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Lisa Stehno-Bittel, PhD, licensed her laboratory patents from the University of Kansas Medical Center and founded the company Likarda. The patents had applications in drug screening for efficacy and toxicity, as well as the ability to transform cell-based therapeutics. Within two years, Likarda was chosen, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, as one of the Top 50 Most Promising Start-Ups in the World.

Stehno-Bittel is a co-inventor on 33 global patents (issued and pending) and has received numerous awards, including the Jim Baxendale Commercialization Award and the Marjorie S. Sirridge, M.D., Excellence in Medicine and Science Award. She is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. In 2025, she was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Missouri.