When you visit your favorite sandwich, donut, or pizza shop next year, UConn Ph.D. candidate Yidan Zhang hopes you’ll be leaving with more than just good food. She wants you to also get a healthier food wrapper to carry it home.

When Armin Rad ‘19 Ph.D. and Leila Daneshmandi ‘20 Ph.D. set out to found Encapsulate in 2019, they couldn’t have foreseen where the next six years would take them. Now, their biochip-based cancer care company is taking on the world.

Building Innovation Networks Without Borders

On October 9, UConn’s Technology Commercialization Services (TCS) and its Technology Incubation Program (TIP) welcomed two international delegations in a single day—a powerful demonstration of our commitment to connecting Connecticut startups with global partners, markets, and commercialization opportunities.

Global Affairs Canada Visit

In the morning, TIP Farmington was honored to host Max Lelu, Trade Commissioner at Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada, and his team. The visit gave TIP companies a unique opportunity to hold one-on-one conversations with the delegation, exploring concrete pathways to expand into Canadian markets, form supplier relationships, and establish cross-border collaborations.

The Canadian delegation also toured TIP labs and facilities. During the visit, Atlas (Matthew Cleaver), Therapeutic Bandage Products (Dr. Lawrence Silbart), QCDx, Arome (Alexey Melnik), and Nanoionix showcased their technologies, highlighted recent milestones, and shared their ambitions for growth. The energy of these discussions reinforced what makes TIP distinctive: we are not just fueling startups here in Connecticut—we are opening doors to global markets and long-term partnerships.

Turkish Delegation

That same afternoon, TIP Farmington hosted a distinguished delegation from Türkiye, including:

• Prof. Dr. Fikrettin Şahin, Yeditepe University, Genetics & Bioengineering / Biotechnology Institute

• Dr. Neslihan Isik, Innovation & Business Development Manager, BI7TECH Pharma

• Selin Doğaneli Ozyuksel, CEO, BI7TECH Pharma

Their visit included in-depth discussions with UConn Health faculty and leaders—Dr. Anthony Vella, Dr. Bernd Simon, Dr. Tolga Turker, Dr. Abhijit Banerjee, Dr. Bruce Liang, Dr. Victor Hesselbrock, and Elizabeth Laska—on biomedical research, clinical innovation, and clinical trials. They also toured TIP facilities and engaged directly with startup teams, identifying potential pathways for collaboration in biotechnology, diagnostics, and translational research.

A Global Innovation Ecosystem

Together, these visits illustrate the value and reach of UConn’s innovation ecosystem. By connecting researchers, entrepreneurs, and startups to international partners, TCS and TIP are building an innovation network without borders—one that accelerates the commercialization of UConn research and supports startup growth across continents.