Fralin Commercialization Fellows Speaker: Start Up Stories with Bill Walker
Researchers may dream of bringing high-impact products to market, but few have been educated with the knowledge and skills required to achieve that goal. In this talk, as part of the Fralin Commercialization Fellows Project Vital Speaker Series, Dr. Walker will address that gap by sharing his experiences in founding and building three companies around his own inventions. For each company he will share what went well, what went poorly, and the lessons he’s carried forward. He will share the formal analytical issues, as well as the softer, but critical human elements. This talk will help you prioritize your entrepreneurial ideas, identify your areas of greatest potential growth, and appreciate the work required to build a successful product and venture.
Speaker Spotlight:
Bill Walker is an inventor, serial entrepreneur, and educator. He has repeatedly invented solutions to unmet clinical needs and built companies to deliver those solutions. PocketSonics, acquired in 2014, developed the Sonic WindowTM, a compact, low-cost imaging platform to guide peripheral vascular access. HemoSonics, acquired in 2017, developed a comprehensive point of care in vitro diagnostic to determine the cause of critical bleeding and enable rapid, directed treatment. Over a 12-year period as a professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia, he built a world-class ultrasound research lab and co-created UVA’s undergraduate major in Biomedical Engineering. From 2016 to 2025 he served as the inaugural Mattson Family Director of Entrepreneurship at Duke Engineering. In this role he coached innovators and entrepreneurs, led two major research projects, directed the A. James Clark Scholars Program, and actively built new programs in education and entrepreneurship. Today he focuses his effort on developing life-saving treatments for lung failure at Boundless Science, which he cofounded in 2020. He recently founded Impact Readiness Ltd. to provide structured assessment and support to startups in every sector. Dr. Walker serves as a Director of Cerulean Scientific, CoapTech, and Boundless Science. Dr. Walker holds BSE and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University.
About the Series:
How does a scientific discovery become a real-world solution? Join the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and RBTC at RoVa Labs for the Fralin Commercialization Fellows Project Vital Speaker Series at RoVa Labs. Hear from biotech entrepreneurs and industry leaders about turning biomedical research into innovative products, companies, and careers. Designed for students, faculty, and aspiring innovators, this series explores the possibilities beyond the lab.