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t m c » p u l s e | o c t o b e r 2 0 1 8 19 fell in love with it. I ran a little 5K and I was like, 'This is so cool, you get to drink water out of paper cups!'" Now, she tries to run two mara- thons a year, always with her Brooks Ghost brand shoes laced tight, always with her Honey Stinger fuel tucked into her shorts. After all, Rebecca Richards- Kortum does nothing halfway. A $100 million plan Currently, eight of the 17 items in the NEST360° toolkit are commer- cially available, while the remaining nine are in various prototype and testing stages. Many of the devices were initially designed by students at Rice and tested and refined by teams in Malawi. This innovation is an all-hands-on-deck effort, with Richards-Kortum and her collaborators working tirelessly— even through disappointment and frustration—to bring the suite to life. Late last year, NEST360° vied for a grand prize of $100 million in the MacArthur Foundation's inaugu- ral 100&Change competition. For months, the team—which included members from Houston, Malawi, Tanzania and Nigeria, along with collaborators at Northwestern University, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and 3rd Stone Design—worked on a pro- posal for the prize money that would implement and sustain the full suite of technology. The team made it to the final round, but fell short of what would have been the final piece of their financial puzzle. Richards-Kortum was quick to mention that the MacArthur Foundation generously awarded each finalist $15 million. It's a seed she's been laser-focused on nurtur- ing since. "We made a $100 million plan and we're working on bringing together a group of partners to try to fund the project as a whole," she said. "I think solving a problem of this size—it's not a $15 million prob- lem. And the thing that was exciting about the plan that we made was that it really allowed us to take a systems approach and think about all the things that need to change to allow you to get to scale and be able to sustain that afterwards without constantly needing more philan- thropic support." She knows $85 million is a lot of money, but it's a matter of perspec- tive. And priorities. "There are hotel renovations that cost more than $85 million," Richards-Kortum said. Richards-Kortum jogs along Brays Bayou on a mid-July morning. Helping children beat even the most complex heart problems. Children's Heart Center at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital is committed to providing your child with the best possible outcomes for pediatric heart care. Our affiliated specialists elevate the standard of care through innovative treatments and minimally invasive procedures meant to optimize your child's transition into adulthood. Our team is ready to take on your child's case, no matter how complex. T E X A S M E D I C A L C E N T E R To learn more, visit childrens.memorialhermann.org/heart Childrens Heart-Girls_TMCPulse_8.75x5.8125 C.indd 1 8/20/18 9:13 AM