SoCalBio Announces 2021 Innovation Award Winners
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southern California Biomedical Council (SoCalBio) -- the trade association for bioscience and digital health professionals across Greater Los Angeles – today announced honorees for the 2021 Innovation Awards, which will be presented during an online gala on Friday, December 10th.
The Awards recognize and celebrate the contributions of Greater Los Angeles Region's bioscience entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators. The 2021 honorees are:
Raymond W. Cohen, Founder & CEO, Axonics, Inc. (Irvine, CA)
Winner: Lifetime Entrepreneurial Achievement AwardYu-Chong Tai, PhD, Anna L. Rosen Professor of Electrical Engineering & Medical Engineering and Executive Officer for Medical Engineering at Caltech (Pasadena, CA)
Winner: 2021 Outstanding Researcher AwardChander Arora, Ph.D., Professor of Biotechnology, Los Angeles Mission College (Sylmar, CA)
Winner: 2021 Outstanding Educator Award
"Resounding congratulations to this year's honorees," said Robert Greenberg, MD, PhD, Chairman of SoCalBio and Executive Chairman of the Alfred E. Mann Foundation. "SoCalBio is grateful for their exceptional contributions that enrich the bioscience communities across Greater Los Angeles."
Lifetime Entrepreneurial Achievement Award
Raymond W. Cohen has devoted his career encompassing four decades to bringing lifesaving medtech innovations into the continuum of medical care. He has raised nearly $1.5 billion in capital to fund R&D at many of the companies he helmed. In total, Mr. Cohen has served as CEO or Chairman of the Board for more than a dozen companies, including many with successful exits.
Mr. Cohen's latest endeavor is Irvine-based Axonics, Inc. (Nasdaq; AXNX) -- the publicly traded developer of an FDA-approved implantable rechargeable sacral neuromodulation system for treating patients with overactive bladder. From a research project spun out of the Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Biomedical Research in 2013, Mr. Cohen has built Axonics into the #1 fastest-growing tech company in North America (Deloitte Technology Fast 500, November 2021), with a market cap of $2.7 billion.
Outstanding Researcher Award
Yu-Chong Tai, PhD, has devoted his career at Caltech to advancing the fields of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS). His research has led to more than 700 peer-reviewed publications in major scientific journals and nearly 200 issued and pending patents for his inventions in MEMS/NEMS devices, including micromotors, microphones, micro scanning mirrors, neural chips, micro relays, and micropower generators. He also attracted substantial funding to create Caltech's Department of Medical Engineering, which is focused on translational medicine and micro/nanoscale medical devices.
In addition to conducting research and educating students, Dr. Tai has also co-founded several biomedical device companies focused on microfluidics, labs-on-a-chip, and biomedical implants.
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