💕「愛台灣，我的選擇」系列第10發: Anuj Bhardwaj的事業轉捩點在台灣
「我在2017年時搬到台灣，對我的家庭來說是一個大決定，當時有很多因素考量，但我們想給女兒不同的經驗，而且雖然我們從未拜訪台北，但已聽說過很多關於這個地方的正面評價。那時我正在創立一家美國醫療器材新創公司，搬到台灣不曉得會對我的職涯造成什麼影響。所幸在台灣，我很快發現醫療器材社群正蓬勃成長，而且有很強健的專業網絡。於是，我找到台灣的事業夥伴Layla Huang，她是一名生理學家同時也是創業家，她介紹我認識當地的工程供應商及顧問，最後他們都成為我公司價值鏈上不可或缺的角色。我在台灣生活的這段期間，我們的工作得到美國國防部高等研究計畫署的資助，這筆經費幫助我們精進神經刺激療法的超音波技術。具體來說，美國國防部對這項治療發炎的技術相當有興趣，因為除了一般民眾會有這種症狀外，軍人與退役軍人更是高風險群。這是我們過去幾年的工作重點，而自新冠肺炎爆發以來，我們發現有些極端案例與我們以往研究的發炎病例有類似的病徵。我們現在正努力尋找這種疾病的解決方法，而我們的台灣夥伴們正是最重要的推手。我們期盼在抗疫期間與未來，都能與台灣持續合作並相互扶持。」
Anuj Bhardwaj是SecondWave Systems公司執行長，他在台灣生活了三年，他的公司正在研發對抗新冠肺炎的醫療技術。Anuj Bhardwaj是印度裔美國人，在美國賓州出生成長，他擁有麻省理工研究所學位。為了慶祝五月的亞太裔傳統月，我們特別邀請Anuj Bhardwaj接受「愛台灣，我的選擇」系列訪談。
Why I chose Taiwan #10
“I moved to Taiwan in early 2017 as part of a larger family decision. There were multiple factors, but we wanted to give a different experience for our daughters and had heard good things about Taipei, although I had never visited. As I was working to build up a US-based medical device startup, the impact of the decision to my career was not certain. However, in Taiwan I quickly discovered a growing medical device community and a strong professional network in this field. I ended up working closely with a physiologist and entrepreneur, Layla Huang, who connected me to engineering suppliers and consultants who now provide critical services within our company’s value chain. During my time in Taiwan, the work we furthered led to funding from the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) who helped us advance our ultrasound-based technology for neurostimulation therapy. Specifically, the US Department of Defense has interest in therapies to treat inflammation disorders of which the military and veteran population has a high incidence, in addition to large prevalence in the civilian population. This has been our focus for the last few years, however after the onset of COVID-19 we learned that extreme cases induced by this virus cause similar effects as the inflammation disorders associated with our device treatment methods. We are now working to address this problem and our partners in Taiwan have been instrumental in this effort. We look forward to continued collaboration and support in Taiwan during this effort and beyond.”
Anuj Bhardwaj is the CEO of SecondWave Systems. He is an Indian American and has been living in Taipei for the past 3 years and his company is working on technology to help treat COVID-19. Anuj Bhardwaj was born and raised in Pennsylvania and has a post graduate degree from MIT. Anuj’s “Why I Chose Taiwan” interview is also in honor of May Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
