2025 Innovation@Brown Showcase
The third annual Innovation@Brown Showcase featured representatives from Brown-affiliated companies, awards for Innovation, Inventor, and Startup of the Year, and live discussions centered around AI, tech, and health.
2025 Innovation@Brown Showcase
The third annual Innovation@Brown Showcase featured representatives from Brown-affiliated companies, awards for Innovation, Inventor, and Startup of the Year, and live discussions centered around AI, tech, and health.
Award Winners
Startup of the Year
Adept Materials
Founder and CEO Derek Stein accepted the award on behalf of Adept Materials.
Adept’s technology mimics a leaf’s ability to regulate temperature and moisture through microscopic capillaries and a “vapor diode” mechanism, allowing water vapor to move more easily in one direction. Adept recently closed a $4.6M seed round and is preparing to launch its first consumer product, a premium interior paint and primer system called Lilypad that incorporates the company’s proprietary moisture control technology.
Inventor of the Year
Arto Nurmikko, professor of engineering and physics
A professor of engineering and physics, Nurmikko is one of Brown’s most prolific inventors with one new international patent and four total patents issued in FY25.
The award is presented to the faculty member who has had the most engagement with BTI and has seen the most patenting success during the past fiscal year.
Innovation of the Year
The Huang Lab, Acre Therapeutics, Novel therapeutic approach targeting BIN1 to modulate secretory autophagy in Alzheimer’s Disease
Led by Alvin Huang, assistant professor of molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry, the Huang Lab’s technology presents a new precision medicine strategy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related neurodegenerative disorders by targeting BIN1, a major genetic risk factor. The approach, developed by the Huang lab, centers on the discovery that BIN1 promotes the spread of harmful tau proteins via a process called secretory autophagy. To intervene, researchers created an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy specifically designed to modify BIN1’s function, aiming to slow or halt the disease’s progression by disrupting this tau-spreading pathway.
A public vote was held featuring eight semifinalists for the Innovation of the Year award. The top three vote recipients gave a live pitch at the Innovation@Brown Showcase where the audience voted on the winner, leading to the Huang Lab’s recognition.
Event Media
Event Details
Schedule
Innovation@Brown Pitch Competition
Innovation@Brown Showcase
Speakers
Preview all the speakers you will hear from at the 2025 Innovation@Brown Showcase!
Featured Ventures
Acre Therapeutics
Acre Therapeutics is harnessing antisense oligonucleotide technology to target an Alzheimer’s disease risk factor. This represents a novel precision medicine approach which aims to prevent or delay the onset of dementia in Alzheimer’s and other tau-driven neurodegenerative diseases.
CareCrowd
CareCrowd is a healthcare data management platform transforming how provider data is collected, validated, and accessed. We combine automated data scraping with real-time crowdsourced data inputs and updates to build the most accurate and up-to-date healthcare provider directory on the market. Our platform addresses the costly and time-consuming problem of inaccurate directories, which burden insurers and hinder efficient patient referrals. Currently deployed in large practices across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, CareCrowd is already enhancing workflow efficiency and data quality for care teams.
ChronoSpace AI
ChronoSpace AI is building the world's first geometry-native AI model of reality.
Dawn
Dawn is building VIM: lightweight AR glasses with intelligent software for frontline manufacturing workers.
Ember Therapeutics Corporation
Ember develops and evaluates digital health monitoring and intervention tools that integrate wearable biosensors, ecological momentary assessment, and provider-facing platforms to deliver personalized, real-time support for substance use treatment and prevention. Our products leverage technology to capture dynamic risk states and reduce bias in clinical decision-making, to improve outcomes for individuals during critical periods of vulnerability.
EndoSwim Solutions
We're a deep tech company pioneering wireless swimming robotic systems that navigate viscous fluid environments with precision. Building on our proprietary bio-inspired propulsion technology, we develop breakthrough platforms for medical diagnostics, industrial inspection, food sanitization and beyond.
EnkaBiologics Inc.
EnkaBiologics Inc., founded by Drs. Chathuraka Jayasuriya and Jay Trivedi, is developing innovative cell-based biologic therapeutics to effectively treat musculoskeletal injuries beyond the current standard of care.
Enzylock
Enzylock’s platform wound dressing technology is engineered to reduce chronic wound infection rates and minimize unnecessary antibiotic use, thereby mitigating antimicrobial resistance and enabling more effective healing. The dressing activates only in the presence of bacteria-specific enzymes, releasing targeted antimicrobial therapy to accelerate recovery and improve patient outcomes.
Fermi Energy
Fermi Energy develops and manufactures high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. Our proprietary low-temperature calcination process is scalable and dramatically reduces energy use compared to conventional methods, enabling cost-effective and sustainable domestic production. This approach strengthens U.S. supply chains while lowering the environmental footprint of battery manufacturing.
Gene therapy for rare brain disorder
The Morrow Lab is developing a gene therapy to treat specific neurogenetic disorders. Their gene replacement strategy represents a promising therapeutic avenue for treating rare brain disorders.
GeroSen
GeroSen Biotechnologies is a Rhode Island–based life sciences company specializing in advanced analytical solutions for the detection and characterization of senescent cells. Our technology enables researchers and industry partners to better understand cellular aging and supports applications in aging research, diagnostics, and regenerative medicine.
Kyron Medical
Kyron Medical is a medical billing company staffed entirely by AI agents. It offers a proprietary voice AI dashboard that ensures humans never have to wait on hold when calling health insurance. The company has been featured on NBC News and by Medicine@Brown, and has customers across multiple states in the US.
Lilac Biosciences Inc.
Lilac is pioneering innovative kits and assays to detect and quantify specific RNA modifications critical for advancing research and therapeutic discovery. Lilac aims to expand access to next-generation RNA analysis tools designed for both academic and industry researchers, accelerating breakthroughs in areas such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and RNA-based therapeutics.
Nematex
Nematex is the first biological solution to sterilize Root Knot Nematodes (RKN) in a safe and hyper targeted manner at scale.
PyraSim Solutions
PyraSim Solutions develops brain simulations to accelerate drug discovery and personalize neuropsychiatric care. Using computational models for non-invasive neural biomarkers, our platform is designed to help drug developers validate next-generation therapies for conditions like schizophrenia and depression and clinicians optimize treatment decisions. We're transforming the neuropharmaceutical industry and mental healthcare from trial-and-error approaches to personalized, objective treatments.
Reach Neuro, Inc.
Reach Neuro is redefining stroke recovery with Avantis, the first implanted neuromodulation system designed to restore voluntary movement after stroke-induced paralysis. By targeting sensory nerves in the cervical spinal cord, our therapy reactivates natural motor control—helping patients regain the ability to use their arms and hands. Backed by early clinical success, Reach Neuro is unlocking a new standard of care for millions living with post-stroke disability.
Sakonnet Biomedical
Sakonnet Biomedical is focused on cancer immunotherapy and global health.
TEEM Therapeutics
TEEM Therapeutics is pioneering precision medicine for cardiac disease to discover novel drug targets and develop new therapies. Our patented technology leverages patient-specific 3D human heart tissue-engineered models, advanced sensor arrays, and automated analytics to accelerate drug discovery. We are positioned to set a new standard in cardiac drug development and improve outcomes for conditions like atrial fibrillation.
Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor for a future event? Contact us at innovation-showcase@brown.edu or 401-863-7499.