The companies, Carbon Biosciences and hC Bioscience, are based on foundational research by University of Iowa (UI) professors John Engelhardt, Ziying Yan, Chris Ahern, and colleagues at other institutions.

Founded in part by University of Iowa gene therapy pioneers John F. Engelhardt, Ph.D. and Ziying Yan, Ph.D., along with Robert M. Kotin, Ph.D. and Longwood Fund, Carbon is expanding the gene therapy toolbox for the treatment of the world’s most devastating and difficult to treat diseases.

Cardio Diagnostics, Inc. a UI start-up company and a pioneering precision cardiovascular medicine company, and Mana Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in Cardio Diagnostics becoming a publicly listed company.

VIDA Diagnostics, Inc. (VIDA), a UI start-up company and the leader in lung and respiratory intelligence, announced it has secured financing as it scales up to support strong demand for its VIDA Intelligence Portal, an AI-powered solution that supports clinical trial decentralization and improves site recruitment, onboarding, staff training, image data management and data quality.

VIDA Diagnostics, Inc, a UI start-up and leader in lung and respiratory intelligence, has received market authorization in Japan for its VIDA Insights® software, paving the way for lung care teams to begin using the solution at the point of care.

Firefly Photonics, a UI start-up company, was awarded a Demonstration Fund loan from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to support commercialization of mid-wave infrared light emitting diodes (LED) and photodetectors (PD) used in small, battery-operated methane and carbon dioxide sensors.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has selected the winners of fourteen awards that recognize exceptional researchers, scholars, innovators, students, and administrators, as a part of the annual Discovery and Innovation awards program.

Christopher Cooper, professor of urology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, was awarded the Pediatric Urology Device Prize from the Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium for a home-based pediatric cystomanometer.

Milan Sonka, the Lowell C. Battershell Chair in Biomedical Imaging and professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Iowa, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the third UI faculty member ever named an NAI Fellow.