Innovation & Investment in Women's Health

Building on the momentum around Women’s Health, Rising Tide in Women’s Health (ecosystem builders Rekha Paleyanda, Tatiana Demidova-Rice and Lauren Laidlaw) will host venture capital investors and pharma champions presenting a “reverse pitch” of their areas of interest in Women’s Health. Among other insights, they will discuss their investment strategy, what makes an opportunity investable or partnerable, business models and potential exits in this space.
This event series convenes innovators, pharma experts and investors to discuss the evolving landscape, emerging opportunities to close the gap and to foster connections between startups and potential partners. Please join us to build the local WH community and shape the future of healthcare for women.

Don't miss out on part-2 of this mini series on September 22nd! Building on the momentum around women’s health, "Rising Tide in Women’s Health," invites you to join us for an energizing evening where early-stage companies will showcase breakthroughs in endometriosis, PMOS (formerly PCOS), and osteoporosis—conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. Our expert panel from pharma and venture capital will provide valuable feedback and share insights. Learn more here!

Rekha Paleyanda, Ph.D. is Managing Partner, Rising Tide Strategies, an advisory firm working with innovative early-stage companies on value creation, strategic partnerships and raising capital. Previously she was VP, Business Development at Molecular Partners, a clinical-stage Swiss oncology biotech and Director of Oncology BD at Takeda Pharmaceuticals focused on biologic assets. As a founding Director of Servier BioInnovation, she established the external innovation engine to expand Servier group’s global presence to the US and led business development focused on discovery through clinical proof of concept. Previously, she directed the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Massachusetts and oversaw a diverse innovative portfolio at Mass General Brigham as Senior Business Strategy & Licensing Manager. As an entrepreneur, she co-founded a startup AI Biologics and worked on developing therapeutics for rare genetic diseases at Transkaryotic Therapies (acquired by Shire). She has served on the BoD of WEST and as President, BoT of the German International School Boston. She holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the George Washington University in Washington DC and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Holland Lab for Biomedical Sciences in Rockville, MD.

Tatiana Demidova-Rice is Senior Director of Business Development at X-Chem, where she is responsible for developing strategic partnerships and advancing business growth for the company's small molecule drug discovery platform. Prior to joining X-Chem, she served as Director of Business Development at Evotec, a leading global drug discovery and development company, and as Contracts and Collaborations Manager at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in her career, Tatiana held technology transfer and business development roles at Harvard University's Office of Technology Development and Boston Children's Hospital Technology Development Fund, where she built collaborations between academic researchers and industry partners. Tatiana began her professional career in biomedical research, serving as a Postdoctoral Scholar at Tufts University and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Her research focused on wound healing, angiogenesis, and oncology. She holds a Ph.D. from Tufts University and a bachelor's degree in Biology from Yaroslavl State University in Russia. Tatiana also serves on the Advisory Board of WEST (Women’s Enterprise for Science and Technology), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the professional development of women in science and technology.

Lauren Pizzi, (Massachusetts, b. 1993) received her B.F.A. in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015. She began studying oil painting at age eleven under the guidance of artist and lifelong mentor, Sue Gilkey.
Influenced early on by the Impressionists, Pizzi initially focused on landscapes and still lifes before turning to contemporary figurative realism. Her most recent work explores the unseen realities of chronic illness, making visible what is often carried quietly. Through immersive backgrounds and patterned garments that merge with the figure, she reflects how illness becomes interwoven with identity and daily life.

In addition to painting, Pizzi designs repeating patterns featuring anatomical motifs and florals that translate into textiles and wallpaper. Her work has been exhibited in Stowe, Vermont; Savannah, Georgia; and internationally in Lacoste, France. She lives and works in Massachusetts.

Hugo’s primary responsibility is to focus on new company creation. Prior to Raven, Hugo was a Principal and Senior Associate at Third Rock Ventures where he worked on company creation and investments across various therapeutic areas, helping build companies such as CLASP Therapeutics. Prior to Third Rock, Hugo was at the Novartis Venture Fund working on the investment team. Before that, he was at Novartis where he collaborated with the NIBR and Corporate Strategy teams on a number of projects and was in the research organization in the Chemical Biology and Therapeutics group. Hugo holds a PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences from Harvard University, a MS in Molecular and Cellular Biology (Biophysics) from the University of Washington, and a BS in Physics from Princeton University.

Elizabeth Bailey has over 20 years of experience in venture capital and supporting early-stage healthcare companies. She is currently a Co-founder and Managing Partner at Foreground Capital, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage women’s health start-ups. Elizabeth co-founded and led Foreground’s precursor funds at RH Capital, where she and her team built one of the largest dedicated venture capital portfolios in women’s health. At Foreground Capital, she continues to manage RH Capital funds and serves as a board director for Raydiant Oximetry and Testmate Health, and as a board observer for Bloomlife, Cayaba, Mae and Twentyeight Health.

Elizabeth was previously a Partner at Commons Capital, one of the first impact investment funds, where she managed the healthcare portfolio, including Claros Diagnostics (acquired by OPKO), CodeRyte (acquired by 3M), HistoRx (acquired by Genoptix), Medical Metrx Solutions (acquired by AIG) and TelaDoc (IPO: TDOC). She holds a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from Brown University. Throughout her career, Elizabeth has been a strong advocate of the power of business to drive social change. She has been named twice as a Trailblazing Leader in Women’s Health and received the inaugural FemForce Vanguard Award for her leadership in women’s health.

In his present role, he identifies, novel preclinical and clinical assets along with innovative modalities to seed the Lilly Diabetes and Complications portfolio. He works jointly with the therapeutic area R&D and Lilly’s Corporate Business Development partners to help define and execute strategy for External Innovation. In addition to his primary role, he serves on scientific advisory boards and as a board observer in the biotech space. Ben has 20 years of drug discovery experience in a multitude of disease areas (men’s health/urology, skeletal muscle wasting, diabetes, fibrosis and metabolism) including both external and internal partnering. Ben earned his Ph.D. in Endocrinology and his Master’s in Molecular Endocrinology at Purdue University.

Based in Boston, MA, Dr. Spielberg is currently a Board Member or Observer for Lifordi Immunotherapeutics, GlycoEra, NodThera and several stealth companies. She was named the New England Venture Capital Association's 2024 Rising Star VC. Prior to joining 5AM, she completed both a postdoctoral fellowship and a Ph.D. in the Bioengineering department at Stanford University. As a recipient of the Hertz Foundation Fellowship and Stanford Graduate Fellowship, her research focused on how bacterial viruses help the immune system clear bacterial infections. Dr. Spielberg's work has been published in Cell Systems and Nature Chemical Biology among others. She received her B.S. in Biological Engineering from MIT with Tau Beta Pi honors.

Thomas has spent his career building biotech companies. Prior to Pillar VC, Thomas was at Flagship Pioneering, where he was part of the founding team of Quotient Therapeutics. Before joining Flagship, Thomas was founder and CEO of Amylon Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup that focused on using RNA therapeutics to treat rare neurodegenerative disease. Thomas created Amylon as a spin-out from ProQR Therapeutics, where he was previously their head of CNS innovation.

Thomas holds a B.Sc. degree in International Medicine and Global Health. His work has resulted in multiple patents and publications. Thomas was elected one of the top 10 young European biotech entrepreneurs by Labiotech, as well as one of the 30 rising leaders in life sciences by Invivo. His investmens include, Thymmune, Arvada Therapeutics, and Amplifyer Bio, among others.

Dr. Luba Soskin is a board‑certified obstetrician‑gynecologist and global clinical leader dedicated to advancing innovation in women’s health. With over two decades of combined clinical, academic, and pharmaceutical experience, she has led programs spanning Phase I–IV clinical trials, real‑world evidence generation, medical affairs, and global development strategy.
At Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Soskin serves as Global Clinical Lead for Women’s Healthcare, where she oversees the design and execution of pivotal programs addressing significant unmet needs. Her work concentrates shaping scientific strategy, regulatory engagement, and cross‑functional execution across regions.
Her career includes extensive work in high‑risk obstetrics, family planning, gynecologic surgery, and infertility, along with involvement in product launches and business development assessments. Dr. Soskin is recognized for her expertise in developing clinically meaningful endpoints for women, championing rigorous, patient‑centered trial designs, and elevating the evidence base for female‑specific conditions.
She is passionate about closing evidence gaps in women’s health and ensuring that clinical research reflects the realities, biology, and priorities of women worldwide.

Hosts

Keynote Speaker

Reverse Pitch Presenters