JAPAN-AMERICA INNOVATORS OF MEDICINE
UCLA x Stanford x Japan = Innovative medical technology to solve dementia
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Japan-America Innovators of Medicine (JAIM) is a 4-month program where medical innovators from Japan and the US come together to tackle a global healthcare issue of dementia. During the program, 9 UCLA & Stanford students visited Japan and its care settings along with medical students & faculty from Japanese universities to first-hand observe the needs around dementia. Then they brought back solutions to California where they spent the next 4 months developing prototypes and launching those innovations to save people living with dementia and their caregivers/family members.
ANDREW CLEELAND, CEO OF FOGARTY INNOVATION
"There are a lot of opportunities here, where we could be, where we could go together. It's getting people together, and I congratulate the organizers for what they're doing here and establishing relationships, that's where everything comes from."
THE PROBLEM WE WILL SOLVE -- DEMENTIA
Dementia affects over 55 million people worldwide and is estimated to continuously increase in the future with the aging population. In Japan, 28.7% of the population is over 65 years old, making it the leading graying nation of the world. Of those people, 1 in 6 is diagnosed with dementia.
Dementia can take a physical, mental, and emotional toll on not only those living with it but caregivers and family members as well. This makes dementia a severe public health issue to say the least -- in Japan, dementia cost JPY 14.5 trillion in 2014 alone and is projected to reach JPY 24.3 trillion by 2060 when 3 in 10 seniors are expected to be living with dementia.
Yet this is an issue not just of Japan but nations worldwide, including Italy with 23.6% over 65 years old, Portugal with 23.15%, and eventually the US in matters of decades. It is a disease without a cure and thus solutions to reduce the burden on or to raise the quality of life of those affected by it are in dire need. To achieve that, JAIM was initiated and was designed to combine the strengths of 3 locations – top-tier technology at UCLA, innovation at Stanford, and the medical need of Japan.
OUR GOALS
1. To bring together passionate innovators from Japan and the US in Japan, the leading graying nation of the world, in order to generate innovations that will enhance the lives of people living with dementia and their caregivers/family members.
2. To combine the strengths of 3 locations -- top-tier technology from UCLA, innovation from Stanford, and the medical need from Japan -- in order to solve problems surrounding dementia, a disease without a cure.
3, To build a long-lasting bridge between Japan and the US to promote collaboration and the sharing of cures, resources, and technologies to advance medicine.
A COLLABORATION BETWEEN STANFORD, UCLA,
& JAPANESE MEDICAL UNIVERSITIES
JAIM combines the strengths of 3 locations – top-tier technology at UCLA, innovation at Stanford, and the medical need of Japan. Kanon Mori, a UCLA undergraduate, and Tsubasa Tanabe, an Osaka University medical student, who are both members of inochi WAKAZO Project collaborated with Tony Chang, a Stanford undergraduate and director of Stanford SHIFT, in order to make this undertaking possible.
CONTACT
If you are an investor, an entrepreneur supporter, a potential collaborator, or a media journalist, please reach out to us as we are always looking for supporters!!
Email: inochiprojectamerica@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/japan-america-innovators-of-medicine/