Brooke Beier is the Senior Vice President of Purdue Innovates, leading the university’s commercialization and startup ecosystem since its launch in 2023. She oversees the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) and the Purdue Incubator, integrating licensing, startup acceleration, and investment support into a unified system that advances innovations from lab to market.
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Under her leadership, Purdue has ranked among the top four U.S. universities for patents for four consecutive years and was recently recognized as #7 globally for U.S. patents issued. Beier has played a pivotal role in commercializing Purdue technologies, especially through her decade-long collaboration with Dr. Philip Low, managing the licensing of his intellectual property portfolio. Her efforts have contributed to successful outcomes with companies such as Endocyte/Novartis, On Target Laboratories, Eradivir, Novosteo, Morphimmune, and Umoja Biopharma, leading to three FDA-approved drugs: PLUVICTO, LOCAMETZ, and CYTALUX.
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Beier holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University, where her research focused on wireless, implantable medical devices. Recognized on Purdue Engineering’s 38x38 list (2025) for innovation and leadership, she is also a former All-Big Ten tennis player and assistant coach.

Karson Putt is the Managing Director of the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery (PIDD) and CEO of the Purdue startup company Erythrocure. Prior to joining Purdue University, Dr. Putt worked for Johnson & Johnson where he managed the High-Throughput Screening and Combinatorial Chemistry lab.

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Before joining J&J, he created and was the director of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s High-Throughput Screening Facility where he earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry. His research focused on studying the cell death pathways encompassing apoptosis and necrosis through identifying small molecule modulators of known and novel cellular targets via high-throughput screening. He has published over 40 scientific articles and several dozen US patents/patents pending. Prior to graduate school, Dr. Putt was a Purdue graduate where he received degrees in biology and chemistry.

Ron Ellis is the founder of Endocyte, Inc. and served as CEO from 1996 to 2016. Endocyte developed targeted therapies and companion diagnostics for oncology and inflammatory diseases. While CEO, he raised $560 million in capital. Endocyte went public in 2011 and reached $1 billion in valuation in 2014 after receiving recommendation for approval by CHMP for Vintafolide and Etarfolatide for treatment of women with platinum resistant ovarian cancer. He negotiated over $180 million in licensing partnerships and multiple university licenses. During his tenure at Endocyte, 10 INDs were filed. He has extensive regulatory experience with the FDA and EMA and has a certificate in regulatory affairs from Purdue University. Mr. Ellis has significant experience in all phases of drug development from GMP manufacturing, pharmacology/toxicology, and clinical development. Prior to founding Endocyte, Mr. Ellis was VP of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development at Hill-Rom. At Hill-Rom he managed the strategic planning process, led the merger with SSI, and served as the leader of the Hill-Rom Med/Surg business unit. He currently serves on the boards of Indiana University Arnett Health Care Group and Clawson Family and is a past chairman of the Purdue Life Science Council. Mr. Ellis is a recipient of Purdue’s Krannert Entrepreneur of the Year Award and a guest lecturer on entrepreneurship. He earned his undergraduate degree in computer science and Master of Business Administration from Brigham Young University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He is married with three children.

Stewart is the Executive Director at the LIFT, bringing extensive experience in translating academic research into clinical development. Formerly COO at Eradivir Inc., he led an antiviral program into Phase II trials, and as co-founder and CSO of Novosteo Inc., advanced bone repair therapies later acquired by Quince Therapeutics, where he also headed Discovery. Dr. Low holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Utah and enjoys climbing, backpacking, and fly fishing with his children.

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