May We Share the Successes of Our Teams?
Meet the 8th Cohort of the Brandeis Innovation NSF I-Corps
The 8th cohort of the Brandeis Innovation NSF I-Corps program wrapped up this month with a demo day on April 13, 2022. I-Corps Demo Day marks the culmination of weeks of work exploring the commercial potential of research conducted at Brandeis.

This year marks the first time that students from Hampton University, an HBCU, participated in the Brandeis program. The collaboration between Brandeis and Hampton was designed to increase the pipeline of historically underrepresented undergraduates pursuing graduate STEM education. Each team worked on commercialization strategies for one of four promising technologies:

  • Palm to Calm, a palm fruit extract that shows promise in the fight against Type 2 diabetes, as well as offering antioxidant benefits
  • Cancer Fighters+, a new chemotherapy agent that may improve outcomes in breast, prostate, and other cancers
  • NextZyme, a sustainable biotechnology company that upcycles single-use plastics into new plastic material with the use of a special enzyme to break down the plastics.
  • TeamLift, an AI and blockchain-powered platform building the missing infrastructure for the skills economy through the first skills wallet

Overall, the cohort spent over 250 hours working on their projects, interviewed over 60 people, and connected with companies in over 12 cities across the globe to speak with potential customers.
SparkTank Winner Onye Named a Finalist in Yale Africa Startup Competition

Onye’s goal is to pioneer a mobile-first lite electronic health record system for hospitals in emerging markets helping providers to improve their clinical & administrative workflows.

Founder Emmanuel Obasuyi, BA '12, MS ‘15 started Onye while a student at the Heller Graduate School for Social Policy. His inspiration was witnessing the challenges of today’s patients while his aunt battled health challenges. You can learn more about his journey as a social impact tech entrepreneur in his interview for Profiles in Innovation, the Brandeis Innovation podcast.
Waku Tea Now Available on Amazon, QVC
Spark Program Manager Juan Giraldo Named Rising Latinx Founder
Juan Giraldo, the program lead for the Brandeis Innovation Spark program, was recently named to Incio Ventures’ 100 Rising Latinx Startup Founders list. Juan heads up Waku, a Fair Trade, healthy beverage startup, which was recently featured on QVC. Waku is a prebiotic herbal beverage made with ingredients ethically sourced from the Andes. The product has also recently become available on Amazon and in local retailers.
Meet Alison Elliott of Farmer Foodie
Heller graduate and SparkTank winner Alison Elliott has long had a dream of combining her dual passions for sustainability and delicious, original recipes. Starting with a blog, her brand The Farmer Foodie grew during her time in the Brandeis Innovation Virtual Incubator to a groundbreaking new plant-based cheese alternative. Launching this May, it sold out online within hours. She recently won the WeWork-Oatly sustainable startup pitch competition, winning support for a year for her food startup. This June, you can meet Ali at local farmers' markets. Learn about Ali's journey from farm educator to the Farmer Foodie, her sustainable lifestyle, and her experience growing her business through the Brandeis Innovation Spark program.