Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Fiscal Year 2023 Impact Report
POWERING INVENTION
IGNITING PROGRESS
The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence (IEE) celebrated its 30th anniversary this year and continues to be a leader of economic development in the region. The IEE now has physical locations in seven counties of Southwest PA. Thanks to IEE efforts this year, nearly 60 new businesses were formed in the region, and more than 10,000 new jobs were created throughout Western Pennsylvania. Also of note, the Small Business Development Center within IEE was named the Export-Import Bank of the United States Regional Export Promotion Program Member of the Year for its support and promotion of export activities for small businesses.
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ach of our units enjoyed another remarkable year in FY23 as we continued our
focus on surrounding Pitt innovators and the Pittsburgh region with the resources and guidance they need at each stage of the innovation and commercialization process.
Another exciting development was the Big Idea Center’s move into its new home. The 5,000-square-foot space at the corner of Forbes and Meyran Avenues is a place for student innovators at all levels from across the campus to explore the world of innovation and entrepreneurship; form teams; pitch their ideas; and, if they so choose, to accelerate, launch, and incubate their own companies, with the opportunity to receive investment from the donor-supported Big Idea Advantage Fund. And right across the street, we opened the Big Idea Loft, a coworking space for our student startups in partnership with InnovatePGH. The Innovation Institute enhanced its commercialization education offerings through a new partnership with the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program while offering several targeted commercialization funding opportunities, including through our partnership with UPMC Enterprises and through the Chancellor’s Commercialization Gap Fund.
This gap fund can be used by Pitt investigators for a variety of pre-commercialization activities, including technology de-risking, prototype development, market assessments and consulting support leading to the formation of new entities or technology licensing to existing companies.
uncover more efficient and effective ways to serve our stakeholders. We move into the new fiscal year excited about the opportunities ahead to maintain the strong momentum of the past and help even more Pitt innovators and regional business owners achieve impact.
Innovation Institute staff developed a large, curated set of educational videos and other resources on its website allowing Pitt innovators to explore different topics around the commercialization process at their own pace. And the Innovation Institute also overhauled the process and form for submitting an invention disclosure, including a single sign-on with Pitt Passport.
I close by welcoming Chancellor Joan Gabel to the University. We are heartened by her strong support of innovation at the University of Minnesota and look forward to closely collaborating with her in taking the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the University of Pittsburgh to new heights.
The Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships, meanwhile, enjoyed another fruitful year, helping to grow industry-sponsored research at Pitt by 11% year over year. These efforts have helped to secure nearly $15 million of new industry sponsored research funding in FY23. All of this incredible work does not happen by itself. I must express my deep gratitude to the entire staff at the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship who while delivering on all of these great results also participated in a yearlong effort to examine our structure, processes, and technology systems to
Hail to Pitt!
Evan Facher Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The University of Pittsburgh Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship inspires, educates and enables others to make an impact on society, improve the regional economy and transform their own careers through innovation commercialization. The OIE aids Pitt innovators along every step of the commercialization journey—from securing industry sponsorship for translational research, to intellectual property protection and licensing, gap funding, and education and mentoring for student and academic innovators, as well as regional business owners. The office is composed of four units: the Innovation Institute, Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships, Big Idea Center and Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence. Innovation Institute Intellectual property management; commercialization education, mentoring and funding; technology licensing and startup formation Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships Industry engagement and economic development Big Idea Center Student innovation and entrepreneurship Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence Regional small business education, consulting and networking
Innovation Institute
FY 2023 by the Numbers Invention Disclosures
359 lightbulb Patents
113 handshake Licenses and Options
150 file-certificate Startups
13 rocket-launch Revenue
$25M money-bill-wave
Pitt Joins Northeast Interior I-Corps Hub Pitt innovators participating in the Innovation Institute’s Pitt Ventures academic entrepreneurship programming have had access to National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) training since 2015. During FY 2023, Pitt joined a consortium of 10 regional universities as part of I-Corps’ Interior Northeast Region Hub. This new iteration of I-Corps has provided more flexibility for Pitt innovators by offering an expanded number of innovation commercialization “short courses” throughout the year. These month-long courses help Pitt innovators to evaluate the commercial potential of their technologies via customer and industry stakeholder interviews that allow them to identify the real problems that they need to have solved. Pitt innovation teams that have participated in I-Corps programming have improved their chances of obtaining funding for their commercialization efforts at Pitt through sources such as the Chancellor’s Gap Fund, Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Competition, and Pitt Innovation Challenge. They also have gone on to form nearly 40 startup companies.
Innovation Institute and UPMC-E Partner to Identify and Fund Promising Drug Discovery Projects The relationship between the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC was strengthened in fiscal year 2023 as the two entities collaborated on a request for proposals to fund the development of novel therapeutics in the areas of women’s health, autoimmune diseases, and rare neurological diseases. Through UPMC’s innovation and commercialization arm, UPMC Enterprises (UPMC-E), two projects were selected: Dwi Kemaladewi, assistant professor of pediatrics, is working to create a gene therapy treatment for muscular dystrophy in children. The UPMC-E funding will assist with preclinical experiments to gauge the therapy’s effectiveness. Ed Burton, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and principal investigator for Pitt’s Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, has partnered with Donna Huryn, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, to develop a therapy to treat progressive supranuclear palsy, a debilitating and fatal neurodegenerative disease. UPMC-E funding will assist with experiments treating zebrafish provided with a human copy of a defective gene.
A new request for proposals has been issued for fiscal year 2024.
Chancellor’s Gap Fund Supports Small-molecule Innovations and Prototyping Projects The Chancellor’s Gap Fund helps to move promising Pitt innovations forward on the path to commercialization. It was established by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher to help Pitt innovators avoid the “valley of death” for their innovations by providing funding for critical de-risking experiments or the development of prototypes.
During fiscal year 2023, the Innovation Institute issued two requests for proposals for the Chancellor’s Gap Fund, one related to small-molecule therapies and the other in partnership with the Swanson School of Engineering’s innovation and entrepreneurship program to develop prototypes for promising Pitt innovations.
Below is a summary of the funded innovation projects.
Small-molecule Projects Optimization of Small-molecule Allosteric Modulators for Bone and Mineral Ion Diseases
Engineered Fatty Acids for Treating Chronic Liver Disease
Principal Investigator: Jean-Pierre Vilardaga, professor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Principal Investigators: Francisco Schopfer, associate professor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, and Fei Chang, research instructor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Collaborator: Peter Wipf, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Chemistry This team is seeking to identify and develop compounds to treat osteoporosis and mineral ion disorders such as hypercalcemia and hyperparathyroidism. The technology has been published in Nature Chemical Biology and has a patent pending. The funding will assist in selecting the best compounds for further development through in vitro pharmacological characterization, efficacy and potency optimization of the selected molecules, and validation of the optimized compound in native cells.
Small-molecule Inhibitor/Degrader of BCL11a for the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease Principal Investigators: Toren Finkel, director, Aging Institute; Bill Chen, professor, Aging Institute; and Yuan Liu, assistant professor, Aging Institute The team is working to identify a small molecule that inhibits the function of BCL11a, which has been demonstrated to increase production of fetal hemoglobin in people suffering from sickle cell disease, leading to a resolution of their symptoms. The funding will be used to validate the affinity of hit molecules for action against BCL11a and to evaluate their characteristics.
The principal investigators are developing structurally engineered fatty acids to treat metabolic disorders and their underlying inflammatory conditions. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), their primary indication, is the leading cause of liver disease with no U.S. Food and Drug Administrationapproved treatment options. The team’s lead candidate, FA-1101, showed promising anti-NASH effects in rodent models by modulating key enzymes in lipid metabolism. The funding will be used toward conducting proof-of-concept experiments to confirm the biological targets for the lead molecule.
Development of a Novel Lead for the Chemical Modulation of Kv7 Potassium Channels Principal Investigator: Peter Wipf, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Chemistry Wipf’s lab is seeking to develop a new class of small molecules for engaging potassium ion channels that have potential therapeutic benefit for a wide variety of diseases, such as epilepsy, diabetes, tinnitus, neurodegeneration, and pain. These would represent an improvement over an initial class of drugs that were approved but eventually removed from the market due to significant side effects. Wipf plans to focus on early stage clinical development of a new lead compound for epilepsy and noiseinduced tinnitus in collaboration with the Pitt Hearing Research Center.
Prototyping “XProjects” Novel Low-profile Fully Retrievable Foldable Epidural Lead Array (FELLA) System
ScOAPe: A Self-cleaning Attachment for Nasal Endoscopes
Principal Investigators: Gaurav Chauhan, assistant professor, and Trent Emerick, associate professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
Principal Investigators: Rohit Mantena, student, Pitt School of Medicine; Kamil Nowicki, resident, Department of Neurological Surgery; Adi Mittal, student, Pitt School of Medicine; and Michael McDowell, assistant professor, Department of Neurological Surgery
This project is aimed at developing a new spinal cord stimulation device for controlling chronic pain that eliminates the need for a more invasive surgery to insert the stimulator leads. Current implantation techniques may require a surgery known as a laminectomy and a larger incision that can result in a higher risk of complications such as bleeding, nerve damage, and spine instability.
A Novel Human Full-thickness Skin Perfusion Platform for Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery Principal Investigator: Asim Ejaz, assistant professor, Department of Plastic Surgery There currently is no reliable model system having a physiological and anatomical resemblance to human skin that can be used for studying the mechanism of skin-related pathologies (radiation/chemical wound/ fibrosis, allergies, aging, UV effects, melanoma, and other skin cancers) and test therapeutics. Ejaz has developed a system that uses surgical tissues that can be kept viable for three weeks or longer.
Prosthesis-compatible Vibration Therapy for Phantom Limb Pain Principal Investigator: Goeran Fiedler, associate professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology A majority of people with limb loss suffer from phantom limb sensations or even phantom limb pain. Opioids have shown some effectiveness but come with severe side effects. This project introduces vibration therapy to preoccupy the nerve pathways that would transfer the errant pain signals to the brain, thus preventing the broken feedback loop that is believed to play a role in the dynamics of phantom limb pain episodes.
A nasal endoscope is a surgical tool with a camera and light at its tip that is used during sinus and skull base tumor removal surgeries. During surgery, debris such as blood and mucus accumulates on the lens, blocking the view, which requires removal, cleaning, and reinsertion of the lens each time visualization is lost. Mantena and colleagues are developing ScOAPe, a self-cleaning endoscope attachment that will decrease surgical time, and therefore money, while reducing surgical errors.
Fiscal Year 2023 University of Pittsburgh Startups
AiMiLight Sensors Fiber optic-based sensors for chemical, mechanical, and temperature sensing in hazardous environments Alenis Therapeutics Gene replacement therapy using herpes simplex virus-based vectors to treat muscle diseases BRG Innovations (dba PopSole™) Customizable insole for use in pressure relief of primary foot discomfort or plantar fasciitis Coloma Therapeutics Small molecules that function as molecular degraders, inducing protein degradation of high-value therapeutic targets GNOMX Inc. Epigenetic diagnostics for infectious diseases and other exposures Kaleibe Therapeutics Gene replacement therapy using herpes simplex virus-based vectors to treat brain diseases Respair Inc. Novel endotracheal tube that seals the airway more consistently and for longer periods of time than current tubes without requiring constant monitoring by health care professionals Pipeline Innervations Greenfield and retrofit installation of fiber optic sensors into pipelines using robotics for real-time monitoring enabled by artificial intelligence
Sensible Photonics Engineered optical fiber sensor technology platforms to eliminate predictable asset failures Sirina Therapeutics Gene replacement therapy using herpes simplex virus-based vectors to treat diseases of the skin SirNaMed Therapeutics Cationic amphiphilic polymers for codelivery of therapeutic genes and hydrophobic drugs Surface Design Solutions Inc. Physics-informed machine learning delivers cost savings in manufacturing that increase over time
A Year of Growth at the Big Idea Center and Expanded Opportunities for Students Big Idea Center Welcomes Students to New Facility On Aug. 29, 2022, the first day of classes for the new academic year, doors officially opened to welcome students to the Big Idea Center, the University of Pittsburgh’s vibrant new home for student innovation and entrepreneurship. Located in the heart of Oakland at the intersection of Forbes and Meyran avenues, the 5,500-square-foot facility reflects the University’s bold investment in and commitment to cultivating innovative, entrepreneurial-minded, and experienced students. “Innovators and entrepreneurs are our world’s change makers and problem solvers,” says Rhonda Schuldt, director of the Big Idea Center. “With this new facility, we have the opportunity to expand our programming and offer a place and a space where any student, at any point in their academic career, from any discipline, can step in and expand their opportunities—whether [they’re] simply curious, driven to start a startup, or wanting to explore how innovation and entrepreneurship can impact their career and expand their opportunities.” Enriching the center’s space is Saxbys, a student-led and -run experiential learning cafe located within the Big Idea Center. “It’s such a wonderful opportunity to have an organization like Saxbys in a space like this, helping create a dynamic meeting and gathering space while demonstrating student entrepreneurship
in action,” says Schuldt. Throughout the school year, the Big Idea Center’s new facility sees a continuous flow of students, faculty, staff, and community partners enjoying the center’s common space and the amenities of Saxbys.
Big Idea Center Launches New I+E Explore Programming to Engage Curious Students A core focus for the 2022-23 academic year was the launch of the Big Idea Center’s newest programming series: I+E Explore. This series provides students with the opportunity to explore and discover what innovation and entrepreneurship can mean to them. I+E Explore aims to make innovation and entrepreneurship more accessible to students at all levels of interest by providing them with a variety of interactive programs such as skill-building workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. Topics highlighted as part of the initial year’s programs included health tech, artificial intelligence, corporate innovation, and social entrepreneurship. While student engagement has been the core focus of I+E Explore activities, the Big Idea Center also has had the opportunity to partner with local entrepreneurs, student startups, alumni, and innovation-driven organizations throughout the city of Pittsburgh to bring expertise and content to the I&E Explore programs. During the first year of I+E Explore, more than 300 students participated in 23 unique engagement programs and events.
Pitt Student Innovators Soar Second Year of Kuzneski Innovation Cup Readied Student Teams for Future Success 2022 saw the second year of the Kuzneski Innovation Cup hosted by the Big Idea Center. Sponsored by Andy and Laurie Kuzneski, who also play an active role, the Kuzneski Cup is an early stage idea competition in which students with early ideas can work to advance that idea throughout the competition and pitch to win a portion of the $25,000 prize pool. This year, the four teams chosen by the Kuzneskis to receive an award all continued to work on their idea and saw successes throughout the year as a result. Kuzneski Innovation Cup Winners: Underdog (College of Business Administration) CyberPunk Reality (Swanson School of Engineering, School of Computing and Information) ScOAP-E (Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences) NoVRel (Swanson School of Engineering)
Pitt Teams Sweep Regional PDMA Competition—Again! For the second year in a row, University of Pittsburgh teams swept the annual pitch competition hosted by Pittsburgh’s chapter of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). The event, held in November during Global Entrepreneurship Week, brought together undergraduate and graduate teams from several regional universities vying to be crowned best undergraduate team, best graduate team, and best in show. Impressive teams from all participating universities went head to head with ideas ranging from social impact projects to medical devices. In the end, three female-led teams from Pitt’s Big Idea Center wowed the judges, winning in all three categories: Kate Gallo of Underdog (College of Business Administration), Anna Li of Korion Health (School of Medicine), and Becca Segel and Priscilla Prem of Flow Cellutions (Swanson School of Engineering).
15th Year of the Randall Family Big Idea Competition Awards a Wide Range of Student Innovators and Ideas From first-year students to PhDs and beyond, students from across disciplines and schools at Pitt constituted the 16 student-led teams who earned their way into the final round of this year’s Randall Family Big Idea Competition. Pitt’s longest-running student innovation opportunity to date, held each spring, has evolved to be a culminating event for student-led teams working on a startup idea. This year, nine teams with ideas ranging from social impact, education, and music to medical devices, assistive technologies, clean energy, and consumer products/services came away as award winners, earning prizes ranging from $2,000 to $25,000. Teams that emerged on top during this year’s competition demonstrated to the competition judges that by working hard and applying the disciplines, frameworks, and tools of successful entrepreneurship they learned by participating in Big Idea Center programming and mentorship, they are prepared to turn their ideas into reality. Winning Teams: Grand Prize and Video Round: Underdog (College of Business Administration) Second Place: Ember (College of Business Administration) and ScOAP-E (Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences) Third Place: CyberPunk Reality (Swanson School of Engineering, School of Computing and Information), NoVRel (Swanson School of Engineering), and SpringE (Swanson School of Engineering) Fourth Place: Àkójopò Publishing (Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences), Gradient (Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences), and LaRacette (College of Business Administration, Swanson School of Engineering) Finalist Teams: DARETO (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs) Haptic Shape Display (Swanson School of Engineering) Her Health Advocate (Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences) Korion Health (School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy) Malleous (Swanson School of Engineering, School of Medicine) Tread Aligners (Swanson School of Engineering) Y.M.S. (School of Nursing, School of Computing and Information)
Big Idea Advantage Fund Invests in Four More Student Startups
Big Idea Center Engaging the Next Generation in a New Partnership with Charter School
In the last year, four additional student startups received investments from the donor-funded Big Idea Advantage Fund. Teams are now able to seek an investment when the timing is right for them due to a new rolling application process instituted in summer 2022. Since the fund’s creation in 2021, eight studentled teams have launched their companies with an investment from the Big Idea Advantage Fund.
During the 2022-23 academic year, the Big Idea Center forged a new partnership with the Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship (PHCSE), engaging the next generation of K-6 students in innovation programs and experience-based learning opportunities.
For all teams, this is the first investment made in their newly formed companies, which, teams report, has been an invaluable step toward achieving key milestones—from obtaining a patent, raising further investments, and moving to prototypes to manufacturing and selling product and funding key technology development. Even more important than the funding is the credibility that comes from being invested in by the University and the priceless mentorship and guidance of the donors who serve on the fund’s investment committee and advise its portfolio of companies. All in all, every startup receiving a Big Idea Advantage Fund investment has stated that it was a game changer that has propelled their company and allowed them to achieve critical milestones. New Big Idea Advantage Fund Portfolio Companies: AithELITE Astria Biosciences Conduction Korion Health
This partnership provided opportunities for high school students to interact with and learn from University of Pittsburgh student entrepreneurs, giving them a glimpse into their future should they decide to pursue innovation and entrepreneurship. Partnership activities included a class field trip to the Big Idea Center for a discussion and demonstration of 3-D printing with College of Business Administration student Joe Slomowitz; a creative problem-solving and ideation session led by Big Idea Center staff; and a year-end assembly at PHCSE featuring Pitt students and startup founders Anna Li and Joe Maggiore, both School of Medicine MD/PhD candidates, who shared their entrepreneurial journeys and engaged with the students in a lively Q&A.
Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships The Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships (OIEP), part of Pitt’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, serves as a one-stop shop for industry and venture capital firms seeking to partner with Pitt on sponsored research, technology licensing, and new venture creation. In fiscal year 2023, industry-sponsored research at Pitt grew by approximately 11% year over year, with more than 400 industry partners investing approximately $56 million across a spectrum of research at Pitt. The OIEP business development team played a key role in this accomplishment, driving more than 400 new business development opportunities around research partnerships and securing nearly $15 million in new industry-sponsored research funding.
Examples of OIEP’s partnering work in FY 2023 include the following: Coeptis Therapeutics Enters into Sponsored Research Agreement with University of Pittsburgh In May 2022, Coeptis Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cell therapy platforms for cancer, announced entry into an exclusive option agreement with the University of Pittsburgh for the rights to three chimeric antigen receptor T-cell technologies that offer the potential to address a range of hematologic and solid tumors. In January 2023, the company furthered its collaboration with Pitt, entering into a sponsored research agreement to advance development of the platform.
Pitt and Owkin Partner to Advance Cancer Research In 2023, the University of Pittsburgh, through its Hillman Cancer Center, joined an industry/ academic consortium called MOSAIC. Sponsored by the French technology company Owkin,
MOSAIC is a landmark $50 million project to revolutionize cancer research through the use of spatial omics, a set of cutting-edge technologies that offer unprecedented information on the structure of tumors.
Genprex Signs Exclusive License to Additional Diabetes Technology with the University of Pittsburgh In January 2023, Genprex, a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of Pittsburgh for technology related to a gene therapy for type 2 diabetes. The company subsequently funded additional preclinical research at the University to continue joint development of the technology.
Energy Innovation Center Coalesces Industry-University Collaboration The Energy Innovation Center (EIC) located in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, just outside of downtown, is one of the University’s key applied research assets, comprising more than 20,000 square feet of advanced laboratory space focusing on electric power, grid modernization, advanced materials for power electricity, battery technology, and high temperature materials research. Since 2021, OIEP has played a key role in recruiting energy companies to the EIC, along with facilitating company co-location
Partnerships Team Connects with More Than 100 Companies at Bio International Developing new industry partnering opportunities is a core activity of the OIEP team. In June 2023, OIEP attended the week-long BIO International conference which brings together over 14,000 biotechnology and pharma leaders from more than 5,000 companies. The OIEP team represented over 200 Pitt technologies that are available for licensing and research partnering. During the conference, the OIEP team met with over 100 companies to discuss their external innovation needs and explore opportunities to partner with Pitt. The OIEP team will return to BIO next summer in San Diego, CA.
and guiding the creation and operation of an industry consortium that in the past 2½ fiscal years have initiated industry sponsored research and consortia projects amounting to nearly $1.9 million. Not included in this activity is the more than $8 million in federally funded awards to the Pitt faculty operating at the EIC since 2021. Combining these industry and federal research revenue streams takes gross EIC research revenue totals since 2021 above $10,000,000.
Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence (IEE) continues to provide important support to entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout western Pennsylvania and beyond. More than 1,400 regional businesses received assistance from IEE and nearly 60 new businesses were launched with IEE’s guidance in FY 2023. In the past year, IEE and its Small Business Development Center (SBDC) held several specialized events designed to connect minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses to contract opportunities and other regional resources, including an expansion of the Essentials for Success partnership with UPMC, aimed at increasing diversity among UPMC’s suppliers. IEE also partnered with Pitt to broaden the University’s supplier base and create stronger connections with regional small businesses. In terms of entrepreneurial education, IEE and its centers hosted more than 70 events for small business leaders, from startup education to more advanced, specialized topics for established businesses.
BizFIT Partnership Brings Business Training to Underserved Communities
Pictured: Graduates of the BizFIT-Community Power to Prosper program, July 2023.
Pictured: Attendees of the University of Pittsburgh Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC) “First Step: Mechanics of Starting a New Business” educational session.
The training for small business owners is in collaboration with community partner Riverside Center for Innovation, culminating with the IEE Urban and Community Entrepreneurship Program’s (UCEP) Community Power to Prosper program. The no-cost, 6-month training program covers the various aspects necessary to successfully owning and operating a business to ensure business leaders are prepared to grow and support the communities they serve.
Pitt Small Business Development Center Delivers Free Business Training
Pictured: The IEE’s Entrepreneurial Fellows Class 25th Anniversary Celebration, May 2023 The celebration recognized key participants throughout the program’s 25-year history and honored the program’s impact in the western PA business community. Including this year’s current class, the EFC program boasts more than 800 regional business leaders as alumni.
The Pitt Small Business Development Center (SBDC), part of the IEE, hosts monthly seminars on the basics of starting a business to help aspiring entrepreneurs develop the foundation they need to begin on the right footing. The sessions are led by Pitt SBDC management consultants as well as subject-matter experts from partnering organizations to provide detailed information and establish regional connections.
IEE Membership Provides Networking, Educational Programming and More The Summer Social is one of the IEE’s signature networking events of the year, bringing together business leaders from various industries to develop connections and build relationships. In addition to networking opportunities, IEE members have access to:
FY 2023 by the Numbers Clients
male 1,435 clock 10,564
Consulting Hours
Capital
money-bill 18.24 million chart-network 71 briefcase 58 layer-group 10,564
Peer forums to connect with other regional business leaders for advice and mentorship; Business consulting on various specialties offered confidentially from IEE consultants Educational events and webinars held throughout the year Additional member benefits include internship/ employee placement assistance through the University of Pittsburgh, a bi-monthly member newsletter; a directory of 200-plus member companies; access to a private LinkedIn member community; custom website assessment and more. Learn more at https://entrepreneur.pitt.edu/
Training Events Held
Businesses Started
Jobs Supported/Created
Pictured: Attendees of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence’s annual Summer Social. The IEE Summer Social was attended by more than 300 members, guests, and partners, this year at the Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley.
Celebrating Pitt Innovators
Persistence Pays Off for Wells Competition Team The 12th edition of the Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Competition witnessed a win by a previous contestant who took the advice of the competition’s benefactor to streamline their focus and try again. Adi Mittal, a Pitt School of Medicine student working alongside Pitt neurosurgery resident Kamil Nowicki, is developing a blood test that can detect cerebral aneurysm formation. Mittal pitched in the 2021 Wells Competition but did not win one of the cash prizes. He and Nowicki took Wells’ words to heart and refined their go-to-market strategy. They reapplied for the 2022 Wells competition with their pitch finely honed and walked away with the $20,000 grand prize.
Also winning awards in the 2022 Wells competition were the following: Second Place ($15,000): EndoDX
Third Place ($5,000): Deep Brain Stimulation
Student: Isabelle Chickanosky, PhD candidate, Department of Bioengineering Faculty: Timothy Chung, research assistant professor, Department of Bioengineering; Nicole Donnellan, associate professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences; and David Vorp, professor, Department of Bioengineering
Student: Jordyn Ting, PhD candidate, Department of Bioengineering Faculty: Elvira Pirondini, assistant professor, Department of Physical Medicine, and Jorge Gonzalez-Martinez, professor, Department of Neurological Surgery
Endometriosis is a gynecological disease affecting 10% of women (approximately 200 million) worldwide. These patients often live with chronic pelvic pain (80%) and infertility (50%) but can only seek out diagnosis of this disease via an exploratory surgical laparoscopic procedure. This surgery costs more than $12,000 per procedure, with 60% ending in no endometriosis diagnosis. Prior to the surgery, clinicians who provide these procedures often provide blood tests, ultrasound imaging, or magnetic resonance imaging to identify the presence of this disease, contributing to the average seven-year delay in diagnosis. EndoDx is a machine learning tool to identify risk, presence, and stage of endometriosis in patients noninvasively.
Stroke is the leading cause of disability among adults in the United States. Currently, more than 7 million individuals in the United States have suffered a stroke, and nearly 800,000 new strokes occur each year. Approximately 20% of stroke survivors have lasting speech deficits that leave them unable to adequately communicate with friends and family members or to maintain a job. Additionally, the inability to effectively communicate can result in greater isolation and can accelerate the deterioration of patients’ health. Despite the magnitude of this issue, there are few options available to improve speech after stroke, including a limited period of speech therapy and assistive devices, such as amplifiers and voice output communication aids. However, speech therapy is ineffective in patients with moderate to severe deficits, and assistive devices produce unnatural speech patterns. This solution involves applying deep brain stimulation to the motor thalamus, which leads to an increase in motor output from the facial muscles that improve speech. This technology could be used as a standalone device at home to improve daily communication or applied in conjunction with traditional speech therapy to improve recovery.
Pitt Faculty Named to National Academy of Inventors The University of Pittsburgh once again had several faculty members selected to join the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Joseph Glorioso and Ronald Montelaro, both of the School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, were named fellows of NAI. Glorioso is a widely acknowledged pioneer in the field of gene therapy whose 23 issued patents rank near the top of Pitt’s all-time leaders in that category. Moreover, startup companies that have licensed his intellectual property have raised more than $200 million in capital as they work to bring his therapies for cancer and pain to market. Montelaro has had a prolific career built around developing strategies to overcome the challenges presented by mutating viruses, which complicate vaccine development. A company formed from his research, Peptilogics Inc., raised nearly $35 million in 2020 and in the spring of 2023 reported positive results in a Phase 1B clinical trial for its therapy to treat and prevent prosthetic joint infections. Glorioso and Montelaro are the 11th and 12th Pitt faculty to be named NAI fellows since its inaugural class in 2015. NAI fellowship honors academic inventors who have demonstrated a spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
Selected as senior members of NAI were Professor of Bioengineering Tracy Cui and Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Science and Technology Jonathan Pearlman. Senior members are active faculty who have demonstrated remarkable innovation in producing technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society while educating and mentoring the next generation of inventors. Cui’s primary research focus is on neural engineering, and she is part of a Pitt team conducting groundbreaking research to help give people with paralysis the ability to control robotic arms solely with their brain. She also created the curriculum for the neural engineering track at the Swanson School of Engineering, growing the track to 30 participating faculty members and graduating 97 neural engineering PhD students. Four of her patents have been licensed, including those used to create Interphase Materials, a Pittsburgh-based startup company created by two of her former PhD students. Pearlman has had numerous technologies aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities licensed, including a compression system to prevent deep-vein thrombosis, an adjustable backrest for wheelchair users, a caster system for wheelchairs, and an active stability system for wheelchairs. Two of his students also licensed technology codeveloped in his lab to form Pittsburgh-based startup PathVu Inc., which is making information about the accessibility of more than 4,700 sidewalks in 11 cities available via a mobile app. Pearlman also is leading the University of Pittsburgh IMPACT Center, a multiyear initiative to support product innovation in partnership with the Association for Community Living. He also is overseeing the University’s Healthy Home Lab housed in an older home near the Pitt campus. This living laboratory is aimed at creating innovations that make homes safer and more livable for the elderly and people with physical challenges.
Celebration of Innovation The University of Pittsburgh Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship presented its 2023 Celebration of Innovation on April 25, 2023, at the Petersen Events Center. The event recognizes Pitt innovators and regional businesses who are creating solutions to difficult societal problems and serving unmet needs through the commercialization of their innovations. This year’s event included an innovation showcase at which nine emerging Pitt innovation teams in the early stages of commercialization were on hand to share their progress on the path from the classroom or lab to market. Several innovation support organizations from across the University and the region also were in attendance to promote their programs and resources to Pitt innovators. In addition to recognizing all faculty and students who submitted an invention disclosure, were issued a U.S. patent, or had their innovation licensed, there were seven special awards presented.
Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award William Wagner The Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award is presented to a Pitt faculty member who has achieved a sustained commitment to innovation throughout a distinguished career. William Wagner is director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine as well as Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Chemical Engineering, and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Wagner’s research interests are generally in cardiovascular engineering, with projects that address medical device biocompatibility and design, hypothesis-driven biomaterials development, and tissue engineering. His research has generated nearly 50 issued patents and patent filings that have resulted in significant licensing activity and the formation of three startup companies. Among his many honors and awards, he was named a fellow of the National
Academy of Inventors in 2016. Under his leadership, the McGowan Institute has grown into the most prolific research institute at Pitt in terms of commercialization activity. McGowan-affiliated faculty and students have submitted more than 1,000 invention disclosures, have been issued 220 patents, have executed more than 200 licenses, and have formed 34 startup companies to date.
Emerging Innovator Award Leah Byrne The Emerging Innovator Award is presented to an early-tomid-career Pitt faculty member who has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to innovation commercialization. Leah Byrne is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her research lab develops gene therapies for retinal disease. Approximately one in 3,000 people worldwide is affected by inherited retinal degenerations. Byrne’s lab engineers viral vectors with improved capabilities to deliver therapeutic genes to the retina that allow for increased precision of gene delivery and protein expression. Additionally, a main focus of the lab is developing
and implementing gene editing approaches using CRISPR/Cas9, a powerful and widely applicable molecular tool used to directly rewrite the genome. In July 2022, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche partnered with Avista Therapeutics—a spinout based on Byrne’s work and cofounded with José-Alain Sahel and Paul Sieving—to further develop these therapies. She has had her technology licensed to three other startups.
Student Innovator of the Year Award Kunal Gandhi Kunal Gandhi is CEO of APEX, which empowers clinicians to improve and expand access to musculoskeletal care using 3-D motion capture technology blending computer vision
artificial intelligence with neuroscience to bridge in-person and virtual care. He is a 2021 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh who leveraged the programs and resources of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Big Idea Center in each of his four years as an undergraduate to start on an entrepreneurial path after graduating. During his time as a student, he participated in nearly every pitch competition at the University and was chosen to participate in the prestigious national Rice Business Plan Competition. He also was a recipient of one of the first investments from the Big Idea Advantage Fund, a donorsponsored fund that provides investments in promising Pitt student startups.
Startup of the Year Apollo Neuroscience, Inc.
James “Chip” Hanlon Volunteer Mentor of the Year Award Jan Berkow The Pitt Innovation Institute relies heavily on volunteer mentors to assist faculty and students interested in exploring the commercial potential of their innovations to navigate the often-unfamiliar terrain of innovation commercialization. Jan Berkow is the program manager for commercialization at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Military Medicine Research, where he is responsible for bringing to market U.S. Department of Defense-funded advanced medical technologies. He previously led InteloMed Inc., a Pitt startup company, as cofounder and chief technology officer. The medical device company leveraged private and federally funded military grants to develop noninvasive cardiovascular monitoring devices. For the past five
years, he has served as a volunteer mentor on numerous Pitt innovation teams, helping to guide them through early commercialization exercises in customer discovery and value proposition development as part of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps First Gear program as well as assisting teams participating in the Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Competition.
Apollo Neuroscience is a spinout of the University of Pittsburgh that began in 2018. The company has developed a wearable device and software platform technology that delivers patented vibration patterns, called Vibes, that are scientifically shown to increase resilience, helping you to relax, sleep well, focus, and stay energized by sending gentle sound waves to any location on the body. The technology is based on the research of David Rabin and Greg Siegle from the Department of Psychiatry conducted between 2014 and 2018. Kathryn Fantauzzi, Rabin’s then-fiancée, joined the team as an entrepreneurship mentor to help lead it to an award from the Innovation Institute’s First Gear commercialization program. The team also received a top prize in the Michael G. Wells Student Healthcare Competition as well as the second-place prize in the inaugural Performance Innovation Tournament. The team placed as a finalist in the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh), sponsored by Pitt’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, in 2016 and received the grand prize at PInCh 2017. Since spinning out in 2018, Apollo Neuroscience has successfully produced and marketed the Apollo wearable, selling more than 100,000 units to date.
Small Business of the Year Award (Less than $1 Million in Revenue)
Regional Business of the Year Award ($1 Million+ in Revenue)
Stories Like Me
84 Lumber
Stories Like Me is an independently owned bookstore and community hub promoting equality, equity, and inclusion. Its mission is to be the most comprehensive resource for diverse, accessible, and empowered children’s literature and to share the stories of the world with a focus on generating empathy and peace through books. It recently opened a new physical bookstore at 4381 Murray Ave. in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood.
Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, 84 Lumber is the nation’s leading privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components, and industry-leading services for single- and multifamily residences and commercial buildings. 84 Lumber is nationally certified through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council as a woman-owned and -operated business. It was named one of America’s largest private companies in 2018 by Forbes and a top workplace in the greater Pittsburgh region in 2018 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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