Inside the Engine: How Cedars-Sinai Powers Healthcare Innovation in the U.S. and Beyond

Speakers

Moderator's Profile:

Khoo Shih is the Founding CEO of ClavystBio and Managing Director of Life Sciences Investments at Temasek. With over 20 years of experience in global life sciences and healthcare investing, she played a key role in building Temasek’s life sciences portfolio, leading biopharma and early-stage innovation strategies. Prior to Temasek, she invested in life sciences ventures at UOB Venture Management and contributed to Singapore’s biomedical industry development at the Economic Development Board. Khoo Shih holds a PhD in Genetics and Development from UT Southwestern Medical Center and a BSc in Microbiology from NUS. She serves on the boards of Nuevocor, Paratus Sciences, and Leyden Labs. Passionate about accelerating innovations to transform human health, she continues to drive impactful investments in the healthcare sector.

Speaker's Profile:

Dr. Clive Svendsen is the Founding Director of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute (RMI) in Los Angeles. Trained at Harvard and Cambridge, he previously founded the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at the University of Wisconsin. His work focuses on using iPSCs to model and treat neurodegenerative diseases like ALS, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s. At RMI, he leads research integrating “organ-on-chip” technology and manages the Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center for cell therapy production. He has spearheaded clinical trials using stem cells and growth factors, including pioneering therapies for Parkinson’s and Retinitis Pigmentosa. Featured on the cover of National Geographic as “The Future of Medicine,” Dr. Svendsen continues to lead innovations in stem cell-based treatments for neurological disorders.

Speaker's Profile:

Dr. Dermot McGovern is Director of Translational Medicine at Cedars-Sinai’s F. Widjaja Foundation IBD Institute and leads the Cedars-Sinai Precision Medicine Initiative. He trained at Oxford, where he completed a PhD in complex disease genetics, and holds the Joshua and Lisa Greer Endowed Chair in IBD Genetics. His research focuses on IBD genetics, its overlap with other immune-mediated diseases, and the development of biomarkers and therapies through multi-omic analysis. His work prioritizes diverse populations, including African-Americans, Hispanics, and Ashkenazi Jews. Dr. McGovern’s group is funded by NIH, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Litwin Foundation, and Helmsley Charitable Trust. He serves on national and international IBD advisory boards, editorial committees, and has published extensively in top journals such as Nature, Science, and The Lancet.

Moderator's Profile:

Ms. Irene Cheong is Assistant Chief Executive, Innovation & Enterprise (I&E) at ASTAR, where she leads industry engagement, venture creation, and the development of ASTAR’s startup portfolio. As Acting CEO of DxD Hub, she oversees diagnostics co-development from biomarker validation to regulatory approval. With expertise in biotech, medtech, and diagnostics, Ms. Cheong previously led venture-building programmes at NUS and held roles at EDB Investments and AstraZeneca. She drives ecosystem partnerships and represents A*STAR on several national committees, including co11ab and CADENCE. She holds a Global Executive MBA from NUS-UCLA, an MSc in Microbiology, and completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme in 2023.

Speaker's Profile:

David Wrigley is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cedars-Sinai Health System, overseeing financial planning, reporting, treasury, capital planning, risk management, corporate compliance, ventures, and technology transfer. He joined Cedars-Sinai in 2014 as VP of Finance, later serving as SVP and CFO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center before his promotion in 2022. Prior to Cedars-Sinai, he held senior financial roles at Presence Health in Chicago and KPMG’s Healthcare Practice. A certified public accountant, Wrigley holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Illinois State University. He has served on the board of Holy Family Medical Center and is active in the Healthcare Finance Management Association.

Speaker's Profile:

Jeffrey A. Golden is the Director of the Burns and Allen Research Institute and Executive Vice Dean for Research and Education at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He previously held positions as the Chair of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His research has focused on understanding the developmental, molecular and cellular basis of neurodevelopmental disorders. He is the editor of several textbooks and is past president of the American Association of Neuropathologists and president-elect of the Association of Pathology Chairs. He has a longstanding commitment to advancing healthcare through research and in educating the next generation of investigators, physicians and other healthcare workers.