TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 7 /ja n 2 0 1 8 32 entrepreneurs who see that role as a career and are willing to do the job of building multiple companies. We don't have as many here as, say, Boston or Silicon Valley. On the capital piece, fortunately, we will see lots of changes in 2018. The $25 million TMC Venture Fund was recently announced, along with our first few investments. In addition, we continue to see an increased interest from venture funds across the country in what is going on here in Houston. They are spending more time here and considering opening up offices. The city, through Houston Exponential, also has recently announced a 'fund of funds' strategy that will further increase venture fund presence and investment here in Houston. We currently have three buildings under construction—the Glassell School of Art, the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Center for Conservation and the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building for modern and con- temporary art. Those are three indepen- dent buildings that will be connected by tunnels. We've come to think of Houston as the best kept cultural secret of the world. It is phenomenal what goes on in the arts here—from the performing arts to the visual arts. Houston, because of our geographic location and the distance to other metropolitan loca- tions, is not yet a major tourist desti- nation, although our cultural facilities rival those of all the great capitals of the world." E R I K H A LVOR SE N , PH . D. Director of the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute (TMCx) "Our program is in a really good place to help existing health care startup companies move their product closer to patient use, whether they have medical devices, digital health or diagnostics. We have put together a great team and our curriculum and advisor/mentor net- work is second to none in the country. However, we are always working to improve. One of those improvements is that we are not yet adequately captur- ing and supporting all of the amazing innovations, intellectual property and research arising across the Texas Medical Center. Right now, if you have a company, we can help you, but we want to build new companies around TMC innovations. We are continuing to grow our expertise, and eventually our goal is to build out an entrepreneur-in-residence program that will increase the number of home-grown health care companies. We will work to build closer relation- ships and collaborate with the technol- ogy transfer offices across the Texas Medical Center. With those goals in mind, we recognize the challenges. There are two big gaps in Houston: People and capital. The people part is the pool of With new venture funds emerging and growing our pool of health care entrepreneurs, I believe we will see fundamental and long-lasting changes to the Houston innovation ecosystem." ROL A E L-SE R AG , M . D. Women Veterans Health Program Medical Director at Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center Houston "I have had the privilege of serving female veterans whose courage and resiliency are both humbling and inspirational. For 14 rewarding years, my female veteran patients have entrusted me with their very personal and, often, painful stories regarding their military experiences. Twenty-three percent of female veterans surveyed will admit to a history of sexual harassment in the military, likely a gross underestimate due to the difficult nature of answering such a question. In our Women's Health Center, the number is closer to one out of every two female veterans. The profound impact that military sexual trauma has on our female veterans is beyond fathomable. Young women proudly join the armed forces eager to serve our nation and defend our freedom, but leave devoid of all dignity, betrayed and humiliated often not just by their perpetrator but by an entire system and culture. One of my patient's once said to me regarding her service in Iraq: "I never imagined that the real enemy was within. I locked my door every night out of immense fear, not of the gunfire and bombs I could hear surrounding our base, but of my fellow soldiers." The effects of military sexual trauma last a lifetime and encroach upon every aspect of a female veteran's health and overall wellness, including family and intimate relations, employ- ment, ability to cope with stressors, chronic pain and chronic disease. This leads to avoidance behaviors, substance abuse, and self-neglect. It is very timely that both the enter- tainment industry as well as our polit- ical infrastructure are currently under scrutiny for perpetuating a culture of sexual harassment and degradation of women.

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