Philipp Gutruf, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Arizona

Dr. Philipp Gutruf is an Associate Professor and Associate Department Head of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona, where he leads the Gutruf Lab at the intersection of soft materials, photonics, and bioelectronics. He completed his Ph.D. at RMIT University in Australia and pursued postdoctoral training with Prof. John A. Rogers at Northwestern University, where he honed his expertise in flexible and stretchable electronics.

Dr. Gutruf’s research focuses on creating devices that intimately integrate with biological systems, developing wireless, battery-free, and fully implantable platforms for biosignal monitoring, neurostimulation, and biointerfaces. His group’s innovations include subdermal optogenetic tools, cardiac and muscular stimulators, and biosymbiotic devices capable of long-term health monitoring. With over 40 peer-reviewed articles, multiple patents, and high-profile publications in Nature Communications, Science Advances, and ACS Nano, his work has been recognized on journal covers and widely highlighted in the bioengineering community.

As a Craig M. Berge Faculty Fellow and a rising leader in biomedical engineering, Dr. Gutruf exemplifies the future of wearable and implantable health technologies. His keynote will spotlight how biointegrated electronics and biosymbiotic systems are redefining diagnostics, therapeutics, and exploratory neuroscience, aligning closely with the WISH Center’s mission to advance innovation for equitable healthcare.

Kimberlee McKay, M.D., Avera Medical Group in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dr. Kimberlee McKay is a physician-leader in women’s health who has redefined how obstetrics and gynecology are delivered across rural and underserved communities. She serves as an OB/GYN with Avera Medical Group in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and has played a pivotal role in advancing the Avera OB-GYN Service Line, ensuring consistent patient safety and high-quality care across a multistate health network.

Trained as a clinician, innovator, and mentor, Dr. McKay has introduced transformative programs that directly address the challenges of rural healthcare. She has developed uniform workflows to enhance patient safety, launched the TeleEcho case collaboration process to extend specialized expertise to regional OB/GYNs, and spearheaded the training of rural family physicians to perform emergency C-sections—filling a critical gap in maternal care access. Her work reflects a deep commitment to improving outcomes for women at every stage of life, from pregnancy and delivery to menopause and preventive health.

Dr. McKay’s leadership embodies the intersection of compassionate clinical practice and innovative care delivery models. By expanding access to expertise and creating scalable solutions, she has made lasting contributions to women’s health equity in rural America. Beyond her professional impact, she is an advocate for patient-centered care and enjoys an active lifestyle with her family, balancing clinical excellence with community engagement.

Farrokh Ayazi, Ph.D., Director, Georgia Tech Analog Consortium, Regents Entrepreneur, and Ken Byers Professorship in Microsystems

Professor Ayazi received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran, in 1994, and the M.S. and the Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1997 and 2000, respectively. He joined the ECE faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology in December 1999. His main research interest is in the areas of Integrated Micro and Nano Electromechanical Systems (MEMS and NEMS), with a focus on integrated micro- and nano-mechanical resonators, inertial sensors, and mixed-signal interface circuits for MEMS and sensors.

Dr. Ayazi is a past editor for the Elsevier Sensors & Actuators: A. Physical Journal, the IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems and the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.  He served on the technical program committee of the IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) for six years (2004-2009). He was the chairman of the Display, Sensors and MEMS (DSM) sub-committee at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM 2011). He was the general chair of the IEEE Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) conference in 2014, held in San Francisco, CA. He was the 2018 recipient of Outstanding Achievement in Research Innovation Award from Georgia Tech.

Dr. Ayazi was the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Qualtré Inc., a spin-out from his research Laboratory that commercializes bulk-acoustic-wave (BAW) silicon gyroscopes personal navigation systems. Qualtré was acquired by Panasonic in 2016.

He is currently leading StethX Microsystems, another spinout of his research lab and an ATDC company in commercializing advanced wearable sensors for cardiopulmonary applications. He is a fellow of IEEE and National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Andrea Braden, M.D., Founder & CEO of Lybbie and Medical Director of the Atlanta Birth Center

Dr. Andrea L. Braden is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist, a Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Founder & CEO of the lactation innovation company Lybbie. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama in 2003 and then attended the University of South Alabama School of Medicine from 2003 – 2007. Dr. Braden then completed residency training in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Connecticut in 2011. Her expertise is in the postpartum period, with a particular emphasis in breastfeeding medicine and perinatal mood disorders. Additionally, she is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Breastfeeding Expert Work Group and a graduate of the inaugural Women’s Wellness through Equality and Leadership (WEL) physician leadership training program. Dr. Braden has been the recipient of multiple research grants to support her work in improving breast pump technology. In 2019, she was awarded an American Medical Association’s Inspiration Award in recognition of her time, wisdom, and support throughout the professional careers of fellow physicians, residents, and students. In 2021, her startup company was selected to participate in Berkeley’s SkyDeck University Innovation Partners Program and Dr. Braden was recognized for winning two pitch competitions.

Steve Xu, M.D., CEO Sibel Health, Medical Director at Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics Northwestern University

Steve Xu is a physician-engineer, board certified dermatologist, academic, and entrepreneur. Currently, I am the CEO and co-founder of Sibel Health. Sibel Health is a growth stage, Series-B funded med tech startup focused on developing advanced monitoring solutions in clinical trials and clinical care. To date, we have launched our technology in more than 20 countries, supported more than 30 major clinical trials, obtained multiple FDA 510(k) clearances, and monitored 15,000 individuals worldwide. I also hold an appointment as the Director of Medical Research at the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University, and the Ruth K. Freinkel, MD, Professorship in the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University. I am an MIT 35 Under 35 Awardee (Class of 2022), authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, which include works in Nature, Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and an inventor on 15 pending and issued patents in the fields of digital health and medical devices.
 

Rosa Arriaga, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing at Georgia Tech

Rosa Arriaga is a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher in the School of Interactive Computing. She uses psychological concepts, theories and methods to address fundamental topics of HCI and Social Computing. Her current research interests are in the area of chronic care management and mental health. She designs mHealth systems that address gaps in chronic care and mental health management. The computational systems she designs: foster engagement, facilitate continuity of care, promote patient self-advocacy, and mediate communication between patient and healthcare providers.

Alexander Adams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Computing, Georgia Tech

Alex Adams’s research focuses on designing, fabricating, and implementing new ubiquitous and wearable sensing systems. In particular, he is interested in how to develop these systems using equity-driven design principles for healthcare. Alex leverages sensing, signal processing, and fabrication techniques to design, deploy, and evaluate novel sensing technologies.

Originally a musician, Alex became fascinated by how he could capture and manipulate sounds through analog hardware and digital signal processing, which led him back to his hometown (Concord, NC). Alex completed his BS at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2014 and his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 2021 (advised by Professor Tanzeem Choudhury). Alex then became the resident Research Scientist for the Precision Behavioral Health Initiative at Cornell Tech (NYC) until the fall of 2022, when he joined the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Currently, his research focuses on the equity-driven design and the development of multi-modal sensing systems to simultaneously assess mental and physical health to enable a new class of mobile health technologies.

Shelly Spires, M.S.M., CEO Albany Area Primary Health Care, Inc.

Shelley Spires is currently the CEO of Albany Area Primary Health Care, Inc. where she has worked for the past 19 years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Georgia Southwestern University in Human Resource Management in 1998. From 1998 – 2000, Shelley served as Human Resource Director for America’s Counseling Service. In 2000, Shelley worked for Dooly County Medical Center until it closed in 2001. At that time, Shelley went on to serve as Human Resource Director for Albany Area Primary Health Care, Inc. With much support and encouragement from her boss and family, Shelley went on to pursue her Master’s of Science with a concentration in Health Care Management from Troy State University in 2003. She served as Human Resource Director until 2009 when she was promoted to Deputy Director for Albany Area Primary Health Care, Inc.

W. Brad Jones, Ph.D., CEO Life Well Promotions, LLC

Dr. W. Brad Jones is the founder and CEO of Life Well Promotions LLC (LWP), an applied health marketing research consulting venture that primarily supports organizations that serve traditionally vulnerable populations in tailoring their health promotion efforts to local socio-cultural contexts. Dr. Jones has experience supporting diabetes prevention and screening efforts, performing community health assessments, and providing strategic planning consultation. Clients LWP has served or is currently serving include the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, and the Delta Health Center Federally Qualified Health Center.

Prior to establishing LWP, Dr. Jones served as the resident technical lead and subject matter expert for rural health promotion in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) postdoctoral Research Participation program. In this role, he collaborated with the Prevention Research Centers (PRC) program to bridge findings from rural-related chronic disease prevention research into practice. He also provided evidence-based program consultation for CDC project officers and rural-serving grantees that primarily focused on promoting healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco use cessation.

Jithin Sam Varghese, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

My current research aims to improve our understanding of cardiometabolic health, by identifying subtypes of disease or characterizing subgroups of individuals at high risk. I currently co-lead the EGDRC Diabetes Translational Accelerator to support PhD students and Advisors in launching their doctoral dissertation as a startup. I draw on my research and project experiences in consulting, nutrition, data science, and mental health to holistically engage with public health problems in low-, middle- and high-income countries. I enjoy collaborating with clinicians, academics, startups, and non-profits to develop data-driven solutions that move us closer to solving these tough problems.

Ruwanthi Ekanayake, M.D./Ph.D. Candidate, Emory University - Rollins School of Public Health and Emory School of Medicine

Ru is a MD/PhD candidate studying chronic disease management and health innovation in low-resource settings. In her free time, she enjoys running, experimenting with new recipes, and watching documentaries about the deep sea.

Rudolph Gleason, Ph.D., Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech

Rudolph (Rudy) L. Gleason began at Tech in Fall 2005 as an assistant professor. Prior, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Texas A&M University. He is currently a professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering. Gleason’s research program has two key and distinct research aims. The first research aim is to quantify the link between biomechanics, mechanobiology, and tissue growth and remodeling in diseases of the vasculature and other soft tissues. The second research aim is to translate engineering innovation to combat global health disparities and foster sustainable development in low-resource settings around the world. Gleason serves as a Georgia Tech Institute for People and Technology initiative lead for research activities related to global health and well-being.