Innovation Center

This presentation will take the audience on a journey from the laboratory bench to the boardroom, offering an insider's view of careers in life science, pharmaceutical research and venture capital. Drawing on her 35-year career which spans research, business development and corporate venture capital investing, Nakada demystifies the world of biotech entrepreneurship. She will explain how venture capital works, what investors look for in a compelling pitch and the many different career paths that can lead to life science venture capital. Attendees will gain practical, actionable advice on how to build a broad skill set, network strategically and cultivate champions. Whether you are a student or early-career professional, this presentation will inspire and equip you to navigate your own career journey in the life sciences.

About Marian Nakada, Ph.D.

Marian Nakada, Ph.D. is a life science veteran and corporate venture investor, with over 30 years of experience translating breakthrough pharmaceutical research to clinics. As a former vice president of Venture Investments at Johnson & Johnson's corporate venture group, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC), she identified and invested in promising life science companies strategically aligned with the goals of Johnson & Johnson. Her career spans the entire spectrum of drug development, from hands-on laboratory science and research leadership to business development and corporate venture capital, giving her a holistic perspective on innovation, strategy and value creation.

During her 12-year tenure at JJDC, Nakada executed more than 30 strategic investments in private life science companies, where she actively served on their boards to guide their progress. Her extensive background in the pharmaceutical sector began at the lab bench at Centocor, where she later transitioned into leadership roles before Centocor was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. She holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor's degree in biology from Harvard University.

With 17 years of experience as a vice president at the National Hockey League (NHL) and a decade working at the intersection of venture investment and startup advising, Soll brings a rare, multidimensional perspective to the business of sports. She has worked at sports technology companies, spanning micro-betting, analytics, virtual reality, biomechanics and smart flooring.

Drawing on her experience with the gender narrative, sports business and emerging technology, she speaks to what it truly takes to build, invest in and scale within the sports ecosystem — offering actionable insight for entrepreneurs, investors and the innovators driving the next chapter of sports.

About Alysse Soll

Alysse Soll is the chief executive officer of Underdog Advisory, the investment and innovation arm of sports and entertainment venture studio Underdog Venture Team . In this role, she leads Underdog’s efforts in sourcing, investing in, advising and accelerating startups across the sports ecosystem.

Soll is a 17-year veteran of the National Hockey League, where she helped launch the San Jose Sharks in 1990. With the NHL, she also pioneered fan acquisition platforms that were adopted by all NHL teams and other North American professional leagues. Prior to her role at Underdog Venture Team, she was the president of NewModel Advisory, a boutique sports innovation consultancy that connects sports technology startups with sports properties across the globe.

Sport Business Journal recognized Soll as one of the 2022 Power Players in sports technology. She is an angel investor, capital fundraiser and certified (Series 7, Series 63) FINRA registered representative. She has also worked in mergers and acquisitions for sports technology startups (pre-seed through Series A). Soll is actively engaged as an adviser, judge and mentor for sports technology startups and innovation accelerators in North America and internationally.
Soll serves on nonprofit boards, is the chair emeritus of Women in Sports Tech (WIST) and is the deal co-chair of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels.

Soll serves on corporate boards – including Healium, a health and wellness tech company, and Zoomph, a sports analytics company.

Soll earned a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Studies from Cornell University and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, Advanced Management Program.

Salzman started her career at GSK, working on medicines that reached millions. Then her family was touched by a rare genetic disease, and the gap between what patients need and what the system rewards became impossible to ignore. That experience pushed Salzman into biotechnology leadership, where she focuses on building therapies for people who are too often overlooked. Today, she is working on muscular dystrophy, which currently has no approved treatment, by leveraging next-generation approaches to precisely control gene expression. In this talk, Salzman will share what it takes to turn patient needs into a development strategy, how to make bold technology choices without losing clinical discipline and why the next wave of breakthroughs depends on who gets to innovate.

About Amber Salzman, Ph.D.

Amber Salzman, Ph.D., is CEO of Epicrispr Biotechnologies, a biotechnology company developing epigenetic therapies. Dr. Salzman brings more than three decades of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including building and scaling multiple therapeutic platforms from early research through late-stage development.

Before joining Epicrispr, Dr. Salzman was President and CEO of Ohana Biosciences and President and CEO of Adverum Biotechnologies, a publicly-traded gene therapy company that Lilly acquired. She also served on the R&D executive team at GSK, where she managed global drug-development operations across multiple therapeutic areas. She oversaw clinical programs enrolling more than 30,000 patients worldwide and managed a team of 1,600 employees. She later served as CEO of Cardiokine, guiding the company through development and its eventual acquisition by Cornerstone Therapeutics.

Salzman currently serves on the boards of Osler Diagnostics and AviadoBio, both companies in the United Kingdom. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College. Salzman also leads the Stop ALD Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing new treatments for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), inspired by her family’s experience with the disease.