Vanderbilt CTTC

TECH CONNECT

February 27, 2026

INVENTORS STARTUPS INDUSTRY
CTTC Team at AUTM 2026

Vanderbilt’s Technology Transfer Team showcases national leadership 

The CTTC team joining thousands of innovation management leaders at the 2026 Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Annual Meeting in Seattle, to advance best practices and share insights. Multiple team members contributed as speakers, panelists, instructors, and mentors.

VIEW AUTM 2026 RECAP
Robert Webster and students at VISE

Surgical robotics pioneer Robert Webster guides life-saving ideas into reality

Robert J. Webster III leads two startups, Virtuoso Surgical, Inc. and EndoTheia, Inc., that are advancing minimally invasive surgical tools toward patient care. He also mentors and partners across VU, VISE Vanderbilt, and VUMC to help fellow innovators navigate the path from idea to impact.

READ WEBSTER'S STORY
Jennifer Pietenpol, Michael Golinko, and Russelle Bradbury

Michael Golinko recognized as one of Brock Center's 2025 Innovators of the Year

Driven by his fascination with plastic surgery and his innovative spirit, Golinko founded ImageAssist at VUMC to tackle clinical workflow and security challenges in managing medical images. 

READ GOLINKO'S IMAGEASSIST STORY
Provost C. Cybele Raver and Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier

QUANTUM POTENTIAL PODCAST 🔈

Vanderbilt’s Next Era: Campuses, Partnerships and the Power of Place with Chancellor Daniel Diermeier

CTTC FY26 Highlights (YTD)

  • Licenses & Options*: 187
  • MTAs: 679
  • CDAs: 24
  • Invention Disclosures: 171
  • U.S. Patents Issued: 39

* includes end-user software and materials licenses along with conventional technology licenses 

Susan Margulies

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Susan Margulies named Vanderbilt’s new vice provost for research and innovation

Margulies will be driving a vision for the next generation of growth in Vanderbilt’s research enterprise, championing sponsored research and accelerating the process of discovery, from concept to funding to implementation and commercialization. Learn more about Margulies & the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation (OVPRI)

Lunch and Learn: From Idea to IP

CTTC Lunch and Learn: From Idea to IP ft. Alan Bentley

March 26  • 12:00–1:00 p.m. • Vanderbilt Alumni Hall Memorial Room

REGISTER FOR THE MARCH SESSION

CTTC Lunch and Learn: Engaging with Venture Capital

April 14  • 12:00–1:00 p.m. • Vanderbilt Alumni Hall Memorial Room • REGISTER FOR THE APRIL SESSION

 

Brock Center Innovator of the Year Lecture: Daniel Fabbri

March 24, 2026  • 12:00–1:00 p.m. • 208 Light Hall & Online • RSVP HERE FOR THE LECTURE

Virtual Mini Series, March 3 & 31

Virtual Mini Series from the Vanderbilt Space-Edge Hub

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SERIES

These supplemental virtual lecture series are open to Vanderbilt faculty and researchers interested in what's happening in the space economy, and for anyone exploring the market or considering launching a venture.

03/03: Working with Government Without Slowing Down: Security, Strategy, & Scale

03/31: Space Law Essentials

 

Industry opportunities with upcoming deadlines:

  • Eli Lilly - HCI Initiative
  • AstraZeneca
  • Johnson & Johnson 
  • NVIDIA Academic Grant Program
  • Daiichi-Sankyo
VIEW ALL OPEN OPPORTUNITIES
 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS 

    • 03/04-05: AI Days 2026 
    • 03/12: Quantum in Action: Research Commercialization, Talent, and Tennessee’s Advantage
    • 03/25-26: AI Tennessee Sumit
    • 04/19: The Vanderbilt Quantum Forum
    • 04/20-21: Southeast Venture Showcase

Eight Vanderbilt Technologies Earn Patent Protection in February

12,544,060 – “System, Apparatus, and Method for Suturing” (Ernar Amanov, Dominick Ropella, Naren Nimmagadda, Nicholas Kavoussi, Neal Dillon, Richard Hendrick, Stanley Herrell, Robert Webster)

12,545,649 – “WDR5-MYC Inhibitors” (Selena Chacon Simon, Alex Waterson, Jonathan MacDonald, Stephen Fesik, Shaun Stauffer, William Tansey)

12,545,670 – “Annulated 2-Amino-3-Cyano Thiophenes and Derivatives for the Treatment of Cancer” (Jason Abbott, Joachim Broeker, Jianwen Cui, Stephen Fesik, Andreas Gollner, Tim Hodges, Jale Karolyi-Oezguer, Andrew Little, Andreas Mantoulidis, Jason Phan, Dhruba Sarkar, Christian Alan Paul Smethurst, Qi Sun, Matthias Treu, Alex Waterson)

12,552,283 – “Electric Vehicle Charging Control Device” (Najamuddin Mirza Baig, Liam Pedersen, Xin Yang, Anna Baranskaya, Lance Atkins, Kyle Wray, Abhishek Dubey, Geoffrey Pettet, Ayan Mukhopadhyay, Jose Paolo Talusan)

12,552,790 – “Positive Modulators of the Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor M4” (Craig Lindsley, Darren Engers, Kayla Temple, Alison Gregro, Alexa Richardson, Madeline Long)

12,553,853 – “Methods of Characterizing Two-Dimensional Materials, Devices Comprising Said Materials and Methods of Making and Use Thereof” (Piran Kidambi, Nicole Moehring, Pavan Chaturvedi)

12,558,237 – “System and Method For Providing Biomechanically Suitable Running Gait In Powered Lower Limb Devices” (Michael Goldfarb, Amanda Shultz, Brian Lawson)

12,559,545 – “Human Hendra Virus and Nipah Virus Antibodies and Methods of Use Therefor” (James E. Crowe, Jr.)

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Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization
2100 West End Ave. Suite 750
Nashville, TN 37203
vanderbilt.edu/cttc I 615.343.2430

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2100 West End Ave Suite 750 | Nashville, TN 37203 US