Dr. Pannala is a Professor of Medicine, and a consultant gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He received his medical training at Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad India. He subsequently did a Masters in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He did his internal medicine residency at Bridgeport hospital/Yale University and Gastroenterology fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester followed by a therapeutic endoscopy fellowship at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. He has been on staff at Mayo Arizona for the past 12 years. He is the Director of the Pancreas clinic and the endoscopic bariatric therapeutics program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. His research interests include pancreatobiliary diseases and endoscopic bariatric therapies. He also has a strong interest in medical innovation and has several ongoing collaborations in the medical device development space to address unmet clinical needs.

James H. Spann, Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Boyd Street Capital, a venture capital platform focused on identifying, investing in, and scaling high-potential companies across healthcare, life sciences, and infrastructure technology. He founded the firm in 2021 to expand access to capital and hands-on operating support for promising businesses that are often overlooked by traditional venture investors.

A former U.S. Marine Corps Captain, James brings more than 35 years of leadership experience spanning healthcare, diagnostics, medical technology, commercialization, operations, and business development. His career has been defined by building teams, developing new markets, creating growth strategies, and helping organizations translate innovation into measurable results.

Before founding Boyd Street Capital, James held senior leadership roles with Baxter Healthcare, Omnicom, Roche Diagnostics, Medline Industries, AmerisourceBergen, Aramark Healthcare, and IBM Watson Health. Across these organizations, he gained broad experience in laboratory diagnostics, medical-surgical products, pharmacy automation and distribution, clinical engineering, diagnostic imaging, dental products, data analytics, and operational transformation. He has worked with health systems, public-sector organizations, and commercial partners in domestic and international markets.

At Boyd Street Capital, James leads an integrated platform that combines investment capital with strategic partnerships and commercialization support. Under his leadership, the firm has invested in innovative companies and developed a Venture Studio model designed to help founders strengthen operations, accelerate market entry, and scale responsibly. He also guides the firm’s continued expansion across venture capital, the HealthTech Platform Fund II, and Capital Access initiatives serving founder-led healthcare businesses. His approach combines rigorous investment judgment with practical operating insight, reflecting his belief that capital is most effective when paired with experienced guidance and strong, collaborative, enduring relationships.

James was recognized as an EY Entrepreneurs Access Network 2024 Winner and currently serves as an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year U.S. Regional Judge. He has also been honored as one of Oklahoma’s “10 for the Next 10” leaders for his contributions to innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

James earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oklahoma, where he participated in Navy ROTC and the President’s Leadership Class, and a Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. He serves on corporate, nonprofit, and industry boards, including the Cleveland County Economic Development Coalition and Innovation to Enterprise Venture Capital. Throughout his career, James has remained committed to advancing healthcare innovation, supporting founders, and creating long-term economic value through disciplined leadership, collaboration, and execution.

Shahram is the Founder and Managing Partner of Civilization Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in the future of human health and longevity. As the first check and often lead investor in companies such as BillionToOne ($5 billion IPO), Omada Health ($1.3 billion IPO), Foresight Diagnostics ($450 million acquisition by Natera), Rocket Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: RCKT), and Fluent Bio (acquired by Illumina), Shahram takes an active role in company building. Prior to founding Civilization Ventures, Shahram was a founding executive at several companies, including NextBio, a genomics software pioneer acquired by Illumina. Shahram holds a JD from Harvard Law School and is an alumnus of Goldman Sachs.

Jamie Sundsbak is the Director of Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate, a Developer Program for emerging AI HealthTech companies. The program has successfully worked with 130 companies worldwide in the past five years of operations. He is responsible for the leadership, management, and development of the program and outside partnerships.

He has dedicated over fifteen years supporting entrepreneurs and early-stage companies and has a passion for medical and life science innovation. He has founded multiple companies and organizations, most recently Collider Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting local entrepreneurs in the Rochester area.

Prior to his current role, Jamie had a 20-year career in clinical and research labs and was part of the founding team that created the Center for Surgical Excellence at Mayo Clinic. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology from North Dakota State University.