UT Health San Antonio has been sharing scientific discoveries for months, highlighting how they have changed lives and will continue to do so. The university has recently welcomed a new team member, Anthony Francis, who is not a scientist but has experience in bringing products to market. Francis, the Associate Vice President of Innovation and Development at UT Health San Antonio, believes that his outsider perspective can help enhance the impact of scientific discoveries.
According to Francis, universities typically focus on technical merit and patent potential when commercializing products. However, Francis believes that a more critical question is whether the market actually cares about the product. He emphasizes the importance of considering whether anyone values the innovation, especially when trying to transition technical advancements into marketable solutions.
Francis is particularly interested in the potential of digital therapeutics, such as the KIOS app, which helps individuals with substance use disorder in their recovery journey. He sees great promise in the digital space and aims to leverage technology to improve health outcomes. The collaboration between TPR and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, known as Science & Medicine, explores how scientific discoveries in San Antonio are transforming the practice of medicine globally.