HERSHEY, Pa. — Kevin Harter has been appointed interim director of the Penn State Center for Medical Innovation and will lead its development and launch over the next year.
The Center for Medical Innovation’s strategic goal is to make it easy to do business with Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and move innovative technologies through the commercialization pipeline to industry, where they will make a positive economic impact in Pennsylvania.
Harter joined Penn State in September 2015 as professor of practice in entrepreneurship and director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn State Harrisburg. As part of Invent Penn State and with the support of the leadership of all three colleges, Harter has forged a partnership with the College of Medicine and the Dickinson School of Law to develop a unified approach to entrepreneurial development.
Harter has more than 30 years of experience in new business development, including all aspects of developing, managing and financing life science and technology businesses. He has held more than two dozen board seats in health care, technology and financial companies.
Recognition for his professional and volunteer achievements includes the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ernst & Young/Inc. Magazine, the Entrepreneurial Achievement Award from Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Outstanding Leadership in Technology Award from the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, and the Alumni Fellow and Philip Philip Mitchell Service Award from Penn State.
Harter served as chairman, president and CEO of Saladax Biomedical Inc., a leader in personalized medicine and diagnostics, since 2007. He was also co-founder and senior vice president of the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania (LSGPA). LSGPA invests in the growth of life science companies, focusing on technologies developed at universities, including Penn State. Harter also co-founded Keystone Medical Systems, previously the largest independent supplier of information technology and electronic medical record solutions to physicians.
Harter holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems and a master’s of business administration from Penn State Harrisburg. In 2010, he was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow. He is emeritus member and past chair of the Penn State Harrisburg Board of Advisers and is an active member on several Penn State Harrisburg program advisory boards.