MD Anderson Innovation Center Team
The Innovation Center employs a diverse team of creative thinkers with backgrounds in business, research, design and technology. Each member of the team is driven by the desire to eliminate cancer, while creating a better experience for patients.
Rebecca Kaul, Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer
Building on MD Anderson's rich history of innovation, Rebecca Kaul is
bringing another layer of transformative thinking through an
Innovation Center designed to identify creative and effective
approaches for delivering exceptional patient outcomes and bring new
solutions to market. By collaborating with internal innovators and
establishing strategic relationship with startups and industry,
Rebecca and her team are accelerating value generation and
commercialization.
Prior to joining MD Anderson, Rebecca served as Chief Innovation
Officer and President of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s
(UPMC) Technology Development Center where she built their Innovation
Center from a conceptual idea to a center nationally recognized for
developing an extensive portfolio of partnerships, investments and new
companies. Prior to starting the UPMC Innovation Center, Rebecca led
their joint venture, which yielded a 100% return on investment in 18
months.
Rebecca has a master of business administration from New York University and has earned multiple degrees from Carnegie Mellon University: master of information systems management, bachelor of science in chemical engineering and engineering and public policy.
Rebecca was also selected as one of the 75 Most Powerful Women in Healthcare for 2017 by Health Data Management.
Dan Shoenthal, Associate Vice President of Innovation
As the Associate Vice President of Innovation at MD Anderson, Dan
Shoenthal leverages his vast experience in introducing innovative
healthcare technology along with his expertise in early stage
technology development. Dan's eclectic mix of skills helps him
identify problems to be tackled and the right mix of collaboration
partners, while ensuring long term strategies that maximize value
commercially, as well as for MD Anderson.
Before joining MD Anderson, Dan was the Senior Director of Product
Management at UPMC's Technology Development Center and UPMC
Enterprises. As part of the leadership team, Dan was responsible for
creating product strategies across the entire payer/provider continuum
and developed a vast portfolio of investments and new companies that
created positive return for the institution. Prior to UPMC, Dan worked
at senior level positions overseeing both Product Management and
Engineering teams.
Dan has a master of information systems management and bachelor of science in business administration from Robert Morris University.
Erin Flores, Pipeline Manager
Erin has the unique ability to both offer strategic-level advice to innovators, as well as perform exploratory evaluations on new products and ideas. In addition, Erin helps facilitate large-scale projects, capable of ensuring cooperation among cross-functional teams and adherence to demanding schedules.
Previously, Erin was a Business Analyst at the Texas Medical Center’s healthcare startup accelerator, TMCx, where she managed TMCx programming, including curriculum design, advisor/mentor recruitment, hospital stakeholder introductions, and strategic planning for future accelerator cohorts. Erin has contributed as a panel speaker and pitch competition judge for state-wide innovation initiatives.
Erin graduated from Texas A&M University in 2005 with bachelor of science in biomedical science and again in 2011 with a Ph.D. in Genetics. Her graduate research focused on bovine immunogenetics. After graduation she completed her postdoctoral studies at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, where she conducted translational research on the genetic heritability of malignant mesothelioma.