$20,500 in prizes was awarded to winners of the inaugural Health and Innovation Challenge at the University of Washington. Hosted by the Foster School’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, the event included 18 pitches from teams tackling the important issues arising in the fast-growing health and healthcare space. More than 90 judges heard the pitches, and the six winners were awarded money based on their place.
The event was modeled after the Buerk Center’s two other innovation competitions, the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge and the UW Business Plan Competition. Both of those competitions also award cash prizes based on pitches from UW student companies and teams.
The HIC competition welcomed UW’s entrepreneurial community to the tradeshow-style event for a fast-paced day of pitches. Teams from the Foster School, UW College of Engineering, UW Medicine, UW Bioengineering, and UW Department of Global Health were given the opportunity to present their innovative technology.
The Grand Prize winners walked away with $10,000 sponsored by the Hollomon family. A two-person, Bioengineering undergrad team won for their company, Engage. Emily Willard and Katherine Brandenstein started Engage to improve medical technology in developing countries with scarce resources. Initially, they’ll focus on reducing the spread of blood-borne pathogens as a result of contaminated injections.
The Second Place winners took home a $5,000 prize. The team composed of six UW students from the Foster School of Business, UW Bioengineering, and UW Biomedical Informatics presented their company miPS Labs. miPS Labs was started to help individuals preserve their youngest cells today to repair and regenerate in the future.
The Third Place prize of $2,500 went to Brian Mogen, Tyler Libey, and Dimi Gklezakos for their company MultiModal Health. MultiModal Health uses advanced data science and software to quantify rehab – extending advanced treatment from the clinic to home. Three additional companies received prizes of $1,000 including EpiForAll, 6ixS, and Novel Gram + Therapeutics.
To learn more about the Health and Innovation Challenge and the chosen winners, visit the school website.