Katrina Easton, a research assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, won the pitch competition at this summer’s Scipreneur Challenge for a prosthetic thumb device she is helping develop.
The Scipreneur Challenge is an eight-week intensive, cohort-based entrepreneurship experience designed to equip life science researchers, post-docs, and graduate students with the tools to explore commercialization potential of cutting-edge science and technology.
The course is offered by Life Science Tennessee Foundation, a foundation affiliated with Life Science Tennessee, which is a statewide nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance and grow the life science industry in Tennessee.
The summer track of the Scipreneur Challenge is for participants who have their own intellectual property and want to build a real company around it.
Easton is working to help commercialize the skin-covered prosthetic thumb device, EndoThumb, with BME Associate Professor Dustin Crouch and David Anderson, associate dean for research and graduate studies at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine.
At the end of the summer course, participants presented their business pitch to a panel of industry leaders, funders, and commercialization experts. Easton received $3,500 for her winning pitch and the chance to present her findings for additional funding at Life Science Tennessee’s annual LSTCON in November.
“Having the opportunity to get that exposure in front of a much larger group of people and getting to meet investors will be extremely beneficial,” Easton said. “I think it could be helpful in moving this business forward and hopefully finding funding outside of just the federal funding.”
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Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])