By Natalie Missakian
Just 10 months after Rallybio launched in early 2018, Fierce Biotech, an international trade journal widely followed in the bioscience world, dubbed it one of the year’s 15 most promising biotechs.
The New Haven-based company had yet to make any groundbreaking discoveries. In fact, it didn’t have a single drug in its portfolio. And outside of its announced focus on treatments for severe rare diseases, Rallybio’s founders had offered few details about what medical conditions the startup planned to pursue.
Still, the company was getting noticed not only by reporters covering the industry but also by investors as evidenced by the $37 million it raised shortly after setting up its first lab and office at UConn’s Technology Incubation Program (TIP) in Farmington.
UConn Researchers Collaborate with TIP Company Shoreline Biome to Study Microbiome in NICU
UConn researchers recently published their findings on the microbiome of premature infants in the Connecticut Children s NICU, work they completed through a collaboration with TIP company Shoreline Biome.
Shoreline Biome co-founders Tom Jarvie and Mark Driscoll in discussion at their lab, before the COVID-19 pandemic. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Photo) Copy Link
Bacteria tend to get a bad rap. But oftentimes it’s one bad apple that ruins the reputation of the bunch.
For example,
E. coli, commonly known as bacteria that cause sickness, also has beneficial strains that can help protect us from pathogens. Being able to differentiate between bacterial strains is critical for researchers working to understand the microbiome – the complex environment of bacteria living in and on our bodies.
If all goes according to plan, healthcare facilities in the next few years could begin purchasing 3D-printed bone implants that are being developed by a Farmington-based startup called A.D.A.M.
The company, which operates out of office and lab space inside UConn’s Technology Incubation Program (TIP), received pre-approval from the Food and Drug Administration in July to begin testing its implants on animals, said CEO Denys Gurak, who is eyeing a 2023 marketplace launch. We ve been trying outreach to some top U.S. insurance companies, said Gurak, who previously led pharmaceutical manufacturing regulation at the State Administration of Ukraine on Medicinal Products, Ukraine s equivalent to the FDA. They will be the primary payer for the treatment we provide, so we want to do this early rather than later.
UConn Startup Stemify Improves Math Education With AI
A startup with UConn roots is using AI to help college students across the country succeed in STEM.
Amit Savkar, assistant professor-in-residence of math, tapes a lecture using Lightboard technology on Sept. 18, 2015. (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo) Copy Link
Many people leave college with bad memories of struggling through math classes. Students’ difficulties with early math classes are one of the top reasons they drop out of STEM majors.
UConn Technology Incubation Program startup Stemify is working to change that, with an innovative approach to math education that utilizes artificial intelligence to support learning.
Mentorship Program Connects UConn Startups with Industry, Business, Investment Experts
A unique mentorship program pairs UConn researchers with industry experts to transform ideas into successful startups.
The EIR Mentorship program connects UConn researchers with experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts (Photo taken pre-COVID by Nathan Oldham/UConn Photo) Copy Link
Researchers at the University of Connecticut are making groundbreaking discoveries all the time. But for this work to be translated into a product or service that can help people, it takes a lot of hard work and, critically, business savvy that many academic researchers lack. That’s where EIRs come in.