#99 Joe Skraba & Oriana Hawkins, Ph. D: Creating a Diagnostic Advantage
Innovate Fort Worth
Everyone has had the common cold. Often, the cause of the cold is a viral infection, but antibiotics only work on bacterial infections. But people are prescribed antibiotics for their viral infections 80% of the time. ENTVantage is working to change that. By creating a device that can diagnose if cold symptoms are bacterial or a viral, doctors are now able to prescribe the right medicine to their patients. Dr. Oriana Hawkins and Joe Skraba share how they aim to reduce the abuse of antibiotics and provide doctors the tools necessary to diagnose their patients in the clinics. To...
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#98 Meilin Howard, D.D.S.: Reflecting on Innovations in Dentistry
Innovate Fort Worth
Local dentist, Meilin Howard, was experiencing a problem. When it came to her dental mirror, it was hard for her to keep it clean during dentist appointments. She decided to solve her own problem and began looking into innovating her traditional dental tools. What she discovered was a larger problem than she suspected. Now she is looking for ways to fix the problems she and many other dentists face in the dental industry. Listen to how she is maximizing local resources to support her innovations in dentistry, how she identifies problems worth innovating, and how Fort Worth became her home.
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#97 DJ Perera: Teaching Innovation in the Arts
Innovate Fort Worth
Innovation and art share something in common: creativity. That is why DJ Perera is teaching students the value of utilizing innovation not just in the classroom, but for their future. As an immigrant and art student at Texas Christian University, Perera’s world widened from the opportunity education provided him. But he also learned the necessity of using creativity to be innovative in art, but also in life. Now, after recieiving many awards and honors, he is teaching his students about using technology in art, innovating the artistic space, and how creativity and innovation build off each...
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#96 Allison Silveus: Converging AI & HR
Innovate Fort Worth
Hiring the right person for the right job can be difficult. And sometimes, our unconscious biases can unknowingly keep us from hiring the right candidate. Dr. Allison Silveus is leveling the playing field by using technology to make better hiring decisions, without human interference. Her startup, Unbent, is focusing on improving the hiring process through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to remove unconscious bias and improve hiring outcomes. Allison also shares how anybody can be an innovator by solving everyday problems and she shares her tips...
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#95 Jessica Essl: Reimagining Old Spaces for New Businesses
Innovate Fort Worth
When it comes to reinventing old spaces in Fort Worth, look no further than the twins who are revitalizing Fort Worth through real estate. Jessica Miller Essl is co-president of M2G Ventures with her sister, Susan Miller Gruppi, and they are creating innovative spaces through human-centric design. They focus on commercial real estate, but also foster investment opportunities to bring in cool businesses that represent Fort Worth’s funky flair. Spaces like The Foundry District, Mule Alley in the Stockyards, and the innovations happening in the O.B. Macaroni building are embracing the history...
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Check out our new website!
Innovate Fort Worth
Innovate Fort Worth is proud to announce their new website, . Check out our current featured innovator, as well as all past podcast guests. While you’re there, fill out our podcast listener survey. Be the first 50 survey participants to win an exclusive Innovate Fort Worth Stanley travel tumbler.
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#94 Tre Welch: A Big Heart for Tiny Patients
Innovate Fort Worth
When Dr. Tre Welch watched a traditional heart stent placed in a child with congenital heart disease, he knew there had to be a better way. He invented a bioresorbable heart stent made with materials that flex and grow with children, which results in fewer heart surgeries over time. Welch shares his experience pitching his idea and how he used Fort Worth’s biotech resources to support his startup, like the HSC Next SBIR Phase 0 program, Tech Fort Worth, and DesignPlex Biomedical. To learn more about Tremedics, visit their website at To learn more about Innovate Fort Worth, visit To learn...
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#93 Spencer Traver: The Future of Digital Advertising
Innovate Fort Worth
In the heart of Fort Worth’s historic Stockyards is a fast-growing, homegrown media tech company that is changing the digital advertising industry. Simpli.fi is disrupting traditional media buying by utilizing AI automation, machine learning, and integrated software to serve their clients. By providing cutting edge technology like mobile ad geofencing, strategic localized ad buying campaigns, and a platform to connect business owners and advertisers, Simpli.fi has made reaching customers easier than ever before. Spencer Traver, vice president of marketing at Simpli.fi, shares insights on how...
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#92 Charlie Lass: The Humble Entrepreneur
Innovate Fort Worth
When it comes to testing an idea and taking it to market in 30 days, Charlie Lass is the entrepreneur leading the charge. He is the CEO of Dallas.Inc and Fort Worth.Inc, companies that guide entrepreneurs finding product-market fit. Recently he launched Humble.Inc, a platform designed to support the mental health of entrepreneurs by creating a space of transparency and community. Hear how he uses his past entrepreneurial experience to make change, why Fort Worth is primed for disruption, and how he was once nominated for a BAFTA. To learn more about Dallas.Inc, visit their website at To learn...
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#91 Danguole Altman: Changing Expectations for People with Dementia, Part 2
Innovate Fort Worth
Listen to our continued conversation with Danguole Altman, CEO of Cx Precision Medicine and be sure to check out part one in episode 90. More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease, and even more with Dementia and Parkinson’s. Cx Precision Medicine’s CEO, Danguole Altman, is focused on tackling this big problem for an aging population. Based on Dr. Sid O’Bryant’s revolutionary research at HSC, Cx Precision Medicine is bringing this important diagnostic technology to help people all over the world. Through a clinical diagnostic, Cx Precision Medicine is...
info_outlineTexas is a leader in many industries, including energy production. But one local innovator wants to turn Fort Worth into the sustainability capital of the world. Joseph Horn is the driver behind the city-wide collaboration building EcoPlex in Fort Worth, with the vision of turning our city into the center of sustainability in the U.S. He discusses the intersection of innovation and entrepreneurship with sustainability and environmental advocacy through the development of invention showcases and eco-incubators for startups companies and new technologies.