Leading up to the fireworks that boom and echo across the hills and valleys of Western Pennsylvania on the Fourth of July, a group of Pitt innovators were busy determining whether their discoveries might make a huge impact on people’s lives.

The summer 2022 cohort of the Innovation Institute’s Pitt Ventures First Gear innovation commercialization program (sponsored by NSF I-Corps) included teams working on new medical devices, cancer and diabetes therapies, and software to better care for women with irritable bowel syndrome and to better track and predict student performance on coursework.

The teams worked one-on-one with an experienced mentor and conducted interviews with potential customers to better align their products to the market and to outline next steps on their path to commercialization. They also received a $3,000 stipend to assist in customer discovery and market research activities.

“As a computer science student, I was generally unaware of the needs of the business side of the spectrum when it came to building a startup,” said Nathan Ong, the student entrepreneurial lead on the project team Beyond Transcripts, which is developing a software to analyze and predict student performance in course content. “First Gear opened my eyes to that side, and helped me understand how I can gauge if the ideas that I have will have potential or not.  Getting the skills to do customer discovery activities will surely assist me and my team in the future when we do go to market.”

The First Gear program is a springboard for Pitt faculty and students who are excited about seeing their research translated into products and services that benefit society.

“By the end of the program, participants have a much better idea of their innovations’ commercial potential and have identified potential funding and/or partnering opportunities, both within Pitt and externally, to accelerate on the path to market,” said Paul Petrovich, assistant director of business development at the Innovation Institute and coordinator of the First Gear program.

Below is a summary of the teams from the summer 2022 cohort. Teams are comprised of a Principal Investigator (PI), Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) and Business Mentor (M).

I See Cu (Fluorometric and Colorimetric Quantification)

Fluorometric detection technology for the detection of copper for mining and public health applications

PI: Kaz Koide
M: Richard Heilman

Health-E-Nose

Rapid, low-cost point-of-care screening tool to detect lung cancer via a patient’s breath

PI: Chris Wilmer
EL: Brian Day
M: David Walker

C-LIFT

Device for treating sleep-disordered breathing that contributes to obstructive sleep apnea and snoring

PI: Ata "Murat" Kaynar
EL: Kirill Kiselyov
M: Evens Augustine

Smart Restenosis Monitoring Stent

Stent containing sensor to continuously monitor for the re-narrowing of a stented blood vessel

PI: Youngjae Chun
EL: Mohamed Ibrahim
M: Jesse Adams

Beyond Transcripts

Software to improve student retention rates in colleges and universities through predictive analysis of student performance in course content

PI: Daniel Mosse
EL: Nathan Ong
M: Matthew Stalder

IB Me

Comprehensive care app for women with Irritable Bowel Disease

PI: Mangesh Kulkarni
EL: Dana Julian
M: Julie Cramer

Oncolytic Virus

Development of targeted viruses that can directly infect and kill tumor cells and spare normal cells, while releasing more virus to re-infect additional tumor cells and also releasing tumor antigens to stimulate natural immune response

PI: Yanhua Gao
EL: Rishaan Sharma
M: David Sherris and Cigdem Benam

CARB3D
3-D printed carbonation stones to provide long-term costs savings in fluid filtration and fluid flow applications

PI: Markus Chmielus
EL: Eric Rhodes with Rebecca Hotton
M: Lan Deng and Phillip Kennedy

Sidewinder Drill
New surgical endoscopic drill for neurosurgeons that avoids soft tissue injury to reduce the risk of brain and soft tissue injury by at least 90%. Ease of drilling will result in more rapid surgery, allowing for more efficient OR turnover.

PI: Michael McDowell
M: Robert Huemmrich

Tumesc-2-Go – Revolutionizing Liposuction

Improved process for simplifying tumescence fluid preparation used in liposuction surgery

PI: Jeffrey Gusenoff
EL: Abhishek Saxena
M: Jan Berkow

Automated Naloxone Delivery System

Patch that detects opioid overdose and prevents death through transdermal administration of Narcan

PI: Gaurav Chauhan
EL: Wenting Shao
M: Alexander Star

If you are interested in participating in the next First Gear cohort, which will begin in September, or serving as a business mentor to a First Gear team, you can learn more here.