Introducing MIDP's New M1 Class

The MIDP is delighted to introduce our 5 new M1 students. A diverse group from all over the world, these students have experiences with starting non-profits, working with emergency health care and many other amazing activities.

Jackson Appelt graduated from the University of Virginia where he played lacrosse as a two time NCAA national champion. He personally founded The READY program of STEP UP life coaching which encourages youth development and resiliance.

Gauri Garg moved to Nashville from the University of Utah, where she spent siginificant time working with equity, diversity and inclusion. She was also the team captain of the Bollywood fusion dance team at the University of Utah.

Zayn Kayali attended the University of Wisconsin and has both a masters and a undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering. He has participated in significant research in the field, as well as holding the position of Excutive Membership Chair of Engineers without Borders.

Nikhil Peterson is a Nashville native who is returning after completing his undergraduate work at Duke University in Biomedical Engineering. His research and work with a Precision Health entrepreneurship project make him a great fit for our program!

Halina Tran has a PhD in Femtosecond Infrared Spectroscopy. She has worked in prison education, teaching astrophyscis and planetary science to incarcerated individuals. Halina was also the senior emergency medical technician at the Pasadena fire department.

The In-Person Design Challenge makes a Post-Covid 19 Return

The MIDP was incredibly excited to bring back an in-person admissions process for the first time since the COVID-19 quarantine. Getting all of our applicants together in the same room to have lunch together, meet in person and have easy and spontaneous conversation was a breath of fresh air that was exciting to our leadership team and other students. This years's design challenge, written by MIDP Director Ryan Buckley, MD and MIDP M3 student, Sameer Sundrani looked at the problems of Post Hospital Syndrome. All applicants invited to participate in the design challenge were divided into three groups to work on issues associated with Post Hospital Syndrome. With leadership and students able to watch from a closed circuit camera in another room, there was a first hand look into in-person collaboration and leadership.

Everyday back in person is a great day. Watching our applicants work together to solve problems and get to know each other in the process is the heart of the community of the Medical Innovators Development Program.

Fall Forum Speakers

The MIDP's forum season kicked off with some very heavy hitters. Opening our season was Dr. Andre Churchwell. Dr. Churchwell has helped lead diversity and inclusion efforts at Vanderbilt University in a variety of roles for more than a decade, including as the inaugural chief diversity officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and senior associate dean for diversity affairs in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Most recently, he served as Vanderbilt’s vice chancellor for outreach, inclusion and belonging and chief diversity officer. Throughout his time at Vanderbilt, he has worked to build community and strengthen public engagement, along with helping the organization to navigate through times of crisis. He has been involved in the leadership of the MIDP since it was conceived.

Dave Owens is a well-established authority on innovation and new product development who has lended his expertise to Fortune 500 companies and students alike. Professor Owens has consulted for NASA, The Smithsonian, Nissan LEAF, Gibson Music, American Conservatory Theater, Alcatel, Tetra Pak, Tennessee Valley Authority, Cisco, LEGO, The Henry Ford Museum and many other organizations. He has done product design work for well-known firms, including Daimler Benz, Apple Computer, Dell Computer, Coleman Camping, Corning World Kitchen, Steelcase and IDEO Product Development. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, London Guardian and San Jose Mercury News, as well as on NPR's Marketplace. Professor Owens is executive director of The Wond'ry, Vanderbilt University's center for creativity, innovation, design, and making. Professor Owens’ book Creative People Must Be Stopped! Six Ways We Stop Innovation Without Even Trying has received acclaim from academics and corporate executives across the world.

Kevin Sexton, MD is a NIH funded surgeon-scientist with board certifications in Surgery and Clinical Informatics He has used this expertise to create software that worked across multiple electronic medical records to predict patient complications in hospital and outpatient settings (Midas+ Live™) and has created medical devices designed to use venous waveforms to monitor patients. The software was acquired by Affiliated Computer Services (a Xerox company) and the device is licensed to Baxter International, both Fortune 500 companies. He is currently an Associate Professor at UAMS in the Department of Surgery, with secondary appointments in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management, and the UAMS College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice, Division of Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy (PEP). He serves as Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Innovation, Research, and Entrepreneurship at UAMS, the Associate Director of the UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, and President of BioVentures, LLC, the UAMS technology transfer office. He has just moved back to Vanderbilt from Arkansas, and we are thrilled to have him home!

Art by Dr. Andre Churchwell

Our header in this newsletter is a a sketch inspired by Leonardo DaVinci from the pen of Dr. Andre Churchwell, a prolific artist. Our footer is another of his pieces depicting the chaos of Covid 19.