One More Conversation.
This One Is About Philadelphia.
On September 22, the 2026 Philly Underdog Series turns its attention squarely toward our city and the realities of poverty across our region.
Join leaders from across Greater Philadelphia’s life sciences ecosystem for a candid, storytelling-driven conversation about the people, systems, challenges, and ideas shaping what progress can look like here.
CYTO | PHL
Philadelphia, Poverty & What Comes Next
Philadelphia is home to extraordinary institutions, neighborhoods, talent, innovation, and possibility. It is also a city where poverty continues to shape daily life for too many of our neighbors.
For our final gathering of the year, we are widening the lens.
Together, we will examine poverty in Philadelphia through the people, systems, challenges, and ideas that define our city today. We will explore what meaningful progress can look like, where responsibility sits, and what it takes to strengthen the city and region we all share.
As always, the conversation will be grounded in real experience and followed by time to connect with colleagues from across Greater Philadelphia’s life sciences ecosystem.
Speakers Coming Soon
We are building the final conversation now. Speakers and additional program details will be announced as the lineup comes together.
You do not need to wait for the announcement to save your seat.
Candid Conversation.
A Seriously Good Room.
The Underdog Series has brought founders, scientists, executives, students, educators, nonprofit leaders, investors, and emerging talent together in one place. The program matters, but so do the conversations that happen before it starts and long after it ends.
Join Us for the Final Chapter
September 22 · 4:00–7:00 PM · CYTO | PHL. Advance registration is required. Complete the form below to reserve your place.
All registrations, ticket purchases, and donations are final and non-refundable. If you are unable to attend, your payment will remain a charitable contribution to Life Science Cares Philadelphia and support our mission and programs.
Three Conversations Brought Us Here.
The Underdog Series was designed as a progression, not four disconnected events.
We began inside Philadelphia’s life sciences ecosystem. From there, we examined the stability people need to move forward and the role education plays in shaping what becomes possible. The final chapter brings those threads together around the larger challenge at the heart of Life Science Cares Philadelphia’s work.
Inside the Build
The choices made while companies, teams, careers, and an ecosystem are being built.
Stability Before Opportunity
Basic needs, resilience, broken systems, and the foundation people need before longer-term opportunity is possible.
Before the Breakthrough
Education, exposure, mentorship, and the experiences that shape who can imagine a future in science.
Philadelphia
The lens widens to poverty across our city and what meaningful progress can require from the people and institutions that call it home.
Before the Breakthrough
Session 3 explored education as a poverty disruption strategy and the experiences that shape whether a young person can see a future for themselves in science.
The evening opened with a filmed fireside conversation featuring Katherine A. High, MD, whose career helped transform what is possible in gene therapy. Rather than focusing only on the breakthrough itself, the conversation stepped backward to examine the pathway behind it.
The conversation continued with Jason Diaz, Meaghan Gonser, Tyraine Ragsdale, Gwen Fisher-Trent, and Abigail Campbell, bringing together perspectives spanning education, industry, workforce pathways, and lived experience.
Stability Before Opportunity
Session 2 explored the gaps people are forced to navigate when systems do not work as intended, and why stability matters before longer-term opportunity can become meaningful.
The evening opened with a filmed fireside featuring David C. Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, Co-Founder and President of Every Cure, Co-Founder and President of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, and author of Chasing My Cure.
His story opened a broader conversation about resilience, basic needs, leadership, and what happens when individuals and institutions step into gaps existing systems have not solved.
Inside the Build
The series began with a sold-out room and a conversation about the choices being made as Philadelphia’s life sciences ecosystem grows.
Lake N. Paul, PhD, CEO and Founder of BioAnalysis LLC, and Martin Lehr, Co-Founder and CEO of Context Therapeutics, opened the series with a filmed founder conversation.
R. Carter Caldwell, Raymond John, Rema Aldaraji, and Sharon Willis, PhD then widened the discussion across investing, education, early-career talent, and the ecosystem around them.
Our 2026 Series Sponsors
Their support helps keep the Underdog Series accessible while advancing Life Science Cares Philadelphia’s broader work to disrupt poverty across Greater Philadelphia.
The Series Has Been Building to This.
Three chapters brought different parts of the story into focus. On September 22, we bring the conversation back to Philadelphia and the larger challenge at the center of our work.