Nanopore is trying to take the guesswork out of prescribing antibiotics.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Nanopore Diagnostics LLC and ViFlex LLC are the winners of the inaugural Suren G. Dutia and Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Award, given from the Skandalaris Center at Washington University in St. Louis.
Entrepreneurs Suren G. Dutia and his wife Jas Grewal were present for the award ceremony, where ViFlex co-founders Nathan Brajer and Evan Madill, and Nanopore Diagnostics co-founder Tom Cohen, and Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, attended earlier this month, reported the Del Mar Times.
Del Mar residents Dutia (BS ’63, AB, MS ’67) and Grewal, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs and investors, established the award in the belief that technology can solve real- world problems by giving entrepreneurs the tools to foster innovation.
Nanopore (http://nanoporedx.com), winner of a $40,000 prize, is developing a rapid and portable bacterial diagnostic test to take the guesswork out of prescribing antibiotics.
ViFlex (http://www.viflexglasses.com), winner of a $10,000 prize, is developing a pair of low-cost, adjustable eyeglasses to reduce the burden of poor vision for millions in the developing world.
Dutia is at present also Senior Fellow of the Kauffman Foundation. He has been involved in varied initiatives, including building and growing entrepreneurial eco-systems, immigration policy, Diasporas networks, AgTech and assisting a number of grantees who contribute to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Suren also serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Digital Transformation, University of California, Irvine.
As an angel investor, he has invested in a number of business ventures and is currently serving on the Board of Directors or Advisors for a number of startups or entrepreneurial ventures. More recently, Suren served as an independent director of LifeProof (acquired by Otterbox) and Anvita Health (acquired by Humana), both highly successful exits. Currently, he serves as an independent director on the boards of Tagnos and Sharepract, and advises three other early stage ventures.