Triad BioNight celebrates life sciences, honors special contributors

The Piedmont Triad region’s hottest tech ticket on May 27 was 2026 Triad BioNight, where more than 400 business, academic and community representatives gathered to celebrate outstanding leaders in the region’s thriving life sciences sector. Awards were given for excellence in education, community, service/support, entrepreneurship, and research.

The sold-out event, held at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center, was hosted by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Piedmont Triad office, and its regional advisory committee, with the help of dozens of volunteers and sponsors. It was the 10th edition of the event since 2005.

Attendees hailed old friends and met new ones: A university lab manager talked with a community college biology faculty member, while two venture capitalists from different firms pledged to get together to discuss mutual interests.

Penny Whiteheart, executive vice president for the Piedmont Triad Regional Partnership, connected with a former colleague at the N.C. Department of Commerce. She was pleased with the event’s turnout. 

“In a region like the Triad, with such a huge breadth and depth of life sciences organizations, it is really important to have a physical meeting where people can connect in person,” she said.

A collaborative life sciences community

Billed as “An Evening of Spirit, Awards and Recognition,” the biennial event opened with remarks by Nancy Johnston, executive director of NCBiotech’s Piedmont Triad Office; and event co-chairs Kathy Eichlin, head of Crop Protection and Corporate Communication at Syngenta North America; Robert Boyce, CEO of Plakous Therapeutics; and Geoff Foster, president and CEO of Core Technology Molding Corp. 

All emphasized the importance of the region’s life sciences community, known for its collaboration. “The success of this event is a result of people coming together around a shared purpose and community,” Eichlin said.

Boyce recognized event sponsors, ranging from industry giants such as LabCorp, in Burlington, to smaller organizations such as Surry Community College’s Shelton-Badgett North Carolina Center for Viticulture and Enology, in Dobson, which provided the evening’s wines. “As an industry partner in this region and executive that knows the importance of raising funds, I’m proud to recognize the organizations whose generosity made tonight possible,” Boyce said.

Foster pointed to the region’s growth as a key factor for his company, which makes injection-molded parts for healthcare, automotive, aerospace and other sectors. The company, which started as an MBA project when Foster was at Wake Forest University, just celebrated expanding its Triad footprint with a May 21 ribbon-cutting for a $28 million, 100,000-square-foot production facility on 70 acres in southeastern Greensboro. “Our region is growing and every person here is a part of it,” Foster added.

AI and the life sciences

The program then moved to a dynamic discussion about artificial intelligence and its growing impact on life sciences and healthcare. “Life Sciences Driven by Evidence, Insight and AI” featured Brian Caveney, M.D., J.D., chief medical and scientific officer at LabCorp, and Angela A. Shippy, M.D., MHA, FACP, FHM, senior physician executive and clinical innovation lead for healthcare and life sciences at Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

Lloyd Whittington, editor-in-chief of Triad Business Journal, moderated the session. He asked the speakers to address not just what AI means for the future but to provide practical insights for attendees.

“AI is infusing every aspect of life sciences and healthcare,” said Caveny. “The largest labs in the world are 30 minutes down the road (at LabCorp, in Burlington)” and process 150 million lab tests a year from the 7,000 different tests available to healthcare providers.

“The smartest M.D. in the world couldn’t know everything about each test,” he said. They also don’t have the time to look up every test, what it means, what conditions or illnesses it tests for and what the latest diagnostics research has been done, he added.

With limited time available to providers and patients, he said, “every second counts.” It makes sense to use AI to mine all the relevant information and develop a list of potentially appropriate tests for the provider to consider. “AI doesn’t make the decisions, but it can make information available quickly that may lead to the right clinical answer. That’s good for the provider and good for the patient,” he added.

Shippy, with AWS, noted AI is being used “across our organization.” Among its uses are streamlining the process by which technical documents are produced. “Taking a much shorter time to produce documents allows us to do more for our customers and, in turn, allows time for innovation.” She also uses it to triage the recent barrage of emails that awaited her return from vacation. 

“It only took me 90 minutes to go through and respond to everything important. Including the ones from the boss?” Caveney joked. “Those were already in my VIP folder,” Shippy said, smiling.

Both speakers encouraged attendees and their organizations to learn more about AI tools and how they can streamline processes. They also noted the need to protect confidential patient information and have appropriate guardrails. For example, LabCorp uses redundant systems to review emails, documents and other items to review and ensure the de-identified data remains confidential.

“Everybody has to play fairly,” Caveney said. “We can have the greatest tools, but we have to maintain the history of scientific progress.” Shippy agreed: “We want to take AI as far as it will go but be mindful of privacy issues and identify frameworks and guidelines.”

LabCorp and AWS announced in April a new AI-powered real-world data platform with a goal of addressing Alzheimer’s disease. The LabCorp news release describes the platform as providing “access to large, diverse datasets and advanced analytics—using deidentified, privacy-protected healthcare data—designed to accelerate scientific discovery, shorten drug development timelines and improve identification of patients for clinical trial recruitment. 

LabCorp hopes to develop a modular approach that could be expanded to other diseases and conditions, Caveney said.

Following the dual keynote discussion, Carissa Jones, founder of Ventus LLC and awards chair, introduced the awards segment. “For over two decades, the Excellence Awards have catalyzed our Triad BioNight celebration. Tonight’s honorees were nominated by peers right here in the Piedmont Triad bioscience community and carefully reviewed and selected by an independent committee of local leaders.

“As your Award Chair, I’m thrilled to represent that committee tonight as we recognize the breakthroughs shaping the future of medicine,” she said. A list of the five awards and winners follows this story.

Russ Read honored

Longtime Triad life sciences workforce professional Russ Read was honored with a special presentation. 

Read served for 21 years as the executive director of the National Center for Biotechnology Workforce at Forsyth Tech Community College. until his retirement in January 2026. As one attendee said, “If you know Russ Read, you know everyone in the Triad.” NCBiotech President and CEO Doug Edgeton and NC Life Sciences Organization President Laura Gunter presented the award to him. 

Typically modest, Read didn’t make any remarks. But in a next-day LinkedIn post, he wrote, “So pleased to be recognized for my decades of service to the Life Sciences by the CEOs of the NC Biotechnology Center, Doug Edgeton, and NCLifeSci, Laura Gunter, and Nancy Johnston, our [NCBiotech Piedmont Triad] Executive Director.”

Edgeton replied to the post: “Russ, what you did in your career and now in your ‘retirement’ makes a difference. You are a great partner to all. Thank you!”

After the special award, Edgeton presented, “NC Life Sciences: A Statewide and Regional Perspective.” He highlighted the state’s “diverse statewide ecosystem.” When Edgeton came to the Triad in 2000, as executive vice president for Wake Forest University Health Sciences, he recalled there “were only about five dots” on a statewide map of life science companies. Today, there are 160 “dots” stretching from west of Asheville to the east, in Greenville and Wilmington, ranging from industry giants to small start-ups, he said. 

Edgeton attributed the Triad region’s life science success to several key factors, including outstanding training and education institutions, plus strong clusters in pharma, research, training and medical labs; bioscience-related distribution, agricultural feed stock and industrial biosciences and medical devices and equipment and a highly engaged community. 

He also praised the region’s collaborative environment. “People know each other here and what’s going on in science,” he said. “People will ‘take a meeting,’ or get together over a cup of coffee.” People like Russ Read, he said, “who know that ‘being in the room’ matters.”

NCBiotech’s Nancy Johnston closed out the evening by describing the take-home gift for attendees carefully selected by the event's team leaders: a phone/device charger and cup warmer made of environmentally friendly bamboo. 

“The gift serves as a reminder to us all to stay charged, stay connected and enjoy a little warmth through new collaborations—and continue to go out and change the world,” she said.

AWARDS

Triad BioNight 2026 presented awards of excellence to five life sciences leaders. Following are the winners and excerpts from their nominations, describing their outstanding work in the region and North Carolina:

Academic Development Excellence: Heather Miller, Ph.D.

Heather Miller, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry at High Point University and co-author of Molecular Biology Techniques: A Classroom Laboratory Manual, Fifth Edition, described by Elsevier Science as, “a must-have collection of methods and procedures” and an “indispensable teaching tool.” Miller was recognized as an educator who transforms how students experience science, using innovative course design and integrating real-world research into the classroom. Her effective mentorship and teaching ensure that many undergraduate and graduate students pursue and succeed in science careers.

Biotechnology Community Leadership Excellence: Tim Bertram, Ph.D.

Tim Bertram, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the National Science Foundation Regen Med Engine in North Carolina, one of 10 such NSF initiatives that represent a new national model of scientific innovation and economic revitalization. Bertram was honored for exemplifying leadership through action, aligning partners, building momentum and turning vision into measurable outcomes. His Triad impact through ReGen Med has included supporting hundreds of companies, attracting new businesses and catalyzing new investment. An interview in Pulse 2.0 describes Bertram’s role in leading the Piedmont Triad initiative and building life science companies.

Biotechnology Service/Support Excellence: Winston-Salem BioNest Fund

The fund, announced in September 2025, is a partnership between Greater Winston-Salem Inc. and the Whitaker Park Development Authority. It has exemplified the role of a catalyst, connecting ideas, resources and people to acelerate progress across the life sciences sector in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. The fund builds on the area’s growing momentum as a biotechnology and medical research hub, anchored by its two major healthcare systems: Advocate Health and Novant Health, with outstanding assets in Wake Forest University Health Sciences, including the medical school and Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine; Winston-Salem State University; and Forsyth Tech Community College. 

Entrepreneurial Excellence: FetTech

FetTech, in Winston-Salem, is redefining what is possible in regenerative medicine, tackling a challenge that has remained unsolved for decades: how to bring together multiple biological components into one integrated platform to create a more complete and effective healing pathway. The company’s proprietary innovation has set a new standard for how regenerative therapies can be developed and delivered, earning FDA clearance for multiple products across diverse clinical applications. The company achieved a major commercial milestone with the launch of a first-of-its-kind product, expanding possibilities across aesthetics, surgery, wound care, and beyond. FetTech is collaborating with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine by bringing expertise to the NSF-Piedmont Triad RegenMed Engine (PTRME) ecosystem.

Research & Development Excellence Award: Jeffrey Willey, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Willey, Ph.D., professor of Radiation Oncology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, exemplifies excellence through significant external funding, collaborative partnerships and groundbreaking contributions that push the boundaries of knowledge. His work combines radiation oncology and orthopedics, studying the effects of critical health conditions such as bone loss in cancer care and space exploration. He has served as principal investigator and science team member on space flights and his work has led to new understanding of radiation-induced bone loss, fractures, and pain—improving care and quality of life for cancer patients undergoing treatment. His discoveries have also served as the foundation for academic-industry collaborations and clinical trials.