MESH Core 2025: Exploring Innovation and Entrepreneurship
From left: Niyum Gandhi, chief financial officer and treasurer, MGB, Robert Fields, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH), Maren Batalden, MD, MPH, chief quality officer, Cambridge Health Alliance, and O’Neil Britton, MD, chief integration officer and executive vice president, MGB
This spring, the MESH Incubator, the in-house innovation and entrepreneurship center at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School, welcomed nearly 500 participants to MESH Core 2025 at our Assembly Row headquarters. The sold-out two-day program brought together nearly 500 participants, including clinicians, researchers, investors, startups and entrepreneurs from over 20 countries to explore emerging models of care, new technologies and the practical realities of bringing healthcare innovations to market.
The program opened with a welcome from MESH Core course director and MESH Incubator founder Marc Succi, MD, followed by a panel on health system transformation moderated by Niyum Gandhi, chief financial officer and treasurer at Mass General Brigham. He was joined by Robert Fields, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Beth Israel Lahey Health; Maren Batalden, MD, MPH, chief quality officer at Cambridge Health Alliance; and O’Neil Britton, MD, chief integration officer and executive vice president at Mass General Brigham. Together, they shared insights on how large health systems are adapting care models, aligning incentives, and driving change across complex delivery environments.
The program featured insights from several MGB leaders working at the forefront of health system transformation in addition to renowned external leaders, founders and investors.
Participants took part in a live Harvard Business School case study led by Katie Coffman, PhD, Piramal Associate Professor of Business Administration, examining the strategic dynamics of founder-investor negotiations. Hands-on workshops focused on key innovation skills, from building a startup and navigating real-world patent case studies to designing machine learning algorithms and understanding intellectual property and financing models.
Artificial intelligence and data-driven innovation were recurring themes throughout the program, culminating in a keynote from Isaac “Zak” Kohane, MD, PhD, founding chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School. Drawing on decades of experience at the intersection of medicine and machine learning, Kohane challenged prevailing narratives around AI in healthcare, urging greater clarity, transparency, and accountability in how these tools are developed and applied.
Throughout the two days, the program paired insights from Mass General Brigham leaders with perspectives from renowned external founders, investors and innovators.
As participants looked to translate their ideas into real-world impact, the venture capital panel offered a candid look at the funding landscape. Moderated by Roger Kitterman, senior vice president and partner at Mass General Brigham Ventures, the session brought together leading external investors to discuss what they’re looking for in early-stage healthtech and biotech companies, and how founders can position their innovations for success.
“The hope is that participants gain foundational knowledge and insights into the current climate of healthcare innovation, as well as key skillsets necessary to enact change and speak the language of innovation to increase their ability to commercialize their own ideas and products,” said Marc Succi, MD, MESH Core course director and MESH Incubator founder. Succi co-directs Mass General Brigham’s Innovator Growth Division (IGD) with Diana Schwartzstein. As one of the signature programs of the IGD, MESH Core reflects MGB’s commitment to equipping innovators across the workforce with the tools, training and support needed to drive translational impact.
MESH Core 2025 followed the successful launch of MESH Core Riyadh in April. Hosted in partnership with academic and healthcare institutions across Saudi Arabia, the two-day program drew over 1,100 registrants from the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, and focused on digital health, biotechnology, AI and healthcare entrepreneurship, all with the goal of supporting innovation and capability-building across the region.
These programs are part of a broader effort to support innovation across the Mass General Brigham system and foster global partnerships that advance the future of care.