On Thursday, September 6, 2018, the BCLA team partnered with JLABS San Diego to host the SoCal Biotech mixer, the first event of the new academic year. The Phase Two space in Culver City provided a perfect backdrop to network and exchange ideas on this mild summer evening.
After welcoming the crowd over delightful food and drinks, the evening progressed with a short series of talks. Kara Bortone, head of JLABS in San Diego, began by introducing JLABS as a platform for emerging companies to transform the scientific breakthroughs of today into global healthcare solutions of tomorrow. Subsequently, Denise McKenzie of USC Stevens spoke about their mission to translate research at USC into industrially valuable products. To end the speaker series, Tom Lipkin from UCLA TDG introduced the value of the group in promoting innovation, research, and entrepreneurship from UCLA to the state of California. The evening ended with the chance for attendees to make new connections and foster relationships between successful biotech startups in the LA area.
We would like to thank everyone for coming and making the event a huge success! We hope to see you at the 4th annual BCLA Biotech Summit on October 27th for a full day of inspiring talks and networking opportunities.