UI COM Innovation Day
April 23, 2026
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Location
Varies
Address
1853 W. Polk St, Chicago, IL 60612
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Calendar
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As the largest public research university in Chicago, UIC boasts immense potential in biotechnology. Innovation Day will connect students, faculty, and industry partners through roundtable discussions, tradeshow-style presentations, and general networking to strengthen our relationships through College of Medicine mission-aligned work.
Event Locations:
- Registration, Breakfast, Beverages:
College of Medicine West Tower, Room 220
1853 W. Polk St, Chicago, IL 60612 - Plenary and UIC Innovation Talks:
College of Medicine West Tower, Room 227 – Irwin Auditorium
1853 W. Polk St, Chicago, IL 60612 - Tradeshow Posters, Lunch and Reception:
Thompson Rooms, Student Center West
828 S. Wolcott Ave, Chicago, IL-60612
See the full list of events and discussions below.
Date posted
Mar 4, 2026
Date updated
Apr 21, 2026
Event Overview
Event Overview
- 8:30-9:00 a.m.: Registration; Coffee and pastries served.
- 9:00-9:30 a.m.: Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Jay Walsh, Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation, University of Illinois System
- Karen Colley, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois Chicago
- Dr. Robert Barish, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, University of Illinois Chicago
- Joanna Groden, Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Illinois Chicago
- Dr. Enrico Benedetti, Interim Executive Dean, University of Illinois College of Medicine
- Dr. Jerry Krishnan, Interim Vice Dean for Research, University of Illinois College of Medicine
- 9:30-9:50 a.m.: Keynote Speaker: Clarence Wardell, PhD, Deputy Director of the Gates Foundation, VP of NextLadder Ventures
- 9:50-10:50 a.m.: UIC Innovation Talks
- 10:50-11:10 a.m.: Keynote Speaker: Jörg Schüttrumpf MD, PhD, MBA, Chief Scientific Innovation Officer at Griffols
- 11:15-11:45 a.m.: Tradeshow-Style Presentations
- 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: Lunch
- 12:45-1:05 p.m.: Keynote Speaker: Aleksandra Baranczak, VP of Strategy and Partnerships at the Chan Zuckerberg Hub.
- 1:05-2:05 p.m.: UIC Innovation Talks
- 2:05-3:30 p.m.: Panel Discussion
- 3:30-4:00 p.m.: Tradeshow-Style Presentations
- 4:00-5:30 p.m.: Reception
Panel Discussants
- Lidia Sobkow, PhD; Technology Licensing and Collaboration Group, Abbvie
- Dimitri Azar, MD, MBA; Professor, University of Illinois College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; CEO, Lacristat
- Steven Collens; CEO, MATTER
- Eric Schiffhauer; Senior Director of Translation Director, Chicago Biological Consortium
- Karol Sokolowski; Director of Strategic Growth and Leader, Ex3 Portal Innovations
- Paul Carlier, PhD; Director, UICentre for Drug Discovery
- Heather Walsh; Assistant VP for Technology Ventures, Polsky Center at the University of Chicago
- Nancy Sullivan; Director, Illinois Ventures
- Mike Flavin, PhD; Director, COMassist at the University of Illinois College of Medicine
- Suseelan Pookote, PhD; Director, Office of Technology Management at the University of Illinois Chicago
UIC Innovation Talks: Morning Session
- The Importance of Federated Multi-Modal Data for AI
Michelle Hribar, PhD, FAMIA.
Professor and Director ofClinical Data Science, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences - An On-Demand, On-Device Digital Twin Technology of Your Brain
Alex Leow, MD, PhD
Professor, Departments of Psychiatry, Biomedical Engineering, and Computer Science - KeyWise AI: Tapping Into Cognition
Olu Ajilore, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry - FlightPath: A Mixed-Reality Application for the Evaluation of Traumatic Brain Injury
Adam Cross, MD, FAAP, FABPM, FAMIA
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Peoria - I-BRAIN Analytics and Therapeutics – Commercialization Pipelines from UIC Brain Research
Jeff Loeb, MD, PhD
Professor and John S. Garvin Endowed Chair, Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation - Engineered Tissues for Disease Modeling and Drug Development
Salman Khetani, PhD
Robert Uyetani Collegiate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering - Development of Biased Antagonists of Chemokine Receptors as Novel Therapeutics for Inflammatory Diseases.
Steve Ackerman, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics - R&J Solutions: Electrochemical Early Diagnosis Platform
Mathew T. Mathew, PhD
Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Rockford - Development of Novel TRPC6-based Peptidomimetics for Regenerating Endothelium and Treating ARDS
Dolly Mehta, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine - Designing for the Real-World Context of Care
Hugh Musik, MBA
Director, Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design
UIC Innovation Talks: Afternoon Session (11-20)
- iTelegen and iROP Dl
Paul Chan, MD, MSc, MBA, FACS
Professor and Head, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
John H. Panton, MD
Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences - The Celsus Project : A Revolutionary Change in the Operative Room
Francesco Bianco, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery - Stem Cells Unlocked
Brad Merrill, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics - Ocular Surface Immune Globulin (OSIG) Eye Drops for Dry Eye Disease
Sandeep Jain, MD
B.A. Field Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences - Biologic and Repurposed Therapeutics for Ocular Surface Disease and Regeneration
Ali Djalilian, MD
Searls-Schenk Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences - A Peptide to Transform Cardiac Arrest Care
Terry Vanden Hook, MD
Earl M. Bane Distinguished Professor and Head, Department of Emergency Medicine - A New Therapeutic Paradigm for Vascular Dysfunction
Yulia Komarova, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine - Computer Vision Enables Precision in Cancer Screening and Prevention
Ameen Salahudeen, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine - Secure Tube: A Solution for all Intubation Problems
Girish Deshpande, MD
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Peoria - Code Grand Rounds- Modernizing Technical Education in Biomedical Spaces
Georgie Nahass, MD/PHD Student
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
UIC start up companies
| Company | Founder | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 5by5 | Pier Giulianotti | Surgery |
| Cell Biologics | Asrar Malik | Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine |
| DuPage Medical | Xiaoping Du | Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine |
| Dystrogen Therapeutics | Maria Siemionow | Orthopaedics |
| Enzyme by Design | Arnon Lavie | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| EpiDestiny | Yogen Saunthararajah | Section of Hematology and Oncology |
| Keywise | Olusola Ajilore | Psychiatry |
| Nano Biotherapeutics Inc. | Asrar Malik | Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine |
| NS Intelligence IP | Stephen W Porges | Psychiatry |
| PAX Neuroscience | Mark M Rasenick | Physiology and Biophysics |
| RespireRX | David Carley | Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy |
| Selagine | Sandeep Jain | Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| SENEX Bio | Igor B Roninson | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| Siloam Vision | Paul Chan | Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| Syntax | Bradley (Brad) Merrill | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| Tianhe Stem Cell Biotechnologies | Yong Zhao | Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism |
| ViSoTherapeutics | Vinay Aakalu | Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| Lodestone Ophthalmics | Pete Setabutr | Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| RegenEyes | Ali Djililian | Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| VisionStem Therapeutics | Ali Djililian | Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
| Ambient Insights | Adam Cross | Pediatrics (Peoria) |
| RJ Solutions | Mathew Mathew | Bioengineering (Rockford) |
| Clinical Acoustics | Adam Cross | Pediatrics (Peoria) |
| PulmRx | Dolly Mehta | Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine |
| BAnta Pharmaceuticals | Steve Ackerman | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| I-Brain Analytics | Jeff Loeb | Neurology |
| I-Brain Therapeutics | Jeff Loeb | Neurology |
| TTC Oncology | Debra Tonetti | Cancer Center |
| Code Grand Rounds | Georgie Nahass | MD/PhD Student |
| Vilom Innovations | Girish Despande | Pediatrics (Peoria) |
| PathoAegis | Rick Novak | Infectious Disease |