Mindful Care Training, a Clinical Education Platform for Domestic Abuse Survivors, wins the Mount Sinai Pitch Challenge 2020

Congratulations to Christina Blackburn, MS, who won the Mount Sinai Pitch Challenge in May for Mindful Care Training (MCT), a clinical education platform that offers support for domestic abuse survivors. The platform focuses on providing research-informed education in emergency and acute care medicine.

“There is a major gap in medical education for vulnerable patient care, which primarily consists of women and children. Preparing for the Pitch Challenge allowed us to research and identify how best to shift the taboo around gender-based violence by creating a digital solution that allows for meaningful and scalable impact,” Blackburn said.

A public health professional at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Blackburn is receiving $25,000 to further advance MCT, thanks to event sponsor McCarter & English. The technology was chosen as the winner by a panel of judges who evaluated the six participating team pitches and engaged in a question and answer session with each.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the Pitch Challenge. The judges saw that [MCT] has the potential to help patients on a global scale,” Blackburn said.

Meet the Judges

• Kristen Vulgan, Managing Partner, Ferocity Capital
• Joseph Schneier, CEO, care
• Samuel Bjork, Principal, Digitalis Ventures
• Whitney Snider, MD, MBA, Head, Alexandria LaunchLabs

What the Pitch Challenge has to offer

The Pitch Challenge is an annual competition hosted by MSIP, wherein teams present their ideas in healthcare technology to a panel of experts for a cash prize. Over nine months, the participating teams undergo training and preparation sessions to ensure they are presenting products with potential for commercial viability and a robust business plan. These sessions enable participants to receive valuable feedback and mentorship from MSIP’s experts in technology translation.

There are a wide range of long-term benefits for participating in the Pitch Challenge. Teams have licensed technologies and created startups centered on the product presented at the Pitch Challenge — about 90% of participating teams have disclosed their technologies to MSIP, resulting in further discussions with Business Development professionals on commercialization. Teams can also build their network of entrepreneurial and investment experts, increasing their potential to find funding opportunities — nearly 80% of participating teams received funding throughout the nine-month period. They can also recruit diverse team members in fields such as engineering and product design for the further development and execution of the technology. The resources and tools offered through the Pitch Challenge also prepares teams for the many life science and biotechnology commercial advancement programs offered throughout New York City, including the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps), ELabNYC Accelerator, Columbia Venture Competition and the NYC Media Lab Combine.

Interested in learning more?

To find out more about the Pitch Challenge and how you can get involved, contact Dov Shamir at dov.shamir@mssm.edu.