What does it look like to turn deep scientific expertise into new opportunities?
Join AgBio+AgTech at the First Flight Venture Center for a conversation with Dr. Sharon Inch, plant pathologist and innovator behind Soil Sync and AgVision Analytics. Dr. Inch will share how she navigated the shift from scientific research to entrepreneurship, how she spots emerging opportunities, and how today’s AgBio innovators can build the tools, collaborations, and capabilities that will shape agriculture’s next frontier. Connect with people who are rethinking what’s possible in agriculture.

Registration (scroll down for ticket)

$5 attendance fee, to be collected at the door, will be waived for attendees who bring two or more canned or boxed food donations. Food donations will be taken to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina. Needed items can be found in the linked list with highest priority items being canned meat, beans and peanut butter. 

Agenda for meeting

4:30pm-4:45 Arrival at First Flight Venture Center
4:45-4:55 Announcements/ Introductions
4:55-5:00 Speaker Introduction
5:00-5:45 Guest speaker (30 minute talk, 15 minute Q&A)
5:45-6:30 Networking
6:15-6:30 Wrap up
6:30pm Meeting End

About the Speaker

Dr. Sharon Inch is a plant pathologist and agricultural research leader with more than 15 years of experience in crop protection, disease management, and sustainable agriculture. She holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Inch brings deep expertise in business development, strategic planning, and agricultural regulatory affairs. In addition, she has led cross-functional teams through complex product development cycles. She guided innovations from early research to market readiness. Furthermore, she secured major regulatory approvals in both North America and Europe, demonstrating strong command of global compliance pathways. As a result, her background spans regulatory strategy, permitting, compliance, and stewardship program development. She also manages strategic partnerships across the agricultural and ag-biological sectors.

Currently, Dr. Inch operates two complementary ventures. SoilSync is an agricultural consulting firm that specializes in plant and soil health assessment, microbiome analysis, biologicals screening, disease trials, and resistance evaluations. These programs are supported by controlled greenhouse and cabinet trial capabilities. AgVision Analytics is a precision, high-throughput phenotyping platform. It empowers plant breeders with AI-driven image analysis tools that improve accuracy and speed decision-making. Together, these businesses foster innovation and efficiency across agriculture’s evolving landscape.

First Flight Venture Center Location

2 Davis Drive Durham, NC 27709