Victor Fernandes recently completed the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program, securing a $50,000 grant to explore the commercial translation of the lab’s in-vivo cell tracking technology. Over the course of the program, more than 150 customer discovery interviews were conducted with experts across academia, biotech, and industry to identify unmet needs and validate potential applications in cell therapy development.
As part of this effort, Victor represented the lab at several national meetings, including the Allogeneic Cell Therapy Summit and BIO International Convention in Boston, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and the Global In-Vivo Cell Therapy Summit in Florida. The insights and connections gained through these engagements have helped refine the commercialization strategy and strengthen collaboration with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) to accelerate the technology’s path toward clinical and industrial adoption.