Duke MBA Health Care Conference 2026

INNOVATION TO IMPACT: The Business of Transforming Health Care

This full-day, in-person conference will take place on March 25th, 2026, and welcomes attendees from Fuqua, Duke University, nearby academic and healthcare institutions, as well as health care minded individuals nationwide. We look forward to seeing you!

Meet Our Speakers

Dr. Marianne Hamilton Lopez, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy at Duke University, Senior Research Director of Biomedical Innovation 

Dr. Marianne Hamilton Lopez is a distinguished leader in health policy. She currently serves as the Senior Research Director of Biomedical Innovation and core faculty at the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy at Duke University. In this role, she spearheads high-impact research initiatives and manages teams that focus on biomedical payment, pricing, and coverage, regulation, real-world evidence, and digital health and artificial intelligence. Dr. Hamilton Lopez’s work is centered on improving medical product development and regulatory review, engaging a more representative community of patients in clinical trials, enabling the collection and sharing of high-quality data, and ensuring patient access to promising new therapies. A key aspect of her success has been her ability to collaborate effectively with a broad range of stakeholders, including regulators, payers, patients, manufacturers, researchers, clinicians, and others. Prior to joining Duke-Margolis, Dr. Hamilton Lopez held leadership positions within the National Academy of Medicine, Academy Health, the United States Cochrane Center, and the National Institutes of Health. 

Jacob Keller, Duke University Health System, Director of Oncology Operations | Director of Cell & Gene Therapy 

Jacob (Jake) Keller currently serves as Director of Oncology Operations and Director of Cell and Gene Therapy at Duke University Health System. In these roles, Jake is administratively responsible for Duke’s Cell and Gene Therapy enterprise across both adult & pediatric service lines, directs operations for Duke’s Durham-based Cancer Centers, and provides administrative leadership for Duke’s inpatient oncology program. Jake became interested in the field of healthcare administration starting with his first job at Operation Smile, where he was administratively responsible for coordinating short-term cleft-lip and cleft-palate surgical programs. He has worked with hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Ghana, the Philippines, China, Nicaragua, and the United States Navy (USNS Comfort). After completing his Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) at the George Washington University, Jake began his career at Duke University Hospital as an Administrative Fellow, spending his 2nd fellowship year working exclusively with the Oncology service line. Upon finishing his fellowship, Jake transitioned into the Administrative Director role working with the Hematologic Malignancy and Cellular Therapy disease group for the Duke Cancer Institute, where he got his first introduction into cellular therapy. Today, Jake is the administrative leader for Duke’s Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, an umbrella organization within the Duke Health System responsible for the CGT enterprise. Additionally, he is responsible for operations at the Duke Cancer Center, the Duke Blood Cancer Center, the Duke Southpoint Cancer Center, and the Oncology Hospital Medicine program at Duke University Hospital.  

Erica M. Jackson, EMJ Advisory Group Founder and Principal 

Erica M. Jackson is a legal and compliance executive advising at the intersection of life sciences and digital health innovation. As the Founder and Principal of EMJ Advisory Group with a track record of leadership at Verily (an Alphabet company), Ginkgo Bioworks, Hims & Hers, and Genentech, she excels at turning complex regulatory and policy hurdles into sustainable growth. Prior to her executive roles, Erica was a partner at K&L Gates, where she co-led the FDA practice and pioneered the firm’s Digital Health group. Her deep expertise is further informed by her early legal career as an associate in the DC office of Sidley Austin and clerkships with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A recognized authority on the regulatory evolution of healthcare, Erica is a frequent speaker on emerging industry trends and has served on the boards of NCBIO and SCBIO, among others. She holds a JD from Emory University, an MPH from Yale University, and a BA from Duke University. 

Matthew Pepper, TelaDoc Health, Director of Clinical Strategy 

Matthew is a primary care pediatrician with a specific interest in cardiometabolic health. In his practice, he founded an obesity management specialty clinic. He has also worked in the diagnostics industry on the launch of direct-to-consumer testing and on novel labs for diabetes risk detection. He currently serves as the Director of Clinical Strategy for Teladoc Health where he designed their GLP-1 management programs. He's a proud graduate of the Fuqua School of Business and the HSM program. 

Colleen Newman, Labcorp, Director of Corporate Strategy 

Colleen Newman is a strategy and product leader with a track record of driving growth, innovation, and operational focus across the healthcare and diagnostics landscape. She currently serves as Director of Corporate Strategy at Labcorp, where she shapes enterprise-wide strategic priorities and previously scaled the Labcorp OnDemand consumer business by more than 100% annually. Her earlier roles at Medtronic, Epsilon, and Deloitte strengthened her expertise in market assessment and commercialization across global and US healthcare markets. She holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a BA in Economics from Davidson College.  

Conference Team

Second Year MBA Conference Cabinet Leads

First Year MBA Conference Cabinet Members

About Duke MBA Health Care Club

The Duke MBA Health Care Club (HCC) is a student run club that helps educate members on career opportunities and industry trends throughout all facets of the health care sector. The club also provides a forum for individuals to interact with industry professionals and alumni from prominent health care organizations. As a forum for MBA students with a focus on health care, the HCC believes that novel business solutions are needed to make the health sector increasingly successful and sustainable.