Hop on Zoom for this lunchtime talk featuring the founder of Beacon Bio, a biomedical device startup which launched to commercialize innovations developed at Harvard SEAS, Harvard's Wyss Institute, and Mass Eye & Ear. The company was acquired in 2021 by Desktop Metal, where Dr. Black continues to lead the platform's development.

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Hosted by Harvard Office of Technology Development.

Featured speaker:

Nicole Black, PhD '20, founder and CEO of Beacon Bio and now Vice President of Biomaterials and Innovation at Desktop Health.

Nicole Black, PhD '20, founded Beacon Bio to commercialize a biomimetic hearing-restoration technology developed at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, and Mass Eye & Ear. Dr. Black had advanced this research as a SEAS doctoral student in the lab of Prof. Jennifer Lewis, and the work was advanced toward commercialization as an Institute Project at the Wyss. The core technology, called the PhonoGraft device, is a 3D-printed, biocompatible graft that could be implanted to repair a damaged eardrum. If its clinical development is successful, the PhonoGraft technology could mitigate the pain, drainage, and hearing loss associated with ear drum perforations that affect millions of individuals worldwide. Shortly after its launch, Beacon Bio was acquired by California-based Desktop Health, a healthcare business within Desktop Metal Inc. that focuses on new 3D printing and biofabrication solutions for personalized medicine. Dr. Black, who was CEO of Beacon Bio and is a Wyss Lumineer, continues to lead the platform as Vice President of Biomaterials and Innovation at Desktop Health. Read more about the launch and acquisition of Beacon Bio.

She will be joined by Chris Petty, PhD, Director of Business Development in Harvard Office of Technology Development.