THE Q WELCOMES ITS 12th RESIDENT: PREDX

PreDx (Prof. Thomas Meade, Weinberg), pronounced [pree-dix], is the most recent addition to the 6th floor labs. PreDx is a development-stage biotech startup developing unique bio-responsive contrast agents (BCAs) detectable by MRI imaging. The BCAs will enable scientists to determine the effectiveness and biodistribution of gene therapies.

To become a Q Resident, startups must have an active option or license with Northwestern.

If you are interested, please complete THIS FORM.

IN THE PRESS

Q Resident Stemloop (Prof. Julius Lucks, McCormick) is piloting their µSense handheld, easy-to-use test lead detection kits with 350 Chicago households to assess home water quality. Stemloop is actively developing future kits for copper and PFAS. Read their Chicago Tribune feature.

Q Program, FoundHer Fellowship Program, made a big splash in two Crain's Chicago Business articles. The FoundHer Fellowship cultivates first-time women faculty entrepreneurs at Northwestern through mentorship, professional development, and pitch presentation coaching. One Crain's article highlighted FoundHer Fellow, Dr. Ruchi Gupta (Feinberg), and her startup Yobee that has developed a microbiome-based solution for cradle cap and dry scalp.

In a second Crain's article, Q FoundHer Fellow, Julie Kim (Feinberg) and the Northwestern technology called "Lattice" were featured in both Crain's Business and local channel WGN-TV segment. Developed by her team, Lattice enables researchers to test experimental drugs in a system ahead of human clincial trials, as an added measure of safety.

A new video montage of the FoundHer Fellow's VC networking trip to Boston is featured HERE.

NEW INQBATION LAB VIDEO IS LIVE!

Watch the new Querrey InQbation Lab video where Lisa Dhar, AVP for Innovation, explains the mission and purpose of The Q. This video captures snapshots of the first floor community space and classroom as well as the fifth floor offices and labs. Thank you to participating Q Resident Startups and graduates--Opera Bioscience, Stemloop, Syenex, Volexion, and Rhaeos.

Actinia (Prof. Mercouri Kanatzidis, Weinberg), is raising $4M in Seed funding to reach production-level manufacturing capacity for their cutting-edge radiation detector materials.

Stemloop (Prof. Julius Lucks, McCormick) is raising $2M in Seed funding to support the commercialization of their first product, µSense for Lead, which utilizes cell-free biosensors.

MFNS-Tech (Prof. Vinayak Dravid, McCormick) is raising $1.2M in Seed funding to support 6+ pilots, scale-up production, and business expansion of their nanostructure coating for oil spill cleanup.

Volexion (Prof. Mark Hersam, McCormick) is finishing a $1.2M Seed Series 2 raise with funding from undisclosed investors to develop, scale up, and commercialize their graphene encapsulation technology for commercial lithium ion cathode materials.

NORTHWESTERN STARTUPS:

To share your fundraising or milestone news, email inqbationlab@northwestern.edu.

INVESTORS:

Contact InQbation Lab directly for more information regarding these investment opportunities.

Q EXECUTIVE-IN-RESIDENCE

The Q Executive-in-Residence program begins this month. Ananth Naman, a veteran executive with 20+ years of industry experience in specialty chemical, industrial, and electronic materials, most recently CTO of Cabot Microelectronics, will meet with select Northwestern faculty and startups to provide a unique perspective and feedback. He will have limited office hours the week of Oct 23 for additional Northwestern researchers who are interested in connecting.

The focus of the inaugural Q EIR program is sustainability. For more information, contact Sonia Kim (sonia.kim@northwestern.edu).

NM-Q MEDICAL DEVICE STUDIO

The NM-Q Medical Device Studio is a newly launched program supported by Northwestern Medicine's Mansueto Innovation Institute and the Querrey InQbation Lab to offer clinicians (physicians, nurses, technicians, etc.) an opportunity to turn their "napkin drawings" into an initial prototype. Working with Michael Garrett, an experienced product design engineer, selected clinicians's device concepts will move towards prototyping with a budget up to $50k.

Twenty-two applications were submitted. Eight clinicians were given an opportunity to pitch to a selection committee, and four were selected to move towards an initial prototype. The following clinicians pitched selected projects:

• Dr. Bruce Tan (Otolaryngology)
• Drs. Nicolas Francone/Emi Bretschneider/Ali Borazjani (Obstetrics & Gynecology)
• Dr. Shilajit Kundu (Urology)
• Dr. Ahsun Riaz (Interventional Radiology)

Congratulations!

THE BUSINESS OF SCIENCE: HARDTECH COMMERCIALIZATION SEMINAR SERIES

This NEW 10-week series, facilitated by the Querrey InQbation Lab, The Graduate School (TGS) at Northwestern, and the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, is designed for Chicago-based postdocs who are interested in entrepreneurship and commercialization of university technologies. This series will provide an introduction to business management concepts and methods for research scientists. Seminars will be held weekly, Tuesdays from 3:00-5:00 PM, on the Northwestern Chicago campus starting January 9, 2024.



REGISTER HERE for an informational meeting held Monday, October 16, from 4-5 PM.

CHICAGO BIOCAPITAL SUMMIT

Chicago BioCapital Summit will bring together cutting-edge programs and/or startups and connect them with a national audience of VCs. Coordinated by the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, in partnership with Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Chicago, the BioCapital will take place on November 2, 2023 in downtown Chicago. Visit the registration page for more details.

If you have any questions, please visit the Querrey InQbation Lab or email inQbationlab@northwestern.edu.