Mount Sinai Innovation Awards

About

On Monday October 28 2024, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai hosted the annual Mount Sinai Innovation Awards, celebrating numerous honors that recognize significant contributions in biomedical education and industry.

Through the dedication of presenters, participants, attendees, and our event organizers, the Innovation Awards continue to showcase and inspire incredible ingenuity and advances in research, technology, medicine, and healthcare.

Event Hosts: Office of the Dean, Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), The Office of Faculty Development (OFD), Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Keystone for Incubating Innovation in Life Sciences Network (KiiLN), CONDUITS – Institutes for Translational Sciences, Sinai BioDesign, Department of Medical Education, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate Medical Education Office, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Photos 2024

Highlights 2024

Inventor of the Year

The Mount Sinai Inventor of the Year Award has been created to recognize individual or collaborative investigators in the Mount Sinai Health System whose research is making, or has the potential to make, significant positive and product-driven impacts on health.

Winner: Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD

Description: MSIP is honored to recognize Dr. Bhardwaj as this year’s Inventor of the Year for her research, leading to the development of a platform to identify immunogenic neoantigens for personalized and off-the-shelf cancer vaccines.

Transaction of the Year

The Mount Sinai Transaction of the Year award recognizes a notable technology from the Mount Sinai Health System that represents a major breakthrough in research and a strong commercial partnership for advancement.

Winner: Stuart C. Sealfon, MD

Description: MSIP is honored to recognize GNOMX as one of two Transaction of the Year awardees, a company based on the research of Stuart Sealfon, MD, and other collaborators from academic institutions, who developed a platform for infectious disease prognostics, diagnostics and treatment guidance.

Winner: Robbie Freeman, DNP, RN, Arash Kia, MD, MSc, Prem Timsina, and Matthew A. Levin, MD

Description: MSIP is honored to recognize this team as one of two Transaction of the Year awardees, for the license of a malnutrition algorithm developed and deployed by Mount Sinai’s Clinical Data Science team.

Mount Sinai Pitch Challenge

The Mount Sinai Pitch Challenge is the capstone event for MSIP’s Entrepreneurship Program, where finalists compete for a cash prize and pro-bono services to continue the development of healthcare solutions. Teams are judged by entrepreneurship and venture capital experts.

Winner: Mustafa Siddiq, PhD

Description: This project is developing a novel poly(pro-boldine) molecule for spinal cord injury (SCI) treatment, targeting improved functional recovery through extended-release boldine delivery across the blood-brain barrier, currently untreatable by FDA-approved methods.

Winner: Chan Ho Wing, MD

Description: SeizEar is developing real-time EEG monitoring and prediction of seizures in epilepsy patients. The wearable, AI-enabled device aims to provide daily seizure tracking and prediction to enhance patient safety, freedom, and care through medical integration and affordability.

Winner: Lara Marcuse, MD and Bülent Yener, PhD

Description: SeizureScope is developing a portable, non-invasive device for continuous EEG monitoring and seizure prediction in epilepsy patients. Using AI/ML for real-time prediction, it enhances mobility and healthcare integration while offering an affordable solution for all socioeconomic groups.

i3 Prism

The i3 Prism fund aims to foster innovators and innovations that will support equitable provision of healthcare and help bring new solutions to patients and society while advancing technologies to the next level from a commercial perspective.

Winner: Magdalena M. Żak, PhD: Cell-specific therapeutic mRNA for targeted anti-cancer therapies

Description: The major obstacle in advancing mRNA therapeutics beyond vaccines is the lack of cell specificity. Reducing toxicity associated with cancer therapy requires developing targeted biologics. To tackle this challenge, the team has designed an innovative cancer-Specific modRNA Translation System (cSMRTS) for targeted therapeutic mRNA expression after systemic administration.

Winner: Megan Christy, BSE: CerviFlex

Description: CerviFlex is a novel brachytherapy applicator for cervical cancer that painlessly guides a radiation source directly to a patient’s tumor. The expandable design enables placement without sutures or anesthesia, minimizes pain, and increases the accessibility of this highly effective procedure.

Winner: Lakshmi Shree Kulumani Mahadevan, MD: GlioMark

Description: GlioMark is a digital biomarker quantification tool for clinical diagnostics and therapeutic response prediction in gliomas.

Dean’s Healthcare System Team Science Award

The Annual Dean’s Healthcare System Award, sponsored by Conduits, the Institute for Translational Sciences, has been established to acknowledge and underscore the emerging importance of interdisciplinary teams to the translation of research discoveries into clinical applications.

Winner: Maaike Van Gerwen, MD, PhD, Lauren Petrick, MD, Elena Colicino, PhD, Girish Nadkarni, MD, MPH, Eric Genden, MD, MHA

Description: Our multidisciplinary team at Mount Sinai has provided important information about potential high-risk patients by identifying an environmental exposure (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)) associated with increased thyroid cancer risk.

Winner: Harm Van Bakel, PhD, MS, Viviana Simon, MD, PhD, Emilia Mia-Sordillo, MD, PhD, Alberto Enrique Paniz Mondolfi, MD, PhD, Juan David Ramírez González, PhD, MSc, BSc, Melissa Gitman, MD, MPH, Dina Altman, MD, MS, Ana Gonzalez-Reiche, PhD, Alona Rabin, Rajendra Bose, PhD, MS, Patricia Kovatch, BS, Lilli Gai, PhD, Mark Green, PhD, MS, James Masters, PhD, MA, Sharon Nirenberg, MD, MS, Robert Sebra, PhD

Description: Team Science: The Mount Sinai Pathogen Surveillance Program (MS-PSP) – The overarching goal of the MS-PSP is to improve patient outcomes through the detection, tracking and prevention of pathogen-related infections throughout the patient population at MSHS.

Junior Faculty Innovative Idea Prize

This award aims to support a collaborative, innovative, research idea by junior faculty that can potentially be translated into a marketable product through the development of therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, digital health applications, and/or data driven educational or community-based interventions.

Winner: Fei Fang, PhD and Samuele Marro, PhD

Description: Rotator cuff tear is one of the most prevalent shoulder diseases. Inspired by our discovery of unique stem cells in mouse rotator cuff with regenerative capacity, our research aims to develop humanized stem cells sensitive to exercise for translational application.

KiiLN Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Award

The KiiLN Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Award is designed to highlight entrepreneurial endeavors of Mount Sinai postdoctoral fellows who co-found or lead companies by advancing their discoveries beyond the bench to create diagnostics, devices, and therapeutic products or by applying other solutions, in order to address unmet needs in life sciences.

Winner: Francisco Fueyo González, PhD: HFC Company

Description: HFC Company develops innovative nitrogen-based fuel cell technology that generates hydrogen and energy from nitrogen-enriched wastewater, simultaneously addressing waste management and reducing nitrogen pollution, offering a sustainable solution for clean energy production.

DIH Partners Award

The Diversity Innovation Hub – Partners award gives recognition, appreciation and acknowledgement to a key partner that has advanced the efforts of the Hub to create and increase the diversity in the entrepreneurship space

Winner: DeShawn Stevenson, PharmD, RPh

Description: Dr. DeShawn Stevenson has greatly advanced our DIH initiatives through his ongoing support and partnership. As a founder of BabyFever, he served as a liaison for our involvement in the National Medical Association conference, helping us foster further discussions on Innovation, Health Equity, and Diversity.

DIH Innovators Award

The Diversity Innovation Hub – Innovator Prize aims to recognize an innovator/entrepreneur who launched or created a meaningful innovation that addressed social determinants of health for the Mount Sinai Community.

Winner: Arianna Goldman

Description: Arianna’s dedication to meaningful innovation for the Sinai Community is evident in her leadership and work for the DXT team, Digital Equity and Accessibility Committee, and her ongoing support and mentorship of emerging entrepreneurs in our programs.

DIH Fellows Award

The Diversity Innovation Hub – Fellows Award to recognize one DIH Fellow based on the impact they create through their Scholarly Year products.

Winner: Edward Sarfo

Description: Edwards’ impact through his work with the Digital Technology Partners goes beyond enhancing patient care; he has also paved a new role as the primary resource for our current and future scholarly fellows.

DIH Rising Stars Award

The Diversity Innovation Hub – Rising Stars Award to recognize a rising entrepreneur/ innovator as part of the Diversity Innovation Hub programming.

Winner: Tyree Williams, PhD

Description: Tyree’s contributions to the innovation ecosystem at Sinai and our DIH initiatives highlight his deep commitment to the space, leveraging his experience as a founder of color, driving meaningful impact.

DIH Emerging Entrepreneur Award

The Diversity Innovation Hub – Emerging Entrepreneur Award aims to recognize an upcoming local New Yorker innovator/entrepreneur who launched in the last year impacting in the Mount Sinai Community.

Winner: Lola Omishore, PT, DPT

Description: Drawing on her lived experiences, Dr. Omishore is dedicated to health innovation and empowering individuals in their healthcare journeys. With TheraMotive, she is transforming traditional care delivery through portable physical therapy clinics.

THRIVE Fellowship Award

THRIVE is Mount Sinai’s Targeted Healthcare Innovation Fellowship, a 6-month program for participants from diverse professional backgrounds to develop technology-driven healthcare innovations.

Winner: AudiogramAI – Kennedy Ariana Salamat, BS, Rico Pesce, MTM, Gabriel Dara, BA

Description: An AI tool to accelerate the interpretation of audiogram results, relieving burden for ENTs and Otologists, while empowering patients to pro-actively manage their hearing care.

Winner: EveHealth.AI – Zihan Nancy Zhang, BS, Karan Lingineni, MSCR, Ryan Afreen, BA

Description: PCOS AI is an AI-enabled diagnostic tool leveraging digital biomarkers and patient health data to improve the detection and diagnosis of PCOS.

Winner: ICE-T – Ashwin Kulshrestha, BS and Khadijah Crawford, BS

Description: An endovascular cooling catheter designed to provide localized, therapeutic hypothermia to neural tissue.

Winner: Lumen – Grace Travers, BS, Michael Lemonick, BS, MA, Priya Bhanot, BS, Susmita Chennareddy, BA, Roshini Kalagara, BA, Auston Robert Locke, MPH, BS, Gavin Thomas Kress, MS

Description: A wearable, transcranial device designed to deliver therapeutic photobiomodulation to the brain and help protect against neurodegenerative conditions.

Winner: ApexVision Arthroscopy – Ramone Brown, MS, Sujai Jaipalli, BS, Kaya Alvillar Adelzadeh, BS

Description: A novel orthopedic endoscope enabling the seamless transition between multiple fields of view.

Trainee Innovation Idea Award

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is committed to nurturing and recognizing innovation among all its trainees. The Trainee Innovation Idea Awards are designed to highlight innovative research ideas from the Mount Sinai trainee communities that could potentially be translated into a marketable product.

MD & MD/PhD Students: Jennifer Ren, BA (Mentor: Maura Cosetti, MD)

Description: Our software application allows clinicians to conduct complete hearing tests regardless of the language they speak. We use speech AI and our proprietary scoring algorithm to enable patients to get accurate hearing tests done in their own language/dialect.

PhD Students: Giang Pham, BA, Yichen Zhong, BS (Mentors: Daniel Puleston, PhD, Yizhou Dong, PhD)

Description: We utilize Normothermic Machine Perfusion to study hepatocellular carcinoma metabolism and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and to develop therapeutic strategies by delivering mRNA-LNPs to re-engineer human tissues and tumors ex vivo, addressing feasibility for both transplantation engraftment and cancer treatment.

Postdoctoral Fellows: Jonathan Anker, MD, PhD (Mentors: Matthew Galsky, MD, Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD)

Description: Approximately 60% of urothelial cancer and 7% of tumors of all cancer types harbor mutations in FGFR3. Neoantigen vaccination targeting shared hotspot FGFR3 mutations represents an off-the-shelf approach to stimulate anti-tumor immunity while minimizing preparation time and maximizing patient generalizability.

Housestaff: Max Logan Dougherty MD, PhD (Mentors: Franco Izzo, PhD and Ronald Hoffman, MD)

Description: Hypomethylating agents (HMAs) are the foundation of treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), but treatment resistance is common, and poorly understood. We will apply single-cell sequencing methods to determine the roles of clonal evolution and epigenetic plasticity in HMA resistance in MDS.