Blueprint MedTech Annual Meeting 2025

Register for the event here.

Reserve a room at the conference hotel.

Venue Information.


Executive Summary  

Join NIH leadership, and MedTech innovators at this premier annual showcase of breakthrough neurotechnology innovations ready for commercialization. The Blueprint MedTech program has created a unique ecosystem that de-risks early-stage MedTech investments through strategic NIH backing and proven translational pathways.  

Key Value Propositions: 

  • Direct access to vetted, NIH-funded innovations across the full development pipeline from early feasibility to clinical translation 
  • Demonstrated ROI metrics and quantified success rates that validate investment opportunities 
  • Exclusive networking with NIH Institute leadership, successful innovator teams, and strategic industry partners 
  • Live demonstrations of cutting-edge neurotech solutions addressing major market needs 

Investment-Ready Showcases: 

  • Success story panels featuring BPMT-funded teams with proven commercialization trajectories 
  • NeuroQuantum innovations representing the next frontier of neurological treatment and diagnosis 
  • Assistive and restorative MedTech addressing large, patient populations 
  • Patient-centered solutions with validated clinical need and market fit 

Strategic Networking Opportunities: Interactive exhibitions and dedicated networking sessions designed to facilitate concrete collaboration discussions and strategic partnerships with innovators who have government validation and infrastructure support. 

For additional information or if you have any questions, please contact nmangan2@jhu.edu 

 

October 20 | Day One 

Kellogg Conference Hotel, Capitol Hill at Gallaudet 

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Welcome Registration and Networking Breakfast 

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM: Welcome  

Michael Chiang, PhD, Institute Director of the National Eye Institute, NIH 

9:15- 10:00 Keynote: “The Future of MedTech/ Innovation”  

Riki Banerjee, PhD, Tangible Neurotech LLC

10:00 AM – 11:15 AM: Panel and Discussion: “Neurotech Solutions: Meeting Patients Where They Are”   

Moderator: C. Rory Goodwin, MD, PhD, Duke Department of Neurosurgery, Director Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis  

 Panelists:  

  • Steven Schachter, MD, Mass General Research Institute, Chief Academic Officer for Cimit, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School 
  • Allan Belzberg, MD, FRCSC, Neurosurgeon Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, George Heuer Professor of Neurosurgery, Director of Peripheral Nerve Surgery
  • Henry Brem, MD, Neurosurgeon Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Harvey-Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery and former Neurosurgeon-in-Chief Johns Hopkins University 
  • Sri Sarma, PhD, Professor Biomedical Engineering, Vice Dean graduate education Whiting School of Engineering, founder Neuromedical Control Systems Lab 
  • Rina Dirickson, Computational Neuroscience & Biophysics at The Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic SURF 2025: patient perspective

11:00 AM – 11:45 AM: Program Overview & Impact Metrics 

  • Paolo Bonato, PhD, Director of Motion Analysis Laboratory at Spaulding, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School  
  • Youseph Yazdi, PhD, Executive Director, Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, Associate Professor Biomedical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 
  • Mike Dempsey, Cimit 

12:00 PM – 1:45 PM: Networking Lunch & Interactive Exhibition 

1:45 PM –2:30 PM Success Stories & Panel Discussion “The Blueprint MedTech Innovator Journey”  

 Moderators:  

  • Santosh Venkatesha, MBA, Director Innovation and Admin Core, Johns Hopkins NeuroTech Harbor  
  • Evaristus Nwulia, MD, MHS Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Evon Medics, Professor of Neuroscience Howard University 
  • NeuroTech Innovator Presentations 

2:30 PM – 3:15 PM: Discussion: “NeuroQuantum: How clinical needs, challenges and forecasts dictate the direction of Neuro Innovation”  

Panelists:  

  • Bob Storey Managing Partner The LaunchPort 
  • Ralph Etienne-Cummings, PhD, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Johns Hopkins University 
  • Lara Jehi, MD, Chief Innovation Officer and Professor Neurology Cleveland Clinic and epilepsy specialist  
  • Geetha Senthil, PhD, Deputy Director NIH NCATS  

3:15 PM – 3:45 PM: BREAK  

3:45 PM – 4:45 PM Success Stories & Panel Discussion “Assistive and Restorative MedTech Advances” 

Moderator: Henry Brem, MD, Neurosurgeon Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Harvey-Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery and former Neurosurgeon-in-Chief Johns Hopkins University 

 Panelists:  

  • Paolo Bonato, PhD, Director of Motion Analysis Laboratory at Spaulding, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School 
  • Nitish Thakor, PhD, Professor, Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering Whiting School of Engineering and Neurology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 
  • Rahul Kaliki, PhD, CEO IBT, Adjunct Associate Professor Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University 

4:45 PM – 5:30 PM: Ask NIH 

Q&A with NIH program directors and BPMT Program PIs  

5:30 PM – 7:00 PM: “Show and Tell” Networking Reception with Innovators  

7:00 PM: End of Day One 

Victor Ticllacuri, Yuxuan Bai, and Nitish Thakor

Team mentored by Nitish Thakor wins top prize at ASME Innovation Showcase

A soft robotic suit created by BME students and mentored by Dr. Nitish Thakor, professor at Johns Hopkins University and NeuroTech Harbor PI, helps newborns heal from brachial plexus palsy, a nerve injury affecting the arms and shoulders. They received the top honors at the ASME Innovation Showcase.

Read more here. https://hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/19/student-invention-wins-asme-innovation-showcase/

NeuroTech Roadshow Logo

NeuroTech Roadshow Podcast #1 in November 2025

The NTH Outreach Team is excited to announce the upcoming launch of our podcast, NeuroTech Roadshow. Beginning in November 2025, we will be publishing one podcast episode a month featuring industry experts, thought leaders, patients/patient advocates, and more to raise awareness of neurological disorders and facilitate the sharing of knowledge to accelerate neurotechnology advancement. The podcast will dive into topics including the neurological disorders that affect 1-in-3 people worldwide, cutting edge neuromedical interventions (both invasive and non-invasive), lived patient experience with neurological disorders, the ethics of neurotechnology, and more.

The Outreach Team is currently planning the first six episodes of the podcast, to be published from November 2025 through April 2026.

Episode one will feature Dr. Prasad Shivalkar, UCSF, and one of his patients from a clinical trial that was featured in the NYT. Episode two will feature Dr. Sri Sarma and her research into misdiagnosed non-epileptic seizures.

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