#WEWednesday – From Problem to Market: How Two Women Are Addressing Global Challenges

Dr. Rebecca H. Chung, PhD currently serves as the Associate Director of Innovation Programs in the Office of Innovation & Commercialization at the University of Hawaii (UH). Managing the intellectual property portfolio across the UH System with an emphasis on deep technology ventures, she collaborates cross-functionally to accelerate the translation of academic research innovations into commercializable opportunities by connecting industry strategic partners with UH's technologies and researchers. With a recent funding award of $2.4M from the Office of Naval Research, she is leading the development and execution of new innovation programs, Patents2Products & Faculty Fellows, as part of a new initiative in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island and University of Alaska Fairbanks to create new pathways for innovation and commercialization. Rebecca received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on Innovation & Entrepreneurship from Stevens Institute of Technology, where she focused on orthopaedic medical device design, supported by the institution’s Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the National Science Foundation. She then completed her NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, where her research contributions to advancing the musculoskeletal field have been recognized nationally and internationally by the National Institute of Health, Orthopaedic Research Society, and Orthoregeneration Network. Leveraging her background and interests, Rebecca aims to continue shaping the UH academic research environment to enable both innovation and impact to thrive.

Noe Foster is co-founder of HealthTechApps, Inc., the creators of MindKloud, an AI technology platform that captures, computes and communicates mental health symptoms, triggers and resilience. Ten years ago, Noe, along with two other co-founders, launched their first app to help warfighters engage in cognitive exercises after a combat traumatic brain injury.

Noe served as a Medic in the U.S. Air Force - Reserves and as a health plan executive. Noe is a serial entrepreneur.

In 2022, the American Heart Association (AHA) awarded Noe the Empowered to Serve First Place Award. In addition, Forbes Magazine recognized Noe's as one of the Forbes 52 Women-Lead Startups Driving the Future of HealthTech and FemTec.

Noe is one of the inventors of two U.S. published patents: Brain Health Baselining and Cognitive Evaluation and Development System with Content Acquisition Mechanism and Method of Operation.  

Dr. Caroline Viola Fry is an Assistant Professor in the Management and Industrial Relations department, Shidler College of Business, University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Dr. Fry is also an invited researcher at JPAL’s Science for Progress Initiative. Dr. Fry received a doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Fry's research focuses on science, innovation and entrepreneurship in low-income countries. Innovation and the production and use of new knowledge plays a critical role in economic growth, yet scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs in low-income countries face additional barriers, such as skills gaps, limited international networks, and difficulty in accessing critical resources. Dr. Fry asks what programs and policies are the most effective at helping to overcome these constraints?

Dr. Insil Lee was appointed as Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) in May 2022. Prior to joining KIPO, Dr. Lee was the Women Department Director of the International Federation of Inventors Association. Dr. Lee was a former Commissioner at the Korea Trade Commission, an Advisory Committee member of the Korean Trademark and Design System and Legislation, Commissioner of the Korean Woman Inventors Association, and President of the Korean Women Patent Attorney Association. Dr. Lee obtained a Ph.D. from Korea University, and LLM from Ewha Woman’s University and the University of Washington. 

Kathi Vidal serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – America’s Innovation Agency. 

As the chief executive of the USPTO, she leads one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world, with more than 13,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $4 billion. She is the principal IP advisor to the President and the Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce, and is focused on incentivizing and protecting U.S. innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity. She leads an agency whose mission is to help American workers and businesses compete and collaborate, especially in ground-breaking technologies and across all demographics. As Director of the USPTO, Vidal is working to expand American innovation for and from all, and to bring more ideas to impact, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Council for Inclusive Innovation (CI2), alongside Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and the Council members.   

Director Vidal grew up in a career military family and spent her childhood on military bases in the United States, Panama, Germany, and the Azorean Islands (Portugal). She learned the value of hard work, financial security, and education from her parents, who often held multiple jobs and attended classes at night and on weekends to earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. 

Her interest in science led her to attend Binghamton University at the age of 16, where she received her bachelor’s in electrical engineering. Before graduating, she started her career at General Electric (GE) Aerospace (later Lockheed Martin). She was selected into the Edison Engineering Program and pursued her master’s in electrical engineering in Syracuse University’s night program. During her time at GE, she designed one of the first artificial intelligence systems for aircraft, as well as aircraft and engine-control systems that continue to keep our military safe today.  

Recognizing the value of innovation, Director Vidal pursued a career in IP. She put herself through law school and obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. After clerking for Judge Alvin Anthony Schall on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Director Vidal joined Fish & Richardson P.C., where she became a recognized expert on IP law, led a litigation group of 270 attorneys in 11 global offices, and served on the firm’s Management Committee. She later joined Winston & Strawn LLP, where she served on the firm’s Executive Committee and was Managing Partner of its Silicon Valley office. Throughout her career, Director Vidal has represented new innovators and startup companies with limited resources. She has also represented many of our country’s most successful and well-known companies.  

Director Vidal has spent her career championing the importance of mentoring and expanding opportunities to include more individuals from underserved communities. She has played an active role on the advisory board of Chiefs in Intellectual Property (ChIPs), a network of women leaders in technology, law, and policy, and on other boards and committees focused on diversity and inclusion, and has mentored diverse women across the globe as part of the Fortune-U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership program. She builds on that work today. 

Director Vidal’s full bio is available on the USPTO website.