Welcome and Opening Statements

• A reminder to all HC-SIG members that this meeting is being recorded
  • Videoconferencing/teleconferencing connect details are available here
    
    

• Reading of the Linux Foundation Antitrust Policy

  • Hyperledger Antitrust Slide

Introductions

• If you’re new to the group, please…

  • Introduce yourself

  • Tell us where you're geographically located

  • Share with us your interests in healthcare in general, and blockchain technologies in specific

  • Consider posting your contact information in our HC-SIG Membership Directory
  • Questions? Review our HC-SIG FAQ for answers

Community Announcements

• Student application is open for this year's Hyperledger Mentorship Program

  • Additional details here

  • We would love to receive lots of applications from our own academic members and hopefully their students get selected to work on some of these projects this year

  • Application deadline: APR 24 (2020.04.24)
    
    

• Do you have any announcements that you'd like to share with the HC-SIG community?

  • Feel free to make an announcement here, on our Rocket.Chat channel, or via our email listserv

Special Topic: Conquering the COVID-19 Virus Pandemic

How can blockchain technologies have a positive impact on the identification, prevention, and management of this pandemic?

• How might innovative blockchain technologies--including DLTs, SSI, and cryptocurrencies/tokens--solutions help to:
  • Slow the progression of this deadly virus
  • Manage life-saving logistics networks and medical supply chains with improved throughput and efficiencies
  • Serve as a means for more timely and more accurate healthcare communications model across communities, states, provinces, and countries

Special Guest Speakers

• Mark Treshock, Global Blockchain Solutions Leader for Healthcare and Life Sciences at IBM
  • Mark will present on some of recent initiatives that IBM has been driving as it relates to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. 

• Heather Flannery, Founder and CEO of ConsenSys Health
  • Heather will present information related to their recently-launched STOP COVID-19 Ethereum Hackathon, running now through MAY 11. Our own Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director for the Hyperledger Project, will be serving as one of the judges for this event.

• Anesu Machoko, CEO & Co-Founder of MetaDigitaI
  • A description of the work that Anesu and his team are doing with self-sovereign identity (SSI) in the healthcare industry, and how their solutions might be used to help manage secure exchanges between patient, provider, and pharmacy during and after this COVID-19 virus pandemic
    • Anesu and his team will be presenting more formally at an upcoming HC-SIG General Meeting, and we thank him for offering to help drive today's very timely and important discussion around the COVID-19 virus pandemic

Status and Funding/Support from Around the World

• Global

  • Grant Opportunities Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. GrantStation is now offering a filtering service for globally-available COVID-19 virus grants for non-profits and small businesses.

• Canada
• Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding Opportunity. UPDATE: On March 31, 2020, through a contribution from Research Manitoba, Research Nova Scotia, and Alberta Innovates, CIHR was able to fund an additional three grants, bringing the total number of funded grants to 99 and a total investment of $54.2M.

Status and Funding/Support in the US

• Brigham and Women's Emergency Department
  • On MAR 17, Open Call for Solutions issued. UPDATE: this call is now closed. Brigham and Women's Emergency Department is calling for text based platforms to help healthcare professionals (clinicians, receptionists, technicians, and others) monitor symptoms of coronavirus, report burnout, and access helpful resources. The tool would be used by clinicians, receptionists, technicians and others in the healthcare field. If selected, it would roll out in the Brigham Emergency Department first.
    
    
• National Cancer Institute (NCI) Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses (SBIRs/STTRs). Updated MAR 27. The NCI participates in the NIH-issued SBIR and an STTR Omnibus grant solicitation for small businesses, which allow small businesses to submit researcher-initiated projects that are within NIH’s mission. 
   
• National Institute of Health (NIH) Funding Opportunities. Updated MAR 26. Urgent Competitive Revision to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Urgent Supplement - Clinical Trial Optional) recently updated through "Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Availability of Administrative Supplements and Revision Supplements on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)." Additional details available here.
  
  
• Additional COVID-19 Funding Opportunities
  • UC Davis Office of Research provides a regularly updated set of links tied to COVID-19 funding opportunities across numerous US agencies, including Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Institute of Health (NIH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Gates Foundation

Next Meeting

• Scheduled for Friday, 2020.05.01, 0700 Pacific Time

• Discussion: topics to add to agenda?