Karrie Dudek, PhD, serves as the SBIR/STTR Program Manager for LaunchTN, where she helps entrepreneurs across the state navigate federal non-dilutive funding, identify relevant opportunities and resources, and develop competitive SBIR/STTR proposals. She also serves as Director of the Life Science Venture Program at Life Science Tennessee Foundation, working with early-stage life science companies across Tennessee.
Karrie brings a founder perspective to this work as CEO and Co-Founder of Eupalinos, Inc., a Nashville-based biotechnology startup. Through Eupalinos, she has firsthand experience navigating federal funding and entrepreneurial support programs, including NSF I-Corps, NIH programs, and national accelerator programs.
Karrie earned her PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from Vanderbilt University and completed Vanderbilt’s ASPIRE to Innovate postdoctoral program. Her work spans science, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem development, with a particular focus on helping innovators navigate the funding, resources, and connections available to move promising technologies toward commercialization.