2026 Georgetown University Research & Innovation Showcase
In 2026, we’re returning with a reimagined and even more packed showcase with the theme Partnerships Power Possibilities. Hosted by OTC in partnership with the Office of Advancement and Georgetown Entrepreneurship at the McDonough School of Business, the event features a full day of learning, networking, and recognition.
Historically, Georgetown has launched transformative technologies like the whole-body CT scanner, the allergy medication Allegra, and the HPV vaccine Gardasil. The research featured at the showcase this year will become the next-generation solutions of tomorrow.
Mark your calendars and watch for event updates via the OTC LinkedIn account and newsletter. We’ll also add details about speakers and topics as the event date approaches.
Mark your calendars for the 2026 showcase!
DateApril 22, 2026
Time10 AM to 7:30 PM
VenueLohrfink Auditorium, Rafik B. Hariri Building, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University
Breakthrough ideas change lives — but only when they move beyond the lab. Hear from national policy leaders, investors, and innovators as they discuss the critical role universities play in advancing research that serves the public good, fuels economic growth, and drives the future of American innovation.
Discovery to Impact
Stephen J. Susalka, is the CEO of AUTM, the non-profit leader in efforts to educate, promote and inspire professionals to support the development of academic research that changes the world and drives innovation forward. He works to ensure that AUTM serves the needs and interests of its members through strategic planning, outreach and advocacy, while empowering association members and promoting the profession.
John F. Crowley is the president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the premier biotechnology advocacy organization representing biotech companies, industry leaders, and state biotech associations in the United States and more than 35 countries around the globe.
Kiran Reddy is a senior managing director in the Blackstone Life Sciences group, having joined in May 2020. Reddy was previously the President & CEO of Praxis Precision Medicines, which he co-founded in November 2016.
Leading Georgetown researchers discuss cutting-edge research and the real-world problems we are actively addressing.
Maria Laura Avantaggiati, MD, PhD, an associate professor of oncology, drives “bench-to-bedside” cancer research. A NIH-trained expert in p53, her focus is on designing drugs that target mitochondrial metabolism for application in several human diseases, including obesity, cancer and rare pediatric diseases
Dr. Nagi G. Ayad is a Professor in the Department of Oncology and Associate Director of Translational Research at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. Dr. Ayad received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in 1992, worked for Merck & Co., Inc. as a biochemist and then pursued graduate studies with Dr. Ira Mellman at Yale University. Dr. Ayad completed his Ph.D. in Cell Biology in 1998 and moved to Harvard Medical School in 1999 to perform a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Marc Kirschner. He has held faculty positions at the Scripps Research Institute and the University of Miami before joining Georgetwon University. He has published extensively on the cell cycle and brain cancer and has developed novel small molecules and computational programs for treating medulloblastoma and glioblastoma.
Matthew Biel, MD, MS, chief of child psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown, co-directs the Early Childhood Innovation Network. His work focuses on adversity, reducing health disparities, and improving mental health access for underserved children in DC.
Promoting brain repair through immune reprogramming
Jeffrey K. Huang is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biology and Neurology at Georgetown University. He leads an interdisciplinary research program focused on the mechanisms of neuroinflammation and brain repair. His work integrates neurobiology, immunology, and translational science to understand how immune cells—particularly microglia and T cells—regulate myelin regeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS) and related neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders.
Priyanka Joshi, PhD, investigates how cellular metabolites influence protein misfolding and homeostasis in aging and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. As a tenure-track assistant professor at Georgetown, she directs the Laboratory of Biomolecular Homeostasis and Resilience, using structural proteomics to uncover new therapeutic strategies.
“The Center for Neuroengineering: A global alliance for advancing mind and brain health
Maximilian Riesenhuber, PhD, studies the computational mechanisms of human object Max Riesenhuber is Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Georgetown University Medical Center and Co-Director of Georgetown’s Center for Neuroengineering. His research uses computational modeling, brain imaging and EEG to understand how the brain makes sense of the world, and how these insights can be translated to neuromorphic AI and augmented cognition applications.
Sonia Maria de Assis Shepard, PhD pioneers research on non-genetic/epigenetic inheritance of cancer predisposition. Her lab identified sperm non-coding RNAs, modulated by environmental exposure, as key to inter-generational risk transmission.
J. C. Smart is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and Chief Scientist for the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research, overseeing science activities on global systems (sustainability, world health, security) and leading the ATra program for sensitive data analysis.
Alejandro Villagra, PhD is an associate professor at Georgetown University specializing in tumor immunology and epigenetics. His research focuses on how epigenetic modifiers, particularly HDACs, regulate immune and cancer cell functions. He is a pioneer in developing selective small-molecule inhibitors to enhance antitumor immune responses. With over 67 publications and funding from the NIH and CRI, Villagra’s translational work bridges the gap between molecular discovery and clinical immunotherapy
The Red House Journey Framework: The Missing Infrastructure of a Healthy Democracy
Kate Woodsome is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, Georgetown University visiting scholar and founder and executive director of the Invisible Threads Impact Lab , building the personal and civic resilience democracy depends on.
Time to talk and network with your peers and future collaborators. Lunch will be provided. Please register via Eventbrite once available so organizers have an accurate head count for planning purposes.
1 pm – 2 pm: Industry & investor reverse pitch
Strategic Priorities & Partnership Opportunities: Industry leaders and investors will share their current areas of research focus, unmet needs, and strategic priorities — offering faculty, innovators, and new ventures a direct window into where collaboration is most needed. This session is designed to spark meaningful dialogue, surface alignment, and catalyze new partnerships at the intersection of discovery and real-world application.
Reverse Pitch
Patrick is a Partner at KdT Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on the intersection of biology, chemistry, and technology. Founded in 2017, KdT has partnered with 70+ science-driven companies across the life science, healthcare, and chemical and materials industries. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Patrick completed his MD and PhD in Computational Neuroscience at Georgetown University, where his research focused on machine learning applications in medicine. Before medical school, Patrick was a Research Fellow at the NIH focused on biomarker development for neurodegenerative disease, and completed his B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University. KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in science-driven companies at the intersection of technology and the physical world. Based in Austin, TX, and Research Triangle, NC, KdT partners with founders in biotechnology, healthcare, sustainability, and beyond, offering deep technical and strategic support to build transformative companies.
Manbir Singh is the Program Manager for BARDA Ventures and the BARDA Accelerator Network at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). In his role, Manbir helps grow and foster the medical countermeasures startup ecosystem by accelerating the development and commercialization of next-generation health security solutions through entrepreneurial mentorship and non-dilutive funding programs via the BARDA Accelerator Network, along with equity investments through BARDA Ventures. Manbir’s background is in infectious disease research before transitioning to venture building, commercialization, and technical and business support for early-stage innovators and entrepreneurs transitioning their technology from the bench to market. Before joining BARDA, Manbir led and supported multiple federally funded deep tech startup studios and accelerator programs, managing partnerships, technology sourcing, and due diligence with labs across the DoD, DHS, DOE, NASA, NIST, HHS, the VA, and several universities.
Maryclaire Abowd is a Senior Business Development Manager on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Worldwide Public Sector Global Education team, based in Washington, DC. She works with education and research customers around the world to help them harness the power of cloud technology to advance their missions. With over twelve years of experience in the IT and services industry, Maryclaire focuses on go-to-market strategy for the global education sector, with a particular emphasis on academic research, helping universities and research institutions unlock the full potential of cloud and artificial intelligence to drive meaningful outcomes. Her passion for global education was shaped in part by her time at the American University in Cairo Onsi Sawiris School of Business, where she worked prior to joining AWS, an experience that deepened her commitment to expanding access to transformative technology for learners and researchers worldwide. Maryclaire holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Middle East and Islamic Studies from Boston College and a graduate degree from the London School of Economics, and she was awarded a United States Fulbright Award to conduct independent research at Cairo University.
Startups backed by Georgetown research, students, and alumni showcase their companies to you.
Faculty Startup
Hupside is the first company in the world built to fix the AI sameness crisis, the silent force flattening ideas, narrowing innovation, and erasing differentiation across industries. While organizations pour billions into AI tools, 95% still fail to see ROI because they aren’t addressing the most important variable: people. Hupside introduced a new category called Original Intelligence (OI), the measurable human capacity to create ideas that break out of AI’s probabilistic patterns. Backed by scientists and experts from Georgetown University and Washington & Lee University, Hupside’s technology quantifies what AI cannot: the human originality that drives real innovation. In a world where AI makes everything faster but increasingly the same, Hupside ensures organizations can still deliver what wins: ideas that are unexpected and unmistakably human.
PushCART Therapeutics is a newly-formed spinout from Georgetown University. The company has worldwide, exclusive rights to a portfolio of inventions developed by Louis Weiner, who served for 18 years as director of the Lombardi Cancer Center. The company’s technology uniquely addresses a major obstacle in the treatment of solid tumors (e.g., pancreatic, lung, colorectal, etc, comprising 90% of all cancers) – namely the ability of immune cells to penetrate the dense fibrosis (scar tissue) that wall off the tumor. PushCART’s technology also is applicable to a wide range of fibrotic diseases, which together contribute to about 45% of all deaths in Western countries. The company currently expects to be in Ph1 clinical trials by Q2 or Q3 of next year.
Uvantis Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing live biotherapeutic products targeting the urinary microbiome to prevent and treat recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs). Growing evidence shows that disruption of the urinary microbial ecosystem contributes to infection susceptibility and recurrence. The company’s lead program focuses on a defined microbial therapeutic designed to colonize the urinary tract and reduce pathogen overgrowth. By advancing microbiome-driven approaches to urologic disease, Uvantis aims to deliver durable, non-antibiotic treatment options that address a major unmet clinical need while helping reduce antibiotic resistance.
Bonne Terre Labs was founded on a simple belief: technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. In a world facing unprecedented climate challenges and growing social inequities, we saw an urgent need for tools that translate complex data into actionable insights. We partner with communities, public agencies, and researchers to create platforms that make climate and equity data accessible, understandable, and ready to use. From coastal towns preparing for rising seas to cities addressing systemic inequities, our work empowers decision-makers with the information they need to build a more resilient and just future.
Nextgen Magnets is a deep-tech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the magnetics industry through the development of rare-earth-free permanent magnets. Utilizing proprietary technology licensed from Georgetown University, the company is addressing the critical supply chain vulnerabilities and environmental costs associated with traditional rare-earth mining.
Xlue, Inc. (xlue.ai), an artificial intelligence focused company, is building health foundation models that empower the entire healthcare ecosystem. By adapting frontier, large language models to real-world medical data, Xlue enables smarter decisions, deeper insights, and safer care across clinical practice. Built exclusively on patented technology and proprietary medical data, Xlue bridges frontier AI research and real-world healthcare, creating the foundation layer that connects data, compute, and clinical practice. With deep academic and industrial roots and global clinical partnerships, Xlue is redefining how the healthcare ecosystem leverages trustworthy, explainable, and clinically proven AI to revolutionize medicine. Through their use of Xlue technology, our clinical partners are providing a more-informed, hence better, care for their patient population.
Sophia Spatial AI is pioneering spatial intelligence — AI systems that understand and reason about the physical world. By combining multimodal AI, computer vision, and AR-native interfaces, the company transforms static enterprise knowledge into real-time, context-aware guidance for frontline workers. Its platform bridges digital information and physical environments to improve training, safety, and operational efficiency across industrial sectors.
PeraWatt is an advanced materials company redefining energy efficiency in AI data centers, industrial power systems, and electric vehicles by delivering a new class of highly efficient magnetic materials that do not rely on critical minerals or rare earths.
1104Health is building the infrastructure for collaborative oncology care. The company’s AI-powered Shared Care Network connects oncologists, clinical trials, and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate patient access to new cancer treatments.While pharmaceutical companies invest billions to develop oncology drugs, most patients are treated in community settings where physicians lack tools to easily identify trials or coordinate care across institutions. As a result, promising therapies often reach patients far too slowly.1104Health enables oncologists to collaborate, access education, and coordinate patient care through a digital network.
Our annual awards ceremony recognizes the hard work and commitment shown by our researchers, startups, partners, and all members who contribute to our entrepreneurial community.
5 pm – 7:30 pm: Evening reception and networking
To celebrate the culmination of a wonderful day of research, innovation and learning, we will gather in the Fisher Colloquium for the event closing, refreshments, and conversation into the evening. A perennial highlight of the day’s agenda.
Public transportation is highly recommended, as on-campus (hilltop) parking is limited. However, paid parking is available at the following location:
Visitor and daily parking is available in the Southwest Garage, accessed from 3611 Canal Road NW. When entering the garage, pull a ticket from the gate dispenser. You can pay by credit card at the exit gate or with cash or credit card at the pay station in the ground floor lobby of Kennedy Hall.
Exit Southwest Garage and walk up the hill to the left of the football field.
The Hariri Building is at the far end of the field.
Turn right and walk in the main door to Hariri.
From Main Gates:
Follow the diagonal sidewalk across the Front Lawn.
Walk through Red Square, an open brick plaza, and up a short flight of stairs.
Continue to walk straight ahead, passing Reiss Science Building, and proceed up the stairs to the Leavey Center on the left.
From the doors of the Leavey Center, walk to the left, past the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop, and through Sellinger Lounge.
Turn right and enter the double doors.
Near the end of the hall, walk through the door located to the left and across the patio into the 2nd floor of the Hariri Building.
Lohrfink Auditorium is located on the 2nd floor.
Interested in sponsoring?
We invite individuals, organizations, and industry to be a part of the day of innovation by sponsoring and actively participating in the dialogue. Please reach out to us at techlicensing@georgetown.edu if you are interested in discussing official sponsorship opportunities. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, download this flyer .
Partner with Georgetown’s innovation engine
We have various opportunities, beyond attending as an audience member, to take part in the Research & Innovation Showcase. Please use the below links to apply for these opportunities. The 2025 event drew 431 attendees and showcased 19 researchers and startups, sparking collaborations that lead to results.
Researchers: Apply to present your innovation. The showcase is the fastest way to get your cutting-edge research in front of industry decision-makers, secure vital feedback, and connect with potential partners and funding.
Startups: Apply to join the startup showcase if you have a Georgetown-affiliated company connected through a license, alumni, or students.
Industry: Ask for submissions to a reverse pitch from researchers. You’ll gain exclusive access to a pipeline of market-ready intellectual property and talent.
The inaugural showcase in 2025 featured research presentations, an industry panel discussion, and a venture fair showcasing new and exciting entrepreneurial companies and teams from the Georgetown community.