Heather Underwood, PhD

Dr. Heather Underwood is a medical device and health technology entrepreneur with a highly interdisciplinary background at the intersection of computer science, global health, human-centered design, education, and international development. Heather is passionate about the healthcare space and innovative ideas that lower costs, empower patients and physicians, improve health outcomes, and make a meaningful impact on people’s lives.  

Heather’s experience spans more than a decade, founding and leading medical device startups, nonprofit life science organizations, and innovative academic initiatives, including co-founding Inworks – an interdisciplinary initiative offering courses and certificate programs in innovation, prototyping and design as a professor at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Underwood was selected for the 2018-2019 Stanford Biodesign Fellowship Class and left academia to pursue a career in medical device innovation. 

Heather completed her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder's ATLAS program where she authored numerous published papers. She developed and implemented clinical decision support systems for midwives and nurses in Kenya, receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Grant and a Gates Grand Challenges Grant to support her research. Heather received a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in computer science and engineering from the University of Washington, where her undergraduate research focused on developing multiplayer educational game platforms for primary schools in India. 

Based in Colorado, Dr. Underwood oversees all efforts across EvoEndo® as the Chief Executive Officer. She is currently one of Colorado’s Titan 100 members, a program to recognize a premier group of 100 CEOs and C-level executives in a region, and a member of the Colorado Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network.