Houston nonprofit utilizes art to connect medical professionals to patients

In good hands

Doctors are people too — some are even artists. This Houston organization is shining a light on Houston's multifaceted physicians. Courtesy of Arts of Healing

Imagine your doctor holding a paintbrush rather than a stethoscope. The Arts of Healing is working to connect patients to their medical professionals in a new way, encouraging a more personal connection that extends beyond the exam room.

Established in 2017 by Lori and Isaac Raijman, The Arts of Healing Foundation is a Houston-based nonprofit organization that unites physicians from the major hospitals throughout the Texas Medical Center to showcase their unique artistic talents and fundraise for local organizations. Over the past three years, the organization has raised $188,000 for charity.

Lori Raijman, founder, worked as a public school teacher for 24 years, introducing art as a voice and vehicle for her students.

"After my teaching career, I started managing my husband's art business, and he is a physician who paints," Raijman tells InnovationMap. "People would come to his office and talk to him about art, their first encounter with him was different because of the connection through the art."

The Arts of Healing hosts an annual art show where physicians exhibit their work, from painting and photography to music. The 2019 show will take place on Friday, November 8, at the Post Oak Hotel and will benefit The Sunshine Kids Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting children who are fighting cancer.

The Arts of Healing is also planning events outside of the annual art show where physicians can spend time with the children supported by The Sunshine Kids Foundation. During these events, medical professionals will bring in art supplies and musical instruments to interact with the children.

"It's a different level of giving back in sharing the love you have for creating through an experience," says Raijman.

Past beneficiaries include Lung Force (2018) and Pancreatic Cancer (2017).

Raijman tells InnovationMap that her first art show was in 2008 at Hotel Zaza with an attendance of some 300 people. "Years passed and I was trying to figure out how to have physicians art rotate through the hospitals," said Raijman. "Some hospitals do show photography of their physicians in the call, but there wasn't an exhibit of art anywhere."

In 2017, Issac Raijman's art was noticed by a friend who worked with River Oaks District that offered to display the art inside the stores.

"It was like a lightbulb just went off," Raijman tells InnovationMap.

She then moved forward with gathering a group of physicians to showcase their art at the retail stores and raise money for charity. Some two dozen physicians participated in the first exhibition and around 2,000 people attended.

"You see the physicians willing to show this vulnerability that we don't normally see and as a patient that is refreshing," says Raijman. She explains that she feels patients usually feel vulnerable when dealing with medical professionals, sharing their most personal information.

The Arts of Healing website states that studies show art supports creativity and practice in medicine, making better physicians; it also enables medical professionals to better connect, empathize with, and support their patients.

"It also unifies the doctors of the Texas Medical Center," says Raijman. "When you think about the Texas Medical Center and the gold mine of talent there and it's not been harnessed together in this way before, that's a unique factor."

Raijman is also planning an event that will take place next year for women in the medical field, bringing together medical professionals from a variety or practices and specializations.

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Axiom Space taps solar array developer for first space station module

space contract

Houston-based Axiom Space is making progress on developing its commercial space station.

The company awarded Florida-based Redwire Corporation a contract to develop and deliver roll-out solar array (ROSA) wings to power the Axiom Payload Power Thermal Module (AxPPTM), which will be the first module for the new space station.

AxPPTM will initially attach to the International Space Station. AxPPTM will later separate from the ISS and rendezvous with Axiom’s Habitat 1 (AxH1) on orbit. Eventually, an airlock, Habitat 2 (AxH2) and finally the Research and Manufacturing Facility (AxRMF) will be added to the first two Axiom modules.

AxPPTM is anticipated to launch toward the end of 2027. The two-module station (AxPPTM and AxH1) is expected to be operational as a free-flying station by 2028, and the full four-module station around 2030.

The modules will be integrated and assembled at Axiom Space’s Assembly and Integration facility, making them the first human-rated spacecraft built in Houston.

Redwire’s ROSA technology was originally developed for the ISS, according to Space News. It has yielded a 100 percent success rate on on-orbit performance. The technology has also been used on NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, the Maxar-built Power and Propulsion Element for the Artemis Lunar Gateway and Thales Alenia Space’s Space Inspire satellites.

“As a market leader for space power solutions, Redwire is proud to be selected as a strategic supplier to deliver ROSAs for Axiom Space’s first space station module,” Mike Gold, Redwire president of civil and international space, said in a news release. “As NASA and industry take the next steps to build out commercial space stations to maintain U.S. leadership in low-Earth orbit, Redwire continues to be the partner of choice, enabling critical capabilities to ensure on-orbit success.”

Greentown Houston to add new AI lab for energy startups

AI partnership

Greentown Labs has partnered with Shoreless to launch an AI lab within its Houston climatetech incubator.

"Climatetech and energy startups are transforming industries, and AI is a critical tool in that journey," Lawson Gow, Greentown's Head of Houston, said in a news release. "We're excited to bring this new offering to our entrepreneurs and corporate partners to enhance the way they think about reducing costs and emissions across the value chain."

Shoreless, a Houston-based company that enables AI adoption for enterprise systems, will support startups developing solutions for supply-chain optimization and decarbonization. They will offer Greentown members climate sprint sessions that will deliver AI-driven insights to assist companies in reducing Scope 3 emissions, driving new revenue streams and lowering expenses. Additionally, the lab will help companies test their ideas before attempting to scale them globally.

"The future of climatetech is intertwined with the future of AI," Ken Myers, Founder and CEO of Shoreless, said in a news release. "By launching this AI lab with Greentown Labs, we are creating a collaborative ecosystem where innovation can flourish. Our agentic AI is designed to help companies make a real difference, and we are excited to see the groundbreaking solutions that will emerge from this partnership."

Greentown and Shoreless will collaborate on workshops that address industry needs for technical teams, and Shoreless will also work to provide engagement opportunities and tailored workshops for Greentown’s startups and residents. Interested companies can inquire here.

Recently, Greentown Labs also partnered with Los Angeles-based software development firm Nominal to launch the new Industrial Center of Excellence at Greentown's Houston incubator. It also announced a partnership with Houston-based EnergyTech Nexus, which will also open an investor lounge on-site last month. Read more here.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston medical institutions launch $6M kidney research incubator

NIH funding

Institutions within Houston’s Texas Medical Center have launched the Houston Area Incubator for Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Research Training (HAI-KUH) program. The incubator will be backed by $6.25 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health and aims to create a training pipeline for researchers.

HAI-KUH will include 58 investigators from Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Houston, Houston Methodist Research Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University and Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences and Technology. The program will fund six predoctoral students and six postdoctoral associates. Trainees will receive support in scientific research, professional development and networking.

According to the organizations, Houston has a high burden of kidney diseases, hypertension, sickle cell disease and other nonmalignant hematologic conditions. HAI-KUH will work to improve the health of patients by building a strong scientific workforce that leverages the team's biomedical research resources to develop research skills of students and trainees and prepare them for sustained and impactful careers. The funding comes through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The principal investigators of the project include Dr. Alison Bertuch, professor of pediatric oncology and molecular and human genetics at BCM; Peter Doris, professor and director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine Center for Human Genetics at UT Health; and Margaret Goodell, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor.

“This new award provides unique collaborative training experiences that extend beyond the outstanding kidney, urology, and hematology research going on in the Texas Medical Center,” Doris said in a news release. “In conceiving this award, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases envisioned trainee development across the full spectrum of skills required for professional success.”

Jeffrey Rimer, a professor of Chemical Engineering, is a core investigator on the project and program director at UH. Rimer is known for his breakthroughs in using innovative methods in control crystals to help treat malaria and kidney stones. Other co-investigators include Dr. Wolfgang Winkelmeyer (Baylor), Oleh Pochynyuk (UTHealth), Dr. Rose Khavari (Houston Methodist) and Pamela Wenzel (UT Health).

“This new NIH-sponsored training program will enable us to recruit talented students and postdocs to work on these challenging areas of research,” Rimer added in a release.

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