9/11/2026 Bridget Melton
Written by Bridget Melton
Founders Week is Entrepreneurship at Illinois’ premier event, bringing together faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners for a celebration of the collective successes of Illinois entrepreneurship. The third annual Founders Week takes place Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2026.
The on-campus event features networking, fireside chats, panel discussions, and the return of the TechRise Startup Pitch Competition. On Friday, Oct. 2, Stephen Boppart, Director of the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI), will be speaking alongside Marty Burke, Carol Curtis, Rishab Veldur, and Rohit Bhargava on Health Innovation: From Therapeutics to Devices. The session is free and open to all Founders Week registrants.
Stephen Boppart, M.D., Ph.D., a Professor and Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, received his Ph.D. in Medical and Electrical Engineering from MIT, his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and specialty training in Internal Medicine. His Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory is focused on developing novel optical biomedical diagnostic and imaging technologies and translating these into clinical applications, with more than 60 patents related to optical imaging technology. He has co-founded four companies and directs two major research centers.
Prof. Boppart was invited back to Founders Week this year to discuss some of the latest technologies in health innovation, including the in-development MarginDx project. His experience as a faculty founder and entrepreneur at Illinois, as well as Illinois co-director of the Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance for Technology-Based Healthcare, provides a unique perspective for learning how to work across the Illinois entrepreneurial ecosystem to build what’s next for human health.
Prof. Boppart and others share their Founders Week experiences
“It’s exciting to see the Illinois entrepreneurial ecosystem really come together and grow,” Boppart said. “For IHSI, this environment at Illinois and the many partnerships are critical for health impact and translation, bringing real-world advances and impact in personal, public, and planetary health.”
All interested in Illinois entrepreneurship are invited to attend 2026 Founder Week. Register by Sept. 23.