Lab to Impact: From Idea to Prototyping and Design in Medical Devices
2025-10-29 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Prototyping is a critical step in translating medical device concepts into real-world solutions. Whether you’re working in a university lab, building a startup, or managing development inside a large company, understanding how to prototype effectively can reduce risk, save time, and guide better design decisions.
This one-hour virtual panel will explore the strategic role of prototyping across stages of development, from early testing to scalable production. Panelists will share experiences from both clinical and industry perspectives.
Speakers:

Audrey Beckman – Medical device executive with 35+ years of experience in product design leadership

Mohammed Fouda, MD – Clinician-innovator at Weill Cornell Medicine, developing a novel medical device

Moderator:Donna Rounds, PhD – Associate Director of Business Development and Licensing, CTL at Weill Cornell Medicine
Register for the October 29 panel discussion.

Ignite Innovation Acceleration Fall 2025 Information Session
2025-11-03 12:00 - 13:00
Ignite Innovation Acceleration is a gap funding program offering up to $50,000 to help Cornell research teams advance disclosed inventions toward commercialization. Funding supports work that moves technologies toward licensing, startup formation, or industry partnerships.
Applications are open from September 22 to November 7, 2025.
This session will provide an overview of:

Program goals and funding scope

Application process and timeline

Eligibility and selection criteria

How this program fits into the Ignite: Lab to Market funding series

Register here.

Weill Cornell Medicine Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2025
2025-11-17 13:50 - 17:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/weill-cornell-medicine-symposium-on-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-2025
Weill Cornell Medicine Dean’s Office and Enterprise Innovation invite you to join us virtually
for an afternoon filled with insightful discussions on biomedical innovation and
entrepreneurship and a celebration of our innovator-entrepreneurs. This symposium
features a fireside chat with Dean Robert A. Harrington and Barry Kappel, Ph.D. ’06, M.B.A.,
Founder, President, CEO & Director of Sapience Therapeutics.
RSVP here.

Lab to Impact: The Path to Commercializing Semiconductor Technology
2025-11-18 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/lab-to-impact-the-path-to-commercializing-semiconductor-technology
Join leading experts from industry and academia as they explore the critical pathway from semiconductor innovation to commercial success.
This panel will address key challenges and opportunities in bringing new semiconductor technologies to market, including scaling challenges, manufacturing partnerships, and funding strategies. Speakers will share insights on bridging the gap between academic research and industrial applications, securing strategic partnerships, and navigating the complex landscape of chip fabrication and testing.
Register here.

Ignite Fellow for New Ventures Info Session 1
2025-11-21 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/ignite-fellow-for-new-ventures-info-session-1-2025-26
Ignite Fellows for New Ventures is the flagship PhD & master’s‑level fellowship in Cornell’s Lab‑to‑Market gap‑fund series. Since its 2022 launch, the program has supported entrepreneurial scientists and engineers ready to turn research into high‑impact startups.
We’re now recruiting our 5th annual cohort, open to master’s graduates, doctoral candidates, and PhD holders. Fellows are matched with a Cornell faculty inventor and receive up to $120,000 in funding. They join as full‑time Cornell employees, working in the lab and engaging with our incubator network for business development.
This is your opportunity to build a business, lead as a founder, advance technology commercialization, and enrich Cornell’s venture ecosystem. Whether your ambition is to become CEO, CSO or CTO—or to apply your entrepreneurial mindset to bold new discoveries—Ignite is designed for you.
What we look for:

Big‑vision innovators who take calculated risks

Scientists or engineers ready to lead a venture

Partners who want to work alongside a Cornell faculty inventor

What you’ll get:

Funding up to $120 K to support you and your early‑stage work

Mentorship and training through Cornell’s startup ecosystem

Access to faculty lab resources, the incubator network, and startup infrastructure

Register here.

Accelerating BioVenture Innovation Final Pitch Event
2025-12-09 17:30 - 20:00
Weill Cornell Medicine Enterprise Innovation invite you to join on Tuesday, December 9, 5:30-8pm as the finalist teams from the 2025 Accelerating BioVenture Innovation course pitch their technologies to a panel of early-stage investors and industry judges.
The pitch event will take place at Uris Auditorium, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY, followed by a networking reception at Griffis Faculty Lounge with investors, ecosystem partners and industry representatives who served as mentors and lecturers throughout the program. Celebrate the winning teams and scientific innovation with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails!
RSVP here.
About Accelerating BioVenture Innovation:
Accelerating BioVenture Innovation (ABI) is a 15-week experiential course in innovation and entrepreneurship that builds teams around patented technologies from local academic institutions and federal laboratories. The program educates participants on all aspects of commercializing an academic invention. Teams create pitch decks after weeks of instruction and mentorship from industry experts, and then finalist teams are selected to pitch to a panel of investors and industry judges.

Ignite Fellow for New Ventures Info Session 2
2025-12-17 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/ignite-fellow-for-new-ventures-info-session-2-december-17

Lab to Impact: Telling Your Scientific Story for Commercialization Impact
2026-01-22 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/lab-to-impact-telling-your-scientific-story-for-commercialization-impact
Discoveries do not become products or services on their own. Beyond validating the underlying science and its novelty, researchers must communicate their work in language that resonates with audiences outside their field, including industry partners, investors, and potential customers. Effective storytelling helps build understanding and trust, highlight the value of new discoveries, and enable others to see why an innovation matters.
In this session, Telling Your Scientific Story for Commercialization Impact, Julia Felice, Ph.D., will help scientific innovators strengthen their ability to communicate complex ideas in ways that drive engagement and action. Participants will explore how narrative supports the adoption of new technologies and how a clear, compelling story can accelerate partnerships, funding, and early market traction.
Participants will:

Learn how to adapt their scientific story for diverse audiences.
Engage with examples and development of a concise “hook” that conveys the value of their research to non-technical decision makers.
Leave with a Storytelling for Impact Checklist to guide future communication efforts.
Be invited to follow-up office hours with Julia Felice for individualized feedback on their own innovation story (limited spots).

The goal of this workshop is to help innovators understand how to cross the “communication chasm,” an important step on the path from Lab to Impact.
Register here.

Lab to Impact: Social Science at the Frontiers of Innovation
2026-01-27 12:00 - 13:00 | https://ctl.cornell.edu/event/lab-to-impact-social-science-at-the-frontiers-of-innovation
Join Professor Eve DeRosa and social entrepreneur Steve Shapiro for a conversation on translating behavioral science and human-centered research into impactful products, services, and ventures. Explore how social scientists are shaping business models and creating change in communities.
This event has been postponed. New date: January 27, 2026.
Register here.
