Biomedical innovations shine in high-stakes Hokie Pitch event

Graduate students pitched entrepreneurial ideas to solve health problems.

John Pastor

11 Dec 2023

Rob Gourdie, Debbie Petrine, Laura Bruckner Kavya Iyer, Alyssa Lyon, Alec Beck, Yunruo Ni, Mike Friedlander First Place, Pulmwell, a device for noninvasive asthma monitoring to revolutionize the field of respiratory disease management: Yunruo Ni, Laura Bruckner, Alec Beck, Alyssa Lyon; mentor: Greg Feldman; student IP mentor, Kavya Iyer.

First place team — Members of "Pulmwell," the first-place team of the 2023 Hokie Pitch competition on the Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke, are congratulated by judges and contest organizers. (From left) Kavya Iyer, Alyssa Lyon, Alec Beck, Yunruo Ni, and Laura Bruckner (holding certificate) presented a business plan to develop and market a device for noninvasive asthma monitoring. With them are (top row, from left) Professor Rob Gourdie of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Debbie Petrine of Commonwealth Care, and (at right) Michael Friedlander, vice president of health sciences and technology and executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. The team was mentored by Greg Feldman (not pictured) of Skyline Capital Strategies. Photos by John Pastor for Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech students showcased their sharpest ideas to turn biomedical breakthroughs into commercial opportunities during a dynamic “Shark Tank”-inspired event at the annual Health Sciences and Technology Hokie Pitch at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke.

The competition, featuring participants from the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, centered on the selection of intellectual property, collaboration with business mentors, and the creation of entrepreneurial strategies to bring biomedical discoveries to market through new companies.

Ideas this year ran the innovation gamut. The first-place team, Pulmwell, pitched a portable device to noninvasively monitor asthma. Second place finisher CardioVision Technologies presented a software package designed to more precisely implant cardioverter-defibrillators in pediatric patients and infants born with heart defects.

Rob Gourdie, professor and the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Eminent Scholar in Heart Reparative Medicine Research of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and director of the institute’s Center for Vascular and Heart Research, together with Linda Collins, administrator of the Center for Vascular and Heart Research at the institute, orchestrated the transdisciplinary commercialization exercise, expressing his excitement about the event, which culminates a semester-long course on biomedical commercialization in the graduate program's first-year curriculum.

“Hokie Pitch is consistently electrifying,” Gourdie said. "Witnessing students dive into research, unearth intellectual property, shape robust business plans, and confidently present their ideas to judges in the spotlight is a testament to their remarkable professional progress."

The exercise creates a scenario that stretches students beyond their comfort zones to develop skills they will need in their professional lives.

“We strive to embolden students to communicate effectively across disciplines and engage diverse audiences in the journey from discovery to commercialization,” said Michael Friedlander, vice president for health sciences and technology at Virginia Tech and a judge in the competition. “This demands a blend of content expertise, analytical and communication skills, and ongoing practice to transform discoveries into impactful health care solutions and to carry those ideas forward to meet real world market needs and demands.”

Rob Gourdie, Fourd Kemper Erik McNair Salihaat Okunlola, Mackenzie Wools, Max Albrecht, and Allyson Herriges

Second place team — (Front row, from left) Second-place team members Salihaat Okunlola, Mackenzie Wools, Max Albrecht, and Allyson Herriges of CardioVision Technologies offered an idea for a software package to determine optimal placement of implantable defibrillators in pediatric patients and infants with congenital heart defects. They were congratulated by (second row, from left) mentor Erik McNair of Beacon Partnerships, Rob Gourdie, and competition judge Fourd Kemper of the Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black law firm. Mary Frazier (not pictured) was the student IP advisor.

Throughout the Hokie Pitch, participants delved into identifying biomedical needs, researching undisclosed intellectual property for viable solutions, and crafting compelling cases tailored to attract potential investors. In all, 23 students made up five teams competing for $2,000 for the first place team, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place. The competition was sponsored by Woods Rogers Vandeventer and Black law firm and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

Rob Gourdie, James Ramey Mason Wheeler, Jenna Bakir, Nicole DeFoor, Samrakshya Bhattarai, Blakely Lockhart, Caleb Mensah

Third place team — Third-place team MEGa MIND Technologies in third place seeks to revolutionize the early detection, monitoring, and study of neurological disorders in infants using wearable magnetoencephalography (MEG) caps. Led by team members (bottom row, from left) Mason Wheeler, Jenna Bakir, Nicole DeFoor, Samrakshya Bhattarai, Blakely Lockhart, and Caleb Mensah, the team was congratulated by (top row from left) Rob Gourdie and competition judge James Ramey of VTC Ventures. The team was mentored by Marty Muscatello (not pictured), past president and CEO of Foxguard Solutions and owner of Qualtrax Inc.

Honorable mentions went to

Team OncoTag, marketing a medical device that utilizes a marker to increase the accuracy of of post-resection radiation treatment: Andrew Willison, Rebekah Thomas, Roxanna Farzad, Rabeya Khondaker, Madison Wypyski; mentor: Cynthia Lawrence, Carilion Clinic; student intellectural property (IP) mentor, Emily Tirrell
Team Yourigami, pitching a product designed to improve gastrointestinal imaging and noninvasively deliver effective treatment for GI damage and disease: Abigail Doku, Jacob Blaukovitch , Dilruba Yeasmen , Carley Elliott, Cristina Pokhrel; mentor: Francis Farrell, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine; student IP mentor, Meghan Sedovy

In addition to Friedlander, who is also the executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, the judging panel included Fourd Kemper representing Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black law firm, James Ramey of VTC Ventures, and Debbie Petrine from Commonwealth Care. Each brought a unique perspective and expertise to evaluate the innovative pitches.

Hokie Pitch judges — (From left) The judging panel included Fourd Kemper representing Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black law firm, James Ramey of VTC Ventures, Debbie Petrine from Commonwealth Care, and Michael Friedlander of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

Hokie Pitch marks the finish of a semester-long commercialization graduate teaching block led by Gourdie in the fall introductory translational biology, medicine, and health graduate course.

Students were instructed by commercialization executives and Virginia Tech faculty, including Gourdie, Ramey of Middleland Capital VTC Innovation Fund; and Mark Mondry, director of LAUNCH, part of Virginia Tech’s LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH team, which supports corporate partnerships, technology commercialization, and start-ups.

In addition, Assistant Professor Samy Lamouille, postdoctoral associate Spencer Marsh, and Zach Williams provided instruction during the course, as did Mark Van Dyke, formerly of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering and now associate dean of research at the University of Arizona-Tucson.

The event is sponsored by Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.