Over $1 million awarded to 7 university projects
COLUMBIA, Md., (April 24, 2025) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced the next round of Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII)’s Technology Assessment awards, marking a significant milestone in promoting the commercialization of groundbreaking research from Maryland's prestigious academic research institutions. The Technology Assessment award is a nine-month project that builds on strong preliminary data that demonstrates the technology’s utility for specific commercial applications beyond basic research.
“The Technology Assessment phase of our program provides non-dilutive funding to advance technologies with commercial potential,” said Abi Kulshreshtha, MII’s executive director. “In this award cycle, the Maryland Innovation Initiative staff and technical reviewers selected seven projects from a competitive pool of applicants, which altogether received grants totaling more than $1 million to advance innovations ranging from new cancer therapeutics to inclusive AI-driven education technology solutions.”
The seven awardees are below:
- Heather Ames: Cell-HKer/siRaf, a promising therapeutic for Solid Tumors; University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Kevin Aroom: The Baby Gro Pro Smartscale: improving early diagnosis of medical problems and rare diseases; University of Maryland, College Park
- Steven Bernstein: Development of a novel optic nerve-stem cell therapy for glaucoma prevention and treatment; University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Won Jin Ho: Targeting PTPN22 for cancer immunotherapy; Johns Hopkins University
- Melanie Killen: Utilizing natural language processing technology for creating inclusive classrooms resubmission; University of Maryland, College Park
- Yuxing Li: Development and evaluation of a C. difficile-specific endolysin and dual therapy for C. difficile infection; University of Maryland, Baltimore
- Venkataramana Sidhaye: Development of a novel inhaled gene therapy, based on HAPLN1 transgene expression, for treating COPD; Johns Hopkins University
Startup companies joining TEDCO’s MII portfolio have access to a variety of TEDCO resources including mentor opportunities. A complete list of funded companies can be found on the MII webpage (here).
MII’s Funding Opportunities
The MII program, administered by TEDCO, was created as a collaboration between the State of Maryland and five leading academic research institutions—Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University, University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and University of Maryland, College Park— that aims to leverage each institution's strengths to transition promising technologies into the commercial sector.
“MII continues to bring innovation from lab to market,” said Renée Winsky, chair of the MII Board of Directors. “Since inception, it has supported the creation of nearly 400 jobs, created or supported more than 190 startups, and invested over $58 million in the Maryland innovation ecosystem and we look forward to continuing this progress.”
MII has also expanded its reach to include two additional comprehensive universities, Frostburg State University and Bowie State University, along with the creation of the Baltimore Innovation Initiative (BII). All of these pilot programs aim to foster a more equitable innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem across Maryland.
For more information, visit the MII webpage.