Pacific Sotheby’s & Mintz Levin joined Benefunder in co-hosting its monthly Innovation Showcase
San Diego, CA (March 2014) Over 60 members of San Diego’s science community, private investors, wealth managers, and academics gathered Thursday evening at a Fairbanks Highland Estates home in the Carmel Valley community of San Diego to hear Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin, PhD and Dr. Eli Aronoff-Spencer, MD, PhD., of DH Labs discuss their concept, the Tricorder and how it will transform world health issues using digital connectivity and human interaction.
Dr’s Lin and Spencer are in the running for the famed X-Prize, a $10 million award for the company or persons who create world-changing technology. These doctors’ believe they have it. Their center, DH labs, is based at the Qualcomm Institute at UCSD and is working on Tricorder device that will allow users and the world to access healthcare information in the palm of their hands. Throughout their presentation, the doctors discussed the importance of shared information and how data collected and graphed can and will make a global impact as it gives users the ability to make more informed decisions regarding their personal health. As Dr. Lin put it, “the future of our planet is based on how we deal with connectivity.” At the event, guests listened to the doctors’ passionate pitch and were all asked to consider helping Dr. Lin and Dr.Spencer make their product a reality.
Benefunder’s CEO, Christian Braemer and Pacific Sotheby’s Amber Anderson have designed these monthly events to showcase the innovations in research taking place throughout San Diego as well as give guests a chance to view stunning, luxury homes available throughout the city. As Anderson puts it, “it’s a unique way of showcasing a beautiful home while also introducing clients to cutting-edge researchers.” Braemer too believes this setting “increases awareness within the community and provides researchers with a network of potential donors in a unique and comfortable face-to-face setting.”
The same principles go into Benefunder, whose mission is to connect researchers with donors to reduce the nation’s ‘innovation deficit’. Benefunder.org is a website that allows potential donors to find, fund, and follow the causes that interest them most. It gives donors the ability to ‘follow the money’ post funding, which serves as peace of mind or even as a form of business intelligence. They can learn what researchers are working on, how their research will impact society and what financial assistance is necessary for them to continue their research. Braemer knows that government funding is limited. He also knows that, “research fuels our economy” and he sees Benefunder as the resource to fill the gaps that often hinder the potential for innovation.
Next month’s guest speaker will be Nigel Calcutt, PhD who is finding ways to help patients who suffer from nerve damage caused by diabetes. The event series title sponsor is the law firm, Mintz Levin, that specializes in corporate, transaction, and intellectual property matters. For information about Benefunder and future events, contact the Benefunder team at 858.333.8188.
Benefunder is a unique donor-researcher funding platform where individuals can connect with the frontiers of science. Donors direct the funding and Benefunder helps them follow the research they fund.