Inside the NCBiotech Summit 2026 in Greenville

Key Takeaways

Spotlighting Eastern NC’s life sciences strength: The NCBiotech Summit 2026 in Greenville, hosted at ECU, was designed to give outside visitors an “I had no idea” moment about the region
Workforce and economic development: The NCGrads2Work program, a two-day pharma industry training with a guaranteed interview, was showcased; and a separate session on regional economic development explored site selection and the assets that attract life sciences companies to Eastern NC
Recognition of local leaders: Dr. Walter Pories received the Order of the Longleaf Pine for his work on gastric bypass surgery and its effect on Type 2 diabetes, and Mike Renn was honored for his 50-plus year pharma manufacturing career and his training work at Pitt Community College

When we held our first planning meeting in October 2025, I knew an event this size would take serious work. Forty-five-plus meetings later, the NCBiotech Summit 2026 came together in Greenville, and I walked out of it feeling we had delivered.

My theme for the day was simple for those visiting from outside of Eastern North Carolina: "I had no idea." Many of our guests visited Greenville for the first time. While many knew East Carolina University (ECU) by name, I wanted every session to leave someone thinking, wow, that's happening in North Carolina?

The audience was a strong mix of academia, industry, and economic development partners, as well as others who represented the biotech and pharma sector across the state.

Setting the tone

The BioPharma Crescent served as the premier sponsor of the Summit, and ECU served as venue host sponsor for the event at its Main Campus Student Center. The morning opened with welcomes and proclamations from the city manager, county manager and mayor. North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley delivered a proclamation on behalf of the state.

Proclamation photo — N.C. Sec. of Commerce Lee Lilley, Pitt County Manager Janis Gallagher, and Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly, each holding their respective proclamations, are flanked by NCBiotech President and CEO Doug Edgeton, far left, and Mark Phillips, vice president of statewide operations and executive director of NCBiotech's Eastern Region Office, far right.

Sharon Paynter, ECU's senior vice provost for research and innovation, and a member of our NCBiotech board of directors, served as emcee. She knows the university and the research enterprise very well, in addition to what we do at NCBiotech, and she did a great job keeping the program on track throughout the day.

Research, and why Eastern NC matters

The first session was a conversation on the research impacts of Eastern North Carolina and opportunities for collaboration and innovation, moderated by John Cavanagh, ECU's Associate Provost for Research.

The panelists shared a vision for North Carolina’s future and the diversity of life sciences and how Eastern NC is contributing.

ECU Health: A rural health model

The luncheon keynote, which will now be referenced as the Dr. Charles Hamner Keynote Luncheon, was presented by Michael Waldrum, M.D., M.Sc., MBA, president and CEO of ECU Health and dean of the Brody School of Medicine at ECU. The title of his presentation was “ECU Health: A Model for Rural Healthcare.”

Dr. Waldrum noted the Eastern region of North Carolina has one of the largest rural populations in the country, serving over 1.5 million people. ECU Health runs nine hospitals across the region, with the flagship located in Greenville. He referenced a diversity of health-related diseases, a deep portfolio of clinical trials at ECU Health and Brody, and placed the system among one of the nation's top rural health providers.

Honoring two remarkable people

Two highlights of the day for me were when we presented Walter Pories, M.D., with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor in the State of North Carolina, conferring the rank of ambassador extraordinary by the governor.

Long Leafe Pine award — Sharon Paynter, ECU's senior vice provost for research and innovation and a member of the NCBiotech board of directors, with Walter Poires, M.D. (center), recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, and Michael Waldrum, M.D., president and CEO of ECU Health and dean of ECU's Brody School of Medicine.

Pories and colleagues began studying gastric bypass surgery as a treatment for severe obesity. At the time, bariatric procedures were controversial and primarily viewed as weight-loss operations. Pories first performed the surgery in 1980 and perfected what became known as the “Greenville gastric bypass.” Through careful follow-up of patients, he noticed something remarkable. Many patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes experienced normalization of blood sugar levels within days of surgery, long before significant weight loss occurred.

In addition to honoring the legacy and great work of Dr. Pories, we also recognized Mike Renn, director of the Pharmaceutical Service Network at Pitt Community College (PSN@PCC), for his dedicated service of training at the PSN@PCC, as well as his 50-plus-year career in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Workforce and recruitment

The workforce development session, led by our own Monica Lassiter, associate director of NCBiotech’s Eastern Region Office, spotlighted our NCGrads2Work program, a two-day training overview of the pharmaceutical industry, offering a guaranteed interview with industry partners. The panel included HR leaders from Thermo Fisher Scientific and Catalent Pharma and a career development coordinator from Pitt County Schools.

The shining star was Kiriayani Woolard, a 2021 participant of the NCGrads2Work program. She is now employed with Thermo Fisher Scientific and has been promoted several times since beginning her employment.

Economic development

The Economic Development session was led by NCBiotech’s Laura Rowley, Ph.D., vice president for life science economic development, with panelists representing experienced economic developers from Wilson and Pitt counties, industry partners representing Johnson & Johnson and Nipro Medical, as well as ECU’s Eastern Region Pharma Center.

This session focused on strategic alignment and regional readiness for success, as they discussed the impact and value of a regional economic development approach. The conversation included key considerations for site selection decisions, unique assets that attract life sciences companies to Eastern NC, and the vision for the future.

The power of AI and immersive tech on pharma manufacturing

Gerald Logan, director of technical operations and augmented execution services at Thermo Fisher, provided an overview of how AI and Interactive Digital Models are being used to enhance training, increase operational visibility, reduce downtime, as well as improve overall manufacturing performance.

We rounded out the event with a wonderful reception inside the TowneBank Tower at ECU’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, where guests enjoyed great food and fellowship, as well as taking pictures with ECU’s mascot, PeeDee the Pirate. Afterwards, Dr. Waldrum told me how much he appreciated us bringing an event of this magnitude to highlight the region so those who do not live in Eastern NC could see what we're all about.

I am most thankful to all the sponsors who supported the event, as well as the participants who took the time to spend the day with NCBiotech, to learn about our statewide connectivity, and particularly the Eastern region. To me, the Summit was a success!

About the Author

Mark Phillips is vice president of statewide operations and executive director of the Eastern Regional Office for NCBiotech.