Lab Venture Challenge

Lab Venture Challenge

Tickets for the LVC Community Showcase are now available! Get Tickets

Accelerating innovation through entrepreneurial training and funding of up to $125,000.

Through the Lab Venture Challenge (LVC), top innovations from the University of Colorado Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs compete for grants of up to $125,000. LVC supports projects that address a commercial need, have a clear path to a compelling market and have strong scientific support. These grants are funded by Venture Partners at CU Boulder and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) Advanced Industries Program.

LVC demonstrates a powerful way to advance innovative research and translate it into impactful business ventures. These final showcases are the can't-miss event of the year to see CU's next wave of breakthrough innovations!

Questions?

Joshua Bennet

Joshua Bennett · Senior Licensing Manager and Director of the Lab Venture Challenge

Contact Joshua

The LVC Impact

117

Innovative projects funded

64

New deep-tech startup companies

$349M

Raised by companies to date in follow-on financing


“I feel like the first year, when you graduate, is a very tumultuous time for start-ups, especially spinouts of the university. There’s a lot that can go wrong, and (the Lab Venture Challenge) helps to mitigate that risk.”—Kian Lopez , NASA Research Fellow, Co-Founder of OsmoPure


"The LVC funding means that the company and product we set out to develop is not only a fun adventure, but also an obligation to provide a useful product to future users."—Zoya Popovic , Distinguished Professor, CU Boulder Lockheed Martin Endowed Chair in RF Engineering, CTO of LumenAstra 
 

Explore more impact in our annual report  

LVC Community Showcases

The all glass entrance to a warmly lit, whimsical building at dusk

Join us at the Boulder Dairy Arts Center for the Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) Community Showcases, where teams of top innovators from CU will pitch to a panel of judges and a live audience for grants of up to $125,000—that's $750,000 in total awards—for their early-stage projects in bio- and physical sciences with compelling market potential. Enjoy great food, make new connections and see what’s next in innovation. View the 2025 Finalists

Past pitches have included everything from next-generation batteries to cancer treatments and LVC has helped launch 64 new startups that have gone on to raise more than $350 million, including Darwin Biosciences, Manifest Technologies (prev. Vitro3D) and Mesa Quantum. 

At the showcase, finalists will deliver pitches to a live audience and panel of business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors. LVC is the can't-miss event of the year to see CU's next wave of breakthrough innovations!  

Oct. 22 and 23, Gordon Gamm Theater, Dairy Arts Center, Boulder

  All are welcome—CU affiliation is not required.
  Tickets are free, and attendees should reserve their tickets in advance; tickets at the door are not guaranteed.
  If you plan to attend both nights, please ensure tickets for both nights are in your cart before checking out. If you experience any difficulty reserving tickets or would like to place an order over the phone, please call the Dairy Arts Center box office, open Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m., at 303-444-7328.

Physical Sciences Showcase: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 6-8 p.m. Get Tickets   Share
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Biosciences Showcase: Thursday, Oct. 23, 6-8 p.m. Get Tickets   Share
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2025 LVC Finalists

Physical Sciences Finalists

Breakthrough Analog Domain Jamming Suppression for UAVs

Multi-Domain Anti-Jamming Technology (MDAT) provides real-time interference suppression for military UAVs. With 400x size reduction via analog domain processing, MDAT deploys as 6x6-inch, sub-5lb plug-and-play modules for retrofitting tactical drones, ensuring mission continuity in contested RF environments. The team has formed BoldRF LLC to bring their innovation to market.

Magnetically Enhanced Electrolysis for H2 Production

Magnetically Enhanced Electrolysis (MEE) improves hydrogen generation efficiency by enhancing bubble release and energy transfer. Adapted from space technology, MEE offers scalable, cost-effective clean hydrogen for transportation, industry and off-grid power. The team has formed a startup, Agami Zero, to bring their innovation to market.

Novel Synergistic Catalysis for Clean Water and Fuel   

SynForce is developing a modular photo-thermo-catalysis device that rapidly activates a wide range of stubborn chemical bonds, enabling carbon-free fuel production at high reaction rates and the destruction of toxic PFAS in water, while reducing energy use and operating costs. The team has formed a startup, Synforce, to bring their innovation to market.

Next-Generation Holographic Materials for AR Displays

A thiol-ene holographic materials platform delivers low-haze, high-refractive-index photopolymers for sharper, more immersive AR displays. This versatile and scalable step-growth method overcomes shrinkage, scattering and supply-chain constraints of existing chain-growth materials for holographic optics.  

A Language-Driven Engine to Deploy Robots Like Software

BoBoRobo’s agentic AI engine turns plain English specifications into ready-to-deploy robotics—validated in a digital twin and safety-checked across OEMs. It outputs layout, BOM, install plan and robot-specific code, cutting deployment timelines from six months to ten days and reducing costs by up to 50%. The team has formed a startup, BoBoRobo, to bring their innovation to market.

Low SWaP Frequency Comb for Quantum applications

Our Gen-III low-SWaP frequency comb, built on thin-film lithium niobate nanophotonics, delivers octave-spanning spectra with ultra-low power. Compact, scalable and robust, it enables deployable quantum clocks, sensors and communication systems beyond the lab. The team has formed a startup,Chi3 Optics, to bring their innovation to market.

Biosciences Finalists

Metabolite-Based Therapeutics for Obesity

Pythons exhibit dramatic metabolic plasticity with feeding, increasing organ size and activity by up to 40% after consuming large prey. From this biology, the team discovered a novel feeding-induced metabolite that was upregulated by 1,000-fold and acts as a natural appetite suppressant through modulating satiety. The team has formed a startup, Arkana Therapeutics, to bring their innovation to market.

Bioadhesive Patches That Seal Where Sutures Fail

DuraPatch provides rapid closure of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks during neurosurgery, eliminating the need for sutures. Engineered with high-resolution 3D printing and advanced biomaterials, DuraPatch strongly adheres to wet tissues to create a watertight seal while supporting and promoting healing. The team has founded a startup, Entangl3d, to bring their innovation to market.

Vaporizable Droplets for Proton Beam Visualization

Vaporizable exoskeletal droplets provide in vivo visualization of beam placement during proton therapy, a rapidly growing treatment approach for cancer. Using this image-guided therapy, clinicians can make real-time adjustments to the treatment, reducing harmful side effects and improving patient outcomes. The team has formed a startup, Radiosensitive VEDs, to bring their innovation to market.

Computationally Designed IL-18 binders to Treat Sepsis

Enabled by recent advances in AI-driven protein design, minibinders are being engineered to target IL-18, a key driver of sepsis. These compact, stable proteins penetrate tissues efficiently and can be precisely dosed to avoid prolonged immune suppression, offering a next-generation therapeutic for sepsis. The team has formed a startup, iMembrane Therapeutics, to bring their innovation to market.

Nanorobotic Synthesis of Oligonucleotides

Modern DNA synthesis suffers from low overall yields due to the accumulation of errors for longer strands. The team has designed a nanorobotic synthesis platform which can detect and correct errors during synthesis, enabling ultra-high fidelity synthesis of gene-length DNA for single-cell omics and genomics application. The team has formed a startup, Nanosynth, to bring their innovation to market.

Thank You to Our LVC Financial Supporters

Supporting entrepreneurial and funding programs like LVC enables individuals and organizations to play an active role in building CU’s pipeline of future business leaders and ventures. Learn more about our support levels and benefits or contact Joshua Bennett to get started.

Compete for up to $125,000

The 2025 application is now closed, but you can still review the details and timelines below to prepare for the 2026 application cycle. Sign Up for Updates

2025 Application Dates & Deadlines

2025 Dates and Deadlines

Program Preparation

  • ​Applicants are encouraged to reach out to their Venture Partners contact with any questions about eligibility and/or to discuss ways in which their applications may be strengthened, especially with regard to the commercialization section of the application.
  • Watch the 2025 LVC Information Session linked in the tabs above.

Application Dates

  • Tuesday, July 15, 5 p.m.: Deadline to disclose innovations
  • Tuesday, July 15, 5 p.m.: Deadline to contact your pre-award administrator for your respective school/college.
  • Friday, Aug. 22, 11:59 p.m.: Deadline to apply to LVC (Do not select "LVC 2023" in the main menu. Log in, or create an account to begin your application)
  • Friday, Sept. 12: Finalists notified

Program Dates

Exact dates and times will be posted soon.

  • Week of Sept. 22: Pitch Academy
  • Week of Oct. 6: Pitch Practice 1 (in person on the CU Boulder campus)
  • Week of Oct. 13: Pitch Practice 2 (in person on the CU Boulder campus)
  • Week of Oct. 23: Final Showcase

Post-Award Requirements

  • Aug. 1, 8, 15 (application deadline is July 25): Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Workshop—Apply Now
  • Sept. 16-Oct. 10-11 (application deadline is Aug. 27): Research-to-Market (R2M) Customer Discovery Program—Apply Now
  • Nov. 6, 13 and 20 (application deadline is Oct. 30): Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Workshop—Apply Now
  • TBD/Nov.: State of Colorado Questionnaire Deadline
  • April 2026: Awards will be distributed to winners—this date is an estimate based on past awards and may change by one to two months.

Applicant Eligibility

LVC applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • CU Boulder and UCCS investigators are eligible to apply. CU Denver investigators in physical sciences and engineering are eligible to apply.
    • CU Denver investigators in biosciences and all CU Anschutz investigators should explore funding opportunities with CU Innovations.
  • The primary applicant must be a CU Boulder professor or post-doc or an eligible CU Denver or UCCS professor or post-doc who would qualify as a grant Principal Investigator.
  • The primary applicant must have submitted their Invention Disclosure Form to Venture Partners on or before the deadline.
  • The subject innovation must fall within one of the seven defined areas: advanced manufacturing, aerospace, bioscience, electronics, energy and natural resources, infrastructure engineering, or technology and information.
  • Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the NSF I-CorpsTM Hub: West Region's Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Workshop, an experiential program that helps teams create and refine a value proposition using the customer discovery process. Historically, LVC applicants unable to address these topics in detail do not receive funding.
  • There is a $125,000 maximum that an applicant may receive from LVC for a single invention. If significant progress has been made towards a new product or a new venture since a prior LVC award for the same invention, a new proposal with advanced aims will be considered, subject to Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT) rules. Preapproval is required if you have already received LVC or other OEDIT funding. Please reach out to Joshua Bennett, director of LVC. Multiple applications for different inventions are permitted.
  • If the applicant has received a prior award under the OEDIT Advanced Industries Proof of Concept Program for the same invention that is the subject of a new LVC application, the total amount of funding, consisting of the present application plus the prior award(s), cannot exceed $150,000 from the state of Colorado. State funding accounts for 75% of each LVC award.
  • If the invention is already licensed/optioned, the licensee/optionee company cannot have raised more than $500,000 in investment capital. Where a company has raised over $500,000, the OEDIT Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant is a more appropriate resource.
  • Two concurrent OEDIT awards are not allowed. If the Principal Investigator (PI) or the innovation currently has an LVC or an OEDIT award, that award must be completed before the LVC Showcases of the current application year.

Funding and Budgeting

  • Up to $125,000* (including 8% F&A on total direct costs for the state fund portion only) is available per award in total costs, consisting of two subcategories:

Proof of Concept

  • Up to $100,000* is available for answering critical experimental questions that will help to validate the technology for commercial applications.

Business Development

  • ​​Up to $25,000 is available in support of early commercialization activities.
  • Applicants must include $10,000 for patent expenses.
  • The remaining business development funds are often used for:
    • Conferences
    • Customer discovery
    • Accelerator fees
    • Travel ($5,000 maximum recommended) to/from any of the above
    • Startup formation expenses
    • Website development
    • Market assessments
    • Regulatory-related consultants or costs incurred during the award term
  • Other business development expenses are eligible, but these funds cannot be used to fund technical development or proof of concept.

*Funding Details

Project duration can be up to 24 months for physical science awards and up to 36 months for bioscience awards.

State funding requires a match of 25% of the total project costs (which is equivalent to 33.33% of the requested state funds). For example, an applicant requesting $125,000 in total funds would request $93,750 from the State and $31,250 in matching funds. Matching funds are available from Venture Partners only for CU Boulder applicants. For eligible UCCS and UCD applicants, matching funds are often provided by lab startup funds or the researcher’s department. Matching funds cannot be sourced from federal grants or in-kind services such as academic time.

Funding under LVC comes from Colorado's Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Program, Venture Partners and a share of CU Boulder’s IP licensing revenues. The observed funding rate over the last three years was approximately 25% over four years.

The AIA program operates within the State of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). CU receives a pre-allocation from the total available funding.

Requirements for Finalists and Awardees

Pitch Coaching and Practice

All selected finalists are required to participate in a pitch training workshop called Pitch Academy prior to the final showcase (more below). Pitch Academy teaches high-tech entrepreneurs and startup founders how to engage a business-centric audience and attract funding. Following the workshop, finalists will then participate in two mandatory pitch practice sessions to receive critical feedback from CU Boulder mentors and the Venture Partners team.

Live Pitch at a Final Showcase

Selected finalists will deliver 7-minute live pitches to a panel of business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and intellectual property experts. Open to the business and university community, the final showcase serves as a platform for finalists to present their innovations.

Required NSF I-Corps Hub: West Region's Customer Discovery Programs

Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Program before applying to LVC. Starting Blocks is a 3-day customer discovery workshop designed to help scientists and engineers of all types find a market for their innovation by conducting meaningful customer interviews. 

All LVC awardees who have not completed Starting Blocks before applying to LVC must complete the program during the award term. If a startup is contemplated or underway, the LVC awardees are required to complete the Research-to-Market (R2M) Customer Discovery Program within the award term. This greatly strengthens eligibility for future funding and training programs and is a deeper dive into the process of customer discovery to find a product-market fit—critical to taking cutting-edge technology into the marketplace.
 
Failure to comply with these requirements means that the team will no longer be eligible for future funding opportunities from or managed by Venture Partners.

​Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator

Finalists that have begun or plan to commercialize their innovation through a startup company are encouraged to enroll in the Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator during the award term. This program will provide critical training and early milestone accomplishment, including incorporation, founders agreements, Intellectual Property (IP) agreements (option, license), and coaching to secure further funding. 

Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)

LVC is run internally at CU Boulder and while it does benefit from Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) funding, is separate from the statewide AIA competition run by Colorado's OEDIT. LVC and statewide AIA programs have different timelines, funding amounts and other details.

To apply to LVC, please only use the details provided on this page and within the application site. Please do not use the application guidelines on the OEDIT AIA website if applying for LVC. If you are interested in applying for the statewide AIA program, please visit their website. Please also note that if you apply to and win both the LVC grant and the AIA Proof of Concept grant, you will have to choose one award.

Need guidance?

  • Your Venture Partners Licensing Manager can provide you with details on Intellectual Property (IP) expenses, suggestions for how to best allocate your Business Development budget and connect you with entrepreneurial training opportunities.

For general questions about LVC:

If you need help with or have questions about your budget:

For any post-award questions about your grant no-cost extensions, subcontracts, budget changes, Principal Investigator (PI) changes, Statement of Work (SOW) changes, etc.,

  • Please contact Beatrice Nobles, OCG's contract officer assigned to all Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) awards.

Frequently Asked Questions

No; this is the deadline for new invention disclosures to be submitted Venture Partners. If you have already submitted an invention disclosure(s) for the technology that you are using to apply for LVC, then you do not need to submit anything new.

Yes.

Yes, Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) is a special Proof-of-Concept (POC) grant program administered by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) that requires a 3:1 matching fund (cost-share) contribution. This means OEDIT will contribute $3 for every $1 provided by the applicant. For example, if you are requesting $125,000 in LVC funding, your required cost share would be approximately $31,250.

Cost-Share Requirements by Campus:

  • CU Boulder researchers: Venture Partners will provide the required matching funds.
  • CU Denver and UCCS researchers: You must secure your own eligible matching funds.

Eligibility Criteria for Matching Funds:

  • Must be clearly traceable and committed to supporting the project.
  • Must include prior written approval from the contributing organization stating the funds can be used as match for the LVC award.
  • Can consist of cash in an accessible account or speedtype, or formally committed funding from a third-party investor or granting agency.

Ineligible Matching Funds:

  • In-kind contributions (e.g., personnel time, use of facilities)
  • Any funding from OEDIT or other Colorado state sources

It can depend on the applicant; however, if there are strategic partners whose involvement is critical to the success of your innovation or its commercialization, that is highly valuable. Another example is letters of support from potential customers, especially large businesses when pursuing a business-to-business (B2B) venture. Finally, letters from venture capitalists and industry thought leaders may also help your application.

Joshua Bennett, director of LVC, 303-735-7615, joshua.bennett@colorado.edu

Past LVC Winners and Finalists

⚠ These company names and descriptions reflect their status at the time of their LVC presentations and may not represent their current state.

We are proud to honor the past winners and participants of LVC. Former funding recipients have used LVC to prepare for Destination Startup® and New Venture Challenge (NVC), as a springboard into leading accelerator programs such as Techstars and Innosphere, develop ideas through NSF I-CorpsTM Hub: West and Catalyze CU and raise investment rounds.

2024 LVC Winners and Finalists

$125,000 Funding Awardees

  • Codebreaker is building a platform for generating variant genomes at scale in an AI framework that drives variant genome design and machine learning to generate significance maps broadly across human disease and drug response. Ryan Layer (BioFrontiers Institute), PI, LVC Pitch Presenter; Ryan T. GIll, CEO; Tanya Warnecke, CTO; Jordan Abbott, KOL-Collaborator
  • Flari Tech is building a laser-based breathalyzer to detect lung cancer noninvasively and rapidly with high sensitivity. Powered by CU's Nobel Prize-winning optical frequency comb, it would empower healthcare providers, patients and researchers in lung cancer prevention, treatment and monitoring. Eva Yao (CU Boulder 2023 Embark EIR), CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter; Jun Ye (CU Boulder Physics, JILA), PI; Qizhong Liang (PhD candidate, CU Boulder Physics, JILA), Technical Lead; Apoorva Bisht (PhD student, CU Boulder Physics, JILA), Research Assistant
  • Kitsune Bio enhances the structural adaptability of cyclic peptides, improving their ability to bind, inhibit and access challenging intracellular targets. This unique platform unlocks new opportunities for treating complex diseases and improving patient outcomes. Makenna Morck (CU Boulder Embark EIR), CEO, LVC Pitch Presente; Alec Santiago (CU Boulder Embark EIR), COO, LVC Pitch Presenter; Michael Stowell (CU Boulder Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), PI
  • Let’s never cut open a patient again. IntraLumenus is a treaded robotic capsule endoscope that travels through the colon under its own power, provides localization and mapping, and dual channel tool access, enabling colorectal procedures to be performed intraluminally, or from within the colon. Jesse M. Sheppard (CU Boulder Embark EIR), CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter; Mark Rentschler (CU Boulder Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering), PI
  • SteriO3: Peroxide Enhanced Germicidal Irradiation (PEGI) provides rapid, low-resource sterilization of microbial contaminants. With adaptable configuration capabilities, PEGI will be engineered into compact, portable units for low-temperature sterilization of surgical equipment, including 3D-printed implants. Emmalee Biesiada (CU Boulder Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering), Principal Investigator (PI), LVC Pitch Presenter; Steve Hughes, CEO; Mark Hernandez (CU Boulder Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering), Chief Scientific and Project Advisor
  • The Vesicle Therapeutics team is developing a proprietary STAT3 isoform-selective antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) using novel thiomorpholino chemistry (TMO) for the treatment of head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer type, with a low survival rate due to poor responsiveness to treatments. Xuedong Liu (CU Boulder Biochemistry), PI, LVC Pitch Presenter; Donna Peak, CEO; Curtis Woodard, COO; Gan Zhang, CTO; Marvin H. Caruthers (CU Boulder Biochemistry), Collaborator

Finalists

$125,000 Funding Awardees

  • EcoValeric Innovations' invention is an electrochemical process that converts biomass-based levulinic acid into 4-hydroxyvaleric acid (HVA), a versatile intermediate for producing biodegradable plastics, biofuels and green solvents. This scalable, renewable process reduces reliance on fossil fuels while enhancing sustainability. Roberta Leão (CU Boulder Embark EIR), CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter; Adam Holewinski (CU Boulder Chemical and Biological Engineering), PI; Will Lucas, CTO
  • Mode-Locked Laser Technology: This groundbreaking mode-locked laser technology overcomes the limitations of existing systems and is suitable for harsh environments. These systems excel in applications that require the best phase noise performance in a small and efficient device. Applications include PNT and RF instrumentation. Thomas R. Schibli (CU Boulder Physics), PI, LVC Pitch Presenter
  • OsmoPure Technologies is introducing a membrane for ultrapure water production tailored to the stringent demands of electronics, aerospace and green hydrogen sectors. The technology uses distillation driven by pressure, rather than heat, to produce high-purity product water with ten times higher energy efficiency. Kian Lopez (PhD student, CU Boulder Chemical and Biological Engineering), CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter; Anthony Straub (CU Boulder Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering), Principal Investigator (PI); Nadia Jorgenson (PhD candidate, CU Boulder Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering), Director of R&D
  • WHISPER Energy is a wireless, battery-free sensor platform for smart buildings. It uses machine learning to cut energy consumption by 30%+, providing real-time data to optimize energy use and reduce emissions. Developed with a $2 million ARPA-E grant, it advances zero emissions economically and efficiently. Galen Williams (CU Boulder 2023 Embark EIR), Co-Founder and CEO; Gregor P. Henze (CU Boulder Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, RASEI), PI and Co-Founder; Gerry Conroy, Technical Lead and Advisor
  • Tierra Metrics' novel high-spatial density sensor innovation will enable real-time characterization of the soil nitrogen cycle which will help growers, land managers and others to improve efficiency and profitability, as well as improve soil health and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Gregory Whiting (CU Boulder Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering), PI, LVC Pitch Presenter; Taylor Sharpe (CU Boulder Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering) Chief Engineer; Whendee Silver, Co-Founder; Ana Claudia Arias, Co-Founder

Finalists

 

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2023 LVC Winners and Finalists

$132,505 Funding Awardees 

  • TorDan (previously MDS II) is developing a rotational nail system as an improved technique to correct rotational alignment for femoral surgery. Team: Jacob Segil (Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering) and Omer Mei-Dan (Orthopedics, CU Anschutz Medical Campus).

$125,000 Funding Awardees 

  • Mycobacteria Therapeutics is working toward a new treatment for stress resilience and mental health with oral supplements of beneficial mycobacteria. Team: Christopher Lowry (Integrative Physiology), Adam Bohr and Chris Stamper (both, Mycobacteria Therapeutics).
  • ImmunoLogic is developing first-of-their-kind, site-specific therapeutics for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Team:  Linda Watkins and Suzanne Fulgham (both Psychology and Neuroscience), Peter Grace (MD Anderson Cancer Center, ImmunoLogic), John Forsayeth and Raymond Chavez (both ImmunoLogic).
  • Nausica Arnoult (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology) presented a new approach to treating HR-deficient cancer with targeted APE2 inhibitors. Her team also included Xiang Wang (Chemistry and Kerri Ball (MCDB).
  • Meaghan Van Alstyne (Biochemistry) is working on a new treatment for dementia with peptide therapeutics targeting tau aggregation. Her team also included Roy Parker (BioFrontiers, Biochemistry) and Charles Hoeffer (Integrative Physiology).
  • Corey Neu (Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering) has developed a device for improved magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cartilage structure and mechanical function, allowing for the early detection of arthritis and cartilage repair.

Finalists

 ​$132,505 Funding Awardees 

  • Mana Battery is developing sodium-ion batteries that are cheaper and safer than standard lithium-ion ones. Team: Chunmei Ban, Nick Singstock and Tyler Evans (all Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering).

​$125,000 Funding Awardees 

Finalists

  • BoldRF—Tunable circulators for simultaneous transmit and receive radio-frequency phased array applications. Zoya Popovic, Laila Marzall and Stefan Stroessner (all Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering).
  • Icarus Quantum—Developing the first deterministic photon entanglement generator to drastically boost quantum repeater protocols for long-range quantum networking. Poolad Imany (NIST, Physics), Shuo Sun (JILA).

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2022 LVC Winners and Finalists

 ​$125,000 Funding Awardees 

  • Sound Separations: A cell-based delivery system for drugs targeting solid tumors that do not respond well to existing cell therapies. Wyatt Shields, Katie Trese (both of Chemical and Biological Engineering); Alisa Lee-Sherick, MD (CU Anschutz).
  • Graham Redweik, Principal Investigator Ding Xue (both of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology): A new derivative of resveratrol—a naturally occurring chemical compound in plants—to target mitochondrial endonuclease G to help treat both Parkinson’s disease and cancer.
  • Nakul Sridhar, Principal Investigator Xiaoyun Ding (both of Mechanical Engineering): A penny-size device that can diagnose sickle cell disease and would dramatically broaden access to lifesaving treatments, especially in the developing world.
  • Won Park (Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering): A novel force sensor with many applications for medical providers, such as monitoring changes in tumor growth, heart tissue and joint repair.

$62,500 Funding Awardees 

  • Randall Shearer (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)); Imma Ferrer, Michael Thurman (both of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering): A new method of manufacturing cannabinoid acids to overcome key hurdles in commercializing cannabinoid-based (CBD) therapeutics.
  • Xiang Wang (Chemistry): Antibiotic adjuvants to re-sensitize drug-resistant bacteria and combat the rising antibiotic resistance crisis in medical care.

 $125,000 Funding Awardees 

  • Boulder Light Technologies: Air quality monitoring devices with rapid, on-site optical identification of toxics. Nazanin Hoghooghi (Mechanical Engineering)
  • Envyro Sensors: A low-cost and disposable sensor—similar to diabetic test strips—for monitoring indoor horticulture and printed with special ink on a regular desktop printer. Greg Whiting (Mechanical Engineering); Elliot Strand (Materials Science & Engineering Program)
  • Nanoplasmonics, LLC: A portable device that uses ultrasensitive fluorescent biochemical sensors to detect mycotoxins, enabling mobile, lab-quality food safety testing at every stage of food production. Anatoliy Pinchuk (Physics & Energy Science, UCCS)
  • Twine: Data security, including internal fraud in the financial industry, with a novel blockchain-based protocol for distributed and immutable record keeping that “entwines” data sources for transparent and “unhackable” data authentication. Jasper Palfree (Physics); Krister Shalm (Physics; Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering)

​$62,500 Funding Awardees 

  • Rishi Raj (Mechanical Engineering): A new 3D sintering process that will allow the same-day creation of dental implants straight from a device in the dentist’s office.
  • Chembotix: A chemical-creating robot and an automated platform to dramatically speed up chemistry research and development. Kailey Shara (ATLAS Institute); Aditya Rengaswamy; Marshall Graybill (Mechanical Engineering); Carson Bruns (ATLAS Institute).

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2021 LVC Winners and Finalists
  • Nick Bottenus: New method for improving the quality and speed of ultrasound imaging
  • Camila Uzcategui (Audience Choice Award): Vitro3D—Biomimetic 3D printed lung cancer organoids for drug discovery
  • Alexandra Whiteley: Novel therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
  • Corey Neu: NatruGel—3D Printing of tissue matrix for drug screening and discovery
  • Simon Kalmus: Seedling Biosystems—Sprouting therapies from American farms
  • Liang He: BAuth—Battery-enabled anti-theft vehicle immobilizer
  • Marin Iliev​: CANDi enabled ultrahigh speed and precision microscopy
  • Dan Dessau: Low vibration cryogenic platform for quantum applications
  • Kailey Shara(Audience Choice Award): A versatile robotic system for automating organic chemistry operations in the laboratory
  • Cory Pecinovsky: Polaris Electro-Optics Inc.—Fast photonic switching with fluid ferroelectrics
  • Andrew Goodwin: New biomass pretreatments to replace toxic petroleum additives in coatings and adhesives

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2020 LVC Winners and Finalists
  • ​Brian DeDecker: Gene-Lock—A Novel Approach to Gene Assembly
  • Xiaoyun Ding: Lab-on-a-Chip—Acousto Thermal Shift Assay for Fast and Label-free Protein Analysis
  • Jerome Fox: Using Microbes to Drug the Undruggable
  • Robert McLeod: Vitro3D—Biomimetic 3D Printed Scaffolds for Drug Discovery (recipient of Bioscience Audience Choice Award)
  • Zoya Popovic: Non-invasive Compact Internal Body Thermometer
  • Mark Rentschler: Disposable Robotic Endoscope for Deep Enteroscopy
  • Jacob Segil: Hip Arthroscopy Surgical Instruments for Improved Patient Outcomes and Reduced Surgical Time

Winners

  • ​Mahmoud Hussein: Resonant Inclusions — A New Technology for Efficient Thermoelectric Conversion in Bulk Silicon
  • Michael Marshak: OTORO Energy — High Performance Battery Materials for Affordable Grid Scale Energy Storage (recipient of Physical Science Audience Choice Award)
  • Michael McGehee: Dynamic Smart Windows
  • Scott Palo: Hybrid Small Satellite Radio Frequency and Optical Communication System
  • Wil Srubar: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Building Materials

Finalists

  • Moncef Krarti: Adjustable Building Insulation
  • Bowen Li: Disrupting the Spectroscopy Market with Novel Bidirectional Fiber Laser

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2019 LVC Winners and Finalists

Winners

  • Xuedong Liu: Programmable Gectosomes for Delivery of Therapeutic Nucleic Acids and Proteins
  • Roy Parker: Exocure Therapeutics—PARN as a Target for Treatment of Specific Human Cancers
  • Rafael Piestun: Ultrathin Endoscopes
  • Sara Sawyer: SickStick—A Saliva-Based Test for Infection (recipient of Bioscience Audience Choice Award)

Finalists

  • Jerome Fox: Think Bioscience—Evolution-Guided Drug Discovery
  • Wei Tan: Vascular Precision—Precision Prohealing Coating for Vascular Implants

Winners

  • Zach Newman: Octave Photonics—A Tantala Photonics Platform
  • Ivan Smalyukh: iFeather—Transparent Aerogels for Solar Heating and Greenhouse Applications (recipient of Physical Science Audience Choice Award)
  • Alireza Vahid: Theia—Next Generation Wireless Systems Antenna

Finalists

  • Chris Vargo: Socialcontext.ai—An AI-Powered Social Media Content Strategy Tool
  • Tam Vu: DenyTheSky—Passive Drone Detection and Tracking

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2018 LVC Winners and Finalists

Winners

  • Anushree Chatterjee—Therapies for Multidrug Resistant Bacterial Infections
  • Svenja Knappe—A Magnetographic Imaging Device for Early Detection of Cancer
  • Corey Neu—Next-Generation Dermal Fillers (recipient of Bioscience Audience Choice Award)
  • Ding Xue—Therapies for Side Effects Caused by Radiation Therapy

Finalists

  • Douglas Chapnick—Predicting Clinical Success and Failure of Therapeutic Drugs
  • Xuedong Li—Programmable Designer Therapeutics
  • Tin Tin Su—A High Throughput Screen for Identifying Cancer Therapies
  • Wei Tan—Designing Personalized Vascular Devices

Winners

  • Mark Hernandez—Corrosion Resistant Concrete Admixture
  • Timothy Morrissey—Artificial Muscles for the Future of Robotics and Automation (recipient of Physical Science Audience Choice Award)
  • Jeffrey Thayer—Discovering Shallow Water Hazards
  • Jeffrey Beyle and Qin Lv—Affordable Digital Tools for Small and Medium Manufacturers

Finalists

  • Donald David— Quantum Plating Solutions
  • Aaron Palumbo—Cleaner, Cheaper Magnesium Production

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LVC Team