Aimee Arnoldussen, PhD, is an innovation scientist at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy. In this role, she collaborates with Dr. Paulla Voorheis’ BUILD Lab to advance digital health tools into viable solutions with meaningful impact on healthcare and patient outcomes. She also supports innovation activities across the school (faculty, students and staff), including initiatives such as the SHARx Tank pitch competition.

Previously, Aimee supported faculty and staff across campus at Discovery to Product (D2P) helping shape early innovations, conduct market exploration, and prepare teams for commercialization pathways. Her work at D2P emphasized building strong value propositions, engaging stakeholders, and pursuing translational funding opportunities.

Aimee earned her PhD in Neuroscience from UW–Madison, an MS in Biology from the University of Southern California, and dual degrees in Cognitive Science and Human Development from UC San Diego. After completing her doctorate, she joined the WARF‑licensed startup Wicab Inc., where she helped develop and secure FDA 510(k) de novo clearance for the BrainPort vision device for individuals who are blind. Her research attracted more than $13M in funding from the NIH, Department of Defense, Google and investors and was featured widely in national media. She later spent several years with UW Health in hospital administration, managing the Technology Assessment Program.

Aimee remains active in the broader innovation ecosystem, serving as a mentor and contributor to programs including NSF I‑Corps, Merlin Mentors, Creative Destruction Lab, and other regional entrepreneurial initiatives that help innovators accelerate their ideas.