A former manager at GE HealthCare will lead Wisconsin's newly designated biohealth tech hub focused on personalized medicine.
Wendy Harris, who spent more than three decades at GE HealthCare, is the regional innovation officer-elect for the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub.
Harris will lead Wisconsin's effort to go after millions of dollars in federal funding that's only available to 31 designated U.S. tech hubs the Biden Administration announced Monday.
Five to 10 of those hubs are expected to get up to $75 million each in federal funding. The application for that money is due at the end of February, Harris said.
As part of the proposal to secure the funding, Wisconsin's biohealth consortium is fleshing out specific programs within the tech hub, Harris said. There will be programs related to growing a biohealth workforce, building an advanced manufacturing supply chain, developing personalized medicine technology, and supporting an entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem, she said.
Harris's role will be a full-time position within BioForward Wisconsin, the industry organization that led Wisconsin's bid to become one of the designated hubs. She will work with the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub steering committee chaired by Madison's University Research Park managing director Aaron Olver.
The committee has one representative from each of the 15 members of the Wisconsin biohealth consortium. It includes Jay Hill of GE HealthCare and Michael Cook of Rockwell Automation, as well as representatives from Accuray, BioForward, Employ Milwaukee, Exact Sciences, Madison Area Technical College, MadREP, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee7, Plexus, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and WRTP | Big Step.
There could be opportunities for other companies and organizations to join the consortium or otherwise get involved in the new tech hub effort, Harris said.
"I just want to encourage anyone with interest and a footprint in the biohealth industry, they can still be very much engaged," she said.
Harris, who lives in the Waukesha County village of Wales, spent more than 30 years as a leader at GE HealthCare before leaving the company in January to focus on consulting. Her most recent role there was as a general manager of product operations. She has a degree in electrical engineering and a master's of business administration, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
