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Dr. Bern Shen is a Board Member at TechWadi primarily based in Abu Dhabi, a mentor at Astrolabs, Chief Medical Officer of HealthCrowd, a member of the Band of Angels, and an adjunct faculty member of UCSF’s School of Pharmacy and the University of Iowa’s Schools of Medicine and Business. Dr. Shen practiced clinically for 15 years in the US and abroad, did medical software and business development for HP and Oracle, led the health practice at the Institute for the Future, and was chief healthcare strategist for Intel’s Digital Health group. Dr. Shen holds an A.B. (biochemistry) from Harvard and an MD, MPhil (molecular biophysics and biochemistry) from Yale.
Dr. Shen will take part in the TechWadi Annual Forum 2015 and is looking forward to returning to the Bay area and meeting both old and new friends over the two forum days and beyond.
As an investor and entrepreneur in healthcare technology, Dr. Shen believes that medical technology is important because health touches all of us, happens everywhere, and presents almost unlimited challenges an opportunities across multiple disciplines. Dr. Shen lists below the top 5 reasons, in his opinion, why people should invest in medical technology in the MENA region:
- The MENA region includes a large and growing population.
- The compelling shifts in demographics and disease burdens.
- A growing pool of scrappy and talented entrepreneurs.
- The strong government intent to transition from resource-based to knowledge-based economies.
- Deep pools of local capital looking to diversity beyond traditional investments.
Addressing all the young entrepreneurs in the MENA region, Dr. Shen believes they must:
- Network and support other entrepreneurs through groups such as meet-ups and accelerators.
- Leverage their expertise around local markets.
- Engage actively with both public and private sector stakeholders to develop their local ecosystem.
As Dr. Shen says, “In today’s interconnected world, we all need to engage in fostering innovation and opportunity, especially for those who might otherwise lose hope or become embittered. As many at this Forum know firsthand, the benefits flow both ways!” So, what are you waiting for? Join, sign up, and register for the event over here.
For more on Dr. Shen’s work check out his interview with Wamda.