collaborate and find organizations to work with to access funding,” Thompson said. “Historically, organizations have worked in silos to go after funding, but with agencies like the National Science Foundation and ARPA-H, we have to get outside of our walls and work together to get some of these larger grants.”

The spoke meetup closed with a startup pitch showcase. Eight local startups aligned with ARPA-H’s four research focus areas were given five minutes to pitch their ideas to an expert panel. In their closing reflections, the experts praised the startups’ diversity in teams and the problems they are trying to solve and added their voices to the calls for continued collaboration to break down barriers in the region.

Startup showcase experts Edward Lai, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; and Courtney Law, J.P. Morgan; pose questions to startup presenters.

Cynthia Unuigbe, founder of Sleep & Cradle^®️ Solutions, was one of the IC Hub spoke members in attendance. “It was great to connect with other spoke members, investors, inventors, entrepreneurs, fostering partnerships and other stakeholders in advancing innovative solutions in healthcare,” said Unuigbe. “There are so many passionate individuals dedicated to innovation and collaboration in our region. The energy was palpable, and insights and networking opportunities were truly exceptional.”

Event attendees connect during a networking lunch.

“The organizations here today have a clear vision for the region’s future as an innovation ecosystem and are poised to do the work to make that vision a reality,” said IC Hub Director Chelsea Schiller in her closing remarks. Noting that she heard many of the speakers echo a desire for more credibility for the Southeast region’s health tech ecosystem, she added, “Visibility builds credibility—and convenings like this help make your work in this region more visible, shining a spotlight as well as offering a place to build connections and share resources.”

The Investor Catalyst Hub team looks forward to bringing regional spokes together at future events. Interested in joining a network dedicated to accelerating the development of innovative healthcare solutions? Apply to become a spoke, and explore open ARPA-H opportunities.

Browse a photo gallery from the Southeast Regional Spoke Meetup.