Getting to know Jill Helms: Technology Transfer’s ‘next-level mentoring’ brings innovations to life

When it comes to bringing innovations to market, funding is just one piece of the puzzle, according to scientist, educator, innovator, and the AO's Technology Transfer Board member Jill Helms, DDS, PhD. Under a single umbrella, the AO's Technology Transfer brings together innovative ideas, funding, next-level mentoring from its network of surgeon entrepreneurs, researchers, investment professionals, and operations experts with real-life know-how.

Helms knows the innovation landscape like the back of her hand: In addition to her role as a professor of surgery in the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, she is leading scientist in the field of stem cell biology and longevity. She is the chief scientific officer of biopharmaceutical company Ankasa Regenerative Medicine, which has developed of novel, protein-based stem cell activation therapy—based on Helms’ own research—to improve tissue repair and regeneration.