News

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Buffalo Scientist Advances Therapeutic to Rebuild Damaged Lung Cells  2560 1408 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Buffalo Scientist Advances Therapeutic to Rebuild Damaged Lung Cells 

I-Corps alum and University at Buffalo researcher Anna Blumental-Perry is advancing a novel therapeutic designed to rebuild damaged lung cells, a breakthrough that could significantly improve treatment for chronic respiratory diseases, after being awarded $50,000 in seed funding from the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund.  In June 2025, Blumental-Perry completed the BIO I-Corps conference course hosted…

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Ascribe Closes $12 Million Series A Financing to Advance Next-Gen Natural Crop Protection 1280 720 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Ascribe Closes $12 Million Series A Financing to Advance Next-Gen Natural Crop Protection

Ascribe Bioscience, an Ithaca, NY–based agricultural technology company, has closed a $12 million Series A financing round to support the commercial launch of its flagship biofungicide, Phytalix®.

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RAI helps make West Virginia farms more sustainable, profitable 2560 1391 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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RAI helps make West Virginia farms more sustainable, profitable

The Regenerative Agricultural Innovations, LLC (RAI), led by Dr. Matt Wilson, professor of animal sciences at West Virginia University (WVU), is helping make small farms in West Virginia more sustainable and profitable.

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Brite raises $650k for platform to support at-risk students 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Brite raises $650k for platform to support at-risk students

Brite has developed a student support platform that uses behavioral data and predictive analytics to proactively identify at-risk college students and facilitate timely interventions. The company has raised over $650K in funding and has established partnerships with seven universities across the country.

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OWiC Technologies Wins $2.3M NIH Fast-Track SBIR Award  670 893 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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OWiC Technologies Wins $2.3M NIH Fast-Track SBIR Award 

I-Corps alumni company OWiC Technologies has been awarded a $2.35 million Fast-Track SBIR grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).

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Assurtek invents first AI dental drill 1080 840 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Assurtek invents first AI dental drill

I-Corps alum Assurtek Surgical is commercializing the world’s first AI-powered dental drill technology.

Nanopath creates 15 jobs, secures $14M for diagnostic platforms 1280 1920 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Nanopath creates 15 jobs, secures $14M for diagnostic platforms

Nanopath is developing molecular diagnostic platforms to detect viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens using a single patient sample.

Niffy Drone Solutions earns Air Force contract for AI platform 1028 1182 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
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Niffy Drone Solutions earns Air Force contract for AI platform

Angelo Niforatos, a recent Syracuse University graduate with master’s degrees in engineering and business, used his NSF I-Corps experience to accelerate his startup, Niffy Drone Solutions.

Burlington Bio Team of 8 people
Burlington Bio awarded $305k for agricultural biomaterials 2048 1365 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Burlington Bio awarded $305k for agricultural biomaterials

I-Corps alum Burlington Bio, a biotech startup spun out of the University of Vermont, was recently awarded a $305,000 Phase I SBIR grant from the NSF.

Biobe presenting at ARC summit
Biobe raises $700k for mental wellness tools for children 1280 854 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Biobe raises $700k for mental wellness tools for children

I-Corps alum Biobe, a startup founded at the University of Vermont, is leading the conversation around emotional wellness for children and families.

Dr. Yuguang Chris Li, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
PlasmaChem Solutions secures $305k to advance plasma reactor 800 533 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
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PlasmaChem Solutions secures $305k to advance plasma reactor

Dr. Yuguang Chris Li, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at University at Buffalo, founded PlasmaChem Solutions to commercialize a novel plasma-based method to more efficiently convert atmospheric nitrogen and water into ammonia.

Dr. Andrew Talal in office building
Empath Medical’s Telemed Approach for Hepatitis C Treatment Shown >90% Effective, Secures $10M 2188 1454 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Empath Medical’s Telemed Approach for Hepatitis C Treatment Shown >90% Effective, Secures $10M

Dr. Andrew Talal, a University at Buffalo Professor of Medicine and leading liver disease expert, first participated in I-Corps in 2020 to evaluate the market fit of a facilitated telemedicine approach for hepatitis C (HCV) treatment in opioid treatment programs.

Bluminate helps to prevent hospital-acquired infections 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Bluminate helps to prevent hospital-acquired infections

Bluminate (formerly VAPGuard) is transforming infection prevention in critical care with a novel, patent-pending medical device that reduces the risk of the most costly and deadly hospital-acquired infections, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Cellec Technologies develops advanced lithium-ion cells 2076 1010 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
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Cellec Technologies develops advanced lithium-ion cells

Cellec Technologies incorporated in 2016 after completing the NSF I-Corps national program and successfully identifying a product-market fit through customer discovery.

Engineer plugging CPU microprocessor to motherboard socket. Computer technology and hardware maintenance or repair.
Surface Design Solutions uses physics-informed machine learning to reduce costs for manufacturers 2560 1440 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Surface Design Solutions uses physics-informed machine learning to reduce costs for manufacturers

Pittsburgh-based Surface Design Solutions has raised $925,000 and hired four employees to help manufacturers achieve dramatic cost reductions by optimizing surfaces.

Doctor in lab with digital projection screen showing scan of lungs
Aneurisk uses AI to improve care for abdominal aortic aneurysms 768 433 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Aneurisk uses AI to improve care for abdominal aortic aneurysms

Aneurisk, a Pittsburgh-based medical software startup, has hired eight employees and raised over $1 million to develop AI-enabled tools to improve the diagnosis and management of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

REMIX team with winning check
REMIX secures $50,000 prize for drone-mounted camera system 1280 1028 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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REMIX secures $50,000 prize for drone-mounted camera system

Binghamton University’s team of Assistant Professor Jayson Boubin and Ph.D. student Melika Dastranj developed REMIX, a drone-mounted hyperspectral camera system capable of processing massive amounts of data in real time to detect early signs of crop disease.

Standard Potential speaking with microphone at ChargeUp
Standard Potential and Con Edison pilot home battery network to make NYC grid more reliable, affordable 1920 1280 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Reese Abrahamson
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Standard Potential and Con Edison pilot home battery network to make NYC grid more reliable, affordable

Sodium-ion battery solution company Standard Potential conducted in-person customer discovery interviews at The Battery Show through a 2023 I-Corps course.

Photonect fiber connection
Photonect Secures $1.25M SBIR Phase II Award from NSF 1920 1080 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Bridget Hagen
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Photonect Secures $1.25M SBIR Phase II Award from NSF

A $1.25 million grant will help I-Corps alumni startup Photonect Interconnect Solutions advance the commercialization of its photonics innovation. Photonics technology can make data centers and telecommunications networks, which require a lot of power to handle internet traffic and cloud storage, more cost- and energy-efficient. 

2025 ASCO I-Corps cohort
Oncology Researchers Attend ASCO Event Through I-Corps Regional Course 2048 1536 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Bridget Hagen
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Oncology Researchers Attend ASCO Event Through I-Corps Regional Course

This June, an I-Corps cohort of oncology researchers – each working on a cutting-edge solution to improve care and outcomes for cancer patients – took to Chicago for the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting to interview clinicians about their biggest problems. 

I-Corps Participant SensVita Awarded $305,000 STTR Grant  1920 1080 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

I-Corps Participant SensVita Awarded $305,000 STTR Grant 

This February, Cornell health technology startup SensVita, which has developed a touch-free way of monitoring of heart and lung functions, was awarded a $305,000 STTR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation.

Alison Gregory speaking about AreaHub on-stage
AreaHub Provides City of Yonkers With Climate Risk Intelligence 1280 890 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

AreaHub Provides City of Yonkers With Climate Risk Intelligence

I-Corps alumni startup AreaHub has taken a major step in their mission to inform businesses and individuals with environmental risk intelligence.

A detailed arteriogram of the brain, showing the major arteries and their branches with contrast dye flowing through, highlighting possible aneurysms.
Neuralenz Secures $500k NINDS STTR Award 1280 731 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Neuralenz Secures $500k NINDS STTR Award

In September, the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded Neuralenz a $500k Phase I STTR grant for developing a new, non-invasive measurement of cerebral blood flow that could enable doctors to rapidly detect neurological damage and treat it more accurately.

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I-Corps Alum EchoICs Wins $275K NSF STTR Phase I Award  1280 853 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

I-Corps Alum EchoICs Wins $275K NSF STTR Phase I Award 

EchoICs, an I-Corps regional course alum and 2022 National I-Corps Team participant, received a $275,000 STTR Phase I Award from the National Science Foundation in August. Founded by Dr. Alyssa Apsel, Director of Computer Engineering at Cornell University, and postdoctoral student Thomas Tapen, EchoICs developed a new flexible spectrum radio for more efficient military communications and commercial cellular usage.

NASA I-Corps wildfire technology management cohort
Wildfire Technology Researchers Participate in a NASA I-Corps Pilot Taught by the IN Hub 1920 1440 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Bridget Hagen
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Wildfire Technology Researchers Participate in a NASA I-Corps Pilot Taught by the IN Hub

NASA recently collaborated with the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) to run a specialized NSF I-Corps regional course for wildfire technology management innovators, an initiative that complements the agency’s wildfire management efforts. 

BIO cohort photo 2024
Biotechnology Researchers Immerse in Customer Discovery at BIO 1000 562 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Bridget Hagen
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Biotechnology Researchers Immerse in Customer Discovery at BIO

For the third year, the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) led a hybrid I-Corps regional course that included a funded customer discovery trip to the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotech industry event. 

ARPA-E Summit 2024.
IN I-Corps Course Brings Clean Energy Researchers to ARPA-E Summit 2024  500 333 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

IN I-Corps Course Brings Clean Energy Researchers to ARPA-E Summit 2024 

In May, researchers developing innovative clean-technology solutions conducted customer discovery interviews at the 2024 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Dallas, Texas, as members of a ‘hybrid’ National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps regional course hosted by the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub.

two people look with masks look at through a microscope
Soctera wins $1M SBIR Award for Semiconductor Innovation  6381 3589 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Soctera wins $1M SBIR Award for Semiconductor Innovation 

The SBIR award supports the commercialization of Soctera’s power amplifier which will help boost signal range and incentivizes broadband coverage in more rural areas through reduced costs.

Verde Technologies Receives Liftoff Contest Award to Develop Flexible Solar Energy Modules  2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Verde Technologies Receives Liftoff Contest Award to Develop Flexible Solar Energy Modules 

Verde Technologies, a 2021 I-Corps alumni company from the University of Vermont, is developing a lightweight and flexible way to capture solar energy using perovskite. 

DNA
Sostos Hits Milestones for Cancer Treatment AI Technology 2560 1440 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast
  • Bridget Hagen
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Sostos Hits Milestones for Cancer Treatment AI Technology

Sostos, an I-Corps alumni startup developing a cutting-edge AI technology for cancer treatment optimization, recently secured two SBIR Phase I grants — a $275K award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a $400K award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

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