VINSE Entrepreneurship Seminar: Dr. Charleson Bell 02/21/24
Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering Seminar
Dr. Charleson Bell
Research Assistant Professor
Director of Entrepreneurship and Biomedical Innovation, The Wond’ry
I-Corps Hub Director, Mid-South Innovation Hub
Course Director, Associate Director of Engineering, Medical Innovators Development Program (MiDP)
“Begin Your Journey into Innovation and Entrepreneurship”
02.21.24 | 4:10pm | 134 Featheringill Hall
Charleson Bell, PhD is the recognized leader administering the establishment of an inclusive innovation ecosystem across the Mid-South that will galvanize an innovation economy to impart shared prosperity across the region.
Dr. Bell is the Hub Director of the NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub (est. 1/2023; $15M) and co-PI & State
Director of the NIH Mid-South Research, Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (est. 9/2023;
$12M), both led by Vanderbilt University. Dr. Bell is also the Director of the Coalition Responsible for
Equitable Skills Training (CREST) & PI of the NSF ExLENT workforce development award that
launched the coalition (est. 10/2023; $1M). Garnering influence at the National level, Dr. Bell was
elected co-Chair of the Hub Council of the National Innovation Network (8/2023).
Dr. Bell, also Director of Entrepreneurship and Biomedical Innovation at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Center for Innovation, Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Director of the Medical Innovators Development Program in the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, is a parallel innovator, 3x serial entrepreneur, 10x published researcher, and 3x patented inventor with over a decade of experience launching ventures and developing new products. Dr. Bell is a ‘triple-Dore’, earning his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University (BE’07, MS’09, PhD’15).
The first graduate student at Vanderbilt to receive an investment of venture capital to launch a startup, Dr. Bell uses his innovative mind to combine his engineering knowledge to create novel technologies of great impact. He is a much-respected champion for equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts, creating an innovation culture that cultivates a sense of belonging for all instructors, innovators, participants, and founders. Most importantly, Dr. Bell is a staunch believer that the value and practice of inclusive innovation is critical to optimize the way innovators empathize with humanity and ideate solutions that create positive change across the world via financially sustainable business models.