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May 2008 - Two Biophysics Graduate Students win Big at Big Bang! competition.
Alan Szmodis and Matt Hoopes, both graduate students in the Biophysics graduate group and part of the Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology (DEB), are members of the team that won 2nd place AND the "People's Choice" awards at the annual Big Bang! Business Plan Competition. The contest is run by students in the Graduate School of Management at UC Davis.
Arcus, their team that was headed by MBA candidate Matt Vogel, is developing technology that measures blood sugar levels in people with diabetes by blowing into a small hand-held device. Davin Hsieh (MBA candidate), and Jamie Kitano (JD/MBA Candidate) were also members of the Arcus team.
Current glucose monitoring is done through painful pin pricks several times a day, which is not only costly, but can have a negative public stigma and is a potential biohazard. Because of these, people with diabetes often do not check their blood sugar levels as often as is recommended, which is responsible for related complications costing over $23 billion annually.
As part of Arcus' research and development team, Alan points out that dogs were an inspiration for the idea. "Dogs have been trained to bark or signal if a person's blood glucose is way out of balance. We thought if a dog can monitor this, we should develop a chemical sensor 'nose' that could do the same thing."
The Arcus concept combines two recent discoveries: micro-cantilever sensors and new diabetes research that correlates levels of certain exhaled compounds with the rise and fall of blood glucose. The team aims to bring relief to the 19.2 million Americans (246 million worldwide) that currently have diabetes. Matt Vogel, who was diagnosed with diabetes in his teens, relates to the importance of this technology stating "I personally understand how a device like this could reduce one of the main barriers to frequent glucose monitoring – the discomfort and hassle of pricking your finger to retrieve a blood sample. Constant blood glucose monitoring is essential for tight diabetes control, which offers the best chance of avoiding diabetes-related complications."
The team is currently moving on to compete in the "DFJ West Coast Business Plan Competition" that includes all of the winners of participating schools on the entire west coast. (Photo by Judy Kjelstrom, Article by Alan Szmodis)
Read the full story online.
