Of the 13 total, 2 awardees were chosen for the Company Formation award and 11 for the Technology Assessment award
COLUMBIA, Md., (April 15, 2026) — TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, announced the next round of the Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII)’s Company Formation and Technology Assessment awardees, marking a significant milestone in promoting the commercialization of groundbreaking research from Maryland's prestigious academic research institutions.
“We continue to be awed with the innovative research taking place across Maryland’s research institutions and are excited to be awarding more than $2.1 million across 13 of these inspirational initiatives,” said Abi Kulshreshtha, executive director of TEDCO’s MII. “With these awards, we hope to see each one’s growth and, ultimately, the growth of Maryland’s innovation ecosystem.”
The Company Formation award is provided to support the efforts to commercialize technology licensed from Qualifying Universities. The two awardees for the July 2025 cycles include:
1. Nuquantic, LLC - eDNA’S CRABS: Environmental DNA System for concentrated recovery of aquatic biological samples; Johns Hopkins University; received $300,000
2. Aletira Therapeutics, Inc. - Next generation gene therapy to prevent the most common form of hereditary hearing loss; Johns Hopkins University; received $300,000
The Technology Assessment award is a nine-month project that builds strong preliminary data that demonstrates the technology’s utility for specific commercial applications beyond basic research. The 11 awardees for the July and October 2025 cycles include:
1. Stephen Gould: ProtECT: a highly efficient, disruptive technology for biologics cell line development; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
2. Pratyush Tiwary: Emergente – Integrating AI and physics to model RNA structures with therapeutic potential; University of Maryland, College Park; received $130,000
3. Stavroula Sofou: Affinity-cocktails of alpha-particle antibody-radioconjugates: treating early hepatic metastases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
4. Ala Elhelali: Long-acting injectable IGF-1 to improve recovery after peripheral nerve injuries; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
5. Weidong Zhu: FlexVib - Robotic continuously scanning laser doppler vibrometry; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
6. YuHuang Wang: AI-augmented quantum diagnostics of ovarian cancer: A scalable production of OCC-DNA sensor arrays; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; received $130,000
7. Kenneth Witwer: Engineered extracellular vesicles with immunomodulatory and targeting properties to treat Crohn’s Disease; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
8. Brijen Joshi: Bronchosleeve: An integrated airway device delivering safer, faster, and cost-effective lung isolation; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
9. Michael Tsapatsis: Metal-organic photoresists for high-resolution patterning of microelectronic devices; Johns Hopkins University; received $130,000
10. David Weber: Inhibition of metastasis with novel Engineered Mannose Specific Lectins (EMSLs); University of Maryland, Baltimore; received $180,000
11. Kimberly Stroka: SAVS: A microfluidic system for recapitulating cancer metastatic initiation; University of Maryland, College Park; received $180,000
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.
“With world class universities, a community of innovators, and even the number one biomedical engineering program, Maryland is the place for researchers and students to grow,” said TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall. “The state really is a perfect place to build a company, and we are excited to continue investing in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to support the creation of more knowledge-based companies in the state.”
MII has also expanded its reach to include comprehensive universities, along with the creation of the Baltimore Innovation Initiative (BII) with the goal of fostering a more equitable innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem across Maryland. For more information, visit the MII webpage.
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