First Look SoCal Bioscience Innovation Showcase at UCLA’s LABEST 2026
May 21 @ 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
The First Look SoCal Innovation Showcase Series celebrates the best early-stage startups commercializing deep tech, bioscience, and medtech breakthroughs emerging from the top universities and research institutions in Southern California.
For the second year in a row, we are partnering with UCLA to host the First Look SoCal Bioscience Showcase at the LABEST conference which features two full days of world-class life science conferences at the Luskin Conference Center on the UCLA campus.
LABEST attracts over 1,500 life science industry professionals from leading corporations, VCs, and research institutions around the world. Plus there are workshops and panels for early stage founders and much, much more.
Each startup selected for the First Look SoCal Bioscience Showcase on Thursday May 21 will present a 3-minute quick pitch followed by 9 minutes of Q&A led by a panel of leading investors, corporates, and subject matter experts who will provide invaluable insights and access to capital. Celebrate and connect with industry leaders and investors at the post-event networking reception.
The showcase will be held from 1:30-3:30 PM in the “Illumination Room” on the second floor of the Luskin Conference Center.
Check out the LABEST website for attendee info, agenda, and registration:
The First Look SoCal Bioscience Showcase is brought to you by:
Showcase Sponsor:
Charles Thomas, Partner at KPPB
Charles’s expertise in biotechnology, medicine, and biochemistry extends from his years of experience in both industry and academia. (more about Charles)
Bioscience Startups Presenting
Bioscience Expert Panel
Charles’s expertise in biotechnology, medicine, and biochemistry extends from his years of experience in both industry and academia. As a research associate at a biotech company, he was integral to the development of vector-based therapeutics for ocular diseases and vaccines for malaria. In his graduate work, Charles appropriated molecular biology and embryonic cell culture techniques to elucidate mechanisms of intrinsic neuroinflammation in the rare pediatric disorder Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome. His work led to a discovery of several FDA-approved medications that could be repurposed to treat affected patients. Throughout the years, Charles’s research has been published in a number of top-tier journals, including Cell Stem Cell, Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology, Journal of Virology, and Molecular Therapy.
Charles has established a practice that focuses on prosecution of emerging technologies in the various fields of biology and chemistry, including therapeutic discovery, immunology, cytometry, cell culture, molecular biology, bioinformatics, recombinant biology, and small molecule chemistry. Through detailed communications and diligent effort, Charles strives to provide the most robust patent protection for his clients.
PRACTICE AREAS
Patent Protection
EDUCATION
Virginia Tech, B.S., Biochemistry; B.S., Biology; B.A., Chemistry, summa cum laude
University of California, San Diego, Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences
University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, J.D.
BAR ADMISSIONS
California State Bar
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Look Forward To…
Connect with investors, peers, and mentors
Unparalleled opportunities to connect with investors, mentors and other support resources crucial for early stage startups.
Startup quick-pitch presentations
Each selected started will distill their scientific breakthroughs and market opportunitiy into 3-minute quick pitch presentation followed by 9 minutes of moderated Q&A led by a panel of investors, corporate leaders, and subject matter experts.
The largest showcase of university-based deep tech and life science startups
This is SoCal’s premiere gathering of the best startups emerging from the region’s top research institutions so it attracts the region’s community in a rare concentrated program that celebrates the entrepreneur’s journey from lab to market.
Networking Reception
Stay for drinks and small bites as we celebrate and connect with attendees and speakers.