NEW ORLEANS’ BIOINNOVATION COMMUNITY IS PASSIONATE

Patrick E. Reed, Director, Office of Technology Management at LSU Health Sciences Center: Patrick Reed has seen the world, even spending four years in Taiwan in the 1990s. The closest he ever got to New Orleans was Baton Rouge in 2001.

So Reed definitely didn’t expect to see the blossoming biotechnology world he encountered when he and his family moved to New Orleans from Atlanta in 2012. He immersed himself in the growing life sciences sector at LSU Health Sciences Center, one of two medical schools in New Orleans, and the Nashville native remains impressed at the industry’s growth in the city.

“It’s exciting to help and watch policy get developed as the people in New Orleans work to grow this sector,” Reed says. We’re a relatively small community, especially in the life sciences, but that community is tightly knit and passionate about growing the business ecosystem.”

Reed directs the Office of Technology Management at LSUHSC, and he works closely with the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC). He says the annual Innovation Louisiana conference that New Orleans hosts shows the city’s expertise in the life sciences.

“NOBIC has helped foster an increased sense of community through educational seminars, networking events and particularly Innovation Louisiana that started after I arrived,” Reed says. “I helped form an add-on program to this event – the University Technology Showcase – that highlights Louisiana research. It’s been nice to witness the city identifying bioinnovation as an actual sector of growth.”

He says working in New Orleans is a fulfilling experience that often defies expectations, and he is happy to participate in the evolving journey.

“When I first moved to Baton Rouge at the end of 2001, all I ever heard about was the ‘Brain Drain,’” Reed says. “Since returning to the state, New Orleans in particular seems to have overcome this. People are coming to this city for the lifestyle and the opportunities that exist. Just look around any event at NOBIC – there are a lot of young faces looking to start companies and be successful in this city.”