TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 18 Robert C. Robbins, M.D. President and Chief Executive Officer Texas Medical Center I t has been such an incredible year here at the Texas Medical Center. Our campus saw signif- icant expansion and growth, new partnerships were formed, and each of our 56 member institu- tions went above and beyond in contributing to the mission of this medical city. For the past 10 issues of Pulse, you have seen story after story of groundbreaking research, quality education and exceptional patient care, and each of those represents only a fraction of the work being done here on any given day. It is thanks to the passion of this community—nurses, physicians, faculty, students, administrators and leaders—that we have so many accomplishments to be proud of, and so many still to come in 2016. I would like to begin by noting that our campus mourned the loss of several incredible scientists, physicians and leaders in 2015. One of those leaders was our own chairman of the board, David M. Underwood. He served the Texas Medical Center for the past 23 years, and was passionate about the work being done on our campus every day. We will continue to strive for that vision of the future that Mr. Underwood believed in, under the direction of our newly appointed chairman, Holcombe Crosswell. Mr. Crosswell previously served as our vice chairman of the board and understands well the vision for the Texas Medical Center. Part of that vision is embodied by the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute, which has had an exciting inaugural year, graduating the first class of TMCx startup companies on Sept. 10. The 21 companies—made up of consumer-facing enterprises, regulated medical device companies and digital health/enterprise-level software startups—were given access to the wealth of resources available within the medical center. They were mentored by some of the best and brightest that this campus and the greater Houston community have to offer, and were supported with everything from office space to legal advice on their road to establishing their startups in the health care industry. The selection process is underway for the second class of TMCx, which kicks off Jan. 25. We look forward to welcoming the new class of digital health and health IT entrepreneurs. The TMC Innovation Institute also launched TMC Biodesign, a one-year fellowship program that brings together individuals from engineering, medicine, business, computer science, design and research to identify areas of need in health care devices and technology. Out of 510 applicants, eight fellows were selected—four in medical devices and four in digital health—to shadow in emergency departments and operating rooms within the medical center in an effort to identify opportunities for new devices or technology that would improve processes and patient care. We are also pleased to welcome a new face to the Innovation team. Dr. Erik Halvorsen recently joined us as the director of the Innovation Institute. Erik previously served as executive director of the Technology and Innovation Development Office at Boston Children's Hospital. He brings tremendous experience to the Texas Medical Center, and we look forward to the exciting things he will do in the Innovation Institute. JLABS @TMC is set to open its doors in the Nabisco building of the John P. McGovern campus in 2016, offering an incubator to help further foster innovation here in Houston. Startups will have access to wet lab units and office space, all a stone's throw from the heart of the medical center. The Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute has a number of ongoing projects, including TMC O2 (Overweight and Obesity)— a diet and weight management program designed to help improve the health of employees across the TMC campus. That effort has garnered support from all 56 members, and shows great promise to help this community lead by example. The Health Policy Institute has also seen great success with the Texas Medical Center Consumer Health Report, which polled 1,000 Texans on Y EA R I N R EV I EW

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