Chelsie Smith, PhD, serves as Associate Director of Innovation, leading special projects for the Utah Venture Hub, including the development of an integrated biomedical database. Dr. Smith brings extensive experience in research program development, strategy, and interdisciplinary collaboration, having previously managed daily operations at the Center for Genomic Medicine and Digital Health Initiative at the University of Utah. Her background includes advancing genetics and genomics initiatives, supporting extramural proposal development, and fostering partnerships across academic and industry sectors. Chelsie earned her doctorate from Arizona State University, specializing in novel structural biology techniques, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. She is dedicated to catalyzing innovation and building sustainable research infrastructure to accelerate scientific progress.