2025 Biocrossroads life sciences summit
One Health: Advancing and Defining Indiana’s Leadership Opportunity
Presented in Partnership with AgriNovus Indiana
Held in the heart of the emerging One Health Innovation District in downtown Indianapolis, this year’s Summit brought together leaders from industry, academia, non-profits, and government for a full day of strategic dialogue focusing on advancing sustainable farming, improving human and companion pet health, and reshoring critical supply chains, areas where Indiana’s strengths can make a global impact on public health and national security.
2025 Summit Overview
For more than two decades, the BioCrossroads Life Sciences Summit has served as a platform to elevate the people, organizations, and innovations driving Indiana’s life sciences sector forward. Each year, the Summit convenes more than 250 leaders from industry, academia, startups, policy, and the nonprofit sector for a focused day of dialogue around the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities shaping the field.
The 2025 BioCrossroads Life Sciences Summit, presented in partnership with AgriNovus Indiana, will put One Health at the center, recognizing that human, animal, and plant health are deeply interconnected, and that breakthroughs in one area can spark innovation across them all. With world-class R1 research universities, global industry leaders, and strong cross-sector partnerships, Indiana is uniquely positioned to define and deliver real-world One Health solutions.
These discussions explored how Indiana can:
- Align its strengths to address specific, high-impact One Health challenges
- Advance public health, environmental resilience, and supply chain security
- Accelerate the vision for the One Health Innovation District
- Expand Indiana’s global leadership in life sciences
Agenda & Speaker Bios
EVENT RECAP
One Health: Advancing and Defining Indiana's Leadership Opportunity
See highlights and hear insights from panelists, speakers, and attendees of the 2024 BioCrossroads Life Sciences Summit.
Welcome
Vince Wong, President & CEO of BioCrossroads and Christy Wright, President & CEO of AgriNovus Indiana, open the 2025 BioCrossroads Life Sciences Summit by outlining Indiana’s growing opportunity in One Health and the statewide strengths that connect human, animal, plant, and environmental health.
Indiana's One Health Economy
Indiana’s Secretary of Commerce highlights the state’s economic strategy and its role in strengthening talent, industry growth, and regional collaboration that enable One Health leadership. He lays out how Indiana’s environment supports innovation across human, animal, and agricultural health sectors.
Speaker:
David Adams, Indiana Secretary of Commerce
Why One Health, Why Indiana, Why Now?
Moderator: Melina Kennedy, CEO, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership
Panelists:- Mung Chiang, President, Purdue University
- Chuck Magro, CEO, Corteva
- Dave Ricks, Chairman and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company
- Jeff Simmons, President and CEO, Elanco
- Pamela Whitten, President, Indiana University
Healthier People, Pets, Farms, and Farmers
Experts explore how human, animal, and agricultural health are connected and why Indiana is already at the center of this ecosystem. The panel highlights emerging solutions in antimicrobial resistance, veterinary oncology, crop resilience, and animal health innovation.
Moderator: Aaron Schact, CEO, BiomEdit
Panelists:
- Sylvie Brouder, Director, Purdue Center for Global Food Security
- Michael Lairmore, DVM, PhD, Distinguished Professor (Emeritus), Former Dean, UC Davis, Acting Exec. Dir., North America One Health University Network
- Christina Lopes, Co-Founder and CEO, FidoCure
- Jay Price, CEO and President, Mission Pet Health
Our Food Supply: The Changing Dynamics and How We Pivot
Moderator: Christy Wright, President and CEO, AgriNovus Indiana
Panelists:
- Ignacio Bartolome, CEO, GDM
- Heather Eicher-Miller, Professor, Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University
One Health in Action:
Indiana's Leadership Role in Reshoring the Supply Chain
Industry and academic leaders outline how Indiana is rebuilding domestic manufacturing capacity for pharmaceuticals, animal health products, and agricultural chemistry. The conversation highlights Catalyze Indiana and the state’s emerging strengths in advanced chemistry.
Moderator: Ed Maginn, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Engineering, Associate Vice President for Research, University of Notre Dame
Panelists:
- Daniel Golden, VP of Global R&D Strategy and Research & Discovery, Elanco
- Arup Roy, PhD, Senior VP, Technical Services and Manufacturing Science, Eli Lilly & Company
- Wendy Srnic, Vice President of Biotechnology, Corteva Agriscience
- Elizabeth Topp, Director, William D. and Sherry L. Young Advanced Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals Institute, Purdue University
One Health in Action:
Indiana's Research Universities Fueling Innovation to Drive Leadership
Research leaders from Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, and Indiana University examine how their institutions drive discovery, technology translation, and workforce development across the One Health spectrum, and how university partnerships are fueling statewide innovation.
Moderator: Lucy Flesch, PhD, Frederick L. Hovde Dean of Science, Purdue University
Panelists:
- Dan DeLaurentis, PhD, Executive Vice President for Research and Bruce Reese Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Purdue University - Jeff Rhoads, PhD, Vice President for Research, University of Notre Dame
- Russell Mumper, PhD, Vice President for Research, Indiana University
Fireside Chat: One Health in Action, Reshoring the Nation's Animal, Plant, and Human Health Supply Chain
Senator Todd Young and Ilya Yuffa discuss federal policy, biotechnology competitiveness, and the strategies needed to strengthen America’s supply chain and biomanufacturing capacity. Their conversation connects national leadership to the work happening in Indiana.
- Sen. Todd Young, U.S. Senate, Indiana
- Ilya Yuffa, Executive VP, Eli Lilly and Company, President, Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities
August M. Watanabe Life Sciences Champion of the Year Award Presentation
BioCrossroads honors U.S. Senator Todd Young with the Watanabe Life Sciences Champion of the Year Award in recognition of his leadership in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and innovation policy that has shaped Indiana’s national role.
NIBRT Announcement and Closing Remarks
Andrew Kossack and Michelle Dennis from the Applied Research Institute, and Killian O’Driscoll, NIBRT’s chief commercial officer share an exciting announcement for Indiana during the 2025 Summit, an official partnership with NIBRT to boost Indiana’s biomanufacturing workforce development.
Thank you to our sponsors.
2024 Summit Recap
A Crucial Conversation Surrounding Indiana’s Impact on Global Health
The 2024 BioCrossroads Life Sciences Summit featured keynotes, panel discussions, and a patient roundtable focusing on the groundbreaking advancements in diabetes and obesity care management happening across Indiana’s life sciences ecosystem and impacting patients worldwide, including the development and potential for GLP-1’s.