2025 Chancellor’s Translational Research Initiative awardees

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Innovation and the Office of Technology Management are proud to announce the 2025 awardees of the Chancellor’s Translational Research Initiative. The program provides up to $25,000 in funding to advance early-stage translational research projects toward commercialization. Successful completion of the Chancellor’s Translational Research Initiative prepares projects for future industry funding, licensing and start-up creation. This year, 10 projects were awarded in the areas of therapeutics, medical devices, engineering and AI technology.

Awardees:

Adam Cross; College of Medicine Peoria, Department of Pediatrics; for the Pulmonary Acoustic Sensor Telemetry Array

Oliver Keyhani; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences; for discovering a new antibiotic from ambrosia beetle fungi

Divya Bijukumar; College of Medicine Rockford, Department of Biomedical Sciences; for the EVNaturoPatch, an exosome-releasing microneedle patch to deliver pain management therapies

Aslihan Karatas; College of Engineering, Department of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering; for a window diagnostic tool for occupants’ safety and indoor environmental quality in commercial buildings

Sushant Anand; College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; for an ultra-fast paper-based PCR device for affordable home diagnostics

Steve Lee; College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; for a human CD40 agonist antibody for a cancer vaccine

Ying Liu; College of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering; for a peptide-lipid nanoparticle-based siRNA therapy for lung fibrosis

Zongmin Zhao; College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; for nanoparticle-decorated myeloid-derived suppressor cells for immunotherapy of multiple sclerosis

Tanvi Bhatt; College of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy; for FRATS, a cloud-based AI-powered system for fall risk assessment

Sojin Shikano; College of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics; for an adoptive T cell transfer therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases

Congratulations to the awardees!

For more information on the program and other funding opportunities, please visit the Office of Technology Management website.

For more information, please contact:
Tamira Davis
tdavis17@otm.uic.edu