The HudsonAlpha Tech Challenge is a unique event to engage the development community and take on challenges in life sciences using business strategy, software development and technology. 

Presented by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Urban Engine

Official Website: https://hudsonalpha.org/techchallenge

Goal: Inspire creativity through collaboration, and energize the current and next generation of problem-solvers to conceive and construct innovative solutions to biotech challenges.

The Challenges: 

Challenge 1: Quest for the Ultimate Trail Mix
Did you know that there are over 1000 varieties of fruit and nut trees? Some of those are specific to only one or two small tree stands in the world. Cataloguing and describing those rare varieties is not only important commercially, but also scientifically as they can reveal some pretty amazing adaptations that could help farmers of the future. Although the database work is underway, the utility of the catalogue is still being explored. Use your skills in database management, UI/UX and API integration to build a web app that provides both scientifically relevant data presentation and a beautiful design for comparing the vast diversity of fruit and nuts around the globe.

Challenge 2: Burn FHIR, Burn
Electronic Health/Medical Records (EHR/EMR) are being used to keep track of your medications, lab results and office visits. Unfortunately, there is only so much that individual EHR/EMRs can do on their own and interoperability of one EHR/EMR to another is very challenging. Fortunately, data standards are beginning to be implemented around health data in the form of the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). Additionally, some EHR/EMR systems have implemented integrations for Smart-on-FHIR which allows 3rd party applications to be accessible within their software. Burn FHIR, Burn is all about creating a Smart-on-FHIR app that presents genomic test data back to a provider within the EHR/EMR.

Challenge 3: More than Pharm to Table
One of the fastest growing area of genomic testing is in a field called pharmacogenomics. Pharmacogenomics uses DNA signatures and large population studies to predict how an individual’s genomic data can provide insights into how that individual will process and react to certain medications. Although there is good data out there, it is not always as simple as a one-to-one cause and effect. Additionally, there are multiple resources that can inform interpretation, including the FDA, CPIK, and PharmGKB. More Than Pharm to Table asks participants to create a custom web-based application to interpret pharmacogenomic data by pulling resources from a variety of databases, creating custom interpretation fields and generating both an API and PDF endpoint.

• Impact
  How much impact (quality and quantity) can this solution have? Does this solution address the problem in a highly significant way?
• Creativity
  How creative is the team’s approach? Is the solution new? Does the solution represent something that isn’t being addressed by the market?
• Creativity
  How creative is the team’s approach? Is the solution new? Does the solution represent something that isn’t being addressed by the market?
• Complexity
  How much progress did the team make during the event? Did they start from scratch or build on an existing solution?
• Product
  How user friendly is the technology? How fully formed/mature is the idea?
• Presentation
  Did the team effectively communicate their solution? Did they tell the story of the project and why it is important in a compelling way? How well did they respond to questions from judges?