I completed my PhD training in Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine where I studied near-infrared spectroscopy techniques for clinical applications in cardiovascular care, neuro-intensive care, and sleep medicine. After a short post-doc at UCI, I joined Hamamatsu Photonics as a scientist focusing on early-stage R&D for biomedical applications. While rooted in the science and R&D, I developed a strong interest in how technologies make the transition out of academic labs and into commercialization (or fail in the process!). Despite having awesome technology, I saw many efforts get stuck at this transition point and it seemed like I might be able to help with my fantastic team and resources at Hamamatsu. I then moved to Hamamatsu Ventures, our corporate venture capital group, where we work directly with entrepreneurs developing new photonics technologies and support them through investment, mentoring, and collaborative R&D. In this role, I'm able to provide a broad perspective on the R&D and commercialization pathway for new photonics technologies and accelerate the growth of new photonics industries.