Indiana Chapter

The SoPE Indiana Chapter is the regional chapter for the non-profit global biomedical and healthcare innovation network SoPE. Membership is open to medical professionals and other stakeholders in healthcare. Members include doctors, nurses, dentists, healthcare entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, IT professionals, and industry representatives. SoPE is here to provide the network to encourage, educate, and connect biomedical and healthcare entrepreneurs so that new ideas get a chance – The Society operates in the very early stages of innovation commercialization; encouraging physicians and other medical professional entrepreneurs with ideas about how to improve healthcare to explore the possibilities and empowering them should they decide to take those initial steps in the “go to market” process. SoPE is unique in its make-up, leadership and mission – The Society is the only known organization founded and led by physicians with the specific purpose of providing support to those physicians and other medical professionals on the front lines of delivering healthcare that need help in bringing their ideas, inventions and innovations for improving healthcare to life.

SoPE Indiana is a hub of information, education, and networking for Indiana’s life science entrepreneurs. Through our meetings we provide education for entrepreneurs and early-stage investors and offer opportunities for them to connect to share and advance ideas. We value innovation, inclusiveness, and outcomes to further enhance Indiana’s role as a leading driver of life science venturing.

Dr. Todd Saxton

Chapter Leader

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Dr. Paul Szotek

Chapter Leader

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Dr. Ragan Brackett

Executive Committee

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Dr. Jim Donahue

Executive Committee

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Dr. Eric Han

Executive Committee

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Dr. Frank Lloyd

Executive Committee

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Dr. Luke Pittman

Executive Committee

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The Top 5 reasons to attend an Indiana SoPE event:

  • 1. Connect with like-minded innovators
  • 2. Learn about successful venturing
  • 3. Help other entrepreneurs move their ideas forward
  • 4. Identify early-stage investing and advising opportunities
  • 5. Create positive change in healthcare
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Todd Saxton, PhD

Co-Founder and Chapter Leader

Todd Saxton is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, and the Indiana Venture Faculty Fellow. Todd is an award-winning Professor in the Evening MBA, Kelley Direct MBA, and Business of Medicine programs at Kelley. His research focuses on factors affecting early stage venture success. Todd has served as President of the Board of the Venture Club of Indiana (2015), as well as on advisory boards for Diagnotes Inc., VisionTech Angel Partners, Fight for Life Foundation, the Indiana Center for Biomedical Innovation, and PERQ. Todd is the founding Director of the DIVE (Discovery, Innovation, and Ventures Enterprise) program for Kelley Evening MBA students with an interest in venturing. He is also a founding member of AngelBoM, an early-stage angel investing group affiliated with the Business of Medicine program (Kelley’s physician-only MBA program). He has consulted with a number of emergent and high growth ventures on their launch and growth strategy including several Inc. 500 companies. He is an active angel investor and has been a member of the founding team of several ventures as well. In 2017, Todd and colleagues formed LSV (Life Science Venture) Launchpad to accelerate launch of new ventures in healthcare broadly defined. Todd has two daughters and enjoys outdoor endurance activities of all types with his wife, colleague and partner Kim.

Paul Szotek, MD, FACS

Co-founder and Chapter Lead

Dr. Szotek is a Board Certified General Surgeon specializing in complex hernia repair. As Medical Director of the Indiana Hernia Center, Dr. Szotek is developing an innovative new web/telehealth based multidisciplinary “virtual hernia center” practice model with disruptive potential (www.indianahernia.com). In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Szotek performed the first surgery in Indiana utilizing Google Glass technology to guide removal of an anterior abdominal wall tumor and is currently working to develop telementoring, augmented reality, and virtual reality applications in surgery. On April 12, 2016 he performed the world’s first transcontinental live stream virtual reality hernia repair surgery from Putnam County Hospital in Greencastle, IN to Brisbane, Australia. In March 2017 Dr. Szotek performed the world’s first “in field” telestration surgery using ODG Smart Glasses and AMA Xperteye software. Dr. Shirin Towfigh telestrated directly onto the hernia surgery field from Cancun, Mexico providing live real time transcontinental mentoring and assistance Dr. Szotek graduated with a B.S. degree from IU Bloomington, a degree in Medicine and his residency training from IU School of Medicine, a stem cell research fellowship in Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital, and is currently working on his MBA at the IU Kelley School of Business. He resides in Carmel, IN with his wife (Sarah) and 2 boys (Carson 10 & Cooper 8) and enjoys cycling.

Ragan Brackett, MD, MB.

Dr. Ragan Brackett is a board-certified family medicine physician who currently practices urgent care in Indianapolis, Indiana. She recently completed her medical residency training at Community Hospital East. Ragan attended medical school at IU School of Medicine where she also received a joint Master of Business degree from IU Kelley School of Business. Physician leadership and underserved medicine have always been strong interests during Ragan’s medical training as served as she was elected resident council president and served on Community’s Graduate Medical Education Committee and Service Excellence Committee. She presently sits on the IU School of Medicine Dean’s Council Board of Directors and where she serves on a subcommittee dedicated to establishing and increasing a scholarship endowment for underserved and underrepresented medical students. Ragan is also a current board member and co-founder with her husband of a nonprofit organization, The Gary Brackett Impact Foundation, whose mission is to serve at risk and underrepresented youth in Indiana by promoting community resources and employment initiatives. In her spare time, her more recent entrepreneurial endeavors include providing market and strategy assisting with financial data analysis for her husband’s restaurant brand, Stacked Pickle, which is trying to nationally franchise and currently maintains 10 stores located in Central Indiana. A native of Indianapolis, Ragan’s accolades include induction into her high school (Brebeuf Jesuit) sports hall of fame as well as candidate for Marion County Athlete of the Year. She lettered all 4 years playing Division I basketball in college at Brown University, where she received a BA degree in Biology with a focus in bioengineering research.

Jim Donahue, MD, MBA.

Dr. Donahue has extensive experience in biomedical research and reproductive medicine. He has a Master’s in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Indiana University, where he worked on drug metabolism at the Lilly Laboratory for Clinical Research. He trained at the University of Miami for Medical School, Indiana University for Residency in OB/GYN, the Medical College of Georgia for his Reproductive Endocrinology Fellowship. He also has an MSc in Clinical Human Embryology from the University of Leeds, UK and most recently an MBA from the Business of Medicine Program at the Kelley School of Business. Over his 25 years in Medicine, he has brought innovative technologies to central Indiana and is pursuing new innovative technologies to advance patient care.

Eric Han, MD.

Dr. Han is a graduate of West Virginia School of Medicine and has completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Northwell Health (NSLIJ). He currently practices full time as a hospitalist and is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University Health. In addition, he is soon to be a graduate of Kelley School of Business. He has a particular interest in finding innovative solutions to the current challenges facing healthcare through the use and integration of technology. Some of his experiences include design, prototyping and development of applications.

Frank Lloyd, MD, MBA.

Dr. Lloyd graduated from the IU School of Medicine, and received his MBA from the IU Kelley School of Business. He has also studied and practiced at Howard University and the Roswell Park Memorial Institute, and has appointments at IU School of Medicine, Marion University, and Purdue University. He is also President of Trauma Level I Surgical Clinic Methodist Hospital in Indiana for the Center for Surgical Science and Trauma (CSST). He also served as County Coroner for Marion County. Frank has numerous publications primarily in oncology research.

He is a founding member of the Indiana University/Eli Lilly Biorepository, for which he established IRB protocols across multi-disciplinary groups for the collection, storage and integration of clinical data for a large multi-institutional biorepository. Among other entrepreneurial activities, Frank has managed large clinical databases, introduced the first gene array platform to Indiana University Health, and is VP of Pre-Clinical Research for Semaphore Pharmaceuticals. He is also President and Founding Member of Cascade Metrix, a medical device company developing point of care devices for the ICU.

Luke Pittman, MD, MBA.

Dr. Luke Pittman is a Board-Certified Family Physician practicing urgent care medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed his joint MD/MBA degree at Indiana University School of Medicine and Kelley School of Business, a nontraditional route inspired by his father and grandfather—both entrepreneurial surgeons. In addition to his role as a clinician, he is also pursuing a variety of entrepreneurial endeavors focused on technology-enhanced service solutions around primary, preventive and urgent care. With experience in family medicine, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, Dr. Pittman aspires to develop a culture of innovation, proactive team-based care, shared risk, and empowered consumers across America’s healthcare landscape. Luke is a founding member of LSV Launchpad, a platform for launching life science ventures.