Sara Risch, PhD

Sara Risch, PhD, is a seasoned life sciences strategist and a Partner at Redwood Innovation Ventures. Serving as a consultant for CincyTech, she brings over 15 years of experience in bridging the gap between academic innovation and commercial success. Sara specializes in evaluating the technical and market viability of early-stage biomedical discoveries, helping founders navigate the transition from the laboratory to a scalable startup.

Prior to her current roles, Sara served as Managing Director at Rev1 Ventures, where she was instrumental in supporting high-growth spinouts as they developed capital access strategies and reached critical go/no-go milestones. Her background also includes serving as a Technology Mining Specialist for the MTRAC Life Sciences Program at the University of Michigan, where she identified and accelerated promising university-born innovations for commercialization.

As a dedicated operator in the pre-clinical space, Sara has spent more than a decade helping life science entrepreneurs overcome complex technical and financial hurdles. She is passionate about building sustainable bridges between research institutions and the venture ecosystem to bring life-saving technologies to the market.

Sara earned her PhD in Biomedical Science at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and her BS in Biological Sciences from Kent State University.