UCLA Health has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to create a regional hub for the development of medical technology and digital health tools.
Officials attest that the launch of the UCLA Biodesign Hub for Medical Technology and Digital Health Innovation is an interdisciplinary effort to harness the clinical strengths of the UCLA Health system. The hub is part of the Innovation at UCLA Health initiative.
The Regional Innovation Strategies i6 Challenge Award of $750,000 was matched by UCLA Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, to provide $1.5 million in total funding over three years.
Leveraging the hotbed of activity in the tech center known as Silicon Beach—home to hundreds of startups in Southern California—the UCLA Biodesign Hub will collaborate with industry, starting Oct. 1, to fuel entrepreneurship and create new jobs and businesses in the life sciences field, officials said.
In 2018 alone, the life sciences industry in California generated $346 billion in economic activity and accounted for 1.3 million jobs in the state—half in Southern California, according to Biocom, an association representing the California life sciences industry.
The cornerstone of the effort is an innovation fellowship program, UCLA Biodesign, co-led by Desert Horse-Grant, senior director of UCLA Health Research and Innovation, and Jennifer McCaney, executive director. Aiming to link the medical community and industry partners to train the next generation of healthcare entrepreneurs, UCLA Biodesign began sponsoring 10 innovation fellows and a team of four MBA graduates on Aug. 1. The teams are working to identify and advance technologies that address unmet clinical needs.
“Tech has become synonymous with the development and adoption of health care innovations,” said McCaney, an associate director of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute and an assistant professor of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine. “Scaling our regional health technology footprint, however, requires expertise and resources that have yet to be leveraged in Los Angeles.”
Companies such as Medtronic, Google, Samsung, among others, are supporting the regional initiative, recognizing that the “tech” in medical technology requires support from many industry segments. “By supporting academic pursuits that focus on medical technology, Medtronic hopes to strengthen local talent and capabilities in Southern California,” said Rebecca Gottlieb, vice president of research and technology for the Diabetes Group at Medtronic, headquartered in Northridge, Calif.
“Bridging the gap between medicine and technology is key to advancing patient care,” Horse-Grant, senior director of UCLA Health Research and Innovation, added. “The UCLA Biodesign Hub positions UCLA Health as a regional center for innovation in Southern California in partnership with technology companies.”
