Dr. Amanda Elam is a distinguished scholar, entrepreneur, and advocate at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and life sciences. She studies business startup and growth across countries, industries, and ecosystems, with a particular emphasis on women’s leadership, high potential ventures, digitalization, and access to growth capital. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Dr. Elam serves on a number of commercial and non-profit boards and regularly advises startups, corporations, and policymakers on innovation and entrepreneurship in high-growth sectors.
As a Research Fellow at the award-winning Diana International Research Institute and an Adjunct Professor at Babson College (ranked #1 for Entrepreneurship Education by US News & World Report), Dr. Elam’s groundbreaking scholarship has informed policymakers, investors, and corporate leaders seeking to foster inclusive innovation, shaping global conversations on gender dynamics, venture growth, and ecosystem development. Her leadership of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Women’s report has been particularly instrumental in bridging the gap between academic research and industry application, offering valuable perspectives on how individual and macro environmental factors influence entrepreneurial success for women around the globe.
Her research has been published in top journals, technical reports, and policy briefs. She is active on the editorial board for the Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (scholarly journal), on the WTO Gender Research Hub, the ENERGIA (global energy and gender network) technical advisory board, the Sustainable Financing Lab advisory board (Sweden). She has also served the SME Finance Awards (IFC) jury and as a technical reviewer for the Women’s Entrepreneurial Financing Initiative (We-Fi) at the World Bank.
As a successful life science entrepreneur, Dr. Elam brings deep expertise in commercial strategy, venture development, and industry advocacy. She is cofounder and director of Galaxy Diagnostics, an early-stage medical diagnostics company in North Carolina (USA) advancing diagnostics and clinical discovery for emerging vector-borne infectious diseases linked to chronic illness. Galaxy offers advanced antigen and DNA testing for Lyme disease, cat scratch disease, and other emerging infectious diseases implicated in chronic illness. Dr. Elam also serves as a board member or informal advisor to a number of life science startups.
Dr. Elam completed three degrees at UNC Chapel Hill, including a bachelor degree in International Studies, masters and doctoral degrees in Sociology.
