Indiana Health Industry Forum Announces MOMENTUM Program Manager

The Indiana Health Industry Forum (IHIF) announced that Andrew Steen will be serving as the Program Manager, Regional Innovation Services in a joint role with the Kentucky Life Sciences Council (KLSC), IHIF’s counterpart organization. Steen will manage the first cycle of the MOMENTUM:Team Mentorship program, the leading piece of IHIF’s newly introduced mentorship initiative. He will also be responsible for development of a one-year work plan for a joint state initiative to leverage the region’s life science academic, entrepreneurial, and commercial resources.

Steen has spent the past 15 years working within an academic medical center, principally focused on life science commercialization efforts. He was most recently the Interim President and CEO of MetaCyte Business Lab LLC, a subsidiary of the University of Louisville Foundation, Inc. During his time at MetaCyte Andy worked with scientists and clinicians to create companies, often functioning as part of the founding entrepreneurial team. Andy has built a significant industry network which he is able to leverage on behalf of MOMENTUM participants.

“We are incredibly lucky to have someone with Andy’s extensive background and experience leading this Cycle of MOMENTUM”, said Kristin Jones President and CEO of the Indiana Health Industry Forum. “Having him on board with the program puts our mentors and entrepreneurs ahead of the game. We are also delighted to be able to partner with the KLSC to build out a more cohesive regional strategy to better leverage and support entrepreneurs, academia, and industry. MOMENTUM fits well with this broader strategy and this partnership should serve as a model to include other states as we go forward”.

Dr. Kyle Keeney, President and CEO of the KLSC said, ”this initiative is all about making it easier to connect ideas, people, and resources in the most efficient and effective ways possible. The Kentucky-Indiana relationship is strong and both states can only benefit from greater knowledge of each other’s assets. Andy Steen is now uniquely positioned to bring that vision to fruition. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with IHIF on building a system that supports entrepreneurs in both states”.

The first 10-week Cycle of MOMENTUM:Team Mentorship will begin in September 2015 and features mentee companies B2S Labs, Sintact Medical Systems, and Reclaim Rx. The program is being supported by CTSI, Barnes & Thornburg, The Indiana Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (OSBE)/ISBDC and the Gayle and Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship at Ivy Tech, Bloomington.