Earlier this year, Ofer Nemirovsky (EE’79, W’79), a managing director of HarbourVest Partners, LLC, a global private equity firm in Boston, donated $500,000 to the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Health-Tech program to establish the Nemirovsky Engineering and Medicine Opportunity (NEMO) Prize. The goal of the prize is to encourage collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Science by supporting early-stage innovative ideas at the intersection of engineering and medicine that might not receive funding from traditional sources. 

The first recipient of this term prize, which includes an award of $80,000, is César de la Fuente, Presidential Assistant Professor in the departments of psychiatry, microbiology, and bioengineering. He proposed a paper-based COVID diagnostic system that could capture viral particles on a person’s breath, then give a result in a matter of seconds when taken to a testing site.

Similar tests for bacteria cost less than a dollar each to make. Dr. de la Fuente is aiming to make COVID tests at a similar price point and with a smaller footprint so that they could be directly integrated into face masks, providing further incentive for their regular use.

“Wearing a face mask is vital to containing the spread of COVID because, before you know you’re sick, they block your virus-carrying droplets so those droplets can’t infect others,” Dr. de la Fuente said. “What we’re proposing could eventually lead to a mask that can be infected by the virus and let you know that you’re infected, too.”

The proposed detection system would use dozens of tiny, 3D-printed electrodes seeded with fragments designed to bind to the SARS-COV-2 virus’ spike proteins. These electrodes would then be deposited on conductive paper, onto which a sample of respiratory droplets could be introduced. The electrodes’ overall resistance would go up as more viruses bound to the fragments, meaning the relative concentration of the virus could be instantaneously measured with a potentiometer.

Existing virus tests are based on assays of genetic material, which take more than 24 hours, require much more expensive equipment and reagents, and need to be conducted by trained technicians.

“With our proposal, a person could go to a testing site to see if their mask is infected, then follow-up with another kind of test if so,” Dr. de la Fuente said. He will use the NEMO Prize funds to begin developing the prototype for this paper-based coronavirus test, as well as other “blue sky” ideas for detecting pathogens, such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More research will also be required to further miniaturize the system so it can be integrated into face masks. Even without that advance, however, larger versions where samples were provided at dedicated testing sites would still be significantly faster and less expensive than current methods.

“The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on the NEMO Prize,” said Glory Durham, associate director of Penn Health-Tech. “César’s proposal is an opportunity to develop a transformative technology that is sensitive and scalable. It is an excellent illustration of Penn Health-Tech’s mission to catalyze early stage innovation in medical technology across Penn.”

Mr. Nemirovsky focuses on sourcing, evaluating, and monitoring direct investments. He is also involved in HarbourVest’s business development efforts. He has been responsible for a number of HarbourVest’s direct investments, including Artisoft, AVID, AXENT, Centra, Clarus, Creo, Dendrite International, Digital Insight, eTapestry, Frame, Gilead, Insignia Solutions, Manugistics, Marcam, m-Qube, NETCOM On-Line, Progress Software, Radware, Retix, Shopzilla, SpectraLink, Ultimate Software, and UUNET. Mr. Nemirovsky’s previous experience includes four years in technical computer sales and marketing with Hewlett-Packard. 

He received a BS in electrical engineering and a BS in finance from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1986. He serves or has served on the Boards of the National Venture Capital Association, the Overseers of the School of Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania, the African Wildlife Foundation, and the Institute of Contemporary Art. Born in Israel, Mr. Nemirovsky is fluent in Hebrew.