Global Health Innovation & Opportunities

2:00 PM – 2:05 PM: Welcome Speaker: Bleddyn Rees, Deputy Chair, Global Health Connector 2:05 PM – 2:25 PM: Women’s Health: From Episodic Care to Lifespan Platforms This fireside conversation will explore the evolution of women’s health from fragmented, episodic care to connected, longitudinal platforms that span prevention, navigation, specialty care, and aging. Drawing on Ascension St. Thomas's experience, the discussion will highlight holistic referral pathways, cross-specialty collaboration, and human-centered design. The focus will be on strategic opportunity areas for partners, including emerging reimbursement tailwinds and the role of large health systems in building scalable women’s health ecosystems. Speakers: - Nicole Althaus, US Ambassador, Global Health Connector - Kimberly Wells, VP of Women’s Services, Ascension St. Thomas 2:25 PM - 2:35 PM: US Health Innovation Ecosystems: A Connected Market Approach This segment will provide a structured overview of the U.S. ecosystem strategy within Global Health Connector, highlighting how regionally distinct innovation hubs are increasingly operating as a connected national market. The discussion will reference active and emerging collaborations across BioSTL (St. Louis), MATTER (Chicago), Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI), and the Florida High Tech Corridor, with Nashville positioned as the convening and connective hub. The focus will be on how international and domestic partners can engage these ecosystems through coordinated entry points rather than fragmented Outreach. Speaker: Eric Thrailkill, Executive Director US, Global Health Connector 2:35 PM - 2:50 PM: Healthy Aging & Longevity: From Care Delivery to JoySpan This session will focus on healthy ageing as a system-level challenge encompassing care delivery, digital enablement, community integration, and quality of life. Attention will be given to where ecosystems can collaborate on pilots, sandboxes, the evolving role of digital diagnostics, at-home care, and scalable models, rather than isolated point solutions, and how to think about specific technologies such as wearables, RPM, and digital health in combination. Speakers: -Jon Warner, U.S. Ambassador, Global Health Connector -Eliad Josephson, Diagnostics and Digital Health Executive, Natel Inc. -Paulo Machado, CEO and Founder, Health Innovation, Inc. 2:50 PM - 3:10 PM: Cancer Innovation: Places, Programs, and Networks This discussion examines how cancer innovation is increasingly enabled by places, programs, and networks—and how hyper-connectivity across health systems, public-sector initiatives, and innovation ecosystems accelerate progress. Using CancerX as a shared case study, the panel will explore how coordinated platforms can align data, translational research, accelerator models, and cross-ecosystem collaboration to drive scalable impact across diagnostics, therapeutics, AI, and care navigation. The focus will be on ecosystem architecture, partnership intent, and practical pathways for engagement rather than detailed program mechanics. Speakers: - Eric Thrailkill, Executive Director US, Global Health Connector - Stephen Konya, Chief, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships for the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). - Santosh Mohan, Vice President, Innovation Ecosystem and Emerging Technologies, Advocate Health 3:10 PM - 3:25 PM: The Nashville Healthcare Ecosystem: Home of ViVE 2027 The closing segment will spotlight the Nashville healthcare ecosystem as a national and global convening platform—anchored by scale healthcare operators, academic medicine, innovation infrastructure, and growing international connectivity. With Nashville confirmed as the host city for ViVE 2027, this session will position the city as a soft-landing zone for U.S. expansion, pilot deployment, and cross-border collaboration. The discussion will emphasize how partners can engage Nashville not just as a location, but as an operating ecosystem. Speakers: - Lori Odom, Senior Vice President of Economic Development and International Business, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce - Sam Davidson, Chief Executive Director, Nashville Entrepreneur Center - Dr. Doug Slakey, Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine, Belmont Collaborative for Health Systems Innovation 3:25 PM - 3:30 PM: Closing Remarks Speaker: Bleddyn Rees - Deputy Chair, Global Health Connector