OMAHA, Nebraska (July 15, 2024)— UNeMed’s Summer Chill event will return on Wednesday, July 31, at 2-4 p.m., in the green space outside the Durham Research Center towers.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the event will feature games, fun and refreshments to help UNMC researchers, faculty, staff and students meet and connect with colleagues and UNeMed staff.
Complimentary flavored shaved ice will be provided by Kona Ice for as long as supplies last.
OMAHA, Nebraska (July 10, 2024)—This month’s “Idea Pub: Morning Edition” is set for Thursday, July 25, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II common area. The entrepreneurial networking event will focus on the importance of customer discovery for startup companies that have grown out of academic innovations.
The speakers will be Brent Clark, PhD, of the NSF I-Corps Great Plains Region Hub, and Stephanie Kidd, PhD, of UNeTech’s Opportunity Corps. They are expected to discuss the resources available to faculty and student entrepreneurs in brief comments.
Dr. Clark is a business professor at UNO and the Omaha site director for the National Science Foundation I-Corps Great Plains Region. Dr. Kidd is the communications strategist at UNeTech Institute, lead instructor for the NSF I-Corps Great Plains Region, and Director of Opportunity Corps.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, created Morning Edition to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture capital and startup communities.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the Omaha entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
The speaker for next month’s event has not yet been announced, but it is planned for Thursday, August 29, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II commons.
Future planned speakers include:
Future dates are September 26, November 21 and December 19.
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
Evan Luxon (right) addresses the crowd during UNeMed’s startup funding panel last week as Charlie Cuddy (left) looks on.
OMAHA, Nebraska (July 1, 2024)—On Thursday, June 27, in the Wigton Heritage Center at UNMC, UNeMed hosted a panel discussion that focused on the ins and outs of creating a successful fund-raising round for an early-stage startup company.
Co-sponsored by IDEA -CTR, the event featured four experts with experience in starting companies, raising capital for or investing in startup companies.
The panel was composed of James Young, a serial entrepreneur; Scott Henderson of NMotion; Charlie Cuddy of MOVE Venture Capital; and Evan Luxon of Centese.
During the hour-long discussion, panelists talked about the importance of proving the innovation or technology at the center of a startup can actually work; knowing who are the potential customers; and simplifying the pitch so that it can be easily understood and repeated.
“If you already have a super complicated pitch deck, put it aside and start over,” Young said. “[An investment pitch] is not an educational seminar, it’s a sales pitch. Keep it simple.”
Scott Henderson during UNeMed’s startup funding panel last week. He is Managing Principal at NMotion, a Nebraska-based accelerator that invests in high-growth startup companies.
Henderson added: “The goal of the pitch is to get to the next conversation. Investment is a series of conversations.”
The panel also provided advice on milestones that founders should reach before they attempt to seek investors and financing; the critical elements of a good pitch; and additional advice about what to do after meeting with potential investors and partners.
Luxon is CEO and co-founder of Centese, Inc., a medical startup built around an improved chest drainage system that could improve patient outcomes following surgeries. In November, Centese announced the successful close of a $15 million Series B funding round.
Young is a serial entrepreneur and a co-founder of University Medical Devices, a startup built on the UNMC innovation, MicroWash. MicroWash is a solution to the uncomfortable and sometimes painful nasal swabs that gained notoriety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Henderson is Managing Principal at NMotion, a Nebraska-based accelerator that invests in high-growth startup companies.
Cuddy co-founded MOVE, a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies.
The panel was co-sponsored by the Great Plains IDeA-CTR, which provided lunch for attendees. Based at UNMC, the Great Plains IDeA-CTR—short for Institutional Development Award for Clinical and Translational Research—is a UNMC-based collaborative for nine major research organizations in Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.
OMAHA, Nebraska (July 1, 2024)—UNeMed’s “Idea Pub: Morning Edition” drew record numbers Thursday, bringing in an estimated 65 people for the networking event. It was highlighted by a short presentation from Dean Koelbel, followed by subsequent “hardhat tours” of the new UNMC Catalyst building, which is expected to open in January.
Koelbel is Vice President at Koelbel and Company, the Denver-based real estate development firm overseeing the Catalyst project.
Taylor Korensky, founder of Appsky, also spoke to the gathering. Appsky is the software development company behind the UNMC startup VisionSync. VisionSync is the engine that drives the University’s strategic planning software that helps departments and leaders set and track short- and long-term goals.
“Strategic planning is like eating your vegetables,” he said with a laugh. “You don’t want to do it, but you have to do it.”
Koelbel opened the Morning Edition with remarks about the new Catalyst facility still under construction along the western edge of campus on Saddle Creek Road. A large part of the project repurposes an old steel mill, Omaha Castings.
“It’s a beautiful building. It would have been a crime [to tear it down], and when you get in the building, you’ll see why.” But the Catalyst facility is not going to be a “typical office building,” Koelbel said.
“We’re trying to build a vehicle for you all to take the keys and make something happen,” he said.
UNeMed’s Idea Pub: Morning Edition
The $65-million project will be a mixed-use facility that will feature working space for UNMC researchers and innovators, who can work alongside local startups companies, entrepreneurs and others in the same industry. Having such people in close proximity should lead to “collisions” that spark even better ideas, innovations and other successes, he said.
“We have a pretty big risk if this doesn’t work out,” he said, “so we’re pretty hungry to make it succeed…Where else do you have the opportunity to rent space in a huge institution? UNMC is that 800-pound gorilla that people want to be around.”
Michael Dixon, PhD, president and CEO of UNeMed, the tech transfer office at UNMC, added during his brief remarks that a recent MIT Sloan study showed that startups working within 20 meters of each other tend to have higher success rates. Startups built on UNMC innovations and inventions could thrive in such an environment, he said. UNeMed will be among the UNMC offices that will move into the Catalyst building next year.
“We were spurred by the idea of putting all aspects of an industry in one building, and that industry was healthcare,” he said, referring to Catalyst Denver, their first such project that was completed in 2018. Koelbel aimed to replicate that project in Omaha with UNMC, and envisioned a network of Catalyst facilities across the country. A potential benefit of this Catalyst network is that members would have access to office space and amenities in each city.
All 72 of the available spots for facility tours were taken, but Dr. Dixon added that additional tours will be offered in the coming months.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsored the event, which will continue as a regular monthly series. The series will continue to feature guest speakers from the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
Brent Clark, of the NSF I-Corps Great Plains Region Hub, and Stephanie Kidd, of UNeTech’s Opportunity-Corps, will be the featured speakers at next month’s event. They are expected to discuss the importance of customer discovery and the resources available to faculty and students on Thursday, July 25, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II commons.
Morning Edition will continue on the last Thursday of every month, featuring a new speaker each time. Each Morning Edition will also feature “Office Hours,” with MOVE and UNeMed. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
Additional planned speakers in the coming months include, in no particular order:
Morning Edition is the latest addition to UNeMed’s growing suite of entrepreneurial networking events, which includes Innovations & Libations and Startup Showcase.
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 13, 2024)—UNeMed has two large events planned for Thursday, June 27, beginning with UNeMed’s next installment of Idea Pub: Morning Edition, and followed by a panel discussion aimed at entrepreneurs and startup founders.
Morning Edition will feature a sign-up for a rare opportunity to step behind construction barricades and get a sneak peek at what’s to come in the new UNMC Catalyst facility. Guided “hard hat” tours will be available for a limited number of guests, who will see firsthand the progress and promise of the $65-million Catalyst facility as it enters the final stages of construction.To reserve your spot in one of the tour groups, follow this link: https://bit.ly/UNMCcatalyst.
Set on the western edge of UNMC campus on Saddle Creek Road, the Catalyst building will be a mixed-used facility focused on bringing together the scientists and innovators at UNMC with the local entrepreneurial and startup communities. The primary goal is help establish new partnerships, opportunities and better healthcare solutions through what promises to be a facility that promotes and encourages collaboration.
Jay Lund
Morning Edition will begin on Thursday, June 27, at 9-11 a.m., beginning in the DRC II commons with featured speaker Jay Lund, Principal at GreenSlate Management. GreenSlate is a key member of development team overseeing the Catalyst project. The tours will follow Lund’s brief presentation about the overall vision of the Catalyst building.
The expert panel discussion, titled “Navigating Your First Investment Round,” will follow at noon-1 p.m. in the Wigton Heritage Center. The discussion is expected to focus on how to prepare for and pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists. The panel will feature four area experts from investment groups and local entrepreneurs who have successfully raised capital funding.
A free boxed lunch will be provided the first 25 attendees.
The panelists will be local startup founders Evan Luxon and James Young, along with NMotion’s Scott Henderson and John Grange of MOVE Venture Capital and the Nebraska Startup Academy.
Luxon is CEO and co-founder of Centese, Inc., a medical startup built around an improved chest drainage system that could improve patient outcomes following surgeries. In November, Centese announced the successful close of a $15 million Series B funding round.
Young is a serial entrepreneur and a co-founder of University Medical Devices, a startup built on the UNMC innovation, MicroWash. MicroWash is a solution to the uncomfortable and sometimes painful nasal swabs that gained notoriety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Henderson is Managing Principal at NMotion, a Nebraska-based accelerator that invests in high-growth startup companies,
Grange is a general partner at MOVE, a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies.
The panel is co-sponsored by the Great Plains IDeA-CTR. Based at UNMC, the Great Plains IDeA-CTR—short for Institutional Development Award for Clinical and Translational Research—is a UNMC-based collaborative for nine major research organizations in Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsors the events, and created Morning Edition as a way to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture and startup community.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours,” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the Omaha entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
The next Morning Edition will be Thursday, July 25, and will focus on customer discovery with a brief presentation from Brent Clark, PhD, a business professor at UNO and the Omaha site director for the National Science Foundation I-Corps Great Plains Region. He will be joined by Stephanie Kidd, PhD, who is the communications strategist at UNeTech Institute, lead instructor for the NSF I-Corps Great Plains Region, and Director of Opportunity Corps.
Future planned speakers include:
Future dates are August 29, September 26, November 21 and December 19.
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
Marcia Shade, PhD, assistant professor in UNMC’s College of Nursing, speaks with Josh Nichol-Caddy (left) of the Nebraska Business Development Center during the networking event, Idea Pub: Morning Edition on May 30, 2024. Dr. Shade is also the founder of a startup company, Voice-It, Inc.
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 31, 2024)—UNeMed’s “Idea Pub: Morning Edition” continued with its second installment yesterday, bringing together a unique blend of innovators, investors, researchers, entrepreneurs and others from the local startup community to share ideas, contacts and insights.
The startup and entrepreneurial networking event featured brief comments from Josh Nichol-Caddy, Technology Commercialization Director at the Nebraska Business Development Center, and UNMC inventor, founder and assistant professor in the College of Nursing, Marcia Shade, PhD.
Nichol-Caddy gave a brief overview of the NBDC’s services, including advisory and guidance programs for entrepreneurs that helps them navigate the sometimes arcane process of starting a new company.
Josh Nichol-Caddy of the Nebraska Business Development Center addresses the gathering of the networking event, Idea Pub: Morning Edition on May 30, 2024.
One important element that the NBDC often plays a major role with certain federal grant applications. Specifically, the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs—SBIR/STTR for short— have particular value for University of Nebraska innovation and the startup companies formed around them, in part due to the state matching funds available through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. Getting to know and meeting with grant reviewers is an important step to improving chances of success, he said.
“Grant decisions are made by people and panels of people,” Nichol-Caddy said. “I’ve never heard a ‘No’ from a federal grant review, but there are shades of ‘no,’ and we can help refine your pitch and figure out what’s needed.”
He added later that understanding what elements of a startup or innovation are more interesting to grant reviewers can help improve the odds. As an example, he cited Dr. Shade and her recent SBIR grant application for her startup, Voice-It, Incorporated.
Voice-It employs AI technology to assist patients, their families, and caregivers in effectively managing their care and pain. The reviewer might not be as interested in the pain management aspect of the startup up as the use of AI, so shifting focus in the application can help, he said.
Dr. Shade said the process was long and challenging, but worth it.
“I would plan on five months of writing and planning and meeting with people at the NIH,” she told the gathering, before adding with a laugh: “And then plan a vacation after, because you’re going to need a break.”
She continued: “But it was a great process because I learned so much.”
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsored the event in the DRC II commons, which will continue as a regular monthly series. The series will continue to feature guest speakers from the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
In his opening remarks UNeMed president and CEO Michael Dixon, PhD, noted that the many new faces at the event, including several successful entrepreneurs who had already built and sold new companies. He urged the audience to make new connections with those entrepreneurs, and to “please take advantage of their expertise.”
UNeMed’s business development manager, Tyler Scherr, PhD, organized the event, and announced that next month’s event will feature Jay Lund, at GreenSlate, the development firm that is building the new Catalyst health tech incubator currently under construction west of the Durham Research towers.
A key element of next month’s Morning Edition, will include hard hat tours of the new building, “so bring sturdy shoes,” Dr. Scherr said.
That Morning Edition is planned for Thursday, June 27, at 9 a.m.
Morning Edition will continue on the last Thursday of every month, featuring a new speaker each time. Each Morning Edition will also feature “Office Hours,” with MOVE and UNeMed. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
Additional planned speakers in the coming months include, in no particular order:
A more complete and detailed schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Morning Edition is the latest addition to UNeMed’s growing suite of entrepreneurial networking events, which includes Innovations & Libations and Startup Showcase.
BOSTON (May 21, 2024)—Adrian Blake, the CEO and President of UNMC startup, Precision Syringe, was named a Director to the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association.
Precision Syringe was founded on an invention developed by former UNMC pediatric ophthalmologist Donny Suh, MD. The technology is a syringe that can be easily used to inject or withdraw fluids. Dr. Suh’s invention was inspired by the challenges associated with treating children patients who required therapeutic injections in their eyes.
The injections required the help of a nurse and accurate dosing that was sometimes difficult to achieve safely. Dr. Suh’s solution solved those issues and is the cornerstone product of the Omaha company.
A early prototype of Precision Syringe, a one-handed syringe invented and developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Precision Syringe was recently awarded a prototyping grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
Blake graduated from Harvard in 1988 and went on to earn an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Harvard Gazette reports that “the board probes the quality of Harvard’s programs and…provides counsel to the University’s leadership on priorities, plans, and strategic initiatives.”
OMAHA, Neb. (May 15, 2024)—UNeMed Corporation is now hiring, seeking qualified candidates to join its licensing team in two open positions: Licensing Specialist and Licensing Associate.
A permanent full-time position within the University of Nebraska system, the Licensing Specialist will work closely with inventive faculty, staff and students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha to protect, develop and ultimately commercialize innovations. This includes evaluating innovations for their novelty and marketability, developing industrial contacts and relationships, contract negotiation, developing and implementing marketing strategies for each technology and managing expectations and relationships of University inventors and administration.
The ideal candidate is a committed team player with a love of science and discovery. They also hold an advanced degree in science or law with at least two years of experience in technology transfer, technical sales/marketing or business development. The ideal candidate is also familiar with the U.S. patent process, is nimble with a variety of online computer efficiency programs and has excellent written and oral communication skills. The ideal candidate will be able to communicate, in writing or verbally, complicated information to intelligent non-experts, but most importantly has the ability to grasp complicated scientific inventions across a vast array of fields.
To learn more and apply for the Licensing Specialist position, go to the UNMC job portal at: https://unmc.peopleadmin.com/postings/85900.
The licensing associate position is an entry-level position aimed at those interested in a career in technology transfer. In the course of their duties, the licensing associate will develop the skills associated with commercializing academic innovations and discoveries.
The licensing associate will work closely with inventors, helping evaluate, market and license the discoveries and innovations that emerge from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The licensing associate position is a one-year appointment, which can be renewed annually for up to three years.
A minimally qualified candidate will have:
Preference will be given to candidates with advanced degrees in chemistry or biology. Other desirable traits include familiarity with business development, technology commercialization and license negotiation.
Learn more, including how to apply for the position, at the UNMC job portal, https://unmc.peopleadmin.com/postings/85899.
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 8, 2024)—UNeMed announced today that its annual Technology Transfer Boot Camp will be held Aug. 19-23.
The Technology Transfer Boot Camp is aimed at scientists and students interested in the process of commercializing an academic innovation or discovery. The week-long series of seminars and hands-on training can help jump-start an alternate career in science as a technology transfer professional.
The program helps scientists gain a wide range of skills and experience to match their scientific knowledge and training.
The Boot Camp focuses on several key areas relevant to a successful career in technology transfer, including:
UNeMed’s 2024 Technology Transfer Boot Camp will dive deeper than simple lectures. Topics will be explored with hands-on activities meant to teach new skills and abilities.
Anyone within the University of Nebraska system is encouraged to apply and participate free of charge, but space is limited. People who aren’t affiliated with the University of Nebraska are also welcome, but will be charged $200 upon acceptance.
Applications are open through July 1, and will be reviewed in the order they are received until all spaces are filled.
Use the embedded form below or apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5j7HSF6qfRnqS6VUlp1L5QvrcXIM1asPq36fxlnGp1mkrAQ/viewform?usp=sf_link.
More information about the application process and requirements can be found at https://www.unemed.com/about-us/join-our-team#bootcamp.
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 6, 2024)—UNeMed’s Idea Pub: Morning Edition will continue later this month when it brings in Josh Nichol-Caddy as the featured speaker on Thursday, May 30, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II commons.
Nichol-Caddy is Technology Commercialization Director at the Nebraska Business Development Center. He is expected to deliver brief remarks that discuss the NBDC and its programs that help startup companies.
In addition to Nichol-Caddy, a UNMC innovator and founder with experience navigating the road of developing a new invention and building a startup company is also expected to provide insights and advice. That innovator has not yet been announced.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsors the event, and created Morning Edition as a way to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture and startup community.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours,” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the Omaha entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
The next Morning Edition will be Thursday, June 27, and will feature Scott Henderson of NMotion, a Nebraska-based accelerator that invests in high-growth startup companies.
Additional planned speakers include:
Future dates are July 25, August 29, September 26, November 21 and December 19. A more complete and detailed schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
OMAHA, Nebraska (April 26, 2024)—UNeMed’s inaugural “Idea Pub: Morning Edition” yesterday brought together more than 50 innovators, investors, researchers, entrepreneurs and others from the local startup community to share ideas, contacts and insights in what planners described as an unqualified success.
The startup and entrepreneurial networking event featured brief comments from Charlie Cuddy, co-founder and managing partner of MOVE Venture Capital, and UNMC inventor and clinician, Jason Johanning, MD.
Charlie Cuddy
Cuddy is also executive director of the Nebraska Startup Academy, and MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a non-profit mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community.
“We do early-stage investing,” Cuddy said, “which is a huge gap we identified here in the Midwest.”
In the last 16 months, MOVE has invested in 20 new companies, 16 of which are Nebraska-based. Another 380 applied, but rather than turn them away empty-handed, those companies will receive or have received mentoring and guidance from the Nebraska Startup Academy, he said.
He added that he wanted to help more University innovators and entrepreneurs, and answer the question: “How do we get these great ideas at UNMC off the shelf and into the community,” he said.
Jason Johanning, MD (left), demonstrates his innovative frailty assessment tool to UNeMed board member Alexi Wellman during UNeMed’s Idea Pub: Morning Edition on April 25, 2024. Dr. Johanning’s innovation is the basis of his startup company, Automated Assessments.
Cuddy introduced Dr. Johanning as a seasoned clinical innovator and entrepreneur, who demonstrated his innovative device for assessing a patient’s ability to withstand the rigors of a surgical procedure. Dr. Johanning’s frailty assessment tool is the cornerstone of his startup company, Automated Assessments, and could gain FDA clearance as early as July, he said.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsored the event in the DRC II commons, which is planned as a regular monthly series. The series will continue to feature guest speakers from the Omaha entrepreneurial ecosystem; and will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
“Try to leave with at least one new contact today,” UNeMed president and CEO Michael Dixon, PhD, told the gathering. “Someone who can help guide you, someone who can answer questions.”
UNeMed’s Tyler Scherr, PhD, addresses the gathering during the inagural meeting of Idea Pub: Morning Edition on April 25, 2014. Dr. Scherr planned the event, which helped bring members of Omaha’s entrepreneurial community in touch with innovative researchers at UNMC.
UNeMed’s business development manager, Tyler Scherr, PhD, organized the event.
“We have a lot of founders here today, so there’s no excuse,” he said. “If you want to start something, talk to someone who has already started something.”
“UNO is represented here today,” Dr. Dixon told the crowd. “People are up here from Lincoln. We are one community and we really want to continue to collaborate as we build our medtech and biotech hub.”
Morning Edition will continue on the last Thursday of every month, featuring a new speaker each time. Each Morning Edition will also feature “Office Hours,” with MOVE and UNeMed. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
The next Morning Edition will be Thursday, May 30, at 9 a.m. The featured guest will be Josh Nichol-Caddy from the Nebraska Business Development Center, who will speak about the NBDC and their programs to help start companies.
Additional planned speakers in the coming months include:
A more complete and detailed schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Morning Edition is the latest addition to UNeMed’s growing suite of entrepreneurial networking events, which includes Innovations & Libations and Startup Showcase.
by Amanda Hawley & Lisa Carlson, UNeMed | April 29, 2024
Who or what is an inventor?
Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz
Are they a breed of masterminds; lightning rods for “ah ha” moments – moments when the stars and planets align to conjure up the next best thing?
One of UNMC’s most prolific inventors believes there is no such a thing as an “ah ha” moment.
“You sit down and you say, ‘Well, this is the disease that I want to treat,'” said Janina Baranowska-Kortylewicz, PhD, a UNMC professor of pharmaceutical sciences with 21 inventions to her credit, the most among female inventors at UNeMed.
“Not only is Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz one of our most prolific inventors, she has also been one of the few that has driven her invention to the clinic,” said Michael Dixon, PhD, President and CEO of UNeMed, the technology transfer office for UNMC and UNO.
The FDA approved an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the clinical use of one of her radioactive drugs, a rare milestone for academic innovators.
“In addition to creating several new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies,” Dr. Dixon said, “Nina did all the IND enabling work, and helped to obtain an IND to allow her discovery to move into the clinic.”
For her, it’s about identifying a problem and creating solutions to face it head on.
“I look at the problem, and, within my little area of expertise, I try to make the best drug that addresses all of the problems,” said Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz, who completed her Masters work in Wrocław, Poland, at the University of Science and Technology before completing her doctoral work in medicinal chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. Walter T. Smith, Jr. at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
For more than 15 years, she has directed UNMC’s Harry J. Bahr Radiolabeling Facility, where she led preparations for clinical studies of radioactive drugs and radioimmunoconjugates. Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz, who continued her postgraduate research at Harvard Medical School, focuses her research activities on the design, synthesis and evaluation of theranostics. Theranostics are a medical mash-up that combine or add diagnostic features to a drug therapy or treatment. Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz’s theranostics, however, go a step further than simply improving radioactive drugs into vehicles that simultaneously diagnose and treat cancer. They have the added benefit of dramatically reducing the toxic side effects commonly associated with radiation therapies.
Despite her innovative work, she has never considered herself an inventor.
“Every single thing was basically me trying to either design something that would help or improve on something that was already there,” she said, adding later: “I first look at what is it that I’m going to improve in cancer treatment. So, if I can make the drug that is targeted, that its targeted specifically to cancer cells, that’s the direction that I’m going to go.”
With an idea or invention in hand, inventors like Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz’s must test the invention’s mettle through miles of trials, where development efforts are often littered with the perilous sinkholes of failed attempts and the crags of mountainous obstacles.
“Don’t assume that if you think your invention is great, everybody else will agree with you,” she said. In instances when you go toe-to-toe with doubters, she said, “If you are really convinced that your study, your data, and your ideas are good, you cannot be de-swayed by a few rejections, you have to persist.”
When facing the hardships of project and technology development, it helps to be backed by a solid structure of supporters and collaborators, Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz said.
“My best support system is my husband. We’ve been working together for so many years, and he rages on my behalf, when I don’t get grants so I don’t have to,” she said jokingly.
Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz stresses the importance of having colleagues with whom to commiserate as a way to help process difficult feedback and undesirable rejections.
“As I said, the best support system are your colleagues who are pretty much in the same boat, and of course your husband who has your back.”
She credits administrative support for her success as an inventor. Ram Mahato, PhD, chairs UNMC’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and has proved to be strong ally for Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewiecz’s innovative work.
“Nina is really good and does very good research,” Dr. Mahato said. “She is one of the best research faculty we ever had.”
Don Coulter, MD, a pediatric oncologist and frequent collaborator with Dr. Baranowska-Kortylewicz, agrees.
“Nina has been one of the most important and inspiring researchers I have had the opportunity to work with,” he said.
He added: “Nina does an excellent job of translating her work into meaningful solutions for pediatric cancer patients and their families. She is an extraordinary scientist, and I’m incredibly proud to have played a small part in her accomplishments.”
OMAHA, Nebraska (April 8, 2024)—The first ever Morning Edition of UNeMed’s Idea Pub is planned for later this month, and plans to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture and startup community.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsors the event, which will become a regular monthly series. The series will feature guest speakers from the Omaha entrepreneurial ecosystem; and will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
“This is going to be an important event for University innovators and the local entrepreneurial community,” said Michael Dixon, PhD, UNeMed’s president and CEO. “First, this will give our campus an opportunity for networking and meet the local community that’s involved in the startup ecosystem. Second, it will help our campus innovators develop technologies that can be developed into startup companies.”
The first Morning Edition of Idea Pub will be on Thursday, April 25, at 9-10 a.m. in the common area of the Durham Research Center II at UNMC. The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
In addition to networking, Morning Edition will feature a short, 10- to 15-minute talk by a community partner that is involved in the innovation ecosystem.
Charlie Cuddy, co-founder and managing partner of MOVE Venture Capital, will headline the first Morning Edition on April 25. Cuddy is also executive director of the Nebraska Startup Academy.
Charlie Cuddy
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will continue on the last Thursday of every month, featuring a new speaker each time. Each Morning Edition will also feature “Office Hours,” by MOVE and UNeMed. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
The next Morning Edition will be held on Thursday, May 30, and the featured guest will be Josh Nichol-Caddy from the Nebraska Business Development Center, who will speak about the federal government’s small business loan and grant programs.
Additional planned speakers include, in no particular order:
A more complete and detailed schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Morning Edition is the latest addition to UNeMed’s growing suite of entrepreneurial networking events, which includes Innovations & Libations and Startup Showcase.
OMAHA, Neb. (March 14, 2024)—For the seventh consecutive year, the University of Nebraska landed among the world’s top 100 universities for securing United States patents.
All told, innovations created by faculty, students and staff from the University of Nebraska system accounted for 46 U.S. patents issued in the 2023 calendar year.
“Innovation is a key facet in any forward-looking enterprise, but especially in health care,” UNMC chancellor Jeffrey Gold, MD, said. “The patents received by UNMC scientists and clinicians set a blueprint, not only for the lifesaving and life-transforming new discovery’s of diagnostics, medications and devices they create, but for a path to improved health outcomes for citizens of Nebraska, the United States and the world. This defines the ‘bench to bedside’ research at UNMC.”
Nebraska’s 46 patents is one better than the 45 secured the previous year, which led to a 5-spot jump to 73rd among the world in 2023. Narrowing the lens to the U.S. only, the University of Nebraska is 55th, producing the same number of patents as its Big Ten colleagues Rutgers and Indiana.
Former UNMC surgeon Dmitry Oleynikov (left) and UNL engineer Shane Farritor (right) test an early prototype of their surgical robotic platform during a trial in Omaha several years ago. Their collaboration created a startup company, Virtual Incision, which hopes to make major surgery—like a bowel resection—a laparoscopic procedure. The FDA recently approved their innovation for use in human patients.
“For us to appear on a list highlighting the most innovative Universities in the world is a big deal. Research and Innovation at the University of Nebraska continues to grow and produce new discoveries at a rapid pace, and each of these patents has potential to make the world a better place,” said Michael Dixon, PhD, president and CEO at UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization for UNMC and UNO. “However, in addition to the number of patents issued, another key metric is the number of those patents that have been licensed by a company for further development. At UNeMed, around 60 percent of our issued patents have been licensed and the companies that are developing that technology are investing significant private dollars to create products that will improve our lives.”
UNMC’s patented technologies in 2023 includes six patents related to Virtual Incision — a UNeMed startup built on surgical robotic innovations developed via a cross-campus collaboration between UNMC and UNL.
Virtual Incision gained some recent national media attention when its core technology, MIRA, successfully performed tests aboard the International Space Station in early February. MIRA, which stands for Miniaturized In Vivo Robotic Assistant, is currently under review for FDA clearance.
Another surgery-related patent, for a device called the Aquablade, was developed by Jason MacTaggart, MD, and Alexey Kamenskiy, PhD. AquaBlade is a device that uses a specialized cutting tool that employs a high-pressure water jet to repair life-threatening tears in artery walls, and could also help remove previously deployed stents.
During 2022 Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at the Hilton Omaha, UNeMed President & CEO Michael Dixon, PhD, (left) presents UNMC researchers Howard Gendelman, MD, (center) and Benson Edagwa, PhD, with the Startup of of the Year award in recognition of the recent success of Exavir Therapeutics, a company they co-founded based on the antiretroviral therapeutics they’ve developed at UNMC.
Another pair of UNMC patents relate to another UNMC startup, Exavir Therapeutics, which was created on the innovative work of Howard Gendelman, MD, and Benson Edagwa, PhD. Exavir is focused on developing ultra-long acting therapies for the treatment of HIV. Current treatment regimens for HIV often require a strict schedule of daily doses. But Exavir’s technology could transform HIV treatment to just a single dose once or twice a year.
Another patent was issued for UNMC researcher Dong Wang’s, PhD, drug delivery technology called ProGel, which is liquid at room temperature and becomes a gel when warmed to body temperature. His startup, Ensign Pharmaceutical, is currently developing a ProGel formulation of a common steroid, dexamethasone, for the treatment of osteoarthritis-related pain. Currently, anti-inflammatory steroids like dexamethasone are used to provide immediate relief from debilitating pain and swelling caused by osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, the effect is short-lived, providing relief for just a few days. ProGel, however, could extend that effectiveness for months.
Dong Wang, PhD
Additional UNMC patents in 2023 include new approaches for creating arteovenous fistulas; a new diagnostic for coronary artery disease; an improved method for using CRISPR, a DNA slicing tool common in research applications; new approaches for treating various cancers; and several other devices that range from nanofiber-based materials to a screening tool that helps assess a patient’s risk of complications prior to surgery.
The University of California system — which includes 10 major campuses — dominated the list with 546 U.S. Patents. MIT was a distant second with 365 patents and the University of Texas system — and its nine campuses — was third at 235.
Purdue led all Big Ten institutions with 198 U.S. patents, followed by Michigan (136), Wisconsin (134), Northwestern (108), Maryland (108), Minnesota (96), Illinois (89), and Ohio State (87).
Trailing Nebraska were Michigan State (45) and Penn State (40). Iowa was not listed among the top 100.
LINCOLN, Nebraska (February 24, 2024) — The FDA has granted Virtual Incision approval to use its ground-breaking surgical robotics platform, called MIRA, for adult patients undergoing colectomy procedures. FDA approval finally opens the door for the Nebraska-born innovation to be used in hospitals, possibly enabling wider access to minimally invasive procedures to millions of Americans.
“While this is an important milestone, there’s always more to do,” said Michael Dixon, PhD, president and CEO of UNeMed, the tech transfer and commercialization office at UNMC that helped establish Virtual Incision. “The surgical robots need to be made and surgeons need to be trained to use them. But for patient safety and functionality, it’s passed the major hurdles. It’s been a long, decade-plus odyssey to go from an idea to an approved product, so this didn’t happen overnight. And getting to widespread adoption probably won’t happen overnight either; however, I am optimistic that this technology will have a major impact on healthcare over the next decade.”
MIRA, short for Miniature In vivo Robotic Assistant, is the product of a cross-campus collaboration between University of Nebraska-Lincoln robotics professor, Shane Farritor, PhD, and former UNMC surgeon Dmitry Oleynikov, MD.
It will be initially limited to colectomies, also referred to as a colon resection. Considered a major surgery, colon resections are among treatment options for patients with lower gastrointestinal diseases including diverticulitis, colon lesions and inflammatory bowel disease. Colon resections often involve a large incision so the surgeon may remove the damaged or diseased portion of the bowel.
It may take months to recover fully from such an open procedure, but recovery would be significantly reduced when the same procedure is performed laparoscopically. A surgical robot like MIRA, can provide that option to more patients.
Former UNMC surgeon Dmitry Oleynikov (left) and UNL engineer Shane Farritor (right) test an early prototype of its surgical robot several years ago in Omaha. Their collaboration created a startup company, Virtual Incision, which now has FDA clearance to use their robotics technology in human adults.
Other surgical robotic options exist, but they are massive, main-frame units that take up an entire room and reach into the body from outside the patient. MIRA, however, is a small, self-contained surgical device that is inserted through a single midline umbilical incision in the patient’s abdomen. It does not require a dedicated operating room or specialized infrastructure, so it is expected to be significantly less expensive than existing robotic alternatives for laparoscopic surgery. Virtual Incision’s technology promises to enable a minimally invasive approach to surgeries performed today with a large open incision.
Virtual Incision said it will begin commercializing MIRA in select centers across the United States, and will eventually ramp up to additional sites over time. Virtual Incision added that it will seek additional approval for uses in other conditions related to gynecology, general surgery, urology and other soft tissue and solid organ surgery.
Studies of MIRA in gynecological procedures are already planned for later this year; and a new version of MIRA that is designed for general surgery is expected to be used in a first-in-human study outside the U.S., also later this year.early protoype of its MIRA
Demonstration of the MicroWash nasal sample collection device.
OMAHA, Nebraska (February 20, 2024) — A UNMC startup company announced today a massive boost to its homegrown efforts at reinventing the painful and uncomfortable nasal swabs that so many suffered during the COVID 19 pandemic.
University Medical Devices successfully closed a $1.6 million seed round of funding, which will fuel the company’s push to place its cornerstone device, MicroWash, into the hands of clinicians where it can potentially help patients everywhere.
Developed by a team of prolific inventors in UNMC ‘s emergency medicine department — assistant professor Thang Nguyen, PhD, MSN, and department chair Michael Wadman, MD — MicroWash is nasal sample collection device that is far less invasive than the traditional swabs that gained notoriety.
“We’re incredibly proud of the UMD team,” said Michael Dixon, PhD, president and CEO of UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO. “Drs. Wadman and Nguyen are two of our most creative and inventive faculty members, and it’s great that others are now finally going to see what we’ve known for so long. They’re a great example of what can happen when you are focused on solving problems and helping patients.”
UNeMed worked with the inventors to secure additional development support for their technology, which ultimately led to the creation of the Omaha-based startup.
Although it was developed in response to the challenges posed during the pandemic, MicroWash could work in collecting samples for a number of viral infections, including flu, RSV and COVID. The device is a self-contained attachment that resembles a syringe without a needle. It contains a solution that is flushed into the nasal cavity with the plunger, then drains back into the device. The device is then capped, and sent to the lab for testing.
A recent video using an outdated prototype demonstrates how the device works, and can be viewed here.
“This collection system is especially crucial for higher-risk populations and a significant step toward mitigating the global impact of future pandemics,” UMD said in a press release.
The funding round, which began in March 2023 and closed in December, was led by Bright Minds Capital Partners, Invest Nebraska and leaders from AV Legacy Holdings LLC and UMD.
“Having our seed round close fully funded is a testament to investors’ belief in our concepts, recognizing we’re a trailblazer in how upper respiratory infection samples are collected for testing,” James Young, UMD founder and CEO, said in the release. “It demonstrates confidence in UMD’s ability to impact national and global health security, as well as faith in our top-tier executive and inventor team.”
