Jan 11, 2026 Why this event? Because future healthcare will be more personalized, 3D data-driven, and digitally fabricated (e.g., 3D printing and bioprinting). Life in 3D is the only niche-focused event that unites the most transformative next-gen medical devices, therapeutics, and biotools under one cohesive investment lens, including but not limited to —cell therapy, biofabrication, frontier medical devices, and drug discovery. If you are ready for a mindset shift, this is the event for you.
Since 2018, 3DHEALS has hosted more than 100 early-stage startups in the 3D medtech and biotech space to raise funds and receive advisory through its Pitch3D program. This year, the company is organizing its first dedicated in-person event for investors and entrepreneurs in this space. The event will take place the night before the official 2026 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in the beautiful downtown San Francisco office of K&L Gates, California, USA. The goal is to host investors and founders who share a maniacal belief that the 3D mindset will enable the next wave of biomedical innovations.
While this event is mostly by invitation only (for Example, Pitch3D founders), related parties can purchase a limited number of tickets. The event is capped at 150 attendees. To qualify as an investor, you must demonstrate that you are an accredited investor or belong to a relevant investment institution. To qualify for media tickets, you must provide relevant LinkedIn or website credentials to be admitted.
Tentative Agenda:
4:00-4:20 PM Registration/Network
4:20-4:25 PM K&L Gates 3DHEALS Intro
4:25-4:40 PM Keynote Speaker-Mike Cordonnier, CEO, Carlsmed (IPO 2025)
4:40 – 5:40 PM Investor Panel
5:40-6:20 PM Startup Panel 1
6:20-6:30 PM Break
6:30-7:10 PM Startup Panel 2
7:10 – 8:00 PM Networking/Wrap up
4:00 -8:00 Poster Session
Keynote Speaker:
Mike Cordonnier
Mike Cordonnier is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer at Carlsmed, and serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors.
With more than two decades of leadership experience introducing groundbreaking medical technologies, Mike has guided teams across both private and public organizations, including NuVasive, Ellipse Technologies, Zimmer Biomet, Orchid Orthopedics, and X-Spine Systems. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton.
Speakers:
Iris Wedeking
Iris Wedeking, MBA, is the CEO and Founder of iDentical, a dental technology company that is revolutionizing tooth replacement with the world’s first drill-free, personalized, 3D-printed dental implants. Mrs. Wedeking has been a visionary leader in the dental industry for 10 years. Prior to founding iDentical, she managed the operations for three dental implant centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she saw firsthand the challenges of the current paradigm of implant dentistry for both patients and dentists. This experience inspired her to found iDentical, Inc. to develop and commercialize a drill-free dental implant solution that addresses the drawbacks of traditional dental implants.
Mrs. Wedeking is a two-time founder and CEO. Previously, she founded and scaled a national organization in the oncology sector (Kesem) that is now in its 25th year of operation with 115 chapters across 41 states. She also served as a senior marketing research leader at The Clorox Company. Iris holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a BA, summa cum laude, from Tufts University. She resides in Walnut Creek, California, with her husband (a dentist) and three children.
Jessica Miller
Jessica Miller is the founder of RocketBio and invests with a long-term, patient-focused approach across tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and next-generation preclinical tools. Her work centres on advancing breakthrough science into practical clinical and commercial impact.
She serves on the Board of Directors at VoxCell BioInnovation, which develops vascularized 3D-bioprinted tumor models for precision oncology, and is a Director and Strategic Board member at NETRI, a French company creating neuron-based organ-on-chip systems for neurotoxicity, pain, and CNS disease research.
Jessica also supports business development efforts for both companies, forging partnerships across pharma, biotech, and research. With a background in Materials Engineering (University of Toronto) and Nanomaterials (Imperial College London), she brings technical depth and strategic insight to scaling technologies that improve patient outcomes and shape the future of drug development.
Gokce Yildirim
Gilly is a biomedical engineer, inventor, and an operations leader with 20 years of medical device industry and scientific research experience, and currently is the founder and CEO of Vent Creativity Corporation, an AI based digital twin surgical planning and decision-making software serving the orthopaedics and healthcare community.
Gilly started his career in industrial robotic automation, and then translated this knowledge to human biomechanics, design, testing, and regulatory filing of medical devices. Gilly previously advised a multi-billion-dollar industry on product portfolio needs and M&A considerations for multiple $5MM+ NPV projects. He also advised C-level executives for their medical device regulatory and business strategy needs. Gilly has been instrumental in the regulatory testing, documentation, and filing aspects of 13 Class II, 1 IDE, and 1 IND FDA medical device products. Gilly has over 25 peer reviewed published articles in the orthopaedic medical device field. Gilly holds 12 granted patents in the field of big-data driven surgery, additive manufacturing for medical devices, and robotic surgery, and presented foundational research at various peer-reviewed conferences and publications. Gilly holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from NJIT, a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering and an MBA from Columbia University.
Nikhil S. Joshi
Nikhil Joshi is a Biomedical Engineer with a BS and MS in the field. During undergraduate studies, he was a Research Assistant in Dr. Adam Engler’s lab at UC San Diego, investigating methods to coax stem cells towards various mature cell lineages. Later on, at Columbia University, he served as a Graduate Research Assistant in the lab of Dr. Clark Hung, investigating techniques to enable nutrient delivery to engineered tissue constructs for cartilage cell therapy.
After academia Nikhil has spent 12 years in industry, working as an Engineer and Product Manager on a variety of innovative technologies. Most recently Nikhil was at Auris Health helping to build Monarch, the world’s first robotic endoscopy platform. Nikhil led development of three novel robotic instrumentation devices, from initial concept to design verification testing.
Nikhil has co-invented nine patented technologies, and throughout his career has been driven by the question of how technology can improve healthcare quality.
Karolina Valente
Dr. Karolina Valente is the Founder and CEO of VoxCell, a biotechnology company
advancing 3D bioprinting to develop human-like cancer tissue models and accelerate drug developmnent. With over 12 years of experience in tissue engineering, she holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on bioprinting and drug delivery systems. Under her leadership, VoxCell has grown from 5 to 20 employees and raised over $11M CAD. Her contributions to biotechnology and cancer research have earned her and VoxCell multiple
accolades. In 2023, Douglas Magazine recognized VoxCell as one of its 10 to Watch winners, acknowledging the company’s significant contributions to biotechnology and cancer research. In 2024, Life Sciences BC named VoxCell to its Companies to Watch – Recognition Honour Roll, highlighting its potential and achievements in the life sciences sector. Most recently, The Globe
and Mail’s Report on Business 2025 Changemakers Award recognized Karolina as one of 20 emerging leaders reinventing how business is done in Canada. Passionate about scientific innovation, gender equity, and the future of biotechnology, she continues to drive transformative change in oncology research and 3D bioprinting.
Alyssa Huffman
Alyssa Huffman is an award-winning MedTech entrepreneur, inventor, & thought leader advancing the future of orthopedic & spine care. Orthopedics This Week wrote, “If we were to bet on any young entrepreneur, Alyssa Huffman would be at the top of the list.”
She was the first Commercial Representative appointed to the North American Spine Society (NASS) & has become a respected voice in global spine innovation. Alyssa has presented at the 2025 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Conference, the NASS Biologics Conference, & as both speaker and committee member for the NASS Innovation NetWORK Summit, where she champions evidence-based innovation & commercialization strategy.
In 2009, while working as an Orthopedic/Spine/Biologics Distributor, Alyssa witnessed the devastating complications of failed spine surgery on her diabetic uncle and quadriplegic cousin. This experience inspired the first sketch of what became the A8 INTEGR8™ Porous Pedicle Screw System (the cornerstone of ALLUMIN8’s Therapeutic Hardware™ platform), integrating biomechanical support with regenerative potential to both treat & heal.
Under her leadership, ALLUMIN8 has earned global recognition:
“Best Technology in Spine” Award – Orthopedics This Week
“6 Interesting Orthopedic Startups to Monitor in 2025” – BONEZONE
Global Impact Award 2025 – WashU in St. Louis
$500,000 Awarded – Missouri Technology Corporation
$75,000 Awarded – St. Louis Arch Grants
“Innovators to Watch” – OCCAM Design
“Future Stars of Spine” – Matthew Henshaw
“Top Startups to Watch” – St. Louis Business Journal
“Most Investment Value Award” – MD Inno, Shanghai
Beyond entrepreneurship, Alyssa has contributed to clinical scholarship as co-author of “Innovations in Spine Surgery: A Primer” & “Analgesic Effect of Over-the-Counter Sublingual Magnesium for Trigeminal Neuralgia Management.”
Her two decades of consulting experience span sales, contracting, distribution, marketing, product development, leadership, & team building for MedTech companies across medical devices, biologics, robotics, capital equipment, & pharmaceuticals. Areas of expertise include ortho/spine hardware, regenerative medicine, cardiology, neuro, spine, organ transplant, endovascular therapies, wound healing, temperature management, & stem cell therapies.
Her mission is clear: solve problems for patients, physicians, healthcare organizations, & payors by uniting the healthcare community to create devices, protocols, and techniques that merge rigorous clinical evidence with cost-conscious innovation – accelerating the future of patient care.
Dr. Aadeel Akhtar
Dr. Aadeel Akhtar, CEO and Founder of PSYONIC, started the company after meeting a young girl in Pakistan who was using a tree branch as a prosthetic leg. That moment inspired his mission to create advanced, accessible bionic limbs that restore both function and feeling. PSYONIC’s Ability Hand is the fastest bionic hand on the market, impact-resistant, and the first to provide a sense of touch. It is covered by Medicare and used by humans and robotics companies worldwide, including NASA, Meta, Mercedes, and Google. Dr. Akhtar earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience and M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and holds a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Computer Science from Loyola University Chicago. He has been recognized by MIT Technology Review, Newsweek, and secured a three-shark deal on Shark Tank.
Ben Hartkopp
Ben Hartkopp is a seasoned independent researcher, inventor and developer who has been instrumental in co-developing the NovoJet™ Printhead technology since 2016. He is a co-inventor of Quantica’s patent portfolio of printheads, systems and methodologies and currently serves as the Head of Research and IP at Quantica.
Renee Ryan
Renee Ryan is recognized as an industry insider and leading investor, deal-maker, and passionate innovator. She has over 25 years of building category-creating healthcare companies. Renee currently serves as Founder & CEO of PinPrint, a Stanford spin-out focused on optimizing the patient experience for drug and vaccine delivery. She served as CEO and Board member of Cala Health, a pioneer in the field of wearable neuromodulaton therapy having launched two generations of product and consistently doubled revenue each year of her leadership. Previously, she led the medical technology investments for Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC) on the West Coast and Asia Pacific for 8 years. While at J&J, she made over 15 new investments, including the Series A for Cala Health. Other investments include Auris Health, Carbon 3D, Verb Surgical, PowerVision and Tusker Medical, several of which led to significant acquisitions. Previously, she was a healthcare investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Jefferies. She currently sits on the Boards of RefleXion Medical and Neuropace (NPCE).
Mike Graffeo
Mike is the CEO and co-founder of FluidForm Bio, building cures for chronic diseases like type 1 diabetes using 3D bioprinting. In over 25 years in the life sciences, Mike has brought four novel treatments through the FDA that have generated over $20 billion in sales in both startup and growth organizations. Throughout his career, he has worked on the forefront of medicine, translating highly complex treatments and clinical data into successful businesses, in the US and around the world. He is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S. Engineering Physics / Bioengineering, M.Eng. Mechanical Engineering) and Harvard Business School (MBA), where he was a Baker Scholar.
Gurkaran Chowdhry
Gurkaran Chowdhry is a co-founder and the Director of Business Development at 3DBioFibR, where he helps guide the commercial strategy behind the company’s proprietary biomaterials platform. His technical foundation began with graduate research that uncovered key mechanisms behind 3DBioFibR’s fiber formation process, and he is an inventor on the company’s core IP. This mix of scientific depth and business focus allows him to bridge R&D with market needs, support partnership discussions with leading biomedical organizations, and represent the company across industry forums.
In his role, Gurkaran works to align 3DBioFibR’s advanced dry-spinning technology with high-value applications in regenerative medicine, wound care, and surgical materials. The company specializes in manufacturing biopolymer fibers such as collagen, chitosan, and spider silk at a scale far beyond traditional wetspinning or electrospinning methods, enabling the creation of tunable 2D and 3D scaffolds and high-strength yarns for next-generation biomedical products. These materials have been adopted by clinical partners for uses ranging from full thickness wound repair to peripheral nerve regeneration, reflecting the commercial opportunities Gurkaran helps cultivate. His focus on translating technical capability into meaningful partnerships has supported the company’s growing presence in cell biology, tissue engineering, and medical device markets.
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