PHDA event highlights resources available to entrepreneurs and ways UPMC Enterprises fosters local tech community
Pittsburgh’s two major research universities, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, are full of talented scientists and students who are developing technology that could have a major impact on the health care market.
But the skills that make them world-class researchers don’t always transfer easily to the commercial realm, said Joe Marks, executive director of CMU’s Center for Machine Learning and Health. That skill gap is one of the reasons CMU, Pitt, and UPMC formed the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance (PHDA).
“You’re taking people who are world class, who’ve spent an entire career developing a set of skills for an academic setting, and then telling them they need to go back to boot camp if they want to launch a startup,” Marks said during an April 19 panel discussion that was part of Pittsburgh Life Sciences Week and sponsored by the PHDA.
The PHDA event was one of the latest examples of the many ways UPMC Enterprises is getting involved in the Pittsburgh tech community. Since last fall, Enterprises has sponsored nearly a dozen events where the organization’s experts have given presentations. In addition to these local event sponsorships, Enterprises hosts Meetups for several groups and sends speakers to many other events in Pittsburgh.
“Part of our mission at UPMC Enterprises is to foster a vibrant community for innovation and technology development in Pittsburgh,” UPMC Enterprises President Tal Heppenstall said. “Our involvement in the PHDA and other local organizations and events is helping to create a place where entrepreneurs have access to everything they need to be successful.”
At the PHDA panel discussion, titled “From the bench to the playing field: The journey from idea to commercialization,” six leaders, investigators, and scientists from the three PHDA institutions talked about the biggest challenges in securing funding to the steps necessary to successfully spin out and commercialize.
In addition to Marks, the panel featured Don Taylor, co-director of Pitt’s Center for Commercial Applications of Healthcare Data; Jeffrey Depp, technology commercialization associate at the Innovation Institute at Pitt; Carl Kingsford, from the Center for Machine Learning and Health at CMU; and Rebecca Jacobson, vice president of analytics at UPMC Enterprises. The panel was moderated by Rob Hartman, senior manager of enterprises business development at UPMC Enterprises.
Formed in 2015, the PHDA is a one-of-a-kind alliance committed to advancing technology and creating data-heavy health care innovations, spinning off companies, and furthering economic development in the Pittsburgh region.
The PHDA and its partners have resources that can help academics manage the commercialization process and avoid mistakes, Depp said. The Innovation Institute at Pitt, for instance, offers help with submitting invention disclosures and finding early funding.
“You have resources; there’s no reason to go it alone,” Depp said.
The panel discussion, which was attended by 90 people, provided a solid overview of the challenges and opportunities for researchers and academics interested in commercializing their ideas. To learn more about the resources available, visit the PHDA.
To illustrate UPMC Enterprises’ commitment to the Pittsburgh-area tech community, below is a listing of the events and meetups supported by the organization from September through April.
UPMC Enterprises-sponsored events:
- Thrival Innovation + Music Festival, by Ascender, Sept. 27-30, 2017
- 3 Rivers Venture Fair, by PVCA, Oct. 11-12, 2017
- Code Day Pittsburgh, by Code Day, Nov. 11-12, 2017
- Code & Supply Scholarship Fundraiser Party, Dec. 29, 2017
- Randall Family Big Idea Competition, by Pitt Innovation Institute, March 2018
- World Information Architecture Day 2018, by Information Architecture Institute, Feb. 28, 2018
- TedX, by University of Pittsburgh, March 31, 2018
- Pittsburgh Life Sciences Week, by University of Pittsburgh, April 16-20, 2018
- Heart of Agile, April 26-27, 2018
- Dev4Health, by HIMSS and Health 2.0, April 30-May 1, 2018
Meetups hosted by UPMC Enterprises:
- “Let’s Work Together,” by IxDA Pittsburgh
- PghQA, by Code and Supply
- Kubernetes Meetup
- Pitt Agile Meetup
- AWS Users Meetup
