SPARK Fellows

Introducing Cohort 8

Alex Barker, PhD

Automated Deep Learning Approach to Enable Detection of In-utero Disease

Cathy Bodine, PhD CCC-SLP

Skywalker: Innovations in Mobility

Christina Coughlan, PhD

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Jose Diaz-Miron, MD

The Mini 3mm Laparoscopic Port

Achim Klug, PhD

Hearing Restoration for Age-Related Hearing Loss

Traci Lyons, PhD

Development of a Novel SEMA7A Targeted Therapy to Treat Cancer

Aakriti Pandita, MD

AIDA (AI Documentation Assistant)

Karin Payne, PhD

A Regenerative Biomaterial Therapeutic to Treat Osteoarthritis

Cohort 7

Jessica Rove, MD

Colorado Chest Tube

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD

Gastrostomy Tube Guardian

Rui Zhao, PhD

Developing a First-in-Class Allosteric Eya2 Tyrosine Phosphatase Inhibitor for Brain Cancer Therapy

Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD

Development of Gated Dual-antigen Targeting CAR-T Cell Therapy to Treat ATRT, an Aggressive Brain Tumor in Children

Zhirui Wang, PhD

Bivalent CD47 Immunotoxin for Targeted Therapy of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Other CD47+ Cancers

Cohort 6

Daewon Park, PhD

Microbicidal Polymer Spray

Luke Duncan, MS, MBA

Microbicidal Polymer Spray

Cristin Welle, PhD

Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Treat Multiple Sclerosis

Adam Green, MD

Device Development: Intact Pill Delivery to Patients Unable to Swallow

Steven Lammers, PhD

Device Development for Intact Pill Delivery to Patients Unable to Swallow

Vikas Patel, MD

Advanced Cervical Fixation

Brian Herrmann, MD

Efficient Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

Norman Friedman, MD

Efficient Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

Mark Rentschler, PhD, PE

Efficient Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

Evalina Burger-Van Der Walt, MD

Novelty Cages Accommodating Individual Endplate Architecture

Ji Ma, PhD

Novelty Cages Accommodating Individual Endplate Architecture

Liping Yu, MD

A Simple Multiplex Assay to Screening Multiple Autoimmune Diseases Simultaneously in Children

Cohort 5

Aaron Michels, MD

Vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes

Peter Gottlieb, MD

Vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes

Ken Maclean, PhD

Formate Treatment of Cystathionine Beta Synthase Deficient Homocystinuria

Richard Tobin, PhD

Therapeutic Potential of Targeting MCL1 to Improve Cancer Therapies

Yiqun Shellman, PhD

Therapeutic Potential of Targeting MCL1 to Improve Cancer Therapies

Eduardo Davila, PhD

Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy Switch

Maria Nagel, MD

Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists as Antiviral Agents against Herpes Simplex Viruses

Andrew Bubak, PhD

Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists as Antiviral Agents against Herpes Simplex Viruses

Zhirui Wang, PhD

CCR4 Immunotoxin for Cancer Immunotherapy via Treg Depletion

Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD

Novel Therapeutic Antibody against a Fatal Brain Tumor in Children

Rajeev Vibhakar, MD, PhD, MPH/MSPH

Novel Therapeutic Antibody against a Fatal Brain Tumor in Children

Jim Lambert, PhD

Novel Small Molecules as Breakthrough Therapy for Melanoma

David Westerly, PhD

Radioactive Foil Therapy for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Quentin Diot, PhD

Radioactive Foil Therapy for Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Cohort 4

Diagnostic and Therapy for Breast Cancer

Team Members

Traci Lyons, PhD - learn more
Virginia Borges, MD - learn more
Alan Elder, MS - learn more
Steve Anderson, PhD - learn more
Richard Duke, PhD - learn more

Diagnostic and Therapy for Breast Cancer

Team Members

Virginia Borges, MD - learn more
Traci Lyons, PhD - learn more
Alan Elder, MS - learn more
Steve Anderson, PhD - learn more
Richard Duke, PhD - learn more

Arthroscopic Instruments to Support New Surgical Methods in Hip Arthroscopy

Team Members

Omer Mei-Dan, MD - learn more
Jacob Segil, PhD - learn more

Arthroscopic Instruments to Support New Surgical Methods in Hip Arthroscopy

Team Members

Omer Mei-Dan, MD - learn more
Jacob Segil, PhD - learn more

Non-Invasive Detection of Tissue Inflammation Using Molecular Imaging

Team Members

Joshua Thurman, MD - learn more
Felix Poppelaars, MD, PhD - learn more
Michael Holers, MD - learn more
Catherine Foss, PhD - learn more
Martin Pomper, MD - learn more

Gene Therapy for Glaucoma

Team Members

Ram Nagaraj, PhD - learn more
Mina Pantcheva, MD - learn more
Mi-Hyun Nam, PhD - learn more

Gene Therapy for Glaucoma

Team Members

Ram Nagaraj, PhD - learn more
Mina Pantcheva, MD - learn more
Mi-Hyun Nam, PhD - learn more

A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause

Team Members

Michael Wempe, PhD - learn more
Steven Nordeen, PhD - learn more
David Orlicky, PhD - learn more
Thomas Anchordoquy, PhD - learn more

A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause

Team Members

Michael Wempe, PhD - learn more
Steven Nordeen, PhD - learn more
David Orlicky, PhD - learn more
Thomas Anchordoquy, PhD - learn more

Cohort 3

An ultra-compact CT scanner for point-of-care imaging

Visit Dr. Altunbas's website.

LPL activators as novel therapeutics for neurological conditions

Team Members

Kimberley Bruce, PhD - learn more
Philip Reigan, PhD - learn more

Multifunctional Nanoclusters for Detection and Treatment of Bladder Cancer

Team Members

Thomas Flaig, MD - learn more
Jared Brown, PhD - visit website
Won Park, PhD - visit website

Methods for understanding functional heterogeneity among single cells

Team Members

Jay Hesselberth, PhD - visit website
Mandy Richer, PhD

iSense: A First-in-Class Therapy for Insufficient Pupil Dilation

Learn more about Dr. Ifantides here.

Novel inhibitors of trimethylamine lyase for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Team Members

Kristi Kuhn, MD - learn more
Sabrina Fetchner, PhD - learn more

Repositioning neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R) antagonists as antiviral agents against human herpesviruses

Team Members

Maria Nagel, PhD - learn more
Andrew Bubak, PhD - learn more

Oral Biofilm Disruption and Selective Inhibition of S. mutans Biofilms

Learn more about Dr. Nair's research here.

IL2-CCR4 Bispecific Immunotoxin Targeting Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

Learn more about Dr. Wang's research here.

Cohort 2

First In-Class Therapeutic for Neuro-Protection After Ischemia

Team Members

Ulli Bayer, PhD - learn more
Steven Coultrap - learn more

Targeting the Six1-Eya Complex to Inhibit Metastasis

Team Members

Heide Ford, PhD - visit website
Rui Zhao, PhD - visit website
Kristine Fischenich, PhD - learn more

Novel Drug Delivery System to Eradicate Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection

Team Members

Marsha Guess, MD - learn more
Devatha Nair, PhD - visit website
Michael Schurr, PhD - learn more
Dmitri Simberg, PhD - visit website
Kathleen Connell, MD - learn more

Therapeutically Targeting of Ctbp-Mediated Transcription in Traumatic Brain Injury

Learn more about Dr. Huang's research here.

Development of Antimicrobial Peptides to Treat Gram-Negative Infections

Team Members

Robert Hodges, PhD - learn more
Colin Mant, PhD - learn more
Lajos Gera, PhD

VasaFast - Central Arteries and Vein Access Tool

Team Members

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD - learn more
Andrew Scallon, MS - learn more

Drugs That Reverse Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition for the Treatment
of Metastatic Cancers

Learn more about Dr. LaBarbera's work here.

Targeting Myofibrillar Deacetylases to Treat Heart Failure

Team Members

Tim McKinsey, PhD - visit website
Ying-Hsi Lin, PhD - learn more
Kathleen Woulfe, PhD - learn more
Maria Cavasin, PhD - learn more
Keith Koch, PhD - learn more

A Functional Assay for Synthetic Cannabinoid Detection

Team Members

Andrew Monte, MD - visit website
Robert Scheinman, PhD - learn more

The Button Huggie - Securement Method for Gastrostomy Button

Team Members

Steven Moulton, MD - learn more
Tyler Mironuck

Bioresorbable 3-D Printed Personalized Implant for Cartilage Regeneration in Pediatric Growth Plate Injuries

Team Members

Karin Payne, PhD - visit website
Nancy Hadler Miller, MD, MS - visit website
Stephanie Bryant, PhD - learn more
Virginia Ferguson, PhD - learn more

Targeting AMPK in Glioblastoma

Learn more about Dr. Reigan's work here.

ESCAPE (External Stereotactic Cranial Access Port for Evacuation)

Team Members

Joshua Seinfeld, MD - learn more
Zach Folzenlogen, MD - learn more

Heart Regeneration by Conversion of Non-Myocytes Into Functional Cardiomyocytes

Team Members

Kunhua Song, PhD - visit website
Peter Buttrick, MD - learn more
Yuanbiao Zhao, PhD - learn more

Generation of Engraftable Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Team Members

Michael Verneris, MD - visit website
Sunny Shim, PhD

Cohort 1

Novel Cages Accommodating Individual Endplate Architecture

Team Members

Evalina Burger, MD - visit website
Vikas Patel, MD - learn more
Andriy Noshchenko - learn more
Todd Baldini, MS - learn more
Ji Ma, PhD (UVA) - learn more

Stem cell-derived 3D retinal transplant to treat dry AMD

Learn more about Dr. Canto-Soler's work here.

tPA-Challenged™ Viscoelastometric Hemostatic Assay

Team Members

Michael Chapman, MD - learn more
Hunter B Moore, MD - learn more

DT-EGF to treat bladder cancer

Learn more about Dr. Glode here.

This technology was spun out into Aurora Oncology. Visit the website here.

Inhibitors of sugar (fructose) metabolism for non alcoholic liver fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Team Members

Richard Johnson, MD - learn more
Miguel Lanaspa-Garcia, PhD -learn more
Michael Wempe, PhD - learn more

Phosfilter –Managing Blood Phosphates for Hemodialysis Patients

Team Members

Melanie Joy, PhD - visit website
Marian McCord, PhD (NC State) - learn more

Small molecule Therapy for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Team Members

James Lambert, PhD - learn more
Steven Nordeen, PhD - learn more
Hamid Gari
Scott Lucia, MD - learn more
Ann Thor, MD - learn more
Rahul Ray, MD (Boston University) - learn more

This technology was spun out into Vona Oncology.

HNKlear: A Saliva-Based Molecular Test for Head and Neck Cancer

Team Members

Shi-Long Lu, MD, PhD - learn more

Apical Cuff Implant Tool (ACIT) for Left Ventricular Assist Device

Learn more about Dr. Mitchell here.

Intraocular Device to Potentiate Retinal Stem Cell Transplant in Macular Degeneration

Learn more about Dr. Olson here.

Biologic for Cataract Inhibition

Team Members

Mark Petrash, PhD - learn more
Xiao-Jing Wang, PhD - learn more

Surrogate Molecular Assessment of Response to TB Treatment

Team Members

Nicholas Walter, MD - learn more
Martin Voskuil, PhD - learn more
Gregory Robertson, PhD (CSU) - learn more
Sarah Born, PhD - learn more

Autologous CD117+ Progenitor Cell Therapy for Solid Organ Transplantation

Team Members

Mary Zamora, MD - learn more
Robert Plenter
Todd Grazia, MD

SPARK Colorado

Tools & Resources

Schools & Colleges

CU Denver

CU Anschutz Medical Campus

CU Campuses

Meet our SPARK Fellows

Introducing Cohort 8

Cohort 7

Jessica Rove, MD

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD

Rui Zhao, PhD

Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD

Zhirui Wang, PhD

Cohort 6

Cohort 5

Cohort 4

Cohort 3

Cohort 2

Cohort 1

CU Innovations

Meet our SPARK Fellows

Introducing Cohort 8

Alex Barker, PhD

Cathy Bodine, PhD CCC-SLP

Christina Coughlan, PhD

Jose Diaz-Miron, MD

Achim Klug, PhD

Traci Lyons, PhD

Aakriti Pandita, MD

Karin Payne, PhD

Cohort 7

Jessica Rove, MD

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD

Rui Zhao, PhD

Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD

Zhirui Wang, PhD

Cohort 6

Daewon Park, PhD

Luke Duncan, MS, MBA

Cristin Welle, PhD

Adam Green, MD

Steven Lammers, PhD

Vikas Patel, MD

Brian Herrmann, MD

Norman Friedman, MD

Mark Rentschler, PhD, PE

Evalina Burger-Van Der Walt, MD

Ji Ma, PhD

Liping Yu, MD

Cohort 5

Aaron Michels, MD

Peter Gottlieb, MD

Ken Maclean, PhD

Richard Tobin, PhD

Yiqun Shellman, PhD

Eduardo Davila, PhD

Maria Nagel, MD

Andrew Bubak, PhD

Zhirui Wang, PhD

Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD

Rajeev Vibhakar, MD, PhD, MPH/MSPH

Jim Lambert, PhD

David Westerly, PhD

Quentin Diot, PhD

Cohort 4

Traci Lyons, PhD

Virginia Borges, MD

Omer Mei-Dan, MD

Jacob Segil, PhD

Joshua Thurman, MD

Ram Nagaraj, PhD

Mina Pantcheva, MD

Michael Wempe, PhD

Steven Nordeen, PhD

Cohort 3

Cem Altunbas, PhD

Kimberley Bruce, PhD - PI

Tom Flaig, MD - PI

Jay Hesselberth, PhD - PI

Cristos Ifantides, MD, MBA

Kristi Kuhn, PhD - PI

Maria Nagel, PhD - PI

Devatha Nair, PhD

Zhirui Wang, PhD

Cohort 2

Ulli Bayer, PhD

Heide Ford, PhD - PI

Marsha Guess, MD - PI

Mingxia Huang, PhD

Robert Hodges, PhD - PI

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD - PI

Dan LaBarbera, PhD

Tim McKinsey, PhD

Andrew Monte, MD

Steve Moulton, MD - PI

Karin Payne, PhD - PI

Phil Reigan, PhD

Joshua Seinfeld, MD - PI

Kunhua Song, PhD

Mike Verneris, MD - PI