Leading Women: Biotech and Beyond

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Date/Time
Date(s) - 13 Oct 2025
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Location
850 PBC


Join us to kick off Arizona Bioscience Week in style!

Leading Women: Biotech and Beyond

Join us for cocktails connections and stimulating conversation with some of biotech’s leading women.     

Date:  Monday, October 13, 2025

Time:  5:30PM – 7:30 PM

Location: 850 PBC 

850 N 5th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85004

Agenda:  

5:30 – Cocktails

6:30 – Leading Women Panel 

7:30  – Event Concludes 

Tickets

Registration is complimentary for AZBio Members, Elected Leaders, and credentialed Media.

Non Members:  $50

To check if your company is an AZBio Member, click here.

Register

Register Early – This event fills up fast!

Speakers

Sarah “Holly” Hollingsworth Lisanby, MD, DLFAPA
Founding Dean and Foundation Professor with Tenure
School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering
Arizona State University

Sarah Hollingsworth “Holly” Lisanby, MD, DLFAPA, an internationally renowned innovator of neuromodulation technologies, has a track record of visionary senior leadership in academic medicine and federal government.  She is the Founding Dean and Foundation Professor of the Arizona State University (ASU) School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering and Professor Emeritus at the Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.  Prior to her current role at ASU, Dr. Lisanby served as the Founding Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Division of Translational Research which funds a portfolio of research directed towards the discovery of preventions, treatments, and cures for mental illness across the lifespan.   Learn More

 

Noreen Scheu, MBA (Panel Moderator)

With 25 years in pharmaceuticals and combination products, this mentor has expertise in corporate strategy, competitive intelligence, and market analysis. Their experience includes roles at Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC, and supporting gene therapy startups. A dedicated advocate for Arizona’s startup ecosystem, they volunteer with Tech Launch Arizona and Venture Café Phoenix.

 

 

Sowmya Arunkumar
SVP, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance
CND Life Sciences, Inc. 

Sowmya Arunkumar joined CND Life Sciences as SVP, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance in early 2025, bringing over 20 years of experience in diagnostics, medical devices, and digital health. Prior to this role, she served as Vice President at Tandem Diabetes Inc. in San Diego and spent 17 years at Cepheid, a Danaher company, where she built a global regulatory team and played a key role in registering diagnostic products worldwide. Sowmya has a proven track record of securing global approvals and developing compliant quality and regulatory strategies to expedite time to market. She holds a Master’s degree in Microbiology and has completed the Executive Development Program at the Kellogg School of Management. Sowmya Arunkumar is passionate about team building and organizational structure, striving to help businesses achieve their full potential.

Mia Chorney, DNP, FNPBC, MSCP

Dr. Mia Chorney is a distinguished leader in the field of Genetics, Cardiology & Women’s Hormone Health, blending thirty years of comprehensive healthcare experience with an impressive depth of knowledge in cardiovascular care, genetics, menopause, functional medicine and artificial intelligence (AI); further, leading to a passion for precision medicine and women’s health. Her strategic vision and problem-solving acumen have crystallized in her role as Co-founder, & Chief Medical Officer of The Pause™ Technologies, where she spearheads innovations in AI to tackle the challenges of perimenopause and menopause, and as a driving force behind equity and data in Women’s Health. 

Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD
Professor
Director, Women’s Health Research Program
Department of Basic Medical Sciences
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix
 
Dr.  Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz is the 2025 Arizona Bioscience Researcher of the Year. Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz, director of the Women’s Health Microbiome Initiative at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, has a long-standing interest in women’s health. Her lab is focused on understanding the microbiome and host-microbe interactions in the female reproductive tract as it relates to gynecologic and oncologic health outcomes. Additionally, she works to provide diagnostics for women in underserved populations, including through the Native American Cancer Prevention Program.She has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and foundations, including the Flinn Foundation, the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation and most recently the Mary Kay Foundation, to study cervical and endometrial cancer. Herbst-Kralovetz utilizes clinical and preclinical models and an innovative 3-D bioreactor system to study human epithelial and innate immune responses to pathogens. In addition, she has recently moved into other -omics technologies, including immunoproteomics and metabolomics.

Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz has a long-standing interest in enhancing women’s health outcomes through translational research and is creating an at-home gynecologic testing system for early detection of gynecologic conditions such as endometrial cancer, endometriosis and adenomyosis. The test pairs non-invasive sampling techniques with advanced biomarker analysis developed through Herbst-Kralovetz’s research.

 

Sponsorships are available.  For more information, contact AZBio.

Thank You Sponsors!