Committees

BioMedTech Committee

Mission Statement


The convergence of the Biosciences and Information Technology is at the leading edge of medicine and therapeutic products development. Significant progress is being made in academia and industry in combining biotechnology, information technology, and engineering to address the challenges of modern medicine. Arguably, this progress is becoming faster and faster when it comes to developing knowledge (e.g., genetic information useful for predictive medicine, high throughput screening for "druggable" targets, manufacturing technologies that create efficiency, computer modeling of diseases and therapeutic product activity). Yet, when it comes to using this knowledge to create therapeutic solutions, development is slow and costly, and we are less productive in combining the resources of multiple disciplines.

The BioMedTech Committee sees a need for leadership to bring the necessary resources together for cutting edge therapeutics development combining biotechnology, information technology, and engineering. There is an opportunity for us to apply our combined professional experiences to provide that leadership in Northern Virginia.

The objectives of the BioMedTech are as follows:

  • Foster the growth of the BioInfoTech Community, especially start-up or early-stage companies
  • Create forums in which the Community can gather
  • Sponsor unique and highly useful programs that showcase the area's resources and provide opportunities for the following:
    • Networking and forming alliances
    • Raising capital
    • Building strong businesses from the start

What's New

December 7, 8 a.m. at Grubb & Ellis, 8020 Towers Crescent Drive, Ste. 200, Vienna, VA 22182: Jim Cooper, CEO, Theranostics Health, a young company whose products combine therapeutics and diagnostics; a new reality of molecular medicine whereby therapy is prescribed in a truly personalized and targeted manner. Dr. Cooper is leading the efforts to build a company around this new technology developed by the Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine at George Mason University. The Theranostics products measure the activity of actual drug targets – proteins – in a patient’s tissue sample. Instead of trial and error or One-size-fits-all methods, physicians will be able to use information generated by assays performed by Theranostics Health to tailor optimal, personalized patient therapies.

The firm already is breaking even and has contracts with many of the major pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Cooper will share with us information about the challenges of raising funds, building a young biotech firm, and marketing the products.

Dr. Cooper also is currently Director of Research Development and Professor in the Life Sciences Division at GMU. He was previously Assistant Dean and Professor of Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and served as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Hospital and was Inova Health Systems Medical Director of Research and Education. During his tenure, multiple specialties within his department were cited in US News and World Reports annual list of top hospital programs. Dr. Cooper has over 25 years of experience in clinical research and has presented scientific papers and authored multiple publications.



Upcoming Events

To see the entire line up of NVTC Events click here.

Meetings

Committee Meetings - Northern Virginia Technology Council Committee Meetings:

May 28, 2008
The BioMedTech committee is now a subcommittee of the Health Technology Committee!
Meeting: 8:00 am - 9:30 am
Location TBD

Meeting Archives

February 1, 2008
Speakers: Erika Smith, Venture Advisor of the GAP BioLife Fund and Terry Woodworth, Director of Life Sciences , CIT


How to Join

If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact:

Pam Covington
Director of Committee & Corporate Relationships
Northern Virginia Technology Council
(703) 904-7878
pcovington@nvtc.org

Committee Leaders

Chair:
Carol Holt
Bartholdi Partners
(703) 476-5519
cholt@bartholdisearch.com

Vice-Chair:
Brad Shaw
Vision Point Systems
(703) 652-4828
bshaw@visionpointsystems.com

Board Liaison:
James Bundschuh
Marymount University
(703) 284-1598
james.bundschuh@marymount.edu

Contact Us

Carol Holt
Bartholdi Partners
(703) 476-5519
cholt@bartholdisearch.com

Links

BIO IT Coalition
5th Annual Conference
The State of Healthcare & Medical Technology in 2028

School of Computational Sciences
George Mason University
Offers PhD and MS programs in BioInformatics

School of Management
George Mason University
Offers Master of Science program in Bioscience Management

The Biojudiciary Project Presents:
biojudiciary.org
A Jurist's Guide to 21st Century Biotechnology