2026 biocrossroads life sciences summit
Harnessing AI for Life Sciences Advancement
Empowering Indiana's Innovation Engine
- October 28, 2026 | Program: 8:00 a.m - 2:30 p.m. | Networking: 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. | Workshops: 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
- Hyatt Regency, Downtown Indianapolis
- 250+ life sciences and healthcare leaders
Indiana’s scientific expertise, manufacturing experience, and clinical knowledge provide a strong foundation for applying AI across life sciences. These capabilities are part of BioHeartland, the shared identity connecting Indiana’s bioscience strengths across human health, animal health, and plant science.
The 2026 BioCrossroads Life Sciences Summit will bring together leaders exploring how AI can build on those strengths, from research and development to advanced manufacturing, commercialization, clinical care, and patient delivery.
Through expert panels, interactive demonstrations, and working sessions, attendees will examine practical applications and the partnerships needed to move promising ideas into use.
2026 biocrossroads life sciences summit
Join a Summit Workshop
Move from Conversation to Collaboration
What will it take to put promising AI research and tools to work across life sciences and healthcare?
Afternoon workshops led by AnalytiXIN will bring presenters and participants together to explore that question. Each session will feature work underway across universities, industry, and healthcare, followed by facilitated discussion about its potential applications, implementation challenges, and opportunities for collaboration.
Workshops will immediately follow the main Summit programming and brief networking session.
- October 28, 2026 | 3:00 - 5:00 p.m., following the main program & networking
- Hyatt Regency, Downtown Indianapolis
- Summit attendees are invited to register for one workshop at no additional cost
Participants will have time to speak directly with presenters, share needs within their own organizations, and explore where a tool, research project, or partnership could help address them. The goal is to strengthen connections across BioHeartland, bringing Indiana’s research, industry, and healthcare expertise together to move promising work toward practical use and sustain collaboration beyond the Summit.
There is no cost to register for a workshop, but space is limited. Reserve your place when registering for the Summit.
Attendees may select one of the three workshop tracks below:
Workshop 1
Putting Provena Consortium Asset to Work
Provena Consortium is building a clinical-genomic data asset that already includes more than 100,000 consented participants and continues to grow. Learn how the asset is supporting research, clinical trials, and other applications, while helping shape how it can deliver distinctive value to Indiana’s life sciences and healthcare ecosystem. Participants will discuss the questions the asset could help answer, the use cases it could support, and the capabilities and partnerships needed to translate its potential into meaningful impact.
Workshop 2
Advancing Healthcare Operations with AI
Hear from university researchers and health systems applying AI to operational challenges, then join a broader conversation about where collaboration could help healthcare organizations operate more effectively, support their teams, and improve care delivery. The workshop will surface promising use cases, shared challenges, and opportunities for joint work, while helping lay the foundation for an ongoing Indiana community of practice around AI-enabled healthcare operations.
Workshop 3
AI-Enabled Tools for Patients
Explore how AI-enabled, patient-facing tools can help people navigate care, understand health information, manage their health, and connect more effectively with care teams.
Participants will discuss promising applications, implementation challenges, and what it will take to develop tools that are useful, trusted, and patient-centered.
Already registered for Summit?
There’s still time to join a workshop.
Click the link, complete the form, and someone from our team will confirm your registration.
2026 biocrossroads life sciences summit
AI Innovation Hub: Highlighting AI in Action
Submit a Poster or Interactive Demo
Are you using artificial intelligence to advance life sciences, healthcare, or patient outcomes?
The Summit’s AI Innovation Hub will showcase work underway across BioHeartland, giving students, researchers, startups, and companies an opportunity to share emerging technologies, practical applications, and works in progress. Attendees can meet the people behind the work and explore how their ideas could address needs across life sciences and healthcare.
Submissions may include:
- Research posters highlighting AI-related findings, methods, or applications
- Live or guided demonstrations of AI-enabled platforms, tools, or technologies
- Emerging concepts, student projects, or pilot programs
- Applications of AI in research, drug development, diagnostics, manufacturing, clinical care, or patient delivery
Selected participants will receive dedicated space during the Summit to present their work, demonstrate their technology, engage with attendees, and connect with potential collaborators, industry partners, and investors.
Projects do not need to be fully developed or ready for market. We welcome submissions from students exploring new ideas, startups building emerging solutions, and companies applying AI across the life sciences and healthcare sectors.
Submission deadline: Friday, October 16, 2026
Applicants will be notified by: Monday, October 19, 2026
The Bioscience Strength Behind the Conversation
Indiana’s bioscience industry generates more than $125 billion in direct economic impact across human health, animal health, and plant science. BioHeartland brings these connected strengths into a shared story, highlighting the companies, universities, research centers, and innovation districts advancing discovery, production, and delivery.
This year’s Summit explores how AI can build on that foundation through stronger connections among research, industry, and healthcare.
Summit Agenda
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | Program: 8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Workshops: 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Breakfast
Join us for breakfast, presented by Novartis, prior to the Summit program.
Welcome Remarks and Sponsor Recognition
Vince Wong, JD, MBA
President and CEO
BioCrossroads
AI Across Research and Development
Exploring where AI is already accelerating research and development, how it is changing scientific decision-making, and what is needed to move discoveries forward with greater speed, precision, and confidence.
Dr. Dowdy Jackson
Chief Scientific Officer, co-founder
Antigenix Therapeutics
Dr. Daisuke Kihara
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Computer Science
Associate Head of Biological Sciences
Purdue University
Dr. Yunlong Liu
Chancellor’s Professor and T.K. Li Professor of Medical Research at Indiana University Indianapolis
Associate Dean for Translational Resources
Director, Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics and the Center for Medical Genomics
Indiana University
Moderator: David Umulis
Senior Vice Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Purdue University Indianapolis
Networking Break | AI Innovation Hub Demo and Poster Exploration
Connect with colleagues and explore the research, emerging technologies, and practical applications on display in the AI Innovation Hub. Visit iXplore, experience interactive AI demos, and meet poster presenters sharing work underway across life sciences and healthcare. This break offers dedicated time to ask questions, discuss ideas with students, researchers, and companies, and explore opportunities for collaboration.
Smarter Production: AI in Life Sciences Manufacturing
Examining how pharmaceutical, radiopharmaceutical, and other advanced manufacturers are using these tools to improve quality, efficiency, and resilience, while navigating the technical, regulatory, and workforce considerations that come with adoption.
Yuehwern Yih, PhD
Director, Smart Operations and Systems (SOS) Laboratory
Director, USAID LASER PULSE
Purdue University
Adam Martin
CEO & Co-Founder
Qwyn AI
Arup Roy
Senior Vice President, Technical Services/Manufacturing Sciences
Eli Lilly & Company
Moderator: Tom Forman
Executive Director, Catalyze Indiana
Senior Vice President
BioCrossroads
Lunch & AI Innovation Hub Exploration
Enjoy lunch with colleagues and explore the AI Innovation Hub, including interactive demos, scientific poster showcase, and the iXplore virtual reality experience. Lunch is presented by Medallion Partners.
AI at the Point of Care: Clinical Delivery, Decisions, and Patient Experience
Exploring how healthcare organizations and medical technology companies are applying AI in real-world settings, what these tools mean for clinicians and patients, and how organizations can preserve trust and human judgment as adoption expands.
Dr. Paul Biondich
Medical Informatics Researcher
Program Director, Global Health Informatics
Regenstrief Institute and IU School of Medicine
Dr. Mark Mabus
Chief Medical Informatics Officer
Parkview Health
Dr. Natasha Parekh
Senior Vice President of Clinical Services
Marathon Health
Peter Polverini
Vice President Interventional MRI Divison
Cook Medical
Moderator: Ketan Paranjape, PhD, MBA
Founder & CEO
MainstreamAINow
Future Talent Showcase - AI and Workforce Data Insights
iXplore will highlight how AI and data research inform its virtual reality work, offering a look at how immersive experiences can support career exploration and connect future talent with opportunities in life sciences.
Heather Jackson
CEO & Co-Founder
iXplore
The Role of Universities in Shaping an Ethical, AI-Enabled Life Sciences Economy
Discussing how Indiana’s institutions are contributing through research, education, workforce development, and ethical leadership, as well as how stronger connections among universities, industry, and healthcare can prepare talent and translate new ideas into meaningful impact.
Lucy Flesch
Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science
Purdue University
Peter Schwartz, MD, PhD
Director, Indiana University Center for Bioethics
Indiana University
Ronak Shah
Senior Manager, Higher Education & Research North America
NVIDIA
Moderator: Rachel Patzer
President & CEO
Regenstrief Institute
Watanabe Life Sciences Achievement of the Year Award Presentation
BioCrossroads Presdient and CEO Vince Wong will be joined by Dan Peterson, Vice President Industry & Government Affairs at Cook Group, and Dr. David Ingram, Chief Medical Executive for IU Health for the annual Watanabe Award presentation.
Closing Remarks
Vince Wong, JD, MBA
President & CEO
BioCrossroads
Networking Session
Continue conversations from the day’s sessions and connect with fellow attendees before the afternoon workshops. Share perspectives on the program and explore opportunities to work together across life sciences and healthcare. Networking is presented by INCOG BioPharma Services.
AnalytiXIN Workshops
Open networking and refreshments following the FrameWORX discussion
Join one of three AnalytiXIN-led workshops exploring the Provena Consortium data asset, AI in healthcare operations, or AI-enabled tools for patients. Discuss practical applications and opportunities for collaboration with researchers, industry leaders, and healthcare peers. Each session brings presenters and participants together to examine work underway, discuss potential applications and implementation challenges, and identify opportunities for collaboration across universities, industry, and healthcare.
Become a Sponsor
The annual Indiana Life Sciences Summit presented by BioCrossroads offers a wide range of sponsorship opportunities. To request a sponsorship prospectus or to discuss a sponsorship level that fits your organization’s needs, please click the button below.