Participant Booklet

Click to see the participant program booklet for the 4th Annual Health of Women Investor Summit.

2026 Health of Women Investor Summit

Thank you for joining us at the 4th Annual Health of Women Investor Summit.

This is the premier gathering globally for investors actively advancing the health of women from venture capital, private equity, corporate venture, family offices, endowments, foundations and governments.

Agenda Overview

  • Check in with security at NASDAQ. Please bring a valid photo ID and have your QR code from your registration on Luma ready to scan. We recommend arriving at 12:30.

  • Welcome

    NASDAQ Welcome - Alli Hanratty, Senior Managing Director Listings, NASDAQ

    State of the Industry - Jessica Federer, Health of Women Investor Summit Chair, Managing Director The Women’s Health Fund

    Market Opportunity - Lucy Perez, Senior Partner McKinsey, Global Lead McKinsey Health Institute

  • Venture Capital investors are on the front lines of advancing innovation. Hear from world leaders in the VC space about their recent investments in women’s health, and the deals they are looking for in the year ahead.

    Anna Mason, Ingeborg Investments

    Beth Ferreira, Serena Ventures

    Cristina Ghenoiu, Ph.D., Mubadala Capital

    Olivia Capra, Frist Cressey

    Sonal Pai, First Spark Ventures

    Moderator: Julia Pugachevsky, Senior Health Reporter, Business Insider

  • Science Spotlight on Women’s Brains

    Women’s brains are not the same as mens, and we are still learning the extent of the differences. These variations are meaningful for both diagnostics and treatments. Hear from a global trailblazer in the field on the latest insights and what it means for our growing women’s health market.

    Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Program Director, Wellcome Leap, Director, Women’s Brain Initiative & Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Weill Cornell Medicine / NY-Presbyterian, and best selling author of the XX Brain and the Menopause Brain

    Discussion with: Jeremy Abbate, Publisher, Scientific American

  • Market Building in Women’s Health involves investment from a variety of different stakeholders, including corporate venture capital, foundations, academia, and primary investment vehicles. Corporate Venture Capital continues to grow in both impact and influence. Balancing strategic priorities and venture fundamentals, these market makers are simultaneously building both startups and new avenues of opportunity for industry giants. Foundations are directly investing in addition to providing grants. Primary investment vehicles are activating experienced fund managers into the space. And academic groups are empowering evidence based progress across the board.

    Basmah Safdar, MD, Director Women’s Health Research at Yale 

    David Stevensen, Managing Director at Merck Global Health Innovation Fund

    Meghan Vaughn Watters, Head of Labcorp Venture Fund

    Michal Elovitz, MD, CEO Nuttall Women’s Health

    Jessica Federer,The Women’s Health Fund

    Moderator: Kate Zernike NYTimes reporter and author of The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins and the Fight for Women in Science

  • News & Developments

    Dr. Elizabeth Cohn, RN, PhD, FAAN, Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Women’s Health Research Professor of Medicine, City University of New York

    Sabrina Johnson, President & CEO, Dare Biosciences

    Andrea Olariu, MD, PhD, CEO, Medicines360

  • Sharon Kedar, Northpond Ventures

    Stacey Seltzer, Pontiva Healthcare Partners

    The 2026 Health of Women Investor Icon: Allison Mignone

  • Science Spotlight on Endometriosis

    With a similar prevalence to diabetes, the need and the opportunity in this space is significant. Hear from the head of the new lab at Cold Springs Harbor about cutting edge research, what it means for the future for patients with endometriosis, and also what lessons these new discoveries may hold for both cancer and autoimmune disease.

    Dr. Samir Beyaz, Assistant Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 

    Dr. Celine Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA, Physician, epidemiologist, and medical journalist at CBS News, NYU and Bellevue

  • Strategic investments are the backbone of the field. These companies are experts in building markets, launching products, securing market access, evolving guidelines and driving lasting behavior change. Hear what these market leaders are doing in women’s health - from acquiring assets, to large scale clinical trials, to partnering with global foundations, to nation-wide patient support programs.

    Jyoti Gupta, CEO Women’s Health and X-ray, GE 

    Miruna Sasu, Chief Digital Officer, Novartis

    Glenn Gibbons, VP Business Development, Hologic 

    Jill Angelo, VP Women’s Health and Commercial Partnerships, Oura 

    Moderator: Barbara Cheifet,Chief Editor, Nature Biotechnology 

  • What is in store for growing companies in women’s health? What deals are happening and how are they being structured? Hear from the deal makers themselves about the latest exciting developments in women’s health.

    Melanie Bella, Executive Advisor, Cressey and Company

    Jonathan Sockol, Founder and Managing Partner, Moncap 

    Richard Bennet, CEO Epicured

    Sasha Kelemen, Director Investment Banking, Baird 

    Dr. Vrunda Desai, Chief Medical Officer, CooperSurgical

    Katelyn Kimber, Partner, Cooley, Moderator

  • News and Developments

    Dr. Piraye Beim

    Michael Banyas, USPHS, MPA, SBIR/STTR Program Manager

    Jennifer Hawks Bland, CEO New York Bio

  • Thank you to our visionary partners and trail blazing speakers.

  • BrownRudnick warmly invites everyone across the street to their offices for a post-event reception. You will have received an email with a QR code to enter the building, or you can show your ID to security.

    Brown Rudnick – Times Square Tower, 46th Floor, 7 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 (On Broadway between 41st and 42nd Street)

Location

Join us at NASDAQ. Please allow time for security. A valid photo ID is required and only confirmed participants will be admitted.

NASDAQ Entrance:

151 West 43rd Street, NY

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Instagram: @HOWinvestor

    Linkedin: Health of Women Investor Summit

    Hashtag: #HOWinvestor

  • Professional. As it is St. Patrick’s day, your lucky green is welcome.

  • Due to limited capacity, admission is only for confirmed participants. Please bring a photo ID for security.

  • There will be a coffee break with beverages. No meals are being provided.

  • Yes, we will have media in attendance and participating in the program.