{"492021":{"#nid":"492021","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BME grad makes Forbes 30-under-30 list","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAllen Chang is in elite company. The former Georgia Institute of Technology student, who earned his undergraduate degree from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2008, was named recently to the \u003Cem\u003EForbes\u003C\/em\u003E 2016 30 Under 30 list in the Manufacturing and Industry sector.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EChang, 29, is co-founder of Vertera Spine, a company that is working on unique spine solutions featuring its novel biomaterial, PEEK Scoria\u2122 \u2013 a porous surface technology made entirely out of polyetheretherketone (PEEK).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p3\u0022\u003EHe was one of 600 people selected across 20 sectors (from a pool of more than 15,000 candidates) to make the Forbes list, now in its fifth year. The honorees represent a new generation of entrepreneurs and innovators that are pushing the boundaries in their respective industries by taking disruptive approaches to solve difficult problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p4\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u0027m honored to be included in this extraordinary group of talented people,\u201d Chang says. \u201cI\u0027m also grateful for the opportunity to work at Vertera Spine with a team of passionate engineers, scientists, clinicians and business people.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EPEEK Scoria was developed in the lab of Ken Gall at Georgia Tech. Gall is a former faculty researcher at the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. He now heads the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University, and is a co-founder of Vertera Spine, where Chang invented a method for manufacturing the porous PEEK material, so that it could be commercialized.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe company plans a commercial launch of the COHERE\u2122 Cervical Interbody Fusion Device, its first PEEK Scoria product cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), later this year. Chang has high hopes for the product\u2019s success.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cPEEK is a well-known polymer, it\u2019s widely used, but it doesn\u2019t integrate really well with bone,\u201d Chang says. \u201cBut our porous device has been shown to elicit a positive response in a body. With PEEK Scoria, we\u2019re solving the integration problem.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThough he never worked in Gall\u2019s lab while attending Georgia Tech, Chang did take the professor\u2019s \u2018Principles and Applications of Engineering Materials\u2019 course, and it made an impression. \u201cThat was one of my favorite classes,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAfter earning his Master of Engineering from Boston University, Chang returned to Atlanta and worked at MedShape, another startup company Gall co-founded.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cAllen\u2019s role has been instrumental. He completely led the scale up efforts,\u201d says Gall. \u201cIn addition to being a great engineer, he is a risk taker. Rather than short-term compensation, he opted to bet on the company\u2019s long-term value and is a big equity owner because of this.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo Chang is completely invested in the company\u2019s success and is already looking ahead to the next challenge. Vertera Spine is developing a PEEK Scoria lumbar device, and Chang is leading that effort.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cRight now our major task is actually producing our cleared cervical device, so that surgeons can start implanting it into patients. I mean, that\u2019s why we do this, to help patients,\u201d says Chang, who was born in Taiwan and moved to Atlanta when he was 10.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EHe\u2019s already got a background in helping to improve the human condition, having worked 10 months with AmeriCorps, rehabilitating houses in Gulf Coast states that were affected by Hurricane Katrina, and up-scaling the production of biodiesel. With Vertera Spine, he\u2019s helping humanity in a different way, developing products that can actually replace bone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way since founding the company over two years ago,\u201d says Chang. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve as we develop additional product lines in spine and beyond.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Allen Chang leading production of novel biomaterial technology for Vertera Spine"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAllen Chang leading production of novel biomaterial technology for Vertera Spine\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Allen Chang leading production of novel biomaterial technology for Vertera Spine"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2016-01-27 23:46:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:31","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-27T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-27T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"492011":{"id":"492011","type":"image","title":"Allen Chang and device","body":null,"created":"1454083200","gmt_created":"2016-01-29 16:00:00","changed":"1475895248","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:08","alt":"Allen Chang and device","file":{"fid":"204476","name":"allen_and_device.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/allen_and_device_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/allen_and_device_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1511450,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/allen_and_device_0.jpg?itok=LrScLiS0"}}},"media_ids":["492011"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}