News

Ann Arbor-based Genomenon has won a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Funding from the grant, valued at $152,946, will go toward creating a platform for producing and sharing “micropublications” across the genomics research community, as well as continuing Genomenon’s efforts to automate variant interpretation based on data from published studies. The news was covered in Clinical OMICS .

“This grant allows us to build on the work from our last successful NIH funding to increase the automation of variant interpretation and allow users to rapidly share their findings across the scientific community.” said Genomenon’s Co-founder and CSO, Dr. Mark Kiel in statement on the company's website. “This automated micropublication platform will help accelerate the sharing of knowledge as more and more genomic research is being published every year.

Genomenon's CEO Mike Klein was the Showcase presenter at New Enterprise Forum in June 2017. Earlier this year, Genomenon announced that it had completed a $2.5M equity financing round. Investors in that round included IrishAngels, H. W. Kaufman Group, and all of Genomenon’s earlier investors.

Four startup founders gave fascinating presentations at the July edition of New Enterprise Forum but is was Raeanna Lewarne of HealthFreelance.com who took home the prize. Judges praised her very thorough and confident presentation of her business plan for a website that connects medical and non-medical healthcare professionals with hospitals and other employers for contract work.

The judging panel included Kim Brown of Duo Security, Ashwin Puri of Invest Detroit Ventures, and Paul Riser Jr. of Techtown Detroit.

The enthusiastic audience gathered at Ann Arbor Spark on Thursday evening opened up their wallets and tossed over $300 into the prize money bucket.

University of Michigan startup InheRET Inc. has launched an online program that helps identify patients at risk for hereditary cancers without a visit to the doctor. InheRET’s cancer risk evaluation program was tested in a pilot at Michigan Medicine where more than 500 patients have completed the health history form. The program is now available to the general public and to health care facilities on a subscription basis.

InheRET Founder Dr. David Keren was the Showcase Presenter at the January 2019 New Enterprise Forum. Dr. Keren is enthusiastic about the help he got from the NEF coaching process. "It dramatically improved our focus and our pitch," he wrote recently.

The company has made great strides since that January presentation. “It’s amazing the progress that the InheRET team has made since launching the company this past December,” said Bryce Pilz, director of licensing for U-M Tech Transfer, quoted in Michigan News. “In just six month’s time, they’ve launched their hereditary risk assessment tool and are making a positive difference in the lives of people, and that’s incredibly gratifying to see.”

For more information about the company and its innovative services, visit www.inheret.com

After more than thirty years in a very successful career as an ad man and business executive, David Maas is giving back. This Michigan native, car fanatic, and Wolverine fan now makes time to volunteer with the New Enterprise Forum and other organizations to help foster entrepreneurship in the Detroit and Ann Arbor areas. After hearing about the business coaching organization from several colleagues, David started attending NEF meetings in 2018 and found himself in easy conversation with a welcoming group of interesting people. Over the past several months he has thrown himself into NEF’s signature coaching process, working with a team of volunteer coaches to help a local entrepreneur refine his investor pitch. “I like the well-defined process,” explains David, “and the opportunity to make a difference.”

David was an advertising executive for decades with the J. Walter Thompson agency, working in several different industries, and then spent several more years as a general manager with a large auto parts company. In addition to his volunteer activities he also pursues consulting projects where his branding expertise can add value. As the winner of eight prestigious Effie awards over his career, David has now been asked to moderate final round Effie judging and to assist with the Effie Collegiate program.

David lives in Grosse Pointe with his wife Karen Fontanive who writes for the local paper and is active in community affairs. They both love to travel. Michigan football is also a passion, so David frequently travels to games with his roommates from his college days in Ann Arbor. David is always in the process of restoring one or more classic cars and recently shared a photo of himself with one of his favorites.