Jacob Johnson’s Post

In 2023, the University of Melbourne's Proof-of-Concept fund supported over 30 exciting new innovations from across the university, providing funding to help our academics bring their amazing translational projects closer to customers, patients and partners. We are off to a flying start in 2024, with details of the first successful applications to follow but first, we wanted to highlight some of the impactful programs that were supported in the later stages of 2023.... Dr Justin Fong's 'Balance Walking Aid' Millions of people around the world suffer from an elevated risk of falling while walking due to factors such as age, injury, or neurological condition. A detailed analysis of a person’s gait can help clinicians to understand this risk and also to design and monitor the effectiveness of interventions to reduce risk. Today, such analysis requires specialist equipment and so is not commonly used. Dr Justin Fong has invented a method for capturing detailed measurements of gait using readily available equipment. Dr Fong aims to commercialise this technology, and has been awarded Proof of Concept funding to develop and validate a robust prototype for trials with end-users to obtain valuable feedback and proof of value. Porous Lane was founded by A/Prof Mahdi Disfani and Dr Amir Mehdizadeh to commercialise a novel pavement formulation using recycled tyres that is highly permeable, addressing challenges of flash flooding, tree health and tyre waste among other benefits. The pavement is currently poured in place, which leads to bottlenecks around scheduling, labour, materials, logistics, and even weather. With the support of the Proof of Concept scheme, A/Prof Disfani’s research team will develop the next generation product and associated installation guides to enable the product to be produced, distributed, and deployed at scale, amplifying the benefits of the original invention. Find out more about how the Proof of Concept scheme can support researchers to develop their early innovations [Link to https://lnkd.in/g8ersa9s] Funding to develop your idea | Research at Melbourne Explore pathways at the University of Melbourne to translate research into successful products, services and companies. research.unimelb.edu.au Mahdi Miri Disfani, Amir Mehdizadeh, Justin Fong, Ying Tan, Denny Oetomo, Stan Skafidas, Prudence Midgley (née Brew), Damon Beckwith, David Woollard, Shane Kilcullen, Ken Jefferd, Heather St John

In this episode of Beyond the Breakthrough, Maria Roche, an assistant professor at HBS, explores why professors may not always be the best founders for biotech spinouts. Her research shows startups tied closely to a professor's lab often struggle with funding and exits, and PhD students may face setbacks in their own research careers. 💡 Hear more about the challenges and how universities can better support these ventures. #HBS #Entrepreneurship

Research Institution Proof of Concept, Startup Accelerator, and Venture Fund Gap Fund and Accelerator Programs (GAP for short) #innovation #university #research #gapfunding #proofofconcept #startup #accelerator #venture #commercialization

Research Institution Proof of Concept, Startup Accelerator, and Venture Fund Gap Fund and Accelerator Programs (GAP for short) #innovation #university #research #gapfunding #proofofconcept #startup #accelerator #venture #commercialization

#SanDiego continues to be a leader in the Life Sciences industry. Biocom California's recent "Life Science Economic Impact Report" indicates that San Diego's life science industry is faring better than many other industries. Our region's strengths include entrepreneurship, translating research from local world-class universities into new local startups, and the region's strategic collaborations between industry, university, and government. #economicdevelopment #countyofsandiego #lifesciencesindustry #sandiego https://lnkd.in/gx5HwRBu

Research Institution Proof of Concept, Startup Accelerator, and Venture Fund Gap Fund and Accelerator Programs (GAP for short) #innovation #university #research #gapfunding #proofofconcept #startup #accelerator #venture #commercialization

When it comes to 'tearing up the traditional biotech playbook' -- we are in the conversation. Nature published an article discussing how bigger and more expensive science requires more extensive collaboration and new funding opportunities. "... it is possible for startups to partner with core facilities at universities in the area to rent time on certain equipment, such as sequencers. One does not need to be in a big city to have this sort of arrangement. The Huck Institute at Pennsylvania State University, for example, runs 12 core labs and offers services for a fee to local companies." Read more about the future of research partnerships and how Penn State University is a great example: https://lnkd.in/gDdnaM83 Penn State Research Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

Oxford Seed Fund was the highlight of my MBA over the past year at Oxford 💫 I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to interact with several amazing mission-driven founders, and to have been personally involved in scouting, investing in and supporting a few incredible people: Samuel Akinwunmi, Rohan Doctor, Bosco Lai, Gaurav Bajaj, Mihai Mărcuță, Elisabeth Duijnstee, Lucy Lyons, Alex Routledge, Johann van der Merwe, CFA, Jas Schembri-Stothart, Jo Goodall, Peter N., Amie Leighton + one crazy genius person ( and a good friend) building in stealth. Only time will tell how these investments play out, but - although I'm very biased :P - I am very bullish about these founders and am excited to see them grow their ventures 🚀 I am also looking forward to seeing the growth journey of startups we did not back this year. Rather than the quality of startups, it was more constraints around not having enough time ( juggling a near-FT #venturecapital gig with a FT #mba isn't easy!), limited capital to deploy and sometimes not being able to find the right industry expert to speak with. I do wish the best for all these founders and hope they prove me/us wrong ✨ I learnt so much about different industries and problem statements, jumping between founder calls in fields varying from quantum to space to battery tech to crypto to climate tech to B2B SaaS/ enterprise software to consumer social - sometimes multiple times during the same day! I also really enjoyed the due diligence process - doing industry research across websites, white papers and research papers, finding and speaking with relevant industry experts and also finding co-investors to help close a deal. I do think the University of Oxford startup ecosystem and alumni founder network has a lot of untapped potential 💫 Maybe it's about time we started an alumni syndicate to start supporting founders in the earliest stages and build an early-stage investment ecosystem similar to Stanford? 🤔 Dm if interested. I thank James Murray, Maria Zubeldia Diaz and Lilly B. for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this transformational experience, and my colleagues Arif A. Wani, Michael H., Alex Prittie, Celina Nanbara, Viktoriia Oliinyk 🇺🇦, Raymond Zhao, Isabel Greenslade, Julia Bator, Isobel Dunstan, Lenny Jenkins and Sarah E. for working on several deals with me - and also bearing with me during internal debates on which startups we should move ahead to IC 🙈 I also thank Ophelia C, Mish Mashkautsan, Tom Wilson, Nick Jenkins, Michael Tefula, Miruna-Ioana Girtu for sharing their #vc insights during our VC advisory board sessions every quarter. As this chapter of my life closes, I would like to highlight that Oxford Seed Fund will be hiring new student associates for this upcoming academic year - please reach out to Arif A. Wani to learn more 😄 p.s. apologies, v busy with new gig so can't take calls w/ everyone reaching out 🙏🏾

🌱 Great news for the ever-growing biotech community in Delft: Planet B.io @ Biotech Campus Delft has received a subsidy of €400,000 to realise a fully-equipped Shared Lab. The lab will be available to rent on a flexible basis, providing a valuable asset for start-ups, companies, scientists and educators with a focus on biotech. Once build, it will accommodate up to 24 researchers, 🥽 "We're very happy to receive a €400,000 subsidy from Kansen voor West, propelling Planet B.io's Shared Lab initiative. This funding reinforces our dedication to fostering biotechnological innovation, addressing critical infrastructure gaps, and paving the way for collaborative breakthroughs at the Biotech Campus Delft,” says Fenneke Jolink, Project Manager at Planet B.io. “Integrated within the Planet B.io ecosystem and Biotech Campus Delft, the Shared Lab also provides access to an expansive knowledge base, and an extensive network.” #delft #biotech #biotechcampus #startups #lab #sharedlab #kansenvoorwest

Science Creates launches 2nd engineering biology accelerator - Digital Health #ScienceCreates #EngineeringBiology #Accelerator Science Creates has recently launched its second engineering biology accelerator program, aimed at fostering innovation in the field of engineering biology. The program will provide funding, mentorship, and resources to startups and researchers working on cutting-edge projects in this area. #Benefits of the Accelerator Program Participants in the engineering biology accelerator program will have access to a wide range of benefits, including funding opportunities, mentorship from industry experts, and access to state-of-the-art lab facilities. This will enable them to accelerate the development of their projects and bring them to market more quickly. #Focus Areas for Innovation The accelerator program will focus on several key areas of innovation within engineering biology, including synthetic biology, genetic engineering, ai.mediformatica.com #programme #accelerator #sciencecreates #equity #innovation #research #ukresearchandinnovation #engineeringbiology #funding #health #launch #acceleratorprogramme #digitalhealth #healthit #healthtech #healthcaretechnology @MediFormatica (https://buff.ly/49WwBhM)