The third annual Maryland MedTech Summit, held on March 24, 2026, at the University of Maryland, illustrated a vibrancy and growth that mirrors the burgeoning medical technology industry in the State of Maryland and beyond.

The event, co-hosted by the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Medical Devices, Maryland Department of Commerce, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, and The Launchport, attracted more than 400 attendees, including medical device entrepreneurs, researchers, clinicians, investors, universities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institutes of Health, additional government agencies, international delegations, and more, to learn, connect, celebrate and build on Maryland’s thriving MedTech economy.

"Maryland has quietly become one of the most dynamic medical technology corridors in the country, and the Maryland MedTech Summit is a showcase of that momentum,” said Bradley Gillenwater, manager, Office of Life Sciences, Maryland Department of Commerce. “We were proud to co-host an event that connects our state's innovators with the investors, health systems, and federal partners they need to scale. This is economic development in action."

Fischell Institute Assistant Director Martha Wang kicked off the 69-speaker summit by welcoming Jelena Srebric, associate dean for research and Margaret G. and Frederick H. Kohloss Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, who gave opening remarks.

Maryland Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Ricardo Benn followed by unveiling Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s proclamation declaring March 24, 2026 as Maryland MedTech Day in Maryland.

The proclamation read: “This vital event brings together hundreds of medical device innovators, investors, clinicians, researchers, manufacturers, and government, and developing talent from Maryland all around the world, showcasing the remarkable collaboration and synergy across every corner of Maryland's medical technology ecosystem.”

Following the proclamation, Meena Seshamani, secretary, Maryland Department of Health, launched the morning program before the first panel discussion, “Innovation at Scale: Proving Value Across the Enterprise.” Moderated by Matthew Clark, senior vice president of marketing and communications, University of Maryland Medical System, the panel featured Warren D’Souza, senior vice president and chief innovation officer, University of Maryland Medical System; Elizabeth Edsall Kromm, assistant secretary for population health and strategic initiatives, Maryland Department of Health; David Graham, vice president and chief medical information officer, LifeBridge Health; Stephen Kinsey, principal, Business Innovation Lab, MedStar Health; and Peter Najjar, vice president of clinical innovation, Johns Hopkins Health System and assistant program director, Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Systems Management Fellowship.

Next came a panel titled “Built on the Frontlines: Bottom-Up Innovation in Health Systems,” moderated by Dean Chang, chief innovation officer, University of Maryland. Panelists included Ed Margerrison, director, Office of Science and Engineering, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Jason Troutner, chief operating officer, Sotelix; and Lei Zong, director of strategy, Key Tech.

The morning concluded with a “Funding Your Innovation” panel hosted by George Davis, fund manager, Wexford SciTech Venture Fund. Panelists included Matthew Miessau, principal, Epidarex Capital; Eileen O’Rourke, director of impact investing, The Abell Foundation; Mike Ravenscroft, managing director, University System of Maryland Momentum Fund; and Bruce Robertson, managing director, H.I.G. Capital.

A networking lunch followed, along with “Collaboration Catalyst Quick Pitches” by MedTech startups Gelectric Medical, Impulse Biomedical, SHARP Diagnostics, SpringWear, SmartTIVA, Fetal Therapy Technologies, and Nanochon.

A special talk titled “‍Regulator: Friend or Foe to Innovation” started off the afternoon by Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement, Bloomberg American Health Initiative director and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of the Practice in American Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

The first track of parallel sessions ensued. The first, “Advances in Manufacturing: Making Your Tech in Maryland,” saw Ken Malone, executive officer and co-founder, Early Charm Ventures, moderating panelists David Garvey, biomedical engineer and onboarding specialist, The LaunchPort; Colin Harmer, CEO, Materic; Ben Holmes, CEO and co-founder, Nanochon; and Chad Schneider, CEO, Root3 Labs. The second, “Built in Maryland: MedTech Wins and What We Learned,” featured Abi Kulshreshtha, executive director, Maryland Innovation Initiative, TEDCO, hosting panelists Therese Canares, CEO, CurieDx; Elizabeth Clayborne, CEO and co-founder, NasaClip; Nick Culbertson, managing director, TechStars Baltimore; and Sebastian Seiguer, CEO, Scene Health‍.

The second set of parallel sessions included “Data as a Clinical Asset: AI and Digital Health,” moderated by Martha Jurczak, assistant dean for business and economic development and director, strategy and business development, UM-Institute for Health Computing, University of Maryland School of Medicine. Panelists were Marina Dorotheo, chief marketing and strategy officer, Welldoc; Alexandra Moylan, shareholder, Baker Donelson; and Sha Zhan, director of AI innovation and commercialization, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures.

At the same time, Bob Storey, managing partner, The LaunchPort, hosted the panel “Global Partners: Finding Your Footing in Maryland,” with panelists Hirotaka Ishibashi, director of global business development, Sanyo Chemical America; Arun Menawat, CEO, Profound Medical; Kerry Sims, vice president of Americas healthcare and life sciences, Hitachi Digital Services; and Haiyan Yang, senior vice president of scientific operations and R&D, Molecular You.

Three parallel sessions followed, starting with “Dual Use Technology: Leveraging Military Support for Innovation,” moderated by Chris Steele, chief of strategy, Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium, with panelists Katie Bratlie, director, innovation ecosystem, Henry Jackson Foundation; Laura Niklason, founder and CEO, Humacyte Global; and Rajabrata Sarkar, professor, Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The panel “The Brain State: Maryland’s Neurotech Breakthrough Era” occurred at the same time, hosted by Youseph Yazdi, center director, Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, and with panelists Michael Maglin, CEO, CraniUS; Laurie Silver, president, BrainScope; and Daniel Weinberger, director and CEO, Lieber Institute for Brain Development.

The third panel was “MedTech Bridges: Maryland, Japan, and Canada Connect,” with moderator Aisha Booker, director of foreign direct investment, Maryland Department of Commerce. Opening remarks were given by Ricardo Benn and Satoshi Miura, president of JETRO New York, Japan External Trade Organization. Speakers included Mahesh Gowrishankara, COO, Exorenal; Andrea Pais, CEO, Novel Microdevices; Rafael Corrales, CEO, Arenal Medical; Eric Paz, director of operations, Reprocell; Yuya Shizume, manager, Toray Industries America; Shigeru Shoji, president, DAISO Fine Chem USA; Michael Floros, founder and CEO, Cohesys; Albert Tai, CEO, Hypercare; and Keith Olson, executive management consultant, Ananda Devices. This session featured 20 delegations of companies that traveled from Japan and Canada for the event, including Mitsubishi and Profound Medical.

The day’s final panel was “The Edge of Impact: The Next Era of Medical Innovation,” moderated by Martha Wang. Panelists were Jay Cormier, vice president of strategy and operations, United Therapeutics; Jill DeGraff, senior vice president of privacy, regulatory affairs and compliance, b.well; and Michael Wolfson, program director, National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health.

The day concluded with a networking happy hour.

"The Maryland MedTech Summit is where the region's MedTech ecosystem comes alive,” said Wang. “At the Fischell Institute, we believe that transformative biomedical devices are born at the intersection of research, industry, government, and capital — and that's exactly what this event delivered. We're proud to help anchor Maryland MedTech Week and to bring together the innovators who are shaping the future of health."

Sponsors for the summit included: Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Maryland, bwtech@UMBC, Maryland Department of Commerce, Optimoz, Adelphi Ventures, BioHealth Innovation, Duane Morris LLP, Emerging Technology Centers (ETC) Baltimore, Howard County Economic Development Authority, Integra LifeSciences, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, Key Tech, LifeBridge Health, Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology, Montgomery County, PQE Group, QNova LifeSciences, Rockville Economic Development Inc., Thibodeau Media Group, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

The summit was the keystone event of Maryland MedTech Week, which also included the NeuroTech Harbor Showcase, a Break Into MedTech: Careers, Conversations, and Connections event, Anchor Ventures’ Neurotech in Action: A MedTech Founders Journey, the Mid-Atlantic Venture Investment Leadership Meeting, MedTech Innovator Virtual Pitch Event, Pitch and Mingle Investor Showcase, and FemTech That Scales: Innovation, Evidence, and Adoption.

Photos provided by Thibodeau Media Group.