UW Derm at Hacking Dermatology Virtual Event
UW Derm resident Dr. Jason Ya's "DermBox" team was selected as one of five winners, while associate professor Dr. Andrea Kalus mentored various teams, in the 2020 Hacking Dermatology event.
The virtual event took place over the Oct. 24-25th weekend. This year's theme "Skin Health Equality Now!" was focused on making an impact on dermatological challenges for skin of color.
The Hacking Dermatology competition fosters innovation and collaboration amongst dermatologists at all career stages through a year-long, five-step iterative process:
Step 1: Frame
Thought leaders in dermatology including, scientists, clinicians, funders, and patients share what they believe to be the most critical challenge areas for the field through a crowd sourcing exercise.
Step 2: Hack
Teams of hackers, coming from diverse scientific, business, and other backgrounds, formulate solution driven projects in response to the challenge areas under the mentorship of invited experts. At this multi-day event teams present their proposals to a panel of judges and the top 5 teams are awarded seed funding to refine their ideas.
Step 3: Incubate
The top 5 teams have three months to utilize the Hacking Dermatology network of mentors, experts, resources, and professional services to polish their ideas and develop genuine proposals. At the conclusion of the incubation period, teams present their final proposals to a panel of judges and the top 3 teams are awarded further funding and admittance to the extended incubation program.
Step 4: Extend
The top 3 teams receive additional mentorship and access to scientific and startup resources. As part of this step, teams submit progress reports to establish a proactive environment, capitalize on their momentum and achieve their goals.
Step 5: To Market
As ideas and projects mature, teams are guided from research to commercialization. This departure point may lead to external accelerators, investors, strategic partnerships or other resources for early stage companies.
First year UW Derm resident, Dr. Jason Ya, together with his team, proposed their concept for "DermBox", a standardized tool for clinical photography to help expand diversity in clinical photography related to skin of color.
With the help of mentors, such as UW Derm faculty member Dr. Andrea Kalus, and fellow participants through last weekend's "Hack" phase, DermBox was one of the 5 teams selected to continue on to the "Incubate" stage.
Over the next 3 months, Dr. Ya and the DermBox team will continue to network with mentors and experts in the field to fully flesh-out their proposal. Good luck to team DermBox on the road ahead and congratulations on a major innovation helping to improve equitable dermatology care for all.
