Medical College of Wisconsin Set to Lead Key Initiative as Part of EDA Tech Hub Phase 2 Funding

MILWAUKEE, July 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded $49 million to the Wisconsin BioHealth Tech Hub (Tech Hub), a transformative initiative to make Wisconsin a national leader in personalized medicine by accelerating biomedical innovation, growing jobs, and bringing new products to market.

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) is one of 18 members of the Tech Hub Consortium representing Wisconsin's personalized medicine strengths across public and private sector partners that came together for a unified purpose, to advance Wisconsin.

"The creativity and collaboration of the Wisconsin BioHealth Tech Hub partners has been impressive, and I commend BioForward for their leadership and success in building an extensive biohealth network," said MCW President and CEO John R. Raymond, Sr., MD. "MCW is honored to be a key partner in this significant effort to advance innovations that improve health for all people and contribute to a flourishing society."

MCW is leading one of three technology projects funded by the EDA. CAREScan Mobile Screening aims to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare as a fully mobile platform that improves health equity through neighborhood-based access to health screening and care. CAREScan will offer lung, colon, breast, prostate, and liver cancer screening, and is designed to screen for other diseases as technologies evolve. CAREScan also will utilize AI-enabled telehealth interfaces developed by NexusMD, a biotech startup launched by MCW researchers.

An important part of the CAREScan project will include building connections and trust within underserved communities to foster understanding and participation in what will be unprecedented community-based access to cancer screenings.

"There is unlimited potential in CAREScan – as the first platform of its kind to bring together screening technologies and expertise in a single fleet. It enables us to offer screening and care at the doorsteps of community members," said Mara Lord, PhD, CAREScan project lead and senior vice president at MCW. "We will implement CAREScan as a community-immersed model, taking time to work with community organizations, leaders, and mobilizers to first build trust."

CAREScan will be developed and deployed from MCW's Milwaukee campus.

Access the full release: https://www.mcw.edu/newsroom/news-articles/mcw-set-to-lead-key-initiative-as-part-of-eda-tech-hub-phase-2-funding

SOURCE Medical College of Wisconsin