On Wednesday, July 25th, Equalize Startups hosted its 2025 Culmination Pitch Event, spotlighting the brilliance of academic women entrepreneurs across four dynamic tracks: MedTech, Physical Sciences, Tools, and Therapeutics. With over 300 attendees, the event was a powerful showcase of innovation, mentorship, and community.
This year’s event was a testament to the brilliance and resilience of women academic founders. Each pitch showcased not only scientific excellence but also the entrepreneurial spirit driving these ventures forward.
Congratulations to all of the Equalizers on an incredible year! Your passion, innovation, and dedication have truly inspired us. We can’t wait to see where your journeys lead next!
A special shoutout to the winners from each cohort:
MedTech
- Judge’s Choice: Dr. Ahna Skop, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- People’s Choice: Fateme Fayyazbakhsh, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Physical Sciences
- Judge’s Choice: Warda Ashraf, The University of Texas at Arlington
- People’s Choice: Varsha Shukla, Dartmouth College
Tools
- Judge’s Choice: Jenna Whalen, UMass Chan Medical School
- People’s Choice: Beatriz Martinez-Martin, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Therapeutics
- Judge’s Choice: Saher Sue Hammoud, University of Michigan
- People’s Choice: Carolina Haass-Koffler, PharmD, PhD, Brown University
Thank You to Our Community
We’re deeply grateful to everyone who made this event a success:
- Attendees – thank you for showing up and supporting women academic innovators. Your encouragement means the world.
- Mentors – your guidance helped shape these ventures to develop compelling stories.
- Judges – thank you for your thoughtful feedback and for elevating these pitches.
- Panelists – thank you to our expert panelists for sharing invaluable insights on accessing capital investments: Stacy Swider, VP of Investments at MassVentures, Pascal Krotee, Ph.D., Principal at RiverVest Venture Partners, Dimitra Georganopoulou, General Partner at Qral Ventures, Rajesh Devraj, President & CEO of Rectify Pharmaceuticals and Venture Partner at Atlas Venture, and Marc Singer, Managing Partner at Osage University Partners (OUP).
- Keynote Speaker, Nancy Briefs – your empowering words and wisdom inspired us all.
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
Your support makes this platform possible. Thank you for investing in the future of innovation and equity: AstraZeneca, Osage University Partners (OUP), Armstrong Teasdale, Polsinelli, Novo Nordisk, MassBio, Xontogeny, Wolf Greenfield, Fish & Richardson P.C., Merck, Future Forward, Fuentek, LLC, GTC Law Group, Amgen Ventures, Norton Rose Fulbright, and Portal Innovations.
If you’re interested in supporting Equalize Startups, please visit our sponsorship page to learn more.
Stay tuned!
Applications for the 2026 Equalize cohort will open in September. We can’t wait to meet the next generation of academic women innovators.
Be sure to follow Equalize Startups on LinkedIn for information on future events, opportunities, and stories from our community.