Melissa Smith · Cincy Week

Dr. Melissa Smith is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Louisville. After earning her PhD in Virology at Harvard and completing immunology training at the Institut Pasteur, she helped develop long-read single-molecule sequencing methods at Pacific Biosciences. She later served as Associate Director of Technology Development at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her start-up, Clareo Biosciences, founded in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2024, leverages proprietary genomics approaches and AI modeling to profile immune variation and predict therapy responsiveness and autoimmune risk from these "immune fingerprints" to support patient stratification in clinical trials, discovery of novel immune biomarkers, and implementation of precision medicine approaches.

Event

1:45 PM end time not listed

StartupCincyPanel

Nobody Moves a Biotech Startup to Kentucky... Until They Do

Location not listed

Christin Godale, Kelly Kucharczyk and 1 more

Health & Life Sciences

Details

Led by Project MedTech, this discussion explores why a growing number of life sciences founders are choosing Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to launch, relocate, and scale their companies.

While biotech is often associated with Boston, San Diego, and the Bay Area, innovative companies are increasingly finding advantages in emerging ecosystems that offer access to talent, infrastructure, strategic partnerships, and a collaborative startup community. Through a conversation with leaders from LifeSciKY, CARTx Therapeutics, and Clareo Biosciences, attendees will hear firsthand how founders evaluate where to build their companies, the challenges they face, and what resources have been critical to their success.

This session will provide founders, investors, students, and ecosystem builders with a candid look at the realities of building a high-growth life sciences startup in the Midwest and why the region is becoming a destination for innovation.

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Source: startupcincyweek.com (opens in a new tab)