Spring Pitch Highlights

Written By Vanloan Nguyen

The Story

In April 2026, Berkeley Pharma Tech Foundation hosted a sold-out crowd of investors, operators, and founders. Out of 32 applications, five outstanding startups were selected to pitch live.

"The room was absolutely packed—investors, operators, startup founders, postdocs, and students all actively building in the space. There was a real sense of a close-knit, driven community."
— Vanloan Nguyen, Founder

The Winners Circle

🥇 1st Place – Calvin Carter, PhD | Geminii Health

🥈 2nd Place – Russell Ernst, Ph.D. | Motive TX

🥉 3rd Place – Renaud Schuck | OptoBiologics

Honorable Mentions: Elizabeth Wells (Omnalis) and Elena Arzumanyan (Omabit).

Gratitude

This event was led and hosted by Vanloan Nguyen and made possible by our incredible community partners:

  • Venue Host: Jessica North (Jorrie) and the Perkins Coie team.

  • Community Partner & Prize Sponsor: Christopher Wilson (MedAxisAI), who provided 6-month pilot prizes for our winners.

  • Judging Panel: David Kiewlich, Ph.D., Prof. PK Prasanna Kumar, Dr. Prasun Mishra, and Paola Torre, Ph.D.

  • Special Guest: Angela Jimenez, MD, MPS.

  • Coordination & Execution: Hilary Lin.

  • Volunteers: Himani Gupta, MD, and Bijie Ren, Ph.D.

Vanloan Nguyen