We recently hosted an event to honour our former student, Dr Oriane Chausiaux (PhD), who has been awarded the prestigious Women in Innovation award by Innovate UK. The celebration included the unveiling of a purple plaque in her honour on the college site.
Purple plaques recognise the achievements of Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award winners. Dr Chausiaux is part of a network of women who are developing innovative solutions to pressing societal, environmental, and economic challenges. Some of the innovators based in the region are working on diverse projects, from creating affordable cell therapies for cancer to transforming mental health support for children, improving farming practices, and developing self-monitoring concrete.
Hughes Hall Dr Carole Sargent and Professor Nabeel Affara have worked with Oriane since her student day and joined Oriane (right) to celebrate her success in College.
Laurie Bristow, President of Hughes Hall, said: “This is a particularly poignant event for Hughes Hall, and we are delighted to welcome Oriane back to college and to display the plaque in her honour. This award, and indeed Oriane herself, embody the values of innovation and impact at the centre of our college. With a long history educating women, and latterly men, to enable them to inspire others, change lives, and make the world a better place, it is wonderful to welcome Oriane back, who, around 140 years since we were founded, has done just that.”
Dr Chausiaux, and her team at Heartfelt Technologies, aim to enhance the heart failure care of millions of patients globally. Despite the effectiveness of heart failure medication, around 75% of heart failure hospitalisations are avoidable. Discussions with a cardiologist from Papworth highlighted to Dr Chausiaux and her co-founder Dr Husheer that the issue lies not in the medication but in the treatment approach.
Dr Chausiaux explained, “The current standard care may seem easy to follow with daily weighing and symptom monitoring. However, many patients who suffer from heart failure also have other co-morbidities and often feel overwhelmed by the numerous medications and self-checks required daily. Those unable to reliably follow this advice often suffer regular hospital readmissions, significantly impacting patients and their families. Preventing these hospitalisations would improve patients’ lives, save money for the NHS, and free up hospital beds. As innovators, we must design solutions for the patients we have, not the patients we wish we had. This is why my team and I have been focused on creating solutions for this specific group of patients.”
“This is an exciting time for the company as we commence a clinical trial in the NHS, exploring how best to integrate our solution with the NHS system. We are collaborating with cardiology teams in West Suffolk and Croydon, as well as GPs and pharmacies in Hull and Cambridge. And we will shortly start the preparations for a US-based trial, which will be the start of our international expansion”.
Oriane was joined by family, friends, Hughes Hall staff and former colleagues to hear about the award, her work in healthtech, and to recognise the many women in innovation around the UK.
This award expanded on the Heartfelt device innovation, which monitors patients with heart failure in their homes continuously, without any patient interaction. Using AI, this noncontact telemonitoring solution can give an average of 13 days advance warning of hospitalisation or heart health worsening; sufficient time for a patient to seek medical attention and hopefully make a course correction.
Dr Chausiaux came to the UK in 2003 as part of an Erasmus exchange programme during her Master’s from Sorbonne Université in Paris. She spent a few months in Cambridge in the Department of Pathology, studying Molecular Genetics in the lab of Professor Nabeel Affara, Hughes Hall Life Fellow, with Senior Research Associate Dr Carole Sargent, now Hughes Hall Governing Body Fellow, and later pursued her PhD in the same lab. Both were delighted to join Oriane at her Purple Plaque ceremony on Wednesday.
Dr Chausiaux has benefited from the mentorship of several inspiring women, including Hanadi Jabado, former Director of Enterprise at Cambridge Judge Business School and now Deputy Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, and Dr Catherine Beech, OBE, CEO of Exonate, who provided valuable advice as Dr Chausiaux transitioned from a PhD student to a start-up founder. As part of the Innovate UK award, Sarah Bruce-White, IUK Business Growth, mentored the team to scale up their business and bring their pioneering innovations to market.
Hanadi Jabado DL said “Oriane is a model of resilience, strength and resolve. I am a great believer that “If you can see it, you can be it” We need more women like Oriane to be seen in order to inspire the next wave and the next generation of women scientists and entrepreneurs. She is an impressive serial entrepreneur and I am delighted her work has been recognised this way for generations to come to follow in her steps ”.
Dr Chausiaux’s journey has been significantly supported by notable investors, including Cambridge Angels, Cambridge Capital, and O2H Ventures. Dr Jonathan Milner, former CEO of Abcam and chairperson of Dr Chausiaux’s first company, provided crucial advice to Dr Chausiaux and her co-founders in the early years. Dr Eddie Powell, the first chairman of Heartfelt Technologies, supported and guided the company through its initial seven years when developing the first generations of devices and taking them through early clinical trials and CE marking. He has now passed the baton to James Viggers, who will help steer the company through its next phase, including US expansion.
James said, “Heartfelt Technologies is on a vitally important journey to help millions of heart failure patients live better lives. None of this would be possible without Oriane’s hugely impressive leadership, energy and perseverance. I am utterly delighted she is being honoured in this way.”
Pam Garside, Chair of Cambridge Angels said “We are extremely proud at Cambridge Angels that Oriane Chausiaux is the founder of one of our portfolio companies. It is always great to see women founders doing so well and she is a deserving recipient of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award.”
13.8.24
About Heartfelt Technologies
Heartfelt Technologies is the future of heart failure telemonitoring. It offers an automatic, AI-supported, non-contact telemonitoring solution for heart failure patients. A safe and simple solution that can improve the care of millions of heart failure patients. One of the leading indicators of heart failure worsening is swelling of the feet and lower legs. The device passively measures foot volume, which can be used to raise alerts. This swelling starts around two weeks prior to hospitalisation, giving ample time to administer diuretics, a cheap and effective drug that can eliminate the excess load on the heart. Better monitoring and care of patients could prevent up to 75% of hospital readmissions. For more details see: www.hftech.org
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving, and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.
About Innovate UK Women in Innovation
Innovate UK launched the Women in Innovation programme in 2016, following research revealing that just 1 in 7 applications for Innovate UK support came from women. Boosting the number of women entrepreneurs could deliver £180 billion to the economy. The programme aims to find women with exciting, innovative ideas and ambitious plans that will inspire others. It provides grant funding and a bespoke package of mentoring, networking, training, and role modelling opportunities. The campaign and awards have led to a significant increase in the number of women applying for Innovate UK’s support. The Women in Innovation Awards 2024/25 will build on this success, offering up to £75,000 in grant funding for each winner. For more details see: https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/programme/women-in-innovation/
