“As a neurologist, I wasn’t aware of the option of starting a company. It was the tech transfer department that encouraged us to do it”
Alicia Martínez-Piñeiro
She has a PhD in medicine from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and over 12 years of experience as a neurologist at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol before becoming head of the Neuromuscular Disorders and Neurophysiological Test Unit. In 2020, she decided to start Time is Brain with Dr. Antoni Dávalos.
Time is Brain is a spinoff of the Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP) established in 2020 that has developed BrainN20, a medical device targeting ischemic stroke that automatically logs and analyzes neuronal activity. The device collects information that helps healthcare professionals choose the best treatment for each patient, monitor them in real time and catch any complications early.
The company has been awarded €5.8 million from the European Commission through the European Innovation Council (EIC) accelerator to move forward with their strategic plan over the coming years. In fact, one of their goals for 2024, after clinical validation of the device, is to start working in Europe, focusing on Germany and the Netherlands.
In this interview, Time is Brain CEO Alicia Martínez-Piñeiro explains why she decided to become an entrepreneur, how she got her team to commit to the project and the hardest and easiest parts of the process.
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