Meet the Teams
Venture
Upholdu ▾
Upholdu was founded to help people living with cancer increase their well-being and empowerment creating better health outcomes while lowering costs.
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After experiencing a serious illness that resulted in a bone marrow transplant, I knew it was my life purpose to help others with similar fates. I am a first-hand witness to the limitations of the modern healthcare system. It’s one that doesn’t properly train doctors to bring patients into decision-making about their care to ensure their values and goals are in-line with treatment plans. It’s one where care is dictated by how doctors are paid by insurance companie, which is not always best for patients. And it is also one whose customers are completely unprepared to be patients at a time when everything is on the line. It is my pleasure to work with patients to best support and equip them to take an active role in their care independent from outside influences.
I am completing a M.S. in Health and Social Innovation focusing on serious illness and end-of-life issues in May 2021. I am a strategic advisor for the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, a certified end-of-life doula, a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (Candidate) and an Usui/Holy Fire Reiki Master. I remain devoted to my community and serve as a volunteer at a local nonprofit hospice and a food delivery service for those experiencing serious illness.
Team member: Alishia Parkhill, University of Maryland Graduate School
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Futureproof Youth Alliance ▾
Futureproof Youth Alliance makes adolescent mental health treatment accessible and engaging by delivering group Adventure Therapy in the nearby nature of urban parks and outdoor spaces regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay.
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Futureproof Youth Alliance's goal is for adolescents to be healthy and confident while embracing their individuality and identity. Adventure Therapy uses the power of metaphor to arrive at emotional health and wholeness, allowing adolescents to embrace their strengths, solidify a positive self narrative, and become more of who they already are.
Team members: Allison Kirsch, UMB School of Social Work
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Aolat Treatment Place: My Mental Health, My Health Booths ▾
The project aims to contribute towards increasing mental health awareness and services through provision of friendly mental health care, psychiatric rehabilitation, and intensive outpatient program specifically among minors, adolescents, and adults in Baltimore.
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The project aims to contribute towards increasing mental health awareness and services through provision of friendly mental health care, psychiatric rehabilitation, and intensive outpatient program specifically among minors, adolescents, and adults in Baltimore Maryland by leveraging traditional face-to-face approaches to foster community mobilization and behavior change messaging. These programs will deliver the personalized services that the target groups need to achieve their mental health goals.
The program will as well enhance access of the target groups to integrated, inclusive, confidential, and safe mental health services through counselling support services delivered from the dedicated onsite friendly drop-in center – “My Mental Health, My Health Booths.” My Mental Health, My Health Booths is led by Falilu Opeyemi Agbaje, a student at UMBaltimore program for Health and Social Innovation in collaboration with Our right Our Life Youth Empowerment Initiative Inc
Team members: Falilu Opeyemi Agbaje, University of Maryland Graduate School, Januari McKay
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Vision
Pharmily ▾
Pharmily is an app that mitigates the language barrier that international travelers face, by providing suggested OTC medications for self-treatment.
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Pharmily is a portable pharmacy in your pocket that helps choosing the OTC medication(s) you need to buy for the relief of your symptoms.
While traveling or living abroad, it could be challenging to find an appropriate over-the-counter (OTC) medicine due to language barriers and difficulty of accessing safety and accuracy information. The easily accessible and user-friendly cellphone application “Pharmily” will provide accurate, open-source data of drugs in the patients’ preferred language(s).
Team members: Sean Kim, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy, Karen Nguyen, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy, Alex Livingston, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy
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Synergy Ecovillage
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Synergy Ecovillage is a model intentional community based on affordable housing, environmental sustainability, economic rejuvenation, and place-based community development. This innovative model combines the benefits of Community Land Trusts with Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives to achieve affordable housing protected from market forces.
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Synergy Ecovillage is a model intentional community based on affordable housing, environmental sustainability, economic rejuvenation, and place-based community development. This innovative model combines the benefits of Community Land Trusts with Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives to achieve affordable housing protected from market forces. The model also allows for community ownership, such that members do not need to be credit worthy or have robust savings to become homeowners. Community stewardship of land is further bolstered by environmentally sustainable practices including a commitment to renewable energy. Synergy Ecovillage will model community-based economic rejuvenation and place-based development by sponsoring cottage industries organized as worker cooperatives.
In addition to supporting the development of similar communities, Synergy Ecovillage will blaze the path by carving out the legal framework needed to support the village model in an urban-commutable environment.
Team member: Erin Wildermuth, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Peter Lowe, University of Manchester
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PreferredScript
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We are developing a shared decision making tool, Preferred Script, that provides healthcare professionals a list of suggested therapeutic options that reliably reflect patient preference to reconcile with the standard of care therapy.
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Patients are not given enough opportunity to voice their preferences in the medication selection process. This may lead to medication noncompliance and suboptimal patient outcomes. We are developing a shared decision making tool, Preferred Script, that provides healthcare professionals a list of suggested therapeutic options that reliably reflect patient preference to reconcile with the standard of care therapy.
Team members: Maniraj Jeyaraju, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Jeffrey Banaszak, University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Pharmacy
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Shine Bright Tooth Fairy Club ▾
Oral hygiene product subscription with personalized Tooth Fairy's letters, promoting healthy smile in the early childhood.
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Oral hygiene product subscription with personalized Tooth Fairy's letters, promoting healthy smile in the early childhood.
Team Member: Hee Yeon Kim, University of Maryland School of Denistry
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GreenCap ▾
GreenCap is an easy to use, medication vial cap developed to improve medication adherence.
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GreenCap is an easy to use, medication vial cap developed to improve medication adherence. Medication non-adherence has been linked to increased risk of hospitalizations, monetary strain on the healthcare system, and in some cases even death. GreenCap aims to tackle this problem by using Bluetooth embedded vial caps that patients can use on their regular prescription vials to improve adherence. The cap will be connected to an app and will use motion-sensing technology to help patients take their medications on time!
Team members: Meghna Bhatt, University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, Akshay Lingayat, University of Maryland, Clark School of Engineering Alum
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