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INQBATION LAB UPDATES
SPRING 2025
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The Querrey InQbation Lab continues to serve as a driving force in advancing Northwestern technologies from the lab to the marketplace. As a hub for research translation and entrepreneurial activity, The Q supports innovators at every stage—empowering scientists, building founder readiness, and accelerating commercialization. This spring’s updates highlight the momentum across our community: from innovation breakthroughs and impactful programming to startup funding wins and new translational partnerships.
Read on to explore how The Q, in collaboration with INVO and partners across campus, is helping to bring Northwestern innovations to life.
| | FUTURE FOUNDERS 3-MINUTE SHOWCASE | | |
The inaugural Future Founders 3-Minute Showcase was designed to equip research scientists with science communication skills. Seven doctoral candidates--pictured left to right--Estella Tsaturyan (Prof. Navdeep Chandel), Lin Liu (Prof. Kevin Lynch), Haley McAllister (Prof. Julia Kalow), Sarah Berman (Prof. David Barton), Kelly Matuszewski (Prof. Vinayak Dravid), Gracie Siffer (Prof. Reza Vafabakhsh), and Emily Maloney (Prof. Christian Malapit)--were selected to develop compelling, concise, and persuasive pitches that demonstrates the real-world impact of their research. The Q partnered with expert faculty from The Graduate School's Research and Communication Training Program and peer RCTP coaches.
The program culminated in the Spotlight Showcase pitching before a live audience and judges comprised of Northwestern’s Women’s Board members. The three top presenters received executive coaching, professional headshots, and cash prizes. Gracie Siffer, Lin Liu and Emily Mahoney won first, second and third place, respectively, and Kelly Matuszewski took the People's Choice award! Congratulations to all of our amazing participants!
| | FARLEY-Q ENTREPRENEURIAL BOOTCAMP | | |
The Q partnered with the Farley Center for a second time, offering a two-day Farley-Q Healthcare Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for 30 Northwestern biomedical research scientists interested in exploring entrepreneurial topics. Participants were exposed to fundamental principles related to business models, product/market fit, customer discovery, and technology commercialization in therapeutics, medical devices and digital health. They also learned about the general process of launching startups out of universities, the art of networking, and guidance in pitch deck development and delivery. Thank you to all who organized, taught and participated! READ MORE
| | KELLOGG-Q COMMERCIALIZING INNOVATIONS (ENTR-958) | | |
Kellogg and The Q are partnering for a third year in what started as an independent study but, this Spring, has become an official Kellogg Course called ENTR-958 Commercializing Innovations. Taught by Profs. BIrju Shah and James Conley, this course offers MBA students the unique opportunity to help Northwestern research scientists develop a commercialization strategy for their pioneering technologies. Both information sessions were oversubscribed with 90+ students each. In a competitive process, twenty-four students were selected to work on ten projects spanning AI, sustainability, energy, medtech, diagnostics and beauty. WATCH VIDEO FROM LAST YEAR'S PARTICIPANTS
| | Coral Innovations (Prof. Vinayak Dravid, McCormick) announced a partnership with StormTrap LLC to develop a groundbreaking sponge that selectively removes toxic pollutants from water while preserving valuable minerals like lithium, crucial for batteries. READ MORE | | COUR Pharmaceuticals (Prof. Stephen Miller, Feinberg) secured FDA clearance of their Investigational New Drug (IND) application for CNP-103, aimed to treat the underlying autoimmunity of Type 1 diabetes. Cour will initiate a Phase 1b/2a first-in-human trial later this year. READ MORE | | |
Sibel Health (Prof. John Rogers, McCormick) received its 7th FDA 510(k) clearance enabling commercial expansion in medical monitoring. SIbel is developing clinical grade monitoring devices measuring vital signs. READ MORE
| | Innvoblative Designs (Prof. David Mahvi, Feinberg) received U.S. IDE approval for its novel electrosurgical device for breast cancer treatment. READ MORE | | Nuclein (Prof. David Kelso, McCormick) Nuclein's DASH® SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A/B Test for use on the DASH® Rapid PCR System received FDA 510(k) clearance and CLIA waiver with key support from CovarsaDx® Research Team. READ MORE | |
QuesTek Innovations (Former Prof. Gregory Olson, McCormick) delivered breakthrough burn-resistant alloy for Stoke Space's reusable rocket engines. READ MORE | | | | Grove BioPharma (Prof. Nathan Gianneschi, McCormick) closed $30M Series A financing to further enabling their synthetic chemistry platform, Bionic Biologics, for improved design and development of biologics in protein-protein interactions Their focus is currently on oncology and neurodegenerative diseases. READ MORE | | |
| Epicore Biosystems (Prof. John Rogers, McCormick) has raised $26M in Series B funding. The company plans to utilize the funds to accelerate global adoption of its personalized hydration and cloud analytics platform while expanding into new biomarker targets related to kidney health, women’s health, malnutrition, and exposure to environmental toxins. READ MORE | | | | Sibel Health (Prof. John Rogers, McCormick) raised $30M in Series C funding, led by the Steel Foundation for Hope with participation by Dräger. The company plans to accelerate commercial deployment of their ANNE One monitoring platform. READ MORE | | |
| Syenex (Prof. Josh Leonard, McCormick) closed their $8.66M Seed Round continuing the commercialization of their drug delivery platform offering cell-specific delivery and programmable payloads. | | The laboratory of Prof. Vinayak Dravid (McC) has discovered that brewing tea can naturally remove heavy metals from drinking water. Their work demonstrates that tea leaves can absorb these contaminants during the steeping process, offering a simple and sustainable method to enhance water safety. READ MORE |PUBLICATION | | Prof. John Rogers (McC) and his team have developed the world’s smallest pacemaker, so compact it can be injected via syringe and naturally dissolves after use. This groundbreaking device is designed to aid newborns recovering from congenital heart surgeries. READ MORE | PUBLICATION | | Prof. Tobin Marks (WCAS) and Yosi Kratish have developed a simple new method for breaking down pastic waste using inexpensive catalyst to break down bonds in PET into its monomeric form that could be subsequently recycled into new PET prodcuts or more valuable materials. READ MORE | PUBLICATION | | The laboratory of Prof. Richard Silverman (WCAS) published preclinical data demonstrating the improvement of neuron health in a preliminary animal model studies of Alzheimer's disease an experimental drug NU-9 for the treatment of . READ MORE | PUBLICATION | | The research labs of Prof. Alessandro Rotta Loria and Jeffrey Lopez (McC) laboratory have created new carbon-negative building material that could be used as sand or gravel substitutions or components to manufacture cement, plaster and paint. READ MORE | PUBLICATION | | Prof. John Rogers's (McC) laboratory has unveiled a new technology that creates precised movements to mimic complex tactile senations, including pressure, vibration, stretching, sliding and twisting. READ MORE | PUBLICATION | | |
NAVIGATING REGULATORY HURDLES FOR MEDICAL DEVICE INNOVATORS
Friday, April 25, 2025 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Dr. Elyse Kremmerer White, Program Director of National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, will demystify the complex and highly regulated process of bringing medical devices to market. She will touch on case studies to help attendees gain a better understanding of how to anticipate and overcome regulatory barriers, align product development with compliance needs, and accelerate their device’s path to impact. REGISTER HERE
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NUCATS ROADSHOW AT THE QUERRY INQBATION LAB
Thursday, May 1, 2025 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Richard D’Aquila, MD, will be leading a discussion on the clinical and translational resources available through Northwestern’s Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute. Based on the Chicago campus, NUCATS offers support for researchers and startups looking to advance biomedical technologies. This session will cover ways to connect with clinicians, access funding and trial support, navigate regulatory processes, and utilize resources like biostatistics, IRB guidance, and grant-writing assistance.REGISTER HERE
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PERSPECTIVES AND TACTICAL ADVICE ON STARTUP-INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
Thursday, May 15, 2025 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Dr. Gami Maislin, founder of Maislin Systems Consulting, will share practical advice and hard-won insights on how startups can evaluate, pursue, and navigate industry partnerships effectively. Come with your questions and be ready for a candid, interactive discussion! REGISTER HERE
| | OTHER NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES | | | *NEW* CURATED LIST OF ACCELERATORS, INCUBATORS, AND COMPETITIONS | Explore The Q's curated lists of external accelerators, incubators, and competitions designed to help early-stage companies scale. A huge shout out to The Q's Sarah Stein and Nico Garcia-Ippolito for their incredible work! For questions about a specific opportunity, please visit the program’s website for more information. SEE LIST | |  | NUCATS AND INVO TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH OFFICE (NITRO) HOURS | |
The NUCATS Institute and Northwestern’s Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) are pleased to host monthly collaborative office hours, NITRO, designed to support academic innovators across the Northwestern University campus. Office hours are hosted the last Wednesday of every month, between noon and 1 p.m. Office hours are held in a hybrid format, with both an in-person location and a virtual Zoom option.
View the schedule and register to attend here.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT NORTHWESTERN NEWSLETTER
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