2026 Annual Conference - Program
Sept. 24, 2026 | Portland | OMSI
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Thursday, September 24, 2026, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at OMSI in Portland.
Check-in opens at 8:15 AM. More updates coming soon!
Agenda at a Glance
| 8:15 AM | Check-in and registration Empirical Theater Foyer |
| 9:00 AM | Welcome and opening remarks Empirical Theater |
| 9:10 AM | Keynote by Dr. Shereef Elnahal Empirical Theater
OHSU's president on the opportunities and challenges ahead for Oregon's health innovation ecosystem, drawing on his experience leading the nation's largest integrated health system at the VA. |
| 9:40 AM | NSCEB Session: Joint with the Oregon Life Sciences Competitiveness Task Force Auditorium
National biotech competitiveness: where the U.S. actually stands, and what that means for Oregon specifically. |
| 10:30 AM | Connecting the Dots: From Discovery to Deals Empirical Theater
The deal-making ecosystem: tech transfer officers, entrepreneurs, investors, and pharma partners in one room on how discoveries become deals. |
| 11:15 AM | Keynote by Rob Shick Empirical Theater
From patient to champion: a cancer survivor who went on to chair the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Council for 15 years, on the research that saved his life and the progress he has helped fund. |
| 11:45 AM | Lunch and OMSI exhibit tour Courtyard |
| 1:00 PM | From Lab to Market: How UO's VivoTex Is Rewriting the Rules of Tissue Engineering Auditorium
What it takes to move a university breakthrough into commercial hands, and who has to show up to make it happen. |
| 1:45 PM | Oregon Bio Women fireside chat Auditorium
A woman leading in biotech on the decisions that shaped her career, hosted by Shula Jaron, Chair of the Oregon Bio Women's Committee. |
| 2:45 PM | AI panel Auditorium
AI in life sciences: where the technology is delivering, and where it still isn't. |
| 3:30 PM | Innovation Showcase Winners: Beyond the Pitch Auditorium
Updates from past Innovation Showcase winners on where their companies and research stand today. |
| 4:00 PM | Bioscience Excellence Awards Auditorium
Recognizing the people and organizations moving Oregon life sciences forward this year. |
| 4:30 PM | Reception Theory
Close the day over drinks and bites in Theory, with waterfront views of the Portland skyline, and keep the conversations going with the people you met throughout the program. |
Schedule subject to change.