What You May Not
Know About the American Heart Association
Welcome to the
American Heart Association (AHA) Health Sciences Innovation · Investment Forum
Blog! We will post weekly on a variety
of topics at the intersection of innovation, investment and entrepreneurship
within the health sciences ecosystem.
As an organization,
the AHA is committed to building healthier lives free of cardiovascular
diseases and stroke. Since 1949 the AHA has awarded more than $3.8B in
research grants, the 2nd largest source of funding behind the U.S.
government. While that will continue, the organization also recognizes the need
to accelerate science and technology to the commercial market.
Science and
Technology Accelerator Program
We have two
initiatives that highlight the AHA’s
entrance into the space. For the first time through our Science &
Technology Accelerator program the AHA will use donor designated dollars to
make strategic equity investments that we believe help advance the mission and
reach our 2020 Impact Goals: to improve the cardiovascular health of all
Americans by 20 percent and to reduce the number of deaths and disabilities
attributed to cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent. To date, we have
made three investments and look forward to making a fourth later this year.
Hi2
Agenda
The other major
initiative the AHA has begun is the annual NYC Health Sciences Innovation · Investment Forum
(Hi2).
We are just one month away from the 2nd annual Hi2 Forum, set to take place on Wednesday,
April 22nd at the Apella Event Space at Alexandria Center. The goal of this groundbreaking
event is to bring together the brightest minds in academia, industry and
investment for world class collaborative discussion and to foster key
relationships that will benefit the ecosystem. This year’s event is poised to build off the
success of last year’s
bold beginning. For the first time in the organization’s history, last year’s Hi2 Forum brought the private
equity/venture capital industry, academia and the health sciences together for
an industry conference. The vision is for the Hi2 Forum to become the preeminent
industry conference hosted by a health NGO of its kind.
Fireside Chat with
Maria Bartiromo and Nicole Fisher
We are very excited
for this year’s
Hi2
Forum and pleased
to announce the return of our Fireside Chat Series. Last year, we were
fortunate to have noted venture capitalist Ken Langone, as well as serial
entrepreneur and TEDMED chairman Jay Walker as our guest speakers. In the
tradition of securing the most highly regarded experts we are pleased that this
year’s fireside chat speakers include James
Momtazee, Head of Healthcare Investing at KKR and J. Craig Venter, world
renowned genome scientist and entrepreneur. And, we are thrilled to have Fox
Business Network, Anchor and Global Markets Editor, Maria Bartiromo @MariaBartiromo
and President & CEO, HHR Strategies, and Forbes Contributor, Nicole Fisher
@nic_fisher, as our hosts of the Fireside Chat Series.
The theme of this
year’s Hi2 Forum is Transforming the Continuum of Care. As the population continues to grow
and life expectancy rises higher and higher the way in which healthcare is
delivered should evolve with the times. The AHA has been at the forefront of
major innovation over the years and continues to do its part as we strive for
innovation in healthcare in the 21st century.
This year’s event will feature experts in:
•
adhesive
technology
•
computer
technology
•
therapeutics
•
analytics
•
tissue
engineering
•
finance
•
professional
services
These talented
innovators will share the AHA stage and provide our audience with an experience
unlike any other.
To truly transform
the continuum of care the role of the entrepreneur is critical. We will harness
that entrepreneurial spirit at the Hi2 Forum with our 2nd annual Open Innovation
Challenge. A nationwide call to action for early stage entrepreneurs to uncover
new innovative tools to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. We received
over sixty submissions and have twelve semifinalists live on a crowdfunding
platform, hoping to be one of the top three in terms of fundraising and social
shares. The top three will be finalists and receive AHA grants totaling
$25,000, and a chance to meet, mingle and present at the Hi2
Forum. To view the
semifinalists in our innovation challenge please visit http://www.medstartr.com/hi2forum15
April 22nd
promises to be a day you don’t
want to miss! The full agenda can be found here and to register please click here.
We’ll
continue to share all things health sciences, innovation and investment
related. Next week’s
blog post will be an interview with venture capitalist and AHA venture
consultant, Lisa Suennen @VentureValkyrie . Lisa will discuss how entrepreneurs
are going to tear down and rebuild the healthcare system. You don’t want to miss it!
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