Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor and TissueForm founder Corey Neu pitches his innovation鈥攏ext-generation dermal fillers.
Fourteen finalists pitched their innovations at the first annual Lab Venture Challenge (LVC), a funding competition held by the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to help commercially-promising technologies accelerate into impactful business ventures. External judges awarded a total of seven grants 鈥� up to $125,000 each鈥攆or the top physical science, engineering and bioscience innovations demonstrating high commercial potential, a clear path to a compelling market and strong scientific support.
Physical Sciences:
- Timothy Morrissey ($125,000)鈥擜rtificial Muscles for the Future of Robotics and Automation; recipient of Physical Science Audience Choice Award ($1,000)
- Svenja Knappe ($125,000)鈥擜 Magnetographic Imaging Device for Early Detection of Cancer
- Jeffrey Thayer ($125,000)鈥擠iscovering Shallow Water Hazards
- Mark Hernandez ($117,669)鈥擟orrosion Resistant Concrete Admixture
Biosciences:
- Corey Neu ($125,000)鈥擭ext-Generation Dermal Fillers; recipient of Bioscience Audience Choice Award ($1,000)
- Anushree Chatterjee ($125,000)鈥擳herapies for Multidrug Resistant Bacterial Infections
- Ding Xue ($125,000)鈥擳herapies for Side Effects Caused by Radiation Therapy
The finalists delivered 10-minute pitches to a panel of business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and intellectual property experts at the LVC showcase finals on Nov. 15. Numerous departments across the CU Boulder campus were represented, ranging from mechanical engineering to biochemistry.
Aside from the winners listed in the call out box, finalists included:
- Physical Sciences:
- Jeffrey Beyle and Qin Lv, Computer Science鈥擜ffordable Digital Tools for Small and Medium Manufacturers
- Donald David, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)鈥� Quantum Plating Solutions
- Aaron Palumbo, Chemical and Biological Engineering鈥擟leaner, Cheaper Magnesium Production
- Biosciences:
- Douglas Chapnick, Biochemistry鈥擯redicting Clinical Success and Failure of Therapeutic Drugs
- Xuedong Liu, Chemistry and Biochemistry鈥擯rogrammable Designer Therapeutics
- Tin Tin Su, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology鈥擜 High Throughput Screen for Identifying Cancer Therapies
- Wei Tan, Mechanical Engineering鈥擠esigning Personalized Vascular Devices
Among the winners was Timothy Morrissey, PhD candidate in mechanical engineering and founder of Artimus Robotics, whose team is working to develop 鈥渟oft robotic鈥� devices that imitate the expansion and contraction of natural muscles. These devices are lower in cost and less bulky than similar robotic components that exist in the market currently.
鈥淲inning the LVC truly validated that our technology has real market potential and, more importantly, that we have a path to bring this innovation to market,鈥� says Morrissey. 鈥淎dditionally, winning the Physical Science Audience Choice Award really highlights that people see our technology as having real-world impacts on their lives in the immediate future.鈥�
To prepare for the showcase, finalists were encouraged to participate in TTO鈥檚 Commercialization Academy. CU Boulder Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs), commercialization mentors and TTO staff provided critical feedback so finalists could refine their presentations and practice engaging different business audiences in order to attract funding.
Timothy Morrissey's muscle-like electrical actuator, developed by researchers in the Keplinger lab. Photo by Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado Boulder.
鈥淭TO's great network of support has helped us put together the rest of the pieces such as customer development, a go-to-market strategy and understanding how we really provide value to our customers,鈥� says Morrissey.聽
Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor and TissueForm founder Corey Neu first participated in LVC in 2017. After attending several TTO workshops and receiving advice from business mentors, he returned聽to LVC 2018 with a more refined presentation and commercialization plan. 鈥淲orking through this competition helped us to better define our customer and market,鈥� says Neu. His innovation 鈥� next-generation dermal fillers 鈥� ended up taking home one of the top grant prizes in the Bioscience category.
鈥淐orey [Neu] is a fantastic example of a researcher who leveraged the resources available on campus,鈥� says Brynmor Rees, assistant vice chancellor for Research & Innovation and director of the TTO.
All of the awardees will also enter the Research-to-Market (R2M) program, which teaches scientific and engineering teams the process of customer discovery. In addition, toward the end of the funding period, awardees will present their progress from the LVC and collaborate with each other, EIRs, mentors and TTO staff to set the commercialization path forward.
鈥淥ur team has excellent resources that can directly result in traction for funding and other milestones toward commercialization,鈥� says Rees. 鈥淚 am really looking forward to the high-value ventures that will come from the alchemy between great CU Boulder innovation and our growing suite of resources.鈥�
LVC funding comes from the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade鈥檚 (COEDIT) AIA program, the TTO and the Chancellor鈥檚 Innovation Fund.