Polsky Center Announces Autumn 2018 I-Corps Program Cohort
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is pleased to announce the latest cohort of the Polsky I-Corps program, a 7-week highly-experiential program designed to empower UChicago scientists, researchers, and students to test the commercial potential of their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) research and ideas.
Teams receive a $2,500 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for their participation and are expected to dedicate an average of 4-7 hours per week to classroom sessions, homework assignments, and interviewing industry experts and potential customers. The program is led and taught by Starr Marcello, executive director of the Polsky Center and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth.
Now in its fourth year, the Polsky I-Corps portfolio has risen to 119 teams – including notable alumni such as BallotReady, ExplORer Surgical, ClostraBio, and BiomeSense.
The Polsky I-Corps Autumn 2018 cohort is:
Better: A science-driven wellness app based on a collection of insights from decades of behavioral research to create “moments,” things users can do immediately. The team uses data to deliver exactly the right “moment” users need at precisely the right time. Team member: Bec Weeks and Sendhil Mullainathan
Diagnostic for ALS: This team has developed a rapid and painless diagnostic tool to help quickly identify patients with ALS and to track their clinical condition over time. Team member: Norm Issa
Comprehensive Care Physician (CCP) Program: The CCP Program is a tested, innovative model of care delivery in which medically complex patients receive care from the same physician in both the hospital and the clinic. Team members: David Meltzer, Emily Perish, and Andrew Schram
Configurable, In-Situ, Self Learning Imaging System: Electronics for Photon Imaging camera systems developed at Fermilab, capable of providing both high spatial (~50um) as well as energy resolution at high speeds. Team members: Farah Fahim and Sachin Junnarkar
Crown Financial: Using insights from emerging academic research, Crown is a fintech bank that specializes in community-based financing products. Team members: James Traina, Gurpal Singh Sran, and Jane Grissom
Innervo Technologies: Innervo Technology is a startup that has developed a hidden and noninvasive device called EquiCue™ intraoral balance aid. This device is meant to assist patients with lost sense of balance due to multiple medical conditions like vestibular dysfunction and traumatic brain injuries. Team members: Aditi Kapadia and Hui Tang
Oteomics: Oteomics is exploring the commercial potential of an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) bank from diverse populations. Team members: Lauren Blake and Marcus Sollai
Polaris Genomics: Polaris has developed a blood based assay that can selectively and specifically identify colorectal cancer (CRC) prior to any invasive testing (e.g. Colonoscopy). We use epigenetic markers to detect specific DNA methylation patterns to accurately predict CRC in patient samples. Team members: Jason Karpus and Diana West-Szymanski
Recoverme: In the shift from fee-for-service to value-based hospital care, providers and payers are keen to promote patient engagement and reduce readmissions. RecoverMe’s platform aims to produce media to educate post-operative orthopedic patients and their care teams, and is focused on education and behavioral change. Team members: Brigitte Anderson, David Gonzales-Velez, and Rachel Kaberon
Terraforma Technologies: TerraForma develops next-generation water and agricultural technologies. The flagship technology uses graphene membranes for desalination. The company is a Polsky Incubator alumnus. Team members: Ilan Selinger and Don Coursey
QMIS: A novel MRI analysis software intended for the detection of prostate cancer through only MRI images. This technology analyzes the volumes of particular cells in the prostate to create a heatmap of likely locations of cancer and its severity. Team members: Patrick Mohan, Aytekin Oto, and Gregory Karczmar