The pitches included technologies to cure cancer, brain computer interfaces
for patients without speech, an automated portfolio management system, sensor
assisted orthopedic surgery, garbage compactors, and an enhanced dental
implant. More than 300 students, faculty, investors, professionals and
entrepreneurs were in attendance as an esteemed panel of judges representing
San Diego’s business and technology communities decided who would take home
$100K in funding and advisory services in the 6
th annual University
of California, San Diego
Entrepreneur Challenge.
In the end, medical technologies ruled the day.
Kenan Azam, CEO for the Entrepreneur
Challenge and a programmer/analyst in the Jacobs School’s Department of
Bioengineering, described 2012 as a record year in both number and quality of
submissions, which he believes is an indication of growth in San Diego’s
entrepreneurial ecosystem. The quality of the participating teams forced planners
to expand the number of finalists from five to seven. Teams connected to the
Jacobs School took the top two spots.
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| Nasseo, the first prize winner, with the Entrepreneur Challenge team and judges. Photo courtesy: UC San Diego Entrepreneur Challenge.
|
First prize, with $57,000 in cash and services went to Nasseo, Inc., a
medical device startup that has developed novel technologies to treat
dental/orthopedic implant failures.
The
technology was primarily developed in the lab of Sungho Jin, a professor in the
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Nasseo is led by Garrett
Cale Smith (Co-Founder, CEO), a PhD Candidate in Bioengineering at the Jacobs
School.
Second prize with $28,000 in cash and services went to SONRGY, which is
aiming to be a leader in localized drug delivery directed to cancer tumors.
SONRGY’s focused ultrasound enabled proprietary nanocarriers improve the
effectiveness of cancer therapy by reducing administered dose and toxic side
effects through exquisite 3D spatial selectivity. SONRGY is led by a
seasoned team of technology leaders, entrepreneurs, and marketing experts
including co-inventors Michael Benchimol and professor Sadik Esener from the
NanoEngineering Department and the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.
In its six years of existence, the Entrepreneur Challenge has raised and
awarded over $500,000 in prizes to enterprising students and researchers.
Many of these start-ups have continued to grow and have raised
significant venture funding.
Challenge
VP Rajesh Grover, a scientist at The Scripps Research Institute, and COO Helen
Saad, a PhD candidate in bioengineering, honored six San Diego based start-ups
that started out by winning the Entrepreneur Challenge. These companies are:
NeuroVigil, Biological Dynamics, Cognionics, Cypher Genomics, Lumedyne
Technologies and The Nicholas Conor Cancer Institute.
You can read more about the Entrepreneur Challenge and the winning teams
here.
