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Fall 2026 Collaboratorium Connects Midwest Researchers with Business Expertise

Bringing together scientific innovation and business talent from four leading Midwestern universities, the Fall 2026 Collaboratorium will feature 18 teams developing technologies in healthcare, energy storage, quantum computing, semiconductors, advanced materials, robotics, and more.

Founded at the University of Chicago, the Collaboratorium now also features researchers from Northwestern University, Purdue University, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in addition to the University of Chicago.  

The event gives faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students an opportunity to pitch their work and connect with students and alumni interested in helping explore applications, conduct market research, shape commercialization strategies, or build companies around emerging technologies.

For students, the event offers a chance to contribute business expertise at an early stage, when customer discovery and market insight can help determine how promising research moves from the laboratory into the world.

Several of the UChicago teams also are advancing their projects through Polsky Center programs. ApoPrime, CoFATE, GridPore Technologies, SEN Quantum, and SenStem Therapeutics are participating in the Commercialization Fellowship, and SenStem Therapeutics also is participating in Polsky I-Corps.

>> Register for the Fall 2026 Collaboratorium: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 | 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

The following teams and researchers will present at the Fall 2026 Collaboratorium:

University of Chicago

  • Adaptive Reverse Shoulder System // Developing a modular shoulder implant that corrects joint alignment while preserving native bone for patients with advanced bone loss or severe joint deformity. Presenting researcher: Lewis Shi, University of Chicago
  • apoPrime // Improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer through targeted therapeutic delivery. Presenting researcher: Elaine Lee, University of Chicago
  • CoFATE // Developing an immune-response screening method that evaluates the type of response produced by a candidate drug or vaccine—not only its size—to support better therapeutic development decisions. Presenting researcher: Bryant Colin, University of Chicago
  • GridPore Technologies // Creating low-cost, PFAS-free ion-selective membranes from upcycled engineered plastics to support more affordable and sustainable long-duration energy storage. Presenting researcher: Andrea Diaz, University of Chicago
  • Voltralline // Developing a scalable platform for producing and transferring high-quality single-crystal metal and semiconductor thin films using graphene-enabled remote electrochemical epitaxy. Presenting researcher: Vincent Fu, University of Chicago
  • SEN Quantum // Designing quantum architecture software tailored to specific end applications. Presenting researcher: Dhirpal Shah, University of Chicago
  • SenStem Therapeutics // Developing a small-molecule treatment designed to make treatment-resistant cancer stem cells in squamous cell carcinoma more vulnerable to immune attack and improve response to PD-1 immunotherapy. Presenting researcher: Xuejie Huang, University of Chicago

Northwestern University

  • Auxetic Robotics // Creating soft, motor-driven structures that mimic biological muscle to make humanoid robots safer, simpler, and less expensive. Presenting researcher: Pranav Kaarthik, Northwestern University
  • Dimensional Optimizers // Developing a new computing architecture designed to solve complex optimization problems with fewer simplifying assumptions, with an initial focus on financial portfolio optimization. Presenting researcher: Christian Duffee, Northwestern University
  • Coherix  // Translating advances in quantum light and quantum correlations into practical tools for imaging, sensing, and precision measurement. Presenting researcher: Hessam Shahbazi, Northwestern University

Purdue University

  • DiMix Materials // Turning clean absorbent manufacturing scrap into additives designed to reduce shrinkage and cracking as concrete cures. Presenting researcher: Kendra Erk, Purdue University
  • Genobee // Using genetic sequencing and streamlined data analysis to help honey bee breeders identify superior genetic stock more quickly, accurately, and affordably. Presenting researcher: Dylan Ryals, Purdue University
  • QLuster Photonics // Developing a next-generation single-photon laser designed to link quantum processors faster and with fewer errors, supporting the scale-up of quantum computing. Presenting researcher: Christian Lange, Purdue University
  • Nephrotide Therapeutics  // Developing a peptide therapeutic to prevent kidney injury during major heart operations. Presenting researcher: Brenson Jassim, Purdue University

University of Wisconsin–Madison

  • FerroMX // Developing ferroelectric separator membranes designed to suppress dendrite growth and enable safer, longer-lasting rechargeable metal-ion batteries. Presenting researcher: Jiajie Sui, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Nuncia Therapeutics // Developing an exosome-based therapy designed to prevent graft-versus-host disease while accelerating blood-cell recovery following bone marrow transplantation. Presenting researcher: Kyle Wolf, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • ProtecNTX // Advancing a lightweight carbon nanomaterial for next-generation body and vehicle armor. Presenting researcher: Nicholas Jaegersberg, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • VeriVasc // Developing clinical software that transforms routine CT imaging into quantitative 3D biomarkers to support more personalized evaluation and monitoring of aortic disease. Presenting researcher: Nick Burris, University of Wisconsin–Madison