Hoag Innovators, a philanthropic arm of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based health system, awarded $1 million to Hoag staffers' innovation projects, the Daily Pilot reported.
Hoag Innovators co-founder Robert Brunswick described the Oct. 26 pitching event as a cross between "Shark Tank" and TED Talks, according to the story. The group has raised more than $22.5 million to date.
The organization awarded money to the following projects:
— $400,000 to Charles De Mesa, DO, chief of interventional pain, physical medicine and rehabilitation at Hoag Spine Center, to develop novel pain management treatments, such as employing biomarkers to zap distressed nerves and stimulating muscles for function restoration.
— $299,000 to Lisa Karamardian, MD, medical director of maternal child health at Hoag, to implement an automated early OB-GYN warning system that uses artificial intelligence and telemetry.
— Undisclosed funding to Sourat Darabi, PhD, clinical genomics scientist for Hoag's Center for Applied Genomics Technologies at the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, to build a translational research lab.