FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2025
WorldUpstart Impacts Expands Board to Advance Global Life Sciences and Deep Tech Innovation
Philadelphia, PA – WorldUpstart Impacts, a nonprofit accelerating the commercialization of life sciences and deep tech breakthroughs, today announced the appointment of three distinguished leaders to its Board of Directors: Bríd Devlin, Philippe Dongier, and Michael McTigue. They join founding members Karina Sotnik, Stephanie Vogel and Peter Gonzales in advancing the organization’s mission to help researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs globally bring transformational innovation to markets.
New Board Members:
● Bríd Devlin, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at the Population Council, brings extensive expertise in pharmaceuticals, formulation development, biotechnology,
and technology transfer.
● Philippe Dongier, Executive Director at CECI (Centre for International Studies and Cooperation) and former executive at The World Bank and GE, brings decades of global market, innovation, and development experience.
● Michael McTigue, a corporate communications executive with leadership roles at GSK, Haleon, and ViiV, strengthens WorldUpstart Impacts’ strategic communications and stakeholder engagement capabilities.
“We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished leaders,” said Karina Sotnik, CEO of WorldUpstart and a founding board member of WorldUpstart Impacts. “Their expertise will expand our reach and impact globally as we work to help innovators navigate the complex path from discovery to commercialization.” WorldUpstart Impacts builds on Sotnik’s deep experience creating an accelerator at the University of Pennsylvania Penn Center for Innovation and leading market-entry programs for early-stage life sciences and medtech companies through WorldUpstart. The nonprofit focuses on helping scientific discoveries reach patients, industries, and markets that need them, regardless of where they originate.
Recently, WorldUpstart Impacts received a $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to help launch HiveBio, a nine-month program designed to strengthen Philadelphia’s life sciences ecosystem. HiveBio offers early-stage companies access to executive mentoring, peer-to-peer support, and expert-led sessions—removing key barriers to commercialization for emerging innovators. For more information about WorldUpstart Impacts, its programs, and its leadership, visit www.worldupstartimpacts.org.
About WorldUpstart Impacts
Founded in 2023, WorldUpstart Impacts helps innovators transform scientific discoveries into real-world solutions by bridging the critical gap between research and
commercialization. Its programs focus on creating and accelerating pathways to market globally for innovation breakthroughs.
About the Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and the American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. Learn more at KF.org.
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