Women’s Disrupter Series: Caralynn Nowinski Collens—On the Frontier of Medicine

In partnership with World Business Chicago’s ThinkChicago program and Women in Bio’s 3.8 Initiative, the Women Disruptors Series at Illinois Tech’s Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship celebrates women leaders in Chicago’s tech and innovation ecosystem.

The Kaplan Institute serves as the university’s hub for students to explore technology entrepreneurship and innovative ventures. Held throughout Women’s History Month 2021, the Women Disruptors Series underscores the Kaplan Institute’s commitment to elevating a diverse range of voices in the tech space.

The second speaker in the series is Caralynn Nowinski Collens, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Dimension Inx. Her program is titled “On the Frontier of Medicine.”

Nowinski Collens heads Dimension Inx, an emerging leader in biofabrication whose 3D-Painting Materials Design and Manufacturing System offers the versatility, manufacturability, and affordability necessary for widespread adoption of tissue-engineered regenerative medical products. Nowinski Collens previously was the co-founder and chief executive officer of UI LABS, a first-of-its-kind technology organization focused on the digital future of industries, which she built from concept in late 2011 through launch in 2014, raising $200 million-plus in investment and ultimately spinning out two business units as independent entities (MxD Digital Manufacturing Institute and City Tech Collaborative) in 2019. After starting her first company while a joint medical/business student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she spent her early career in venture capital and corporate finance, primarily focused on technology-based university spin-outs. She earned her B.S. with honors from Northwestern University.