(Link will go live on 04/15/21)

Join the Science Center, in partnership with HHS’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Biolocity as they discuss the recently launched mask innovation challenge. Our panel will discuss the comfort, utility, and protective factor of current non-medical grade face masks as well as opportunities to innovate on these designs. Panelists will include: Dr. Emily Blum began working at GCMI in August 2017 and currently serves as their Medical Director. In her role with the organization she’s passionate about bridging the medtech ecosystem of Atlanta, bringing in new programs and innovative ideas from local physician entrepreneurs while serving as an internal knowledge resource for program development teams guiding the clinical needs discussion around product innovation. Dr. Blum worked to spearhead covid-19 PPE activities for GCMI by liaising with the public and private sector which ultimately led to over 2 million units of PPE being distributed to frontline healthcare workers. Dr. Blum is also a board-certified adult and pediatric urologist practicing with Georgia Urology out of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and with that she brings first-hand experience and feedback to aid in the development of medical products. She completed the A. Barry Belman Fellowship in Pediatric Urology and the Joseph E Roberts Jr Fellowship in Surgical Innovations at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.. Prior to that, she completed her Urology residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. Dr. Sundaresan Jayaraman is a Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the Founding Director of the Kolon Center for Lifestyle Innovation established at Georgia Tech in October 2016. A pioneer in bringing about convergence between textiles and computing, Professor Jayaraman’s research has led to the paradigm of “Fabric is the Computer.” He is a leader in studying and defining the roles of engineering design, manufacturing and materials technologies in public policy for the nation. Dr. Sungmee Park is a Principal Research Scientist in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her academic and corporate research activities have led to fundamental technological contributions to the field and new products in the marketplace, respectively. Her experience in the research and development continuum began with Professor Jayaraman at Georgia Tech with the development of an innovative fabric for the dancers in the Atlanta Ballet that blended form and function in a unique and effective manner. As a co-inventor of the world’s first Wearable Motherboard or Smart Shirt in 1996, Dr. Park laid the foundation for today’s wearables revolution, i.e., integrating electronics and textiles. The Smart Shirt enables the unobtrusive monitoring of athletes, patients, soldiers, public safety officials, senior citizens, and infants prone to SIDS, among others (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-px4MAKREs). This invention was featured in a Special Issue of LIFE Magazine entitled Medical Miracles for the New Millennium (Fall 1998) as One of the 21 Breakthroughs that Could Change Your Life in the 21st Century. The first Smart Shirt is in the Archives of the Smithsonian Museum, Washington, DC. Adrian Urias, MS, supports the Detection, Diagnostics, and Devices Infrastructure (DDDI) Division in the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) as a contractor through Tunnell Government Services. In addition to DDDI, he supports projects in the Chemical, Burn, Manufacturing, Influenza, and DRIVe divisions of BARDA. The projects include ventilators, respirators, diagnostics, home flu testing, burn/wound imaging, microneedle patches, medical wearables, rapid sterility testing, and treatment of chemical inhalation injury. Prior to joining BARDA, Adrian co-founded a ventilator company under which he had numerous responsibilities over the years as lead engineer, project manager, quality manager, regulatory lead, VP of manufacturing, and VP of R&D as the company grew both in size and capability, ultimately resulting in 2 FDA-cleared devices. Prior to working on ventilators, he worked on medical devices for the home. Prior to his work in industry, he received his BS and MS in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College. Throughout his career, his main goal has been to help develop products that ultimately save lives.