Editorial Staff

Amar Sawhney on Sikhs, STEM & COVID

/in , , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

The entrepreneurial spirit among immigrants and refugees allows them the flexibility to pursue unexpected courses of action, adapt, accept risk and make the most of opportunities they didn’t even know of before. For Dr. Amar Sawhney from India, that started at the University of Texas at Austin with 30 job rejections out of 30 applications. But he charted a path that would see him go in directions hitherto unknown to him: getting a PhD, helping found a company, journeying to Boston, and starting a string of new companies, using his chemical engineering background to save lives through remarkable local therapy innovations. To date, he has founded eight companies accounting for 4,000 jobs and more than $2 billion in revenue. He’s been named a “Champion of Change” by The White House, one of the “five most innovative Medical Device CEOs” by MassDevice, the EY regional entrepreneur of the year, The Immigrant Learning Center’s own Immigrant Entrepreneur Awardee for Life Science Business. But his influence extends well beyond that space into environmental conservationism, safeguarding refugees, mentoring and promoting STEM education, and building public understanding of America’s Sikhs, as you’ll hear in this week’s episode of JobMakers.

Guest:

Amarpreet Sawhney, Ph.D., is the Chairman and CEO OF Instylla Inc which is developing new liquid embolics for tumor embolization and hemostasis. He is also CEO of Rejoni Inc., which is developing products to prevent adhesions following gynecological interventions. Previously he was President and CEO of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (OCUL: NASDAQ) a company focused on unmet needs in ophthalmic drug delivery. He was also the Chairman of Augmenix, Inc. (acquired by Boston Scientific), Founder and CEO of Confluent Surgical (acquired by Covidien), the Chairman of MarketRx (acquired by Cognizant), a provider of pharmaceutical marketing and sales analytics and intelligence, technology founder of Focal, Inc. (acquired by Genzyme) and Access Closure Inc. (acquired by Cardinal Health). He holds over 120 patents, which form the basis for several first-of-a-kind medical devices that have helped over 5 million patients worldwide. He has founded eight companies, which account for over 4,000 jobs created and over $2 billion in revenue to date. Dr. Sawhney helps foster entrepreneurship by mentoring young innovators and creating companies through Incept, a medical device incubator. He is a member of the board of directors of EcoSikh, Axtria, Imperative care, Instylla, Rejoni, Tulavi, and Incept LLC. He is on the advisory board of the MIT museum. Dr. Sawhney is passionate about education, wildlife, and environmental causes, which he is involved in supporting through his family foundation. Dr. Sawhney has been recognized by several awards including being named the “Champions of Change” and “Outstanding American by Choice” awards by the Whitehouse, “Five most innovative Medical Device CEOs” by MassDevice, MassMedic best startup company award, Frost and Sullivan Product innovation award, MIT Global Indus Technovators Award, the E&Y regional entrepreneur of the year award, Mass High Tech All Star award, TiE Star award, the University of Texas Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate award, and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Distinguished Alumni award. Dr. Sawhney holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi.

Get new episodes of JobMakers in your inbox!

Browse recent episodes of Pioneer podcasts:

Prof. James Witte on Immigration Disinformation

Misinformation and disinformation about immigration in the U.S. is ubiquitous. For Prof. James Witte, director of the Institute for Immigration Research, getting the facts about U.S. immigration out to the public is a challenge. The Institute for Immigration Research is a joint venture between George Mason University and The Immigrant Learning Center of Malden, Massachusetts, the co-producer of this podcast.

Human Rights Advocate Kristina Arriaga on Cuba, Religious Liberty, & Cancel Culture

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Kristina Arriaga, president of Intrinsic, a strategic communications firm, and former vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Kristina shares her family’s experiences fleeing Castro’s communist regime in Cuba and other hardships, and how her background has shaped her commitment to religious liberty.

Pandemic Pension Payout: Essential COVID-19 Public Workers Rewarded Whether Essential or Working

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Director of Research and former Massachusetts Inspector General and State Representative Greg Sullivan about HB 2808, COVID-19 Essential Employee Retirement Credit Bonus, discussing the merits of the recently proposed joint bill, its cost, and our current public debt burden in the Commonwealth.

Sonny Vu, Former Refugee, Uses Faith to Drive Innovation

This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Sonny Vu, serial entrepreneur and investor, about his work across continents to develop new technologies, processes and products that have, what he calls, “positive, planet-level impact.” 

The Institute for Justice’s Michael Bindas on the SCOTUS, Carson v. Makin, & Expanding School Choice

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Michael Bindas, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice (IJ). They discuss IJ’s 2020 landmark U.S. Supreme Court win in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, and its implications for state Blaine Amendments, bigoted legal barriers that have blocked religious liberty and school choice for over a century, as well as the Maine school tuitioning case, Carson v. Makin, which was recently granted certiorari.

College Debt Explained: Education Pays When Students Choose Wisely

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with American Enterprise Institute resident fellow and education economist Beth Akers about the American student debt crisis (totalling $1.6 trillion). They explore who borrows, who is in debt, and which policy choices might best serve the financial needs of every student. 

Shane Smyth on How Immigrants Saved Restaurants

This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Shane Smyth, owner of Hugh O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Malden, and co-owner of five more restaurants in Newton and Boston, one of which he launched during the pandemic. 

Civil Rights Leader Bob Woodson on 1776 Unites & Race in America

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-hosts Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Robert Woodson, Sr., founder and president of the Woodson Center that supports neighborhood-based initiatives to revitalize low-income communities, as well as author and editor of the May 2021 book, "Red, White, and Black."

Chasing Election Integrity: Strict Voter ID Laws’ Impact on Turnout and Fraud

Joe Selvaggi talks with Harvard Business School Professor Vincent Pons about his recently released NBER paper on the effects of strict voter ID laws on voter behavior and fraud across the United States over 10 years, examining the results of the 1.6 billion observation dataset by age, race, gender, and party affiliation.

Anita Worden Takes Immigrants’ Skills to the Next Level

This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Anita Worden, renewable energy business entrepreneur, about her work to improve representation of women in crucial economic sectors like technology, a place where they can innovate and have real impact. 

Mariam Memarsadeghi on Freeing Iran, Civic Ed, & Immigrant Portraits

This week on “The Learning Curve," co-host Cara Candal and guest co-host Derrell Bradford talk with Mariam Memarsadeghi, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Mariam shares remembrances from her early years spent in the Shah’s Iran, and emigration to the U.S. shortly after Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution in 1979.

The Oldest Hatred: Calling Out Antisemitism In Its Many Forms

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Boston Globe opinion writer Jeff Jacoby about the troubling increase in antisemitic incidents, including the recent attack on a Boston rabbi, and how our current political rancor fans the flames of bigotry nationwide.