Archive for Medicine

Dr. Jessica Grossman

Dr. Jessica Grossman is an experienced and visionary healthcare leader with a passion for women’s health equity. She is currently serving as the CEO of IgGenix, a discovery-stage biotech company focused on developing therapeutic antibodies for allergies. She is also a member of the board of directors of Daré Bioscience, Inc.

Prior to joining IgGenix, Dr. Grossman served as the CEO of Medicines360, a non-profit pharmaceutical organization with an FDA-approved 52mg hormonal IUD. She was also the founder and President of Gynesonics, an early-stage medical device company focused on minimally invasive solutions for women’s health.

Dr. Grossman is a passionate advocate for women’s health equity and has been recognized for her leadership in the field. She was named one of PharmaVoice’s 100 Most Inspiring People in Pharma in 2020 and was awarded the Women’s Health Leadership Trust’s “Women Who Rock” award in 2019.

Dr. Grossman’s work is significant because it has the potential to improve the lives of millions of women and girls around the world. Her work on developing new treatments for allergies could help to reduce the suffering of millions of people who suffer from this condition. Her work on developing new contraception options could help to give women more control over their bodies and their lives.

Dr. Grossman is an inspiring leader and a role model for women everywhere. She is using her skills and talents to make a positive impact on the world, and she is sure to continue to make significant contributions to the healthcare industry in the years to come.

Dr. Grossman’s work is significant for a number of reasons. First, she is focused on developing innovative healthcare solutions that address unmet needs. For example, her work at IgGenix on developing new treatments for allergies could help to revolutionize the way that this condition is treated.

Second, Dr. Grossman is committed to women’s health equity. She is aware that women and girls face unique challenges in accessing high-quality healthcare services, and she is working to develop solutions that address these challenges. For example, her work at Medicines360 on developing an affordable hormonal IUD has helped to make this important contraceptive option more accessible to women around the world.

Finally, Dr. Grossman is a role model for female entrepreneurs and leaders in the healthcare industry. She has shown that it is possible to achieve success in a male-dominated field, and she is inspiring other women to follow in her footsteps.

Dr. Jessica Grossman is a visionary leader in the healthcare industry. She is passionate about women’s health equity and is developing innovative solutions to improve the lives of women and girls around the world. She is a role model for female entrepreneurs and leaders, and she is sure to continue to make significant contributions to the healthcare industry in the years to come.

Printing Bones

An industry disruptor, Ossiform, was founded with one goal in mind, to improve the healthcare industry by 3D printing bones. The company began testing this new idea in 2014, a time in which true innovators saw the potential for 3D printing. As for human use, the company can 3D print bones from an extra strong polymer that has the ability to bioabsorb back into the body. Patient complications such as infection, end resuly, and recovery time were all improved with the use of this technology.The technology has many facets, including lifelike bone architecture, specific to the individual. Scientific research is underway, with publications in journals to support the evidence that printing bones could dramatically improve the lives of patients and open a new era in the medical industry. The official name, the P3D bone is still in development, but the goal of Ossiform is to allow surgeons to recreate a bone in any single part of the body, and create one tougher than the ones we currently have. Ossiform even stated that these bones would have the ability to deliver chemotherapy or antibiotics to the body. If the FDA clears printing bones, patients who need bone repair or implants now have a world of options, for a fraction of the price, and not to mention a much higher chance of comfortability and success.

Cristin Smith, Saffron & Sage

Saffron and Sage, a holistic health club, was created by Cristin Smith. Before her journey into healthcare, Smith used entrepreneurial skills in the non-profit sector working with companies and entrepreneurs to enhance their businesses by connecting then to their target market. She also worked in the finance and insurance world in the beginning of her career. However, what really led her to starting and working on her own company was an unexpected health issue. She was told after visiting with several doctors that her condition could require surgery and life-long medication. But she was determined to do her part by researching and making changes in her lifestyle. She worked to seek out holistic health care providers and more natural ways of living.

After traveling for so long to several different specialists and treatments, Smith asked herself, why isn’t there a single destination for these treatments, and one that won’t drain my bank account? Smith decided that if there wasn’t one available for her, she would make one. That idea from 2013 has now been transformed into a thriving wellness center which holds a multitude of classes and treatments for people. This includes sound therapy, botanical medicine, breathwork, meditation, and the list goes on.

In a blog post on Saffron and Sage’s website, Smith discusses her daily schedule, her creative process, what makes her the best entrepreneur she can be, etc. Then she explains her biggest tip for other entrepreneurs, look for amazing people and create an amazing support/business team.

Beyond the unique health services and education that Saffron and Sage provides for people, I am especially impressed by the website and the online services that Saffron and Sage provide. Even if you do not live in the San Diego area, you can still get access to their online classes and some services through zoom. Another option for people who don’t have the money to sign up for their online services is the company’s blog. After scrolling through, you can see a huge amount of health and wellness information that is completely free!

Smith is a true entrepreneur, and it is shown through her persistence in finding a solution to the health issues that so many have unanswered questions about. Her approach of holistic health and natural medicine is such a prevalent topic in our society right now, where people are getting sick but cannot find help.


Founder and Spiritual Director at Saffron & Sage, Cristin Smith — San Diego Holistic Health Practitioners (saffronsageliving.com)

Allevi: 3D Bioprinting

Allevi was founded in 2014 to develop 3D printing, but they took this technology in an unusual direction.  3D bioprinting is used by researchers to model disease, create custom 3D tissue, and study the body outside of the body with improved control and repeatability.  Bioprinting is being used in the fields of tissue engineering, bioengineering, and materials science.  This technology also helps with pharmaceutical development by allowing drugs to be tested faster, at a lower cost, and with more accurate results than animal testing.  It is also being used to make biomedical devices such as sugar stents that help surgeons join veins and systems for improved drug delivery.

The bioprinters work similarly to other 3D printers, but they use cells and other biocompatible materials known as bioinks instead of plastic.  The living cells can be mixed into the bioinks or seeded in after the print is finished.  The 3D geometry the bioprinters create is more similar to a natural biological system than any other model researchers have been using.  The models used can come from CT or CAT scans or a CAD program which allows for very accurate models, and researchers can model any geometry they need.  Allevi provides the software necessary to take the model and print on with the bioprinter which makes it easy to use.

There are over 110,000 people on the organ transplant waiting list in the US.  Many others experience chronic problems as a result of the long term damaging effects of immunosuppression Allevi’s goal is to develop bioprinting technology that will allow them to 3D organs to solve this problem.  Bioprinting might also be able to use a patient’s cells to 3D print skin and bone grafts.

Just Two Dads and A Bunch of Medicine

Talc, acetaminophen, red dyes, beetroot extract – are these terms familiar? The answer is probably no, unless you’re someone with medical knowledge of medicines.

David Johnson and Max Spielberg are two longtime friends who sought out to ask themselves what were necessary ingredients in their allergy, common-cold, and pain medicines they were taking, as well as giving to their children. When it came down to the research they found and conducted alongside doctors and scientists, a lot of over-the-counter medicine contained a lot of unnecessary ingredients – aka inactive ingredients – that have actually proven to have health consequences. Between their two financing and legal expertise’s and their research, Johnson and Spielberg launched a medicine business called Genexa.

Genexa is “an over-the-counter medicine brand that’s dedicated to making clean medicines,” and has now found themselves in over 40,000 stores – Target, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Kroger, and Whole Foods – as well as having an online presence on their own personal website and Amazon. Spielberg commented on the matter saying, “We like to call it real medicine made clean.” Genexa offers an adult product line that has a greater focus on the antacid, laxative, and cough and cold categories, but also has a product line for children that focuses on allergies, cough and cold, pain, fever and sleep products.

Johnson and Spielberg recognized a gap in the knowledge everyday people had about the over-the-counter medicines they take, discovered a need for “cleaning up the products,” and took to their solution by committing their mission to making a difference in peoples’ lives, “staying the course, keeping their head in it, and grinding it out.”

 

How Two Dads Are Disrupting Medicine

The article provides a grand amount of information that is not included in this post, so for more information, visit:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/video/357142

Hotel Bacteria? No problem.

Many people who travel become sick either during or after. Hotels are one of the most dirtiest and most bacteria filled places on the earth. One never knows when the last time the hotel correctly washed the room, changed the sheets or even dusted. People worry where the sheets have been, who has slept on them, and what has been on the sheets. Well there is now a solution to this long lived problem. Introducing Cleansbot, a portable device that people can bring everywhere on the go.  This hand held robot kills bacteria on any service but most importantly hotel sheets. CleanseBot is a smart robot with artificial intelligence and 18 sensors built in. It uses FOUR UV-C lamps to blast away 99.99% of germs and bacteria.  All one has to do is set the CleanseBot down on the bed, turn it on for either 30 or 60 minutes and it sanitizes and disinfects the hotel’s bed sheets and blankets. Not only does CleanseBot kill germs, bacteria, and dust mites, but UV-C light has been proven in many studies to actually help prevent the spread of airborne viruses, too.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cleansebot/worlds-first-bacteria-killing-robot?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI56GL0fKb3wIVBUSGCh1_pQcREAAYASAAEgI1mfD_BwE&ref=4k18os&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=bb234-green-1a

Hospital Drones in Rwanda

One of the world’s first drone delivery services is situated in the east African nation of Rwanda. Zipline is an U.S. startup, who is working with the Rwandan government to launch one of the world’s first fully commercial drone delivery services.

Its mission is to transport vital medical supplies to isolated hospitals by air. The company has flown more than 4,000 units of blood products, including red blood cells, platelets, and plasma, since December 2016.

Without these life-saving deliveries, hospitals would need to travel along dangerously tangled road networks through steep mountains, which costs precious hours in the race to save peoples’ lives.

27 year-old Abdoul Salam Nizeyimana, who studied engineering while in college, now serves as the lead technician for the project.  He works tirelessly to launch and retrieve these self-flying planes. He helps package the blood packages in the drone’s delivery pod, and he manages the flight crew as they prepare for each launch.

The drone delivers the packages to the hospitals via parachutes, and then it immediately returns to the terminal. Nizeyimana oversees the complicated network of wires and robots that arrest the flight of the drone. Nizeyimana loves working with the start-up because of Zipline’s mission: to deliver blood to remote hospitals, helping doctors save their patients’ lives.

Braigo- The New Way to Read Online

Shubham Banerjee is making big waves in the blind community. With a startup called Braigo Labs he is able to sell low cost printers that change internet text directly into Braille. This idea is revolutionary because before this technology existed all internet sights would have to be read aloud by the computer. This technology puts the power back into the hands of the blind. No more having to rely on a computer voice to tell you what is happening on screen

Banjeree has a vision to bring medicine and technology together in the right ways. To ensure that innovation is not being used for profit but to better the community around us. This is the vision that I believe many entrepreneurs should have. The “people first, money second” thought process, brings more people together and ultimately brings more people on board for the idea.

 

Quali Health

Dr. Nthabiseng Legoete is the founder and CEO of Quali Health which is based out of South Africa. Dr. Legoete graduated in 2003 from the University of Pretoria and qualified as a doctor. At the time South Africa’s medical industry was very poor, and it continued its poor reputation for years. People who worked in South Africa were faced with a choice when they needed medical treatment which was either skip a day of work and wait in line at a medical treatment facility all day, or go to work and hope their problems go away. Multiple people would become terminally ill throughout this time period due to the fact that they couldn’t afford skipping a day of work. Dr. Legoete saw this as a major problem and decided to do something about it.

Dr. Legoete established Quali Health in May 2016 when she opened the first public facility in Diepsloot. Quali Health’s goal is to “improve access to primary healthcare in under-serviced communities.” The vision was simple. Solve the problem of choice between work and healthcare in South Africa. According to their website (qualihealth.co.za) their plan is to “provide effective primary healthcare to this segment in South Africa in the short term and Africa and other emerging markets in the medium to long term.” By 2017 they had expanded with three new facilities located in Alexandra, Tembisa, and Soweto.

Image result for nthabiseng legoete

https://twitter.com/nthabileg

Quali Health begun with only 40 employees and has grown to over 200 employees across four locations. Dr. Legoete’s first facility was only receiving an average of 62 patients a day upon opening in May, but it didn’t take long to take off. By August of 2016, Quali Health had over 400 patients visiting the one facility every day. The impact on the poor communities around the facilities has been incredible. Residents now have access to affordable health care that also allows them to receive assistance in the morning and be out and off to work by mid-morning. These facilities also have created over 200 new jobs, the majority actually residents within the communities. Quali Health is also working with small businesses around the areas by offering catering, plumbing, and maintaining of the facilities. Quali Health also offers training opportunities for potential new staff. Dr. Legoete is making it her personal goal to change healthcare in Africa, and community by community she is slowly achieving her goal.

 

African Prison’s Project is Helping the Helpless

Alexander McLean is the most inspiring man I have ever met. This past summer, I had the opportunity to talk with him at the life-changing Praxis Academy. He started our conversation by handing me a card with his name and contact information, encouraging me to reach out to him if I were to ever need anything. For the next hour or so, Alexander poured out his heart. At a young age, Alexander became extremely concerned about the social injustices taking place in Africa. He also grew an intense interest in the justice system. After he graduated high school in the UK, he spent time in Kampala volunteering at a hospice center. It was during this time in 2004 when Alexander felt called by God to begin African Prison’s Project. This ministry provides prisoners with basic health and education services, clothing, food, and legal assistance. About halfway through the conversation, the girl to my left hesitantly asked, “How do you see all of the injustice and traumatic experiences without losing hope and faith?”. His response drew tears from both himself and all of those listening. “The Lord is helping me feel emotions again. I cut them off for years and He is helping me become human again.” He spoke with a passion I have never experienced before, a passion of someone in complete surrender to the Lord. My friend Alexander is being the hands and feet of the Lord in places where it is needed most. He has inspired me to never question the Lord’s calling. This man truly loves.

Below are just a few of the high-profile awards Alexander and APP have received

  • UK Charity Volunteer of the Year 2006
  • UK Young Philanthropist of the Year 2007
  • Overall Winner, Beacon Prize for Philanthropy 2007
  • University of Nottingham Alumni of the Year 2007
  • UK Graduate of the Year 2007
  • Winner, Vodafone World of Difference Prize 2008
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2008)
  • Ashoka Fellow
  • Time Top 30 Under 30