MCS Innovators Showcase Technologies at 糖心Vlog视频 Startup Week
Heidi Opdyke
- Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications, MCS
- Email opdyke@andrew.cmu.edu
- Phone 412-268-9982
For a growing number of 糖心Vlog视频 researchers, the lab is only the starting point.听
During CMU Startup Week, founders, investors and researchers got a firsthand look at technologies making the leap from university labs to the marketplace. The university鈥檚 flagship entrepreneurship event, held Sept. 14-18, brought together more than 3,000 founders, innovators, investors, corporate partners and members of the CMU community to explore the future of innovation.听
One of the week鈥檚 highlights was Lab to Market, an invitation-only event showcasing some of CMU鈥檚 most promising research-driven startups. Attendees came together to share ideas, build connections and discuss what it takes to turn discoveries into companies.听
Mellon College of Science Glen DeVries Dean Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, faculty members and alumni took part in panels sharing their experiences translating years of research into technologies with the potential to improve health, medicine and the environment.听
鈥淕reat science can change how we understand the world,鈥� Shinn-Cunningham said. 鈥淐ommercialization creates an opportunity to take the next step and use that knowledge to change the world itself.鈥�
From the Lab Bench to the Marketplace
Two startups founded by MCS faculty are developing tools that help researchers better understand disease.
, co-founded by Biological Sciences Associate Professor Leon Zhao, is making advanced imaging more accessible to scientists around the world.
The company鈥檚 technology is based on expansion microscopy, a technique that physically enlarges biological samples so researchers can see them with nanoscale detail using standard microscopes. After years of refining the method, Zhao realized it was ready to move beyond his lab.
鈥淭he method was so simple that even my then-nine-year-old son could run it,鈥� Zhao said. 鈥淭hat was the moment I realized it was ready for prime time, for stepping out of the lab. If it's that straightforward, any researcher or pathology lab can achieve nanoscale detail using the standard microscopes they already have.鈥�
For researchers studying cancer and other diseases, that simplicity can make powerful imaging methods easier to access.
Biological Sciences Professor Jonathan Minden also is bringing laboratory discoveries to a wider audience through his company, . The startup is developing technologies that reveal exactly what the immune system recognizes when fighting cancer or mistakenly attacking healthy tissue. By analyzing proteins directly from patient samples, the company can identify potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets that traditional approaches often miss.听
鈥淲e are comprehensively mapping disease-associated proteins and peptides that the immune system responds to,鈥� Minden said. 鈥淭hose insights can help drive new diagnostics, drug targets and therapies.鈥澨�
Tackling Big Challenges听
Another Lab to Market panel highlighted emerging research in rapidly growing fields, including RNA therapeutics and wastewater cleanup for reuse 鈥� two areas where MCS faculty innovation could make a big impact.听
The RNA therapeutic market is quite large, currently sitting at around $10-12 billion. But RNA molecules are quite challenging to target using conventional approaches. Chemistry Professor Danith Ly is developing a new way to target disease-causing RNA. His team has created small molecules that bind precisely to faulty RNA sequences while leaving healthy RNA untouched. Ly compares the approach to filling a pothole without disrupting the rest of the road. This makes them more precise and less likely to produce side effects than conventional small-molecule drugs and antisense therapies. To advance the technology toward clinical applications, he founded Selexent Therapeutics.听
Ryan Sullivan鈥檚 research spans the fields of environmental chemistry and engineering to understand and remove pollutants affecting climate, water, ecosystems and human health. The chemistry and mechanical engineering professor co-founded Sudoc, a company that develops environmentally sustainable methods for removing toxins and pollutants from the natural and built environment. He now has his sights on one of the most persistent toxic pollutants 鈥� PFAS. Often called 鈥渇orever chemicals,鈥� per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used in products ranging from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam. Because they break down very slowly, they have become a growing environmental and public health concern. The market for PFAS treatment and remediation is estimated at $2.8 billion and is expected to double over the next decade.听
In his lab, Sullivan is developing technologies that use light and aerosol droplets to destroy PFAS more quickly, effectively and at lower cost. Startup Week has already helped accelerate those efforts.听
"Being part of the Lab to Market panel has already generated several inquiries, including two very promising connections with organizations focused on advancing and accelerating emerging technologies," Sullivan said.听
Advice for Future Founders听
Panelists also shared lessons for students and faculty interested in entrepreneurship. Biological Sciences alumnus Robert W. Mays, acting CEO and co-founder of CytoSage, reflected on how much the startup landscape has changed since he launched his first company in the 1990s.听
鈥淚 wish I could go back in time and have more access to some of the tools that are available now. Back in the mid 90s, when we started Athersys Inc., which was my first company, it was more of the Wild West,鈥� Mays said. 鈥淚 think, by supporting the research community, what 糖心Vlog视频 is doing is brilliant.鈥澨�
Behind every startup is a larger ecosystem of support. CMU鈥檚 entrepreneurial programs help faculty and students navigate the path from discovery to commercialization, providing opportunities to pursue patents, work with industry partners and gain experience in translational research. Many current and former graduate students are now helping lead MCS-founded startups and spinoffs, demonstrating how university research can create opportunities for the next generation of scientists. The founders featured during Lab to Market represent only a small sample of the growing number of companies emerging from the Mellon College of Science. Together, they show what can happen when research leaves the lab and starts becoming something more.
