CAHNR Workshop 2019 Entrepreneurship in Research

1. CAHNR Workshop 2019Entrepreneurship in Research & UConn Office of the Vice President for Research Technology Commercialization Services Linda S. Pescatello, PhD, FACSM, FAHA Distinguished Professor of Kinesiology Linda.Pescatello@Uconn.Edu

2. ExRx

4. Our product is a gene panel that will be used as health screening tool for individuals with high blood pressure to determine if exercise can be used to lower their blood pressure and increase exercise adherence. Lucas Santos Graduate Student Team Member Linda S. Pescatello, PhD, FAHA, FACSM Distinguished Professor Academic Lead Dr. Yin Wu Postdoctoral Fellow Team Member Team Name: DESIGNER GENES Burak T. Cilhoroz Graduate Student Entrepreneurial Lead Team Number: 44 College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources Department of Kinesiology

5. THE BUSINESS KILLING ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE TESTED HYPOTHESIS: Hypertension should be treated with exercise TOTAL INTERVIEWS (N=52) Identifying our target customers’ jobs, pains, and gains. Health Care Providers (n=34) Genomic Companies (n=7) Patients with High BP (n=11) Example: What are the difficulties you have encountered when prescribing exercise for hypertension to your patients? • Exercise Physiologists: n=9 • Cardiologists: n=4 • Primary Care Physicians: n=8 • Registered Nurse: n=6 • Nurse Practitioner: n=1 • Physician Assistant: n=1 • Registered Dietitians: n=3 • Pharmacists: n=2 Seabury: n=7 Hartford Hospital: n=4 • Illumina: n=3 • Jackson Lab: n=1 • UConn: n=1 • Helix: n=2

6. WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE INTERVIEWSGenetic Testing . . . • Should be highly reliable and inexpensive. • Should provide information on the FITT (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type) of the exercise prescription (ExRx). • Sparked skepticism to treat hypertension. • May lead to discouragement and low exercise adherence when the results are negative. • Patients and providers need guidance on how to design the ExRx. • Exercise will be used regardless of the genetic testing results! ExRx

7. Opportunity, Problem, Solution A skill set to systematically prescribe exercise tailored for each patient/client as lifestyle therapy An expert guided, evidence-based, clinical decision support system for ExRx is needed Healthcare professionals do not have this skill set ExRx

8. https://exerciseprescription.uconn.edu/

9. Our product is a fitness app that will enable health-care providers (HCPs) to design an individualized evidence-based ExRx in 10 min or less within the office for adults with multiple chronic diseases (MCDs).   Robert Maybruch Founder of Revolution Sports Club Team Member Linda S. Pescatello, PhD, FAHA, FACSM Distinguished Professor Academic Lead Dr. Yin Wu Postdoctoral Fellow Team Member Team Name: OPTIMIZE Burak T. Cilhoroz Graduate Student Entrepreneurial Lead Team Number: 62 College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources Department of Kinesiology

10. WHAT BUSINESS KILLING ASSUMPTIONS DID WE TEST? HYPOTHESIS:HCPs are not designing individualized exercise prescription following the frequency, intensity, time, and type (FITT) principle for their patients/clients with MCDs. TOTAL INTERVIEWS (N=49) Insurance and Pharmaceutical Companies (n=2) Identifying our target customers’ jobs, pains, and gains. Health Care Providers (n=38) Patients with MCDs (n=9) Example: In your daily practice, what are the biggest challenges you face when prescribing exercise to your clients/patients, especially those with MCDs? • Primary Care Physician n=10 • Exercise Physiologist n=9 • Physical Therapist n=9 • Registered Nurse n=3 • Physician Assistant n=1 • Registered Dietitian n=4 • Occupational Therapist n=2 Greater Hartford Area • Shire Pharma n=1 • Aetna n=1

11. WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THE INTERVIEWS? Lower Liability Risk Higher Adherence Product Development Accessible Timely ExRx HCPs have limited time with patients during their office hours A tool that would maximize health benefits An online app is needed in which HCPs can communicate with their patients and educate them about ExRx and monitor their improvements A tool that can provide evidence-based information about what is/is not safe for each patient HCPs need ~2-3 hr to gather information on ExRxfor their patients

12. NEXT STEPS • Continue to test our hypothesis to explore potential market opportunities for the ExRx app. • Continue to research commercialized fitness apps as they compare to our ExRx app. • Publish our white paper, An Evidence-based Clinical Decision Support System for ExRx among Patients with Multiple Chronic Disease Risk Factors. • Apply for a UConn CT Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) 2019 Summer Fellowship.

13. Other New Opportunities and Ventures • Participating in the UConn Computer Science and Engineering Senior Design Program in collaboration with Swapna S. Gokhale, PhD, Senior Design Instructor, and her students. • Funded with a START Preliminary Proof-of-Concept Grant from the Office of the Vice President for Research to support: • Operationalization of the mobile ExRx app by Dr. Gokhale and her students. • Development of a web-site to test drive the mobile ExRx app and obtain feedback from those who will visit the website. • Continue to investigate other funding opportunities for product development.

14. Enabled Me to Blend My Teaching and Research into the Potential for Commercialization