Ryan Westberry is a healthcare innovation executive, venture builder, and commercialization strategist with more than 25 years of experience transforming breakthrough science into high-growth companies and sustainable innovation ecosystems. His career spans biotechnology, digital health, diagnostics, therapeutics, venture capital, and academic innovation, where he has consistently bridged the gap between research, entrepreneurship, and market adoption.
Ryan has led the commercialization of numerous life science technologies, launched venture-backed companies, secured significant public and private investment, and developed strategic partnerships that connect universities, healthcare systems, industry, investors, and government. At the University of Texas Medical Branch, he designed and implemented an enterprise commercialization platform that translated institutional research into scalable ventures, helped launch eleven startup companies, co-developed the commercialization strategy for a large intellectual property portfolio, and helped build a statewide virtual health network.
As Founder and Managing Partner of Resaca Ventures, Ryan advises and invests in emerging healthcare and technology companies while helping founders navigate commercialization, fundraising, operations, and growth. He has also served as Chief Operating Officer for multiple venture-backed biotechnology companies, leading enterprise strategy, regulatory planning, capital formation, and commercialization initiatives across oncology, diagnostics, and advanced biomedical technologies.
A recognized ecosystem builder, Ryan is passionate about creating collaborative environments where researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, clinicians, and community partners accelerate innovation together. His work is driven by the belief that successful innovation requires not only exceptional technologies, but also strong networks, strategic leadership, and entrepreneurial cultures that enable transformative ideas to improve human health and economic development.

Dr. Lauren Richardson is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Chief Scientific Officer of Gravitas Women’s Health and KaRMa Exotechnologies. Her research focuses on developing advanced microphysiological systems to model human reproduction and pregnancy. She engineers physiologically relevant fetal–maternal interface platforms using primary human cells and tissue-derived matrices, overcoming key limitations of traditional in vitro and animal models. Through these systems, she investigates cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions, mechanisms of immune tolerance, and pathways leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Dr. Richardson is a part of a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary team that integrate reproductive biology, bioengineering, immunology, and pharmacology. There work supports studies of preterm birth, evaluation of environmental toxicants, and discovery and screening of therapeutics. Across academia and industry, she drives translation of organ-on-chip technologies to improve women’s health outcomes and advances regulatory science by promoting adoption of human-relevant models for safer, more effective interventions worldwide.

Speakers 2026

Innovative Models:

What Accelerates Research to Commercialization?