Cythika is a biomedical engineer, entrepreneur, and advocate for innovation across the life sciences. He has built his career around fostering collaboration within the biotechnology, MedTech, HealthTech, and pharmaceutical industries. As the founder of Life Science Entrepreneurs (LSE), he has cultivated a thriving community that brings together founders, investors, researchers, and aspiring entrepreneurs through networking events, educational programs, and strategic partnerships. With a BS in Biomedical Engineering and an MS in Medical Product Development, Cythika is passionate about accelerating innovation, empowering the next generation of life science leaders, and creating meaningful connections that drive lasting impact in healthcare.

Amelia Degenkolb is CEO and Co-founder of Novocuff, a medical device company working to reduce infant morbidities and mortality caused by preterm birth. She has devoted the majority of her career to innovating in maternal and fetal health and is committed to make pregnancy safer for women everywhere. As the first employee and lead engineer at Alydia Health, she was intimately involved in changing the standard of care for postpartum hemorrhage. She holds a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo and an unwavering conviction that women’s health is a space where innovation both can and should be pursued.

Since 2021, Ingrid has served as the executive director of Diversity by Doing (DxD), a healthtech initiative developed by Stanford Biodesign and Fogarty Innovation. At DxD her mission is to lead the endeavor of being a transformational force for diversity through an industry-wide initiative formed to raise awareness of inequity, help individuals take action to create a more just and inclusive environment, and provide programs and resources that support systemic change. She has spent the past 30 years working to help underserved communities succeed in the technology and education industries, and has earned a reputation as a national thought leader and speaker on diversity, equity and inclusion. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Base 11, a nonprofit workforce and entrepreneur development company that helps women and minorities succeed in STEM. Previously, she served as a trustee of the NAACP Foundation Board, and currently serves on the boards of Stanford Biodesign, Project Tomorrow, Hines Family Foundation, New Era Superintendents and Better Days Integrated Programs (Bdips). She holds a bachelors’ in communications from California State University Dominguez Hills.

Casey is a biomedical engineer working at the intersection of engineering, clinical practice, and product development. His experience has centered on early-stage medical device companies, where he has worked across R&D and clinical development roles in ophthalmology and cardiovascular technologies. Casey is passionate about translating real-world clinical needs into innovative solutions that enable personalized approaches to patient care. He earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Richard Jones is an incoming third-year student at UC Irvine, double majoring in political science and international studies on the pre-law track. As secretary of the Black Student Union, Richard plays a key role in facilitating HeartSense’s work in the black community. Driven by a deep commitment to service, he hopes to help establish HeartSense at UCI and expand its impact across Southern California, creating a lasting culture of heart health awareness in underserved communities.

Joanna is an organizational development and leadership development consultant with expertise in learning strategy,
workforce development, and executive coaching. With a background spanning nonprofits, higher education, and government, she specializes in designing engaging learning experiences, leadership programs, and strategic organizational initiatives that drive measurable impact. Joanna is a doctoral candidate for a degree in organizational change & leadership at the University of Southern California. She obtained her master’s in organizational leadership from the University of San Francisco, and her bachelor’s in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Passionate about people growth and development, innovation and strategic solutions, Joanna helps organizations align their development efforts with their strategic goals.

George Nasir is a third-year undergraduate at UC Irvine with a passion for neuroscience research and its translation into clinical therapies. He is especially drawn to studying neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, dedicating his time researching life altering diseases. Currently, George is contributing to HeartSense, working to make a meaningful impact on the community.

Professor Page has been teaching Mathematics at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) since 2012. Page has ventured down a winding road to teaching after completing his K-12 education in Vallejo, CA and going on to complete a Bachelor’s of Arts in Applied Math with a minor in African American Studies at UC Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Page conducted undergraduate research in math on campus, at UC San Diego, Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Labs contributing to scientific articles as well as presenting his work at conferences nationwide. Page completed a Master’s of Science in Applied Math at CSU EastBay where Page began to hone in on his love for teaching young, and not so young adults. At CCSF Page has contributed to the department not only by teaching courses from arithmetic through Calculus including Data Science and Statistics, but also by taking on leadership roles within his department and campus wide. Page expects to continue to help students navigate through the language and culture of Math for many years to come as well as supporting the mindset of STEM students.

Susan is an operator turned advisor. Over a global career spanning brand strategy, marketing, and market development, she became a pioneering leader at Edwards Lifesciences — a tenure that included leading European division marketing from Switzerland through pivotal product launches — with earlier leadership at Thomson Corporation, LexisNexis, and Gateway. That operator’s vantage point led her to launch TrueNorth, a brand strategy firm that helps growth-minded companies know where to focus their time, money, and resources for maximum impact.

Susan advances health access equity and backs the women rising into healthcare’s most consequential roles — diverse leadership she treats as requisite, not optional. A lifelong learner, Susan pairs her MBA with extended study in behavioral economics, the lens that shapes how she reads markets and decisions. Outside the work, she fills her home with the energy of family — five siblings, thirteen nieces and nephews — and feeds her curiosity through travel and art.

Previously, she was a management consultant at McKinsey, leading teams to serve clients across biopharma, diagnostics, global public health and private equity, and also trained clinically in internal medicine at Mount Sinai. Alice holds an MD and MPH from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Harvard Business School.