In a year that threw the world a giant curve ball, the Pitt Ventures Student Challenge went virtual for 2020 and hit a home run.
LifeX Labs was launched in 2017 to serve the needs of a growing life science industry base in the Pittsburgh region and fill a large gap in services for biotech startups as identified in the Brookings Institute report “Capturing the next economy: Pittsburgh’s rise as an innovation city”.
As we celebrate the recent milestone of 100 startups spun out of the University of Pittsburgh since the launch of the Innovation Institute in late 2013, we are regularly updating their progression towards making an impact in the world. Today we check in with LyGenesis Inc., which licensed technology from the laboratory of Eric Lagasse, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Director of the Cancer Stem Cell Center at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
by Helen Sluder, September 1, 2020 Pitchwerks, is a podcast about sales, marketing, and everything startup-related, hosted by the witty and engaging Scot MacTaggart. If you haven't listened to it, you are missing a lot of great interviews with the Pittsburgh region's best and brightest in entrepreneurship. In this blog compilation, we highlight the many Pitt-connected founders, alumni, and mentors that have been on the show. Hail to Pitt! photos by Buzzy Torek The New Frontier of Clinical Education Topics Covered in the Podcast: Product demos, Navigating the healthcare industry, Education facilitated by automation Best Quote: “My other co-founder Joe Samosky, an engineering professor at Pitt, he often says ‘It’s not practice that makes perfect, it’s perfect practice that makes perfect.’ Even though you feel confident at doing something in healthcare, in treating patients, you might be confident in doing it incorrectly.” -Doug Nelson, Lumis CEO Doug Nelson’s original plan was to be an academician for life, but he was bit by the entrepreneurial bug after completing his PhD in Bioengineering at Pitt. Nelson, CEO of Lumis, describes the trials and tribulations of navigating the heavily regulated, bureaucratic medical industry. Lumis is an immersive medical training platform that serves as an alternative to the resource-intensive healthcare simulators currently on the market. By automating the process, Lumis’ interface allows learners to practice 24/7, on demand, any time, anywhere. Episode Link: https://www.pitchwerks.com/podcast/previous/3
Pitt Innovator Kacey Marra Forms Startup to commercialize Nerve Repair Research By Michael Yeomans The path to impact for basic life science research can be long and filled with big gaps: in time and in resources. Kacey Marra’s (right in photo) research on repairing large gaps in traumatically injured nerves is a case in point. Marra had come back to Pitt in 2002, where she had earned her undergraduate degree and a PhD in organic chemistry in 1996, and set up a lab following a research stint at neighboring Carnegie Mellon University. About 15 years ago, she filed an invention disclosure with the Innovation Institute for a device to repair severe nerve injuries with long gaps (more than two inches). A provisional patent application was filed and she continued her research after attracting the attention of the Department of Defense, which saw the opportunity to advance treatments for soldiers injured in battle. “I met a soldier who had been shot through calf and had no sensation in his foot. To create something that could help people like him live a more independent and fulfilling life strengthened my resolve to do what it takes to commercialize our lab’s discoveries,” Marra said.