Nature Digital Medicine: Rapid crowdsourced innovation for COVID-19 response and economic growth
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected life worldwide. Governments have been faced with the formidable task of implementing public health measures, such as social distancing, quarantines, and lockdowns, while simultaneously supporting a sluggish economy and stimulating research and development (R&D) for the pandemic. Catalyzing bottom-up entrepreneurship is one method to achieve this. Home-grown efforts by citizens wishing to contribute their time and resources to help have sprouted organically, with ideas shared widely on the internet. We outline a framework for structured, crowdsourced innovation that facilitates collaboration to tackle real, contextualized problems. This is exemplified by a series of virtual hackathon events attracting over 9000 applicants from 142 countries and 49 states. A hackathon is an event that convenes diverse individuals to crowdsource solutions around a core set of predetermined challenges in a limited amount of time. A consortium of over 100 partners from across the healthcare spectrum and beyond defined challenges and supported teams after the event, resulting in the continuation of at least 25% of all teams post-event. Grassroots entrepreneurship can stimulate economic growth while contributing to broader R&D efforts to confront public health emergencies.
The Disruption Lab: Rapid Development of Technologies through Grassroots Innovation that Redefine Healthcare Post COVID
The Disruption Lab – Rapid Development of Technologies through Grassroots Innovation that Redefine Healthcare Post COVID | Freddy Nguyen, MD, PhD | MIT, Mount Sinai | 2021-01-29 https://thedisruptionlab.com/rapid-innovation-freddy-nguyen-md-phd-mit-mount-sinai-2021-01-29/
MIT COVID-19 Challenge
The MIT COVID-19 Challenge harnessed the passion, enthusiasm and expertise of thousands of innovators world-wide via a series of virtual hackathons that resulted in initiatives that address the many challenges related to COVID-19. The MIT COVID-19 Challenge was launched in March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative was built by members of the MIT community with the foundational support of the MIT Innovation Initiative, Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship, and MIT Hacking Medicine.
Role: Co-Founder (2020), Co-Director
Hackers Without Borders | AI LA Life Summit 2020
Hackers Without Borders | AI LA Life Summit 2020 Hackers Without Borders | AI LA Life Summit 2020
American Medical Association Journal of Ethics: Ethics Talk – Hacking Structural Racism in Health Care
Organizers of MIT Hacking Racism in Healthcare talk about design thinking as a way to find solutions to combat structural racism and advance health equity.
MIT COVID-19 Challenge: Hack4theFuture – Awards
MIT COVID-19 Challenge: Hack4theFuture – Kickoff
AI LA Life Summit 2020 | Hackers Without Borders
Artificial Intelligence Los Angeles Community
Learn how socially-conscious technology organizations are galvanizing solutions for multi-faceted challenges facing humanity in a pandemic that has no borders.
Freddy Nguyen, MD, PhD – Co-Director of MIT COVID-19 Challenge
Artur Kiulian Founder, CoronaWhy.org
Ben Treuhaft CO-CEO Helpful Engineering
Moderated by: Wen Dombrowski MD MBA, Cofounder Catalaize
MIT News: 3Q: Addressing structural racism in health care as an innovation opportunity
MIT News – Institute Community and Equity Office (ICEO) – October 9, 2020
Far-reaching effects of structural racism can be seen in all facets of American life. This year, as Americans witnessed widespread demonstrations stemming from racial injustice at the hands of officers in law enforcement, a ground swell of conversations about race and pleas for action emerged.
One area in which racism has had significant effects is health care equity, a fact that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In light of current events, members of the MIT community involved in the successful hackathons MIT Covid-19 Challenge and MIT Hacking Medicine sought to explore the role of racism embedded in U.S. health care structures. More specifically, how could they tear down racism in health care using proven hackathon methodology traditionally applied to other complex health care problems?
MIT Hacking Racism Challenge in Healthcare: Listening Summit Closing
MIT Hacking Racism Challenge in Healthcare: Stakeholder Expectations
MIT Virtual Alumni Leadership Conference: Mind, Hand, and Heart – MIT Alumni Stories of Inspiration
In a lightning talk format, alumni and postdocs from various MIT schools, departments, and class years will share personal stories of finding inspiration and taking action during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. Speakers will discuss topics that include MIT Hacking COVID, interdisciplinary research and design, producing and distributing PPEs, supporting nonprofits, and an ambitious project that aims to turn motorcycles into lifesaving devices.