Medical Center of the Americas Foundation (MCA), BIO El Paso-Juarez (BIO-EPJ), and the College of Engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) announced Friday that they are joining forces to host a one-day virtual conference focused on the region’s biomedical industry.
“Biomedical Day at UTEP hopes to increase interest from students, faculty and the community-at-large to engage with the local biomedical industry and to establish resources tailored to industry needs – from research and investment to talent development – to grow innovation and industry in the region,” MCA officials shared.
“The event also aims to increase industry support of programs at UTEP, while building a broader pipeline to jobs in the regional biomedical industry.”
This event, scheduled for Friday, April 30th, will provide information on the biomedical industry in El Paso and Juarez as well as the engineering talent that UTEP is producing in the biomedical space.
Organizers say that the day’s agenda includes an industry panel with medical device manufacturing leaders to discuss industry trends and workforce challenges, followed by workshops provided by highly qualified industry leaders on various topics.
The College of Engineering at UTEP will be showcasing its research and academic talent through faculty research presentations and student pitches. The event will then feature local start-ups and companies working on medical devices to highlight current product development and innovation activities in the regional biomedical industry.
Finally, the event will include a Fireside Chat with a local medical device executive to discuss the future of the medical device industry and potential impacts on the El Paso-Juarez region.
While El Paso-Juarez is home to a significant biomedical industry, growing such complex industries requires strategic planning and strong connectivity between education, research, and industry. MCA and BIO-EPJ are committed to expanding the role of innovation and R&D in the development of locally produced medical devices and partnering with the College of Engineering at UTEP for “Biomedical Day” is a key step to doing so.
“The medical device and supply industry is growing, and it has significant impacts on quality and access to healthcare as we experienced first-hand at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Emma Schwartz, President of the MCA and CEO of BIO El Paso-Juarez.
“We must work strategically and collaboratively to further harness this powerful industry, creating opportunities for innovation and commercialization that will lead to more product development and advanced manufacturing, and higher utilization of the local supply chain. Ultimately this will result in both economic growth for our region as well as our region contributing to improved health outcomes locally, nationally, and globally. We are excited to collaborate with the College of Engineering at UTEP towards this aim.”
“The College of Engineering is elated to co-host our first Biomedical Day, in cooperation with MCA and BIO El Paso-Juarez. It has long been a dream to have this type of event, renewing previous collaborations, and establishing new ones. Biomedical Day is the culmination of aspirations, cooperation, and work. It is slated to be an exciting event, and we look forward to interacting with our industry partners,” said Dr. Patricia Nava, Interim Dean of the College of Engineering at UTEP.
“UTEP and the College of Engineering are excited to play a leadership role in the development of diverse new and high-tech industries in our region,” Dr. Nava concluded.
This year’s Biomedical Day at UTEP will take place virtually from 8 am – 4 pm on Friday, April 30th the community is invited to register to attend.
Click here for more information on the agenda and the registration link
