How to Bring Personalized Cancer Care to Patients Everywhere

With Sha Chang, Ph.D., professor and director of medical physics research, Department of Radiation Oncology, UNC School of Medicine; founder of EmpowerRT

Location: Top of the Hill (Great Room)

Picture a resource-strapped cancer clinic in a developing country: financially depleted, technology limited, lacking in basic medical supplies, and with undertrained staff – yet, filled with cancer patients who are desperate for quality care. Now imagine that there is a way to transform the grim picture into a hopeful one: the clinic offering a high-quality cancer treatment developed at UNC to its patients. Join us at the next Carolina Innovations Seminar to hear how a UNC-affiliated social enterprise is putting this innovative transformation into practice.

Dr. Sha Chang, a professor and director of medical physics research at the UNC School of Medicine, will share the story of EmpowerRT, a social enterprise she founded to bring personalized cancer care to patients everywhere. Learn how EmpowerRT makes it possible for cancer clinics around the world to do more with less. Chang and her team repurpose a UNC-retired, clinically-proven and user-friendly solution (software, hardware, and the know-how) developed by her team at UNC years ago to give it a new life in helping more cancer patients in other parts of the world. Along the way, EmpowerRT also taps into digital health to advance cancer care in developing countries. The promise? Resource-limited cancer clinics can reduce treatment toxicity to similar levels as high-tech solutions, but at 5-to-10 percent of the cost.

Learn from Chang as she describes EmpowerRT’s recent experiences and accomplishments in Zambia, where it implemented its solution for the first time in a clinical setting. As her team has now proven in Africa, it’s possible to provide quality cancer care to patients in developing countries, without spending millions of dollars. Find out what Chang and her team learned through on-the-ground experiences that you can use to help shape your own entrepreneurial journey:

• What approaches to developing partnerships work best?
• Why is local support critical in low-to-middle-income country (LMIC) settings – and how do build it?
• How do you ensure successful training and proper adoption of technology?
• Which challenges are easier to prepare for – and which ones might surprise you?

Join us to hear the inspiring story of this innovative social enterprise, and find out how you can get involved.

Register now