New initiative to bring protective equipment to underserved parts of Houston

PPE for the people

PPE For The People will donate personal protective equipment to workers in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Photos via houston.impacthub.net/ppeforthepeople

Through a collaboration between a 3D printing company and a nonprofit organization, small businesses in underserved parts of town are able to apply to receive personal protective equipment donations.

Impact Hub Houston and re:3D have teamed up for an initiative called PPE For The People that will create and donate PPE to small businesses disproportionately affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

"All of the emerging data indicates that, while a coronavirus may not discriminate, disparities that already exist in society are putting communities of color at a disproportionately higher risk of infection, serious illness, and death from COVID-19," says Grace Rodriguez, CEO and executive director of Impact Hub Houston.

According to a news release, the initiative will support workers across industries — from restaurants employees and bus and delivery drivers to small businesses that seek to reopen safely, like barbershops and nail salons.

Impact Hub Houston works to prioritize inclusion in Houston, which has been recognized as the most diverse city in the nation.

"There a number of societal factors that are leading to disproportionately higher COVID-19 cases and deaths among minority communities," says Rodriguez, specifying that these factors include lack of access to health care, overrepresentation of people of color in jobs considered essential, and more.

To start, the initiative has identified the southeast, south, and southwest parts of Houston to deliver four types of 3D-printed PPE: face shields, ear savers, hands-free door opener, and splash guards.

"re:3D has extensively researched PPE production for COVID-19 throughout the crisis as well as collaborated with healthcare workers, first responders, and local businesses to identify where there are gaps in their ability to protect themselves and their customers," says re:3D's community liaison, Charlotte Craff. "We have started with these items because we are confident they fill those needs."

The campaign, which is raising money and seeking volunteers online, began Wednesday, May 6, and expects to deliver its first PPE next week. The organizations are looking into expanding the PPE offered, as well as their reach, but it depends on fundraising.

"We would like to expand the project to serve communities in the northeast and other high-risk areas of Houston, but that all depends on how much funding we can raise to keep producing and delivering PPE," Rodriguez explains.

According to the release, Impact Hub Houston is financially supporting the initiative through its Fiscal Sponsorship Program, which re:3D applied to. The H-Force network, a crisis collaboration, is also lending its support to this initiative.

"We are honored to help those who are most vulnerable," says Craff in the release. "Data from the CDC has shown minority communities are at greater risk of critical illness from COVID-19, and we want to help local small businesses protect their employees as best as possible without it being an added financial burden on already strained industries."

Boeing has started making plastic face shields at its San Antonio factory. Photo courtesy of Boeing

Aerospace giant taps Texas site to make face shields for health care workers battling the coronavirus

in need of PPE

Chicago-based Boeing, which is a major employer in Texas, began producing face shields for front-line healthcare workers at several of its facilities across the country. The company's San Antonio location is among the sites selected.

On April 10, Boeing delivered its first 2,300 face shields to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, which is an alternate treatment site for COVID-19 patients. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accepted the shipment.

In collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Boeing is donating face shields to health care providers around the country. The company plans to make thousands of these face shields each week in San Antonio; St. Louis; Southern California; the Seattle area; Mesa, Arizona; Huntsville, Alabama; Philadelphia; Charleston, South Carolina; Salt Lake City; and Portland, Oregon.

"Boeing is proud to stand alongside many other great American companies in the fight against COVID-19, and we are dedicated to supporting our local communities, especially our front-line health care professionals, during this unprecedented time," David Calhoun, president and CEO of Boeing, says in a release.

At Port San Antonio, Boeing operates one of the world's largest military aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities. In August 2019, Boeing said it was adding 500 jobs in San Antonio, on top of the 900 people already employed there.

Solvay, a longtime Boeing supplier, has provided clear film for the face shields. Another supplier, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, has donated elastic for the adjustable headbands.

To date, Boeing says it has donated tens of thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment — including face masks, goggles, gloves, safety glasses, and protective bodysuits — to support U.S. health care workers fighting the pandemic.

"History has proven that Boeing is a company that rises to the toughest challenges with people who are second to none," Calhoun adds. "Today, we continue that tradition, and we stand ready to assist the federal government's response to this global pandemic."

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

A startup and a nonprofit makerspace have rallied to create PPE, or personal protective equipment, for local hospitals. Getty Images

Houston tech community answers the call for medical equipment amid coronavirus-caused shortages

in need of PPE

In the span of one day, the founders of Houston-based Lazarus 3D received calls from emergency room directors and physicians and vice presidents of hospitals explaining a dire need for personal protective equipment — like surgical masks and face shields — for medical professionals in the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.

"We stopped everything we were doing," says Jacques Zaneveld, co-founder of Lazarus, which makes 3D-printed human organs for surgeons to practice on. "We've moved 100 percent of our focus on developing PPE."

Now, Zaneveld with his co-founder, Smriti Agrawal Zaneveld, have manufacturing orders in for 700,000 surgical masks weekly and have designed a non-FDA approved face shield, which they have ordered a few million of. The duo has taken out a short-term loan to front the cost of the medical equipment and are now looking for the right customers to buy these new PPE products. All hospitals and medical professionals in need of supplies can head to Lazarus' website to request more info.

"Our personal feeling has been to do whatever we can do to build as many as possible," Jacques tells InnovationMap. "It's very stressful because I'm borrowing money that we don't have in order to set up these production lines."

On the other side of town, 3D printing nonprofit TXRX has reprogramed 30 of its 3D printers to make PPE. The nonprofit is working Memorial Hermann to quickly prototype and test items made with materials they can get their hands on.

The Center for Disease Control has relaxed some of the requirements for PPE in light of the crisis and shortage, and Roland von Kurnatowski, president at TX/RX Labs, says that has helped speed up their efforts. But, the biggest challenge, he says, has been to quickly get together a design and prototype for Memorial Hermann to give them feedback so that they can then produce the products.

"I think there are a lot of people out there producing devices, but I think the problem is there's not a lot of clarity around materials, quality, and acceptance. People are doing what they can with what they've got," says von Kurnatowski. "Our hope working with Memorial Hermann was to make sure we are devising and testing devices that are functional and appropriate.

TXRX is also relying on Memorial Hermann and others in the medical community to indicate which PPE devices are most needed. Currently, the nonprofit is printing 10,000 face shields for Memorial Hermann, but also has designs for N95 respirators, surgical masks, a positive air pressure respirator (or PAPR), Tyvek suit, and even a portable shield for the intubation process.

Von Kurnatowski says the Houston community can get involved by donating to TXRX's GoFundMe campaign. The 3D printing process is quick and local, but expensive and out of budget for hospitals, so TXRX is taking a loss on its products it is creating. The organization is also looking for people who might have 3D printing materials or experience to volunteer — TXRX has about 20 people working on this but hopes that number ramps up to 60 to 80 people helping out.

Crisis also brings the community together in their time of need — that's what Zaneveld says he sees happening.

"Everyone who is at all involved in the medical space in engineering in Houston is trying to put stuff out," Zaneveld says. "We're sharing information and trying to work together to support each other."

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Houston hospital names leading cancer scientist as new academic head

new hire

Houston Methodist Academic Institute has named cancer clinician and scientist Dr. Jenny Chang as its new executive vice president, president, CEO, and chief academic officer.

Chang was selected following a national search and will succeed Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, who will retire in February after 20 years of leadership. Chang is the director of the Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and the Emily Herrmann Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research. She has been with Houston Methodist for 15 years.

Over the last five years, Chang has served as the institute’s chief clinical science officer and is credited with strengthening cancer clinical trials. Her work has focused on therapy-resistant cancer stem cells and their treatment, particularly relating to breast cancer.

Her work has generated more than $35 million in funding for Houston Methodist from organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, according to the health care system. In 2021, Dr. Mary Neal and her husband Ron Neal, whom the cancer center is now named after, donated $25 million to support her and her team’s research on advanced cancer therapy.

In her new role, Chang will work to expand clinical and translational research and education across Houston Methodist in digital health, robotics and bioengineered therapeutics.

“Dr. Chang’s dedication to Houston Methodist is unparalleled,” Dr. Marc L. Boom, Houston Methodist president and CEO, said in a news release. “She is committed to our mission and to helping our patients, and her clinical expertise, research innovation and health care leadership make her the ideal choice for leading our academic mission into an exciting new chapter.”

Chang is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Stand Up to Cancer Scientific Advisory Council. She earned her medical degree from Cambridge University in England and completed fellowship training in medical oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital/Institute for Cancer Research. She earned her research doctorate from the University of London.

She is also a professor at Weill Cornell Medical School, which is affiliated with the Houston Methodist Academic Institute.

Texas A&M awarded $1.3M federal grant to develop clean energy tech from electronic waste

seeing green

Texas A&M University in College Station has received a nearly $1.3 million federal grant for development of clean energy technology.

The university will use the $1,280,553 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a cost-effective, sustainable method for extracting rare earth elements from electronic waste.

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a set of 17 metallic elements.

“REEs are essential components of more than 200 products, especially high-tech consumer products, such as cellular telephones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, and flat-screen monitors and televisions,” according to the Eos news website.

REEs also are found in defense equipment and technology such as electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, and radar and sonar systems, says Eos.

The grant awarded to Texas A&M was among $17 million in DOE grants given to 14 projects that seek to accelerate innovation in the critical materials sector. The federal Energy Act of 2020 defines a critical material — such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, lithium, magnesium, nickel, and platinum — as a substance that faces a high risk of supply chain disruption and “serves an essential function” in the energy sector.

“DOE is helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign supply chains through innovative solutions that will tap domestic sources of the critical materials needed for next-generation technologies,” says U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “These investments — part of our industrial strategy — will keep America’s growing manufacturing industry competitive while delivering economic benefits to communities nationwide.”

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

Biosciences startup becomes Texas' first decacorn after latest funding

A Dallas-based biosciences startup whose backers include millionaire investors from Austin and Dallas has reached decacorn status — a valuation of at least $10 billion — after hauling in a series C funding round of $200 million, the company announced this month. Colossal Biosciences is reportedly the first Texas startup to rise to the decacorn level.

Colossal, which specializes in genetic engineering technology designed to bring back or protect various species, received the $200 million from TWG Global, an investment conglomerate led by billionaire investors Mark Walter and Thomas Tull. Walter is part owner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tull is part owner of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Among the projects Colossal is tackling is the resurrection of three extinct animals — the dodo bird, Tasmanian tiger and woolly mammoth — through the use of DNA and genomics.

The latest round of funding values Colossal at $10.2 billion. Since launching in 2021, the startup has raised $435 million in venture capital.

In addition to Walter and Tull, Colossal’s investors include prominent video game developer Richard Garriott of Austin and private equity veteran Victor Vescov of Dallas. The two millionaires are known for their exploits as undersea explorers and tourist astronauts.

Aside from Colossal’s ties to Dallas and Austin, the startup has a Houston connection.

The company teamed up with Baylor College of Medicine researcher Paul Ling to develop a vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), the deadliest disease among young elephants. In partnership with the Houston Zoo, Ling’s lab at the Baylor College of Medicine has set up a research program that focuses on diagnosing and treating EEHV, and on coming up with a vaccine to protect elephants against the disease. Ling and the BCMe are members of the North American EEHV Advisory Group.

Colossal operates research labs Dallas, Boston and Melbourne, Australia.

“Colossal is the leading company working at the intersection of AI, computational biology, and genetic engineering for both de-extinction and species preservation,” Walter, CEO of TWG Globa, said in a news release. “Colossal has assembled a world-class team that has already driven, in a short period of time, significant technology innovations and impact in advancing conservation, which is a core value of TWG Global.”

Well-known genetics researcher George Church, co-founder of Colossal, calls the startup “a revolutionary genetics company making science fiction into science fact.”

“We are creating the technology to build de-extinction science and scale conservation biology,” he added, “particularly for endangered and at-risk species.”

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