OMAHA, Nebraska (April 28, 2026)—In a break from tradition, the next Idea Pub: Morning Edition will shift to a Startup Showcase format and move to an afternoon showing for its next event on Thursday.
Starting at 1 p.m. in the Forge Event Hall of the Edge District’s Catalyst building, Idea Pub will showcase five startups from the first cohort of the Steel Works Health Accelerator. It is also listed among the “pre-summit” activities for the upcoming Gr8er Plains Summit.
Idea Pub will open with brief remarks highlighting university innovations from co-sponsors UNeMed and UNeTech, who also collaborated to build the Steel Works Health Accelerator.
Steel Works is focused on helping early-stage startups and founders working with “healthtech” innovations from the University and the greater Nebraska community. In collaboration with the health venture company CQuence Health, Steel Works mentors and advises a small cohort of startups as they work to build their investor networks, business models and company messaging.
As Steel Works passes the midpoint with its first cohort, five companies will present improved pitches and provide updates on their progress.
Those startups, in presentation order, are:
- Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions (Ed O’Leary, MD, CEO)
- Deep Health Diagnostics (Ron Krueger, MD, CEO)
- BreezMed (Chris Henkenius, CEO)
- RespirAI (Jonell Tempero, Managing Director, US Operations)
- Rheam Medical (Riley Reynolds, CEO)
Startup presentations are expected to begin at about 1:20 p.m. Each will run about 10 minutes, with another 5 minutes allotted for Q&A. The event will wrap up at about 2:45 p.m.
Catalyst, a co-sponsor of the event, will offer complimentary facility tours on a first-come, first-served basis.
Park Omaha manages metered parking in a structure just north of the main entrance and along 46th and 48th Streets. See map for directions and more details.
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 regularly features “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff, co-sponsor UNeTech Institute, CQuence Health, and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with UNeMed, UNeTech, CQuence or MOVE professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
UNeTech is the University of Nebraska’s startup incubator, supporting entrepreneurial efforts built on innovations created by University personnel. CQuence is a local venture organization focused on healthcare-related startups. MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies.
Morning Edition is typically held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the University’s stable of successful and budding startup companies and from Omaha’s 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.
A tentative list of upcoming Morning Editions include:
- May 28: Adrian Blake, CEO, Precision Syringe
- June 25: Andrew Rogers, CEO, Docology
- July 30: Jon Rhoades, CEO, Valid
- Aug 27: Jonell Tempero, Managing Dir, US Operations, RespirAI
- Sept 24: Jenilee Woltman, MS Ed, CEO, Mission Accomplished
- Oct 29: Riley Reynolds, MS, CEO, Rheam Medical
- Nov 19: Stephen Gliske, PhD, Co-Founder, NeuroServ
- Dec 17: Jessica Queen, RN, CEO, Omedus
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary refreshments will be provided as long as supplies last.
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
