Archer Lab · Field Guide

Adler Archer, JD

Lab Director, Johns Hopkins BME CBID · Instructor in Medicine · Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in Biomedical Engineering · Courtesy and adjunct faculty, Carey Business School.

FOUNDER · CBID

Adler Archer, JD

Personal website →

I struggled for the longest time identifying as an academic, not because it is a bad identity, but because my military roots felt like a world apart from the ivory tower. One day a friend politely pointed out that I am trained as a biomedical informaticist, neuroscientist, space systems engineer, and lawyer. That conversation not only changed how I viewed myself, but also set the course for my PhD research in professional identity formation.

Now, I get the unique pleasure of spending as much time with business students and government officials as with community leaders and justice impact folks endeavoring for a fresh start. That is because I know that the lab only works when the people who live the problems help shape what we build. That mix is unusual on purpose: veterans and SkillBridge fellows in the same orbit as high school Innovation Scholars, doctors from Japan and Brazil completing additional graduate training in public health, and Baltimore City agencies. Translation is not a talking point for us; it is the thread from classroom to clinic to community.

Lab team & collaborators →

Founding director · 2021–2025 · Hopkins Engineering

Office of Strategy Management

Appointed by the dean of engineering to create and lead the school’s first Office of Strategy Management, including a nested program management office. Framed strategic planning and performance for a $500M+ enterprise, coached leaders across departments and research centers, and aligned execution with the Provost, President’s Office, and governing boards.

Co-founder · Johns Hopkins Veterans Employee Resource Group

Johns Hopkins Veterans Employee Resource Group

Helped launch the university’s Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG), a staff- and faculty-led community for veterans, service members, and military-connected employees across Johns Hopkins. The early work was deliberately unglamorous: aligning with HR and leadership on charter and priorities, building reliable peer support, and making the case that veteran talent is how the institution operates, not an add-on. That foundation lets VERG advocate on benefits, hiring, and retention with the credibility of people who have worn the uniform and now wear Hopkins badges too.

Director of outreach strategy · 2022–2024 · NeuroTech Harbor

National neurotechnology consortium

Outward-facing strategy and engagement for the NIH-backed NeuroTech Harbor ecosystem, helping partners, funders, and the public connect large-scale neurotechnology investments to patients and practice, alongside senior personnel work on the program.

Managing director · 2022–2025 · Kauffman Knowledge Challenge

Baltimore Collab

Co-led the Johns Hopkins side of a Kauffman Foundation Knowledge Challenge effort, the Intelligent Innovation Initiative (i3), aimed at a more inclusive Baltimore business ecosystem. The work was hands-on program design and partnership building: connecting university capacity with neighborhood entrepreneurs, small business support, and civic stakeholders so “innovation economy” conversations included the people and places the metrics usually skip.

Chesapeake Digital Health Exchange (senior personnel) · 2020–2022

Presidential Fellow

Johns Hopkins presidential fellowship in 2020, overlapping with senior personnel on the U.S. Department of Commerce-funded Chesapeake Digital Health Exchange, about $1.3M to grow a Mid-Atlantic digital health corridor. The exchange was regional infrastructure: convening startups, health systems, and investors across the DMV, pairing design-and-deployment support with business intelligence so pilots could mature into something hospitals and payers could actually adopt, not just demo.

Principal investigator & mentor · 2016–2023 · Technology Innovation Center

HEXcite

Principal investigator and mentor for HEXcite at the Johns Hopkins Technology Innovation Center from 2016 through 2023. HEXcite was a structured, cohort-style program for early-stage health and technology teams: tight cycles of customer discovery, clinical and regulatory reality checks, and pitch discipline so ideas left the whiteboard and survived contact with hospitals, payers, and users.

REGULATION · MEDICINE

Digital Health Laws & Regulations

Digital health tools, from wearable apps to AI-driven diagnostics, are transforming medicine, but innovation without oversight creates real risks. This course examines the legal, regulatory, and safety frameworks that govern digital health technologies, including how Software as a Medical Device moves from concept to clinical use. Students learn to navigate the intersection of FDA regulation, patient safety, and technological possibility.

LEADERSHIP · VALUES

Business Leadership & Human Values

A seminar built around one question: what do you owe the world as a business leader? Through thematic conversations spanning ethics, equity, and responsibility, students confront the human dimensions of leadership, examining how values shape decisions, organizations, and communities.

IMMERSIVE TECH · EQUITY

Inclusive Health Innovation in Virtual Reality & AI

As VR and AI reshape healthcare, who gets to build these tools, and who gets left out? This course explores how immersive technologies can support clinical treatment, training, and social change, while centering inclusive design and health equity. Students evaluate emerging tech through the lens of access, ethics, and real-world impact.

BIDS · INNOVATION & REGULATION

Digital Health Innovation & Regulatory Science

This intensive connects AI-driven digital health innovation with the regulatory reality behind it. Students map how regulators, product teams, clinicians, and patients interact; dig into Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), classification, and FDA submission pathways; and follow products into post-market obligations, promotion, privacy, and security.