The Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst, a regional health and life science innovation cluster initiative led by the Baton Rouge Health District and funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Build to Scale Program, recently awarded $60,000 in pilot funding to three highly innovative and competitive projects designed to advance research and innovation across area health institutions.
Launchpad Pitch Night represents the culmination of the Baton Rouge Health-Tech Catalyst pilot grant funding opportunity. At this year’s pitch night, a total of five applicant finalists presented a range of ideas in a pitch-style competition, and three projects were selected for funding (award winners listed below). Tuesday’s event represents the second round of Launchpad funding, which now cumulatively supports six total pilot projects across its two funding cycles for a total investment of $150,000.
The grant winners include:
-Developing Multicellular Organoid for Precision Therapy – Beverly Ogden, MD, Woman’s Hospital and Joseph Francis, MD, Louisiana State University – School of Veterinary Medicine
-Non-Invasive Treatment of Uterine Fibroids – Frank Greenway, MD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Beverly Ogden, MD, Woman’s Hospital in partnership with Louisiana State University and University of Louisiana Lafayette
-Reconceptualizing How the Most Seriously Ill Patients Experience the ED – Mark Kantrow, MD, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and Nathan Freeman, MD, Ochsner Health System in partnership with Baton Rouge General
“With the generous support of the EDA and in conjunction with our partners at Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Pennington Biomedical Research Center, we are excited to offer this opportunity for our Baton Rouge Health District member institutions,” said Steven Ceulemans, MD, executive director at the Baton Rouge Health District. “This initiative will create a launchpad to strengthen innovation, increase a culture of health, and continue to make Baton Rouge a destination for healthcare at the heart of a healthy and vibrant community. We look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition in the coming months.”
The Launchpad Innovation Pilot Awards are designed to promote and support collaboration across Baton Rouge Health District Member Institutions, while sparking and strengthening innovative networks that allow institutions, technology, industry, and community partners to work together and increase their impact.