Epilepsy Foundation Announces 2015 Shark Tank Competition Finalists and Judges

LANDOVER, MD – The Epilepsy Foundation announced today the 4^th Annual Shark Tank Competition’s stellar lineup of finalists, representing innovative ideas in epilepsy and seizure treatment and care.

The six finalists, selected from an international entry pool, will present their product concepts on the second day of the 2015 Antiepileptic Drug and Device Trials XIII (AED) conference, May 14, at the Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura, Fla.

2015’s Shark Tank finalists and projects are:

• Hilda A. Cerdeira, PhD; Fellow of the American Physical Society, Instituto de Fisica Teorica, UNESP: Anticipated detection of epileptic seizures
• Mark Cook, MD; Professor, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, The University of Melbourne, Department of Neurosciences: Sub-scalp seizure monitor for epilepsy management
• Danielle Duce; President, Otoko Enterprises Inc.: The Safety Place Mat
• Jana E. Jones, PhD; Assistant Professor, Matthews Neuropsychology Lab, Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health: Psychosocial Problems in Kids with Epilepsy (PIKE): A screening initiative
• Mark Lehmkuhle, PhD; CEO/CTO, Epitel, Inc.: QuiVive | Non-Invasive, Wireless EEG Seizure Alerting
• Matteo Lai; CEO, Empatica, Inc., and Rosalind Picard, Sc.D., FIEEE; Professor, MIT Media Laboratory, Co-founder of Empatica, Inc.: Embrace: Learn how stress and sleep impact your seizures

“2015’s Shark Tank Competition finalists demonstrate progressive and groundbreaking ideas in the field of epilepsy treatment and care,” said Jacqueline French MD, chief scientific officer of the Epilepsy Foundation, director of the Epilepsy Study Consortium, and creator and moderator of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Shark Tank event. “We are eager for this year’s winning ideas to begin development and help make a positive impact for people living with epilepsy.”

Audience members and the expert panel of judges (Sharks) will vote live at the Shark Tank event to choose the winner(s). The project or projects deemed to be the most innovative will be announced at the event on May 14, and the winner(s) can receive as much as $200,000 to accelerate their idea toward development and commercialization in order to help people with epilepsy. 

“The Shark Tank Competition embodies a key aspect of the Epilepsy Foundation’s mission – to encourage inventors and entrepreneurs to develop innovative new products, therapies, and technologies to help improve treatment and quality of life for people living with seizures,” said Philip M. Gattone, president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation. “We are proud to play a role in the development of such important technologies and products through the Shark Tank Competition.”

The distinguished panel of Sharks presiding over this year’s Shark Tank event includes:

• Jacqueline A. French, MD, Competition Moderator; Professor, New York University Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
• Thomas Baruch, Partner, Formation | 8 Partners
• Gregory K. Bergey, MD, Professor of Neurology, Director, Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Daniel Fischer, Founder, Parent Powered Innovation; Co-founder, Intellimedix
• Lynn Kramer, MD, Chief Clinical Officer, Eisai Company, Ltd.; President, Neuroscience and General Medicine PCU, Eisai Product Creation Systems
• Page B. Pennell, MD, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School; Director of Research, Division of Epilepsy, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital

The AED conference, the 13^th such symposium focusing on antiepileptic drug development from preclinical discoveries through clinical evaluations, will be held May 13-15. This year’s conference, which features the Shark Tank competition, will bring together representatives from academia, industry, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration to re-evaluate advancement strategies and AED development plans. To learn more about and register for the conference, click here.

The 2015 AED conference is sponsored by the Epilepsy Study Consortium in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Epilepsy Center and the Epilepsy Foundation. The 2015 Shark Tank Competition is sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation.

2015 Epilepsy Pipeline Community Conference to Be Held May 16

Following the AED conference, the Epilepsy Foundation will host the first Florida-based Epilepsy Pipeline Community Conference dedicated to people living with seizures, their loved ones, and epilepsy advocates. The unique one-day conference, held on May 16 at the Turnberry Isle Resort, will spotlight leading epilepsy experts discussing topics such as rare epilepsies, the epilepsy pipeline, and using technology for epilepsy self-management. The Community Conference also will serve as the Foundation’s debut of “Last Pyramid,” an award-winning documentary produced by the Epilepsy Foundation and Executive Producer Greg Grunberg. Registration for the conference is free and open to anyone; for more information and to register, click here.

The 2015 Epilepsy Pipeline Community Conference is hosted by the Epilepsy Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida. “Last Pyramid” was made possible with a grant provided by UCB.

Contacts:

Kim Macher
Vice President, Epilepsy Therapy Project
(301) 918-3740
kmacher@efa.org

Kirsten Withrow
Manager of Program Communications and Media Relations
(301) 918-3743
kwithrow@efa.org

About Epilepsy

When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy. Epilepsy affects nearly 3 million people in the U.S. and 65 million worldwide. This year, another 150,000 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy.

About the Epilepsy Foundation

The Epilepsy Foundation, a national non-profit with nearly 50 affiliated organizations throughout the United States, has led the fight against seizures since 1968. The Foundation is an unwavering ally for individuals and families impacted by epilepsy and seizures. The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation is to stop seizures and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), find a cure and overcome the challenges created by epilepsy through efforts including education, advocacy, and research to accelerate ideas into therapies. The Foundation works to ensure that people with seizures have the opportunity to live their lives to their fullest potential. For additional information, please visit www.epilepsy.com.

“Like” the Epilepsy Foundation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/epilepsyfoundationofamerica and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/epilepsyfdn. 

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