Daily Business Report-Jan. 16, 2020
Young audience members take their turn to try out a two-person eye tracking game created by a team of PoNG interns (August 2018. Courtesy of UC San Diego).
UC San Diego researchers receive $2 million grant
to help train autistic adults for tech employment
by Katie E. Ismael | UC San Diego News Center
A team of researchers from the University of California San Diego has been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an employment-training program that will tap into the talent and potential of autistic adults for technology work.
“This project seeks to capitalize on the strengths of the autism community and other neurodiverse populations who have previously been marginalized in the workforce but have unique talents that can be leveraged with the right support for technical work,” said Leanne Chukoskie, an assistant research scientist with UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute who is a principal investigator on the project.
“There exists a lot of talent in these communities but it’s not being leveraged into the workforce because of a lack of appropriate training for those groups and assumptions in hiring practices,” she said.
The four-year project, “Neurodiversity in tech: using interactive decision theory and augmented reality to enable employment for adults with ASD,” will expand an existing summer training program for young adults on the autism spectrum and develop and test new tools to support communication with neurodiverse employees, with a goal of increasing their employment in the technology industry locally and nationally.
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First F-35C stealth fighter jets
arrive at Miramar next week
Marine Crops Air Station Miramar will welcome its first F-35C Lightning II fighter jets next Tuesday as the Fleet Marine Force incorporates that latest stealth technology.
The new jets are the aircraft carrier version of the trillion-dollar Joint Strike Fighter project. The Marines are already deploying with the F-35B, which is a vertical takeoff version used on the Navy’s amphibious assault ships.
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Legislation authored to expand
California mental health parity law
Dan Morain | CALmatters
Private insurance companies would need to provide coverage for substance abuse and a wider array of mental illness under legislation proposed Tuesday.
The announcement is another indication that legislators see mental illness and homelessness as top-tier political issues.
California legislators approved so-called mental health parity legislation in 1999, requiring that health insurance companies cover schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder and several other brain disorders just as they cover physical ailments.
Contending the promise of that law has not been fully realized, legislators promised to expand its reach by requiring coverage of substance abuse and many other mental health-related conditions.
The legislation by Democratic Sens. Jim Beale of San Jose and Scott Wiener of San Francisco would compel health insurance companies to cover “medically necessary treatment” and prohibit them from limiting benefits or coverage for chronic conditions.
Illustrating the national implications of the California proposal, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhodes Island, the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, attended the press conference, saying:
“This is a medical civil rights bill.”
His organization, The Kennedy Forum, helped draft the legislation, as did the Steinberg Institute, founded by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
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County bans sale of vaping devices,
flavored smoking products
The county Board of Supervisors has voted to adopt new restrictions on the sale and distribution of flavored smoking products and electronic smoking devices, and also prohibited smoking in outdoor dining spaces, in San Diego’s unincorporated areas.
The new restrictions will be in effect Feb. 28 and enforcement will begin July 1. They were proposed as a response to a spate of vaping-related lung injuries in the nation and the county.
The ordinance passed on a 3-2 vote, with supervisors Kristin Gaspar and Jim Desmond voting against.
To date, 43 cases of vaping-associated lung injury have been reported among San Diego County residents, and an additional three cases are under investigation. While there have been no local deaths, all patients had to be hospitalized.
The ban includes the sale of flavored smoking products, with flavors such as bubblegum, mango, creme brulee, vanilla, menthol and mint. The electronic smoking device moratorium will be in effect for one year, or until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents a report on vaping illness that indicates the risks have been properly assessed. The ordinance changes do not apply to certified tobacco cessation products, which are any products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Dale Mitchell elected chief of staff
at Scripps Memorial La Jolla
The physicians at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla have elected obstetrics and gynecology specialist Dale Mitchell, M.D., as the new chief of staff of the 432-bed campus. Mitchell took over as head of the 1,092-member physician team on Jan. 1.
During his two-year term, Dr. Mitchell will serve as medical staff liaison to Scripps La Jolla’s administrative staff and Scripps Health’s board of trustees. He succeeds outgoing Chief of Staff Mark Sherman, M.D.
Mitchell is the first chief of staff at Scripps La Jolla to practice with the Scripps Clinic Medical Group. Previous chiefs of staff have worked for private medical practices affiliated with the hospital.
Mitchell is also the first OB-GYN to lead the hospital staff. He noted that OB-GYNs provide a wide range of in-patient and out-patient care, and that the care of their patients has become more complex over the years and often involves collaboration with other types of physician specialists.
He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his medical degree from Georgetown University. He moved to San Diego to complete his residency training at Naval Medical Center San Diego. He lives in Kensington with his wife and two daughters.
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Scientific and tech development lead
OFC 2020 program and exhibits
The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition returns to San Diego Convention CenterMarch 8-12 as the world’s largest conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking. Considered the hub of the industry, OFC represents the entire ecosystem—from research to marketplace, from components to systems and networks, and from technical sessions to the exhibition.
More than 15,000 executives, technical experts, academia, media and analysts from 65 countries are expected to converge to discuss the trending topics that are driving innovations in research, technologies and product solutions, including machine learning/artificial intelligence, photonic integrated circuits, advanced digital-signal processing, quantum optics, emerging applications of optical networks in 5G, new computing and data center technologies.
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Human Longevity announces
acquisition of DoctorsForMe
Human Longevity Inc. announced the acquisition of DoctorsForMe Inc. The acquisition now allows clients of Human Longevity to access world-class physicians and services of Mass General.
“DoctorsForMe uses Big Data and AI technologies to match a patient with a doctor that perfectly matches the patient’s specific need,” said David Karow, M.D., president and chief innovation officer of Human Longevity. “The acquisition enables Human Longevity to provide a complete health intelligence solution for our clients from early disease detection to personalized treatment, all with the goal of living a longer, healthier life.”
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San Diego education administrator
earns prestigious social justice award
San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) will host the Equity 2020 Conference on Jan. 16-17, recognizing San Diego Continuing Education President Carlos O. Turner Cortez with a Lighthouse Award as a Turnaround School Leader for his outstanding contributions to higher education as an equity leader for the students and community of San Diego.
SDCOE’s lighthouse award is presented to people who are beacons in the educational community by channeling and directing others in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In 2015, Turner Cortez was appointed president to lead SDCE, the largest noncredit adult educational institution in the nation, and since then has led the charge for more on-campus resources that support the large populations who come from rural areas and inner-cities looking for socioeconomic mobility.
Turner Cortez began his career in education as Teach for America Corps member. His experience spans the public, private, and charter school sectors in Washington, D.C., Houston, New York City, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. He has worked primarily with underserved student populations from low income communities and his life’s work has been staunch advocacy for policy and finance reform.