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BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is pleased to announce the addition of Caroline Popper and Julie Wilkinson as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs). Together, they bring decades of experience across medical technology, diagnostics, digital health, commercialization strategy, FDA pathways, manufacturing, corporate development, and venture-building.

Popper is a business leader, physician, and lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in medical technology, diagnostics, and the life sciences. Her work has focused on technologies and services that improve healthcare efficiency, with a growing emphasis on the intersection of healthcare, biology, technology, and artificial intelligence.

She has held operational and strategic roles at BD and bioMérieux, served as Chief Business Officer of MDS Proteomics, founded Popper and Company, and co-founded The Sherpanis with Julie Wilkinson. She also served as Chief Commercial Officer of Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine and led commercialization activities for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Healthcare Mission Area. She currently serves as co-chair of the American Bar Association Healthcare Section AI Task Force.

Wilkinson is a scientist, C-level executive, and entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience advancing MedTech innovations through FDA clearance and GMP manufacturing across medical devices, digital health, and in vitro diagnostics. She has led R&D efforts at major health technology companies, including Abbott, Beckman Coulter, and Agilent, and founded and grew a life science service company from zero to $10 million before a successful exit.

Her expertise spans FDA product development pathways, MedTech technology readiness, investor diligence, product-market fit, value proposition development, business model design, and commercialization strategy. She was also part of the $2 billion RADx Tech NIBIB initiative, which helped create U.S. manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 tests, and has led company teams through FDA authorization and manufacturing scale-up for new diagnostics.

“Caroline and Julie bring the kind of hands-on operating experience that is invaluable to entrepreneurs and early-stage companies,” said BHI President and CEO, Rich Bendis. “Their combined expertise in diagnostics, MedTech, FDA strategy, commercialization, manufacturing, AI, and venture-building will strengthen BHI’s ability to support innovators as they move from promising technologies to market-ready solutions.”

“Caroline and I are very excited to join the BHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence team and support our capital region entrepreneurs as they accelerate the transformation of innovative ideas into market-ready products. Turning an idea into a successful commercial product takes far more than funding and determination, it requires the collaboration of experienced experts working together as an active team. The Entrepreneur-in-Residence program led by Rich Bendis exemplifies that collaborative approach and provides entrepreneurs with the strategic support needed to move innovation forward,” said Julie Wilkinson, New Entrepreneur-in-Residence, BioHealth Innovation.

As Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, Popper and Wilkinson will work with BHI and its partners to help emerging companies evaluate technology readiness, refine commercialization strategies, navigate regulatory and development milestones, assess market opportunities, and build stronger pathways toward investment, partnership, and growth.

Their addition reflects BHI’s continued commitment to expanding its EIR network with leaders who have deep technical expertise, operating experience, and a strong understanding of what it takes to move biohealth innovations from concept to commercialization.

Organizations and Institutions interested in EIR support through BHI are encouraged to contact Rich Bendis, President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, at rbendis@biohealthinnovation.org.

About BioHealth Innovation, Inc.

BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI) is a nonprofit innovation intermediary that accelerates the commercialization of promising biohealth technologies. BHI works with entrepreneurs, startups, research institutions, federal laboratories, universities, investors, and industry partners to help move science from discovery to market.

Through its Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program, non-dilutive funding support, international soft-landing services, and commercialization expertise, BHI helps companies and innovators strengthen business strategies, pursue funding, connect with partners, and navigate the path toward growth. BHI is also a founding member and manager of the BioHealth Capital Region brand, supporting the continued development of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia as one of the nation’s leading life sciences clusters.