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INVO Newsletter
Summer 2023
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From Our AVP for Innovation | |
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In April, I had the wonderful fortune to take on the role of Associate Vice President for Innovation and New Ventures, supporting the technology transfer operations for the University, our new Querrey InQbation Lab, and The Garage. We have an incredibly talented team, all driven by the shared goal to expand and accelerate how Northwestern makes impact. It’s an exciting time for us with a growing pipeline fed by nearly $1 billion in research funding, opportunities fueled by our interdisciplinary strengths, and increasing collaborations across the University to advance our innovations to the public.
But so much of what we do depends on you - our larger community of advisors, mentors, entrepreneurs, corporate partners, and investors. Please reach out – we look forward to finding more ways to work together to bring Northwestern breakthroughs to the world!
Upwards and Onward,
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INVO Welcomes New Colleagues | |
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Kathryn Cherny, PhD is the operations manager at the Querrey InQbation Lab where she is the point person for the resident startups, supports usage of InQbation Lab space and communications. Kathryn received her PhD in Molecular Microbiology from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
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Bhaskar Chetnani, PhD is Senior Invention Manager collaborating with researchers in developing IP protection strategies for emerging life science technologies. He also facilitates the translation of these technologies by licensing them to suitable commercial partners and assisting in new venture creation. Bhaskar completed his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Indian Institute of Science. | |
Feifei Li, PhD is an Invention Associate managing a technology portfolio in therapeutics and diagnostics. She evaluates patentability and marketability, implements IP strategies, negotiates licensing contracts, supports new venture creation, and promotes lab-to-launch and strategic partnerships. Feifei received her PhD in chemistry from the University of Minnesota and is a registered patent agent with the USPTO. | |
Amanda Peterson joined the INVO team as the Senior Administrative Specialist. She has a BA in Sociology & Anthropology and Spanish from Lake Forest College and an MS in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern. | |
Lindsey Stolzenberg, PhD is a Research Associate supporting Lakeside Discovery. Lakeside is a partnership between Northwestern and Deerfield Management to catalyze early-stage biomedical development. Lindsay completed her PhD in Molecular Genetics at Northwestern. | |
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It has been a busy and exciting winter and spring at The Q launching a number of programs, including the FoundHer Fellows, Q-Kellogg Entrepreneurial Residencies, and Tech Talks at the Q. We have also been preparing the groundwork for Q Undergraduate Summer Scholars and the Q Entrepreneurial Fellows which begin this summer and fall. More details on Q programming can be found here. Past Querrey InQbation Newsletters may be found here. |
TECH TALKS at THE Q
The InQbation Lab hosted three Tech Talks at the Q, featuring Professors John Rogers (McCormick), Kevin Lynch (McCormick), and Larry Birnbaum (McCormick). They were all well-attended by local high school students from Chicago and neighboring suburbs. Thank you for inspiring our next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs!
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FoundHer FELLOWS
The 2023 FoundHer Fellows, Dr. Ruchi Gupta (Feinberg), Profs. Julie Kim (Feinberg) and Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy (Weinberg), presented to an audience of investors, faculty peers, and women entrepreneurs. With the generous donation from the Provost's Office, the fellows worked with technical mentors and received communication coaching and graphic design support to refine their presentation decks. They are now finalizing their presentations for a networking trip in Boston this summer.
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KELLOGG-Q ENTREPRENEURIAL RESIDENTS
The Kellogg–Q Entrepreneurial Residency completed its pilot program. Three MBA students embedded in Northwestern research centers as a Spring quarter Independent Study. They focused on understanding the Northwestern technology, providing insight into the market, and offering potential business models and next steps for Northwestern researchers. They organized QSIB and ISEN mixers as well to provide an opportunity for MBA and scientists to meet. Thank you to Kellogg (Dean Francesca Cornelli and David Schonthal), our students (Soubhik Bardhan, Lucianna Shinye, and Nikita Bhatia), faculty (Profs. John Torkelson (McCormick), Mark Hersam (McCormick), and John Rogers (McCormick)), and mentors (Birju Shah, David Kalainov, and Phil Carter) for making this pilot possible and a success!
The Kellogg-Q Residency will be offered to Kellogg students in 2023-2024.
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Q SUMMER SCHOLARS
The InQbation Lab is excited to welcome ten Q Summer Scholars, a group of outstanding undergraduate and Master’s students who will spend eight weeks working at Northwestern startups and The Q. The Summer Scholars will gain entrepreneurial experience in deep tech and conclude their summer with a “demo day,” tentatively scheduled for August 4, 2023.
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ENTREPRENEURIAL FELLOWS
We are pleased to announce 2023-2024 Querrey InQbation Lab's Entrepreneurial Fellows. This program which begins in the fall aims to educate and train the next generation of entrepreneurs to take on society’s most pressing challenges. Three inaugural entrepreneurial fellows are partnering with Northwestern faculty to advance innovations towards commercialization.
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Jack McGee, PhD will partner with Chemistry Prof. Neil Kelleher (Weinberg) focusing his efforts on identifying a beachhead customer, evaluating the market opportunity, and developing a business model for proteoform biomarker platform as a service. | |  |
Jesse Gordon-Blake, PhD will work with Biomedical Engineering Prof. Joe Moskal (McCormick). His primary goal is to define the optimal indication for JB2, a peptide neurotherapeutic with cognitive benefits through enhanced synaptic plasticity. | | |
Yosi Kratish, PhD will work with Chemistry Prof. Tobin Marks (Weinberg) in developing, scaling and commercializing a novel catalyst that transforms waste plastics into valuable chemicals for enhanced sustainability. | | |
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Investors, including Osage University Partners, AlleyCorp, Fifty Years and SOSV, visited Northwestern
to meet faculty and startups, give seminars and host social hours!
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