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.

Despite an unpredictable landscape, tech entrepreneurship is thriving at TIP. UConn startups and entrepreneurs set several records and milestones in the 2025 fiscal year, bucking a challenging national landscape. Continue reading →

An inaugural pitch event has served as an “Innovation Catalyst” for the UConn Health community to have the unique opportunity to present their exciting research breakthrough ideas to UConn and health care industry and investors. Continue reading →

Encapsulate, a standout member of the UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP), has been awarded a prestigious $3.63 million grant from NASA’s In-Space Production Applications (InSPA) Phase 1 program to develop a groundbreaking microgravity-based Metastasis-on-a-Chip platform. Continue reading →

PiezoBioMembrane, Inc., a cutting-edge UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP) startup, has taken a major step forward in regenerative medicine through a newly announced research and development partnership with PetVivo Holdings, Inc., a biomedical device company focused on animal health. Continue reading →

Congratulations to Ryan Gresh and the team at The Feel Good Lab, a UConn TIP startup based at our Farmington location, for their recent national spotlight on Good Morning America’s popular “Deals & Steals” segment. Continue reading →

The UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP) at Storrs has been experiencing renewed energy and growth, building on years of entrepreneurial success. As part of the program’s long-term vision to expand innovation opportunities, TIP welcomed Steve Criss in December as Administrator to oversee day-to-day operations, helping execute the team’s plans for strengthening and expanding the incubator. Since then, the Storrs facility has seen a wave of startup milestones, new company additions, and facility improvements that are helping advance the mission of supporting Connecticut’s next generation of innovators.

Several TIP Storrs companies have reached exciting growth stages. Andros Innovations is building a demonstration plasma reactor for sustainable fertilizer production, while Particle-N is advancing its nano-coating technology through client contracts and investor outreach. SingleTime Micro Needle has expanded its painless drug delivery platform into two full labs at Storrs and Farmington, and Therapeutic Bandage has grown its bioactive wound care solutions with new funding and team members. PiezoBioMembrane, focused on piezoelectric membranes for wearables and sensors, welcomed new CEO Linh Le and expanded into a newly renovated lab space. Meanwhile, new ventures like Atlas (seaweed-based food coatings), MembraneX (advanced filtration membranes), Sea Solutions (sustainable aquaculture systems), FemtoInnovations (ultrafast lasers), and Marc-Antoni Racing (EV motorsport technologies) have joined the growing TIP Storrs community. The incubator is now at full capacity, with a waiting list in place and active discussions underway about future expansion sites on campus.

Facility upgrades have also been a priority, supporting the program’s growing roster of companies. A new co-working space with reservable workstations is nearly complete, a digital kiosk for showcasing TIP news and research is being installed in the lobby, and a shared equipment space is set to open by late fall. Infrastructure improvements, including a repaired cold room and refreshed common areas, reflect TIP’s commitment to providing the tools and spaces startups need to thrive. Plans are also underway to convert the TIP front office into additional coworking space for partners such as Wiggins and Dana LLP, FMLA, and CT APEX, further enhancing collaboration across the ecosystem.

The growth at TIP Storrs reflects the strength of UConn’s broader innovation community and the dedication of the entrepreneurs driving these ventures forward. With full labs, expanding teams, and promising technologies emerging from the incubator, TIP continues to build on its foundation of success—creating opportunities for startups, the university, and the state’s innovation economy.