Dr. Kimberley Steele is a Program Manager in the Health Science Futures Office at ARPA-H. Dr. Steele joined ARPA-H in November 2023 from The Lymphatic Education and Research Network (LE&RN), where she supported lymphatic research efforts as special projects director. Prior to that, Steele was associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After serving as a surgeon at Johns Hopkins for over 14 years, Steele shifted her focus to the investigation of lymphatic disease, motivated by her son’s diagnosis of a rare lymphatic anomaly. Steele has spent the last 7 years working tirelessly with clinicians, scientists, medical students, and advocacy organizations to advance the field of lymphatic medicine, in the process establishing a non-profit, the Collaborative Research Advocacy for Vascular Anomalies Network (CaRAVAN), to coordinate and support research.

John Oates serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute (THBI), the statewide voice for Texas' life sciences and healthcare innovation sectors. In this role, he leads THBI's efforts to advance public policies that foster innovation, strengthen patient access to care and treatments, promote research and economic development, and position Texas as a global leader in the life sciences industry. Oates brings 30 years of experience at the intersection of healthcare policy, government affairs, and industry leadership. His career spans state government, political campaigns, and executive leadership within the healthcare sector, providing him with a unique perspective on the public policy and business environments that shape healthcare innovation.

Driven by a personal mission to find a treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, Sulagna Bhattacharya co-founded Nanoscope Therapeutics and serves as Chief Executive Officer. She leads the company's global strategy and commercialization efforts to bring sight-restoring therapies to millions of patients living with retinal degenerative diseases. A serial entrepreneur, Sulagna has founded multiple biotechnology, medical device, and consulting companies. Before Nanoscope, she spent more than a decade at Deloitte and Hitachi Consulting, specializing in financial advisory, business intelligence, and enterprise risk management.

Kristophe Diaz, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of CurePSP, a national charitable foundation focusing on Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), three neurodegenerative diseases with biological mechanisms common to Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s diseases. Dr. Diaz works closely with patients, care partners, advocates, scientists, clinicians, biotechnology companies, and other foundations, to make sure important advances and innovative technologies in neuroscience also address the unmet needs critical to PSP, CBD, and MSA. 

Sherry Crowe is the CEO and Founder of OncoConnect™, an oncology-focused advisory firm serving clients across biotech and mid-to-large pharmaceutical companies. Clients value her 30+ years of experience navigating the difficult-to-maneuver oncology ecosystem. Leading the OncoConnect team, she brings expertise in commercialization, market access, medical affairs, KOL engagement, and launch strategy — having helped bring more than 20 oncology agents to market across a range of disease states.

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