At Hokie Pitch, graduate students present business plans for biomedical innovations
Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program students gather for a "Shark Tank"-style event, pitching commercialization ideas to solve health problems.
Luna Care, whose name is a celestial reference to charting new frontiers in women’s health, was one of five student teams competing in the 2024 Hokie Pitch. Team members Walter Dickey (at left), Kari Kochran, Nasrin Elahimehr, and Macy Parmelee discuss postpartum hemorrhage. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
There is no swimming with sharks on the Health Sciences and Technology campus in Roanoke, but a handful of students have managed to do something just as exhilarating.
In the fall, first-year students in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program engage in a module on biomedical commercialization — the process of turning a discovery into a potentially marketable product that can help patients.
During the class, students form groups to select a discovery, brainstorm with professional science, health, and business mentors, and collaborate to develop a strategy to bring those discoveries to market through new companies for which they seek investments. The semester-long block includes classes on intellectual property, the regulatory process, clinical trials, venture capital, pitch preparation, and biotech company financing.
Their coursework culminated this month at the ninth annual Health Sciences and Technology Hokie Pitch.
At the "Shark Tank"-inspired event, groups took on the roles of entrepreneurs, aiming to convince a panel of judges of the commercial promise of their mock start-ups. In all, 21 students made up five teams competing for a $2,000 first-place prize, a $1,000 second-place prize, and a $500 third-place prize.
Pictured from left to right, this year’s judges included Michael Friedlander, Virginia Tech’s vice president of health sciences and technology, and community partners Deborah Petrine, chair and chief executive officer of Commonwealth Care of Roanoke; Fourd Kemper of Woods Rogers law firm; and James Ramey of Middleland Capital VTC Innovation Fund. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
“It was clear at the outset that this is a very bright, engaged, and ambitious group of young people,” said Robert Gourdie, professor and director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC’s Center for Vascular and Heart Research. “Right from the moment I stepped into the class, I was struck by their levels of engagement and curiosity.”
Gourdie, faculty lead for the commercialization course, is no stranger to innovation. A senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, the cell biologist has extensive experience in patents, licensing, and commercialization. He has founded two biotechnology firms in Roanoke: Acomhal Research Inc. with co-founder Samy Lamouille, an assistant professor at the institute, and The Tiny Cargo Co. with Chief Scientific Officer Spencer Marsh.
Luna Care, which took first place, addresses the critical challenge of postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal mortality. Team members include (from left) Macy Parmelee, Nasrin Elahimehr, Walter Dickey, and Kari Kochran. Not pictured are mentors Erik McNair and Alec Beck. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
Visor Solutions (second place) aims to revolutionize breast cancer diagnostics with a non-invasive imaging method and software offering real-time results. Front row, from left: Mayd Alsalman, Lateef Anifowose, and Rob Gourdie. Middle row, from left: Peyton Kim-LaTona and team mentor Cynthia Lawrence. Back row, from left: team mentor Mackenzie Woolls and Andy Chitwood. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
Germ Diagnostics (third place) pitched “CapEvac,” an autonomous, wireless ingestible capsule that offers a noninvasive, low-cost alternative to traditional endoscopy and colonoscopy. Front row, from left: team mentor Max Albrecht, Michaela Hall, and Rob Gourdie. Middle row, from left: Eddie Rygalski and Geoffrey Otieno. Back row, from left: Rowan Maisonneuve and team mentor Ryan King. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
Hepsmart is a portable device for accurate blood ammonia level measurements that addresses the diagnostic challenges of hyperammonemia, a severe condition linked to chronic liver disease. Team members Shakhawat Hossain, Cleo Orlando, Caleb Townsend, and Shaniece Fraser present their startup proposal. Not pictured are mentors Greg Feldmann and Kavya Iyer. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
ReviveWear Solutions introduces an innovative wearable device designed to reduce opioid overdose mortality through autonomous naloxone administration. Standing beside Professor Rob Gourdie (left) are team members Sarah Dietz, Samantha Edwards, May Kretzer, Masum Billah, and Warren Thiel. Not pictured are mentors Francis Farrell and Nicole DeFoor. Photo by Clayton Metz for Virginia Tech.
“Most science students are trained in making presentations to other scientists. We stand up in front of lots of people who do what we do for a living and we go right into the scientific detail, often laden with jargon,” said Michael Friedlander, executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and Virginia Tech's vice president of health sciences and technology. “This is different. You have to put yourself in the listener's head and speak to a much broader audience not only from the scientific world but also from the health sector, business and legal communities.”
Guiding the students were commercialization executives and Virginia Tech faculty, including Gourdie; Mark Van Dyke, formerly of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering and now associate dean of research at the University of Arizona-Tucson; Ramey; 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, Lamouille, Marsh, and doctoral students Meghan Sedovy, Mason Wheeler, and Mary Frazier provided instruction during the course. Senior students acted as mentors for the teams, including translational biology, medicine, and health students MacKenzie Woolls, Nicole DeFoor, Alec Beck, Kavya Iyer, and Max Albrecht.
Local business and health system administrative leaders also provided guidance to the teams, including Cynthia Lawrence, Francis Farrell, and Ryan King of Carilion Clinic, Erik McNair of Beacon Partnerships, and Gregory Feldman of Skyline Capital Strategies.
Gourdie organized the commercialization exercise with Linda Collins, administrator of the Center for Vascular and Heart Research. The competition was sponsored by Woods Rogers law firm and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.
“It’s our hope to arm our students with a perspective and skills that they wouldn't get otherwise in traditional scientific training,” Friedlander said. “We want them to have the experience of doing world-class science, but in this program, particularly, to learn how to move that science to implementation and the marketplace, by effectively conveying their story to audiences beyond the scientific community.”
