Illinois Ventures begins its first wave of proof-of-concept investments.

Illinois Ventures has announced the first five academics to receive a $25,000 grant from the recently created Regional Proof of Concept Matching Fund programme.

Created in October and partnering Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois Institute of Technology, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, Southern Illinois University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the fund aims to boost proof-of-concept funding available to the university’s entrepreneurially-minded academics. Drawing from a pot of $500,000, investments made by the fund must be matched by subsequent investment twice the size of the fund’s from parent universities.

The first wave of investments are:

–          Alexander Langerman, University of Chicago, for the development of a web-based mobile application aimed at provide comprehensive in-operating room information to surgeons.

–          Jonathan Leis, Northwestern, to examine small molecule inhibitors which block replication of virus infections.

–          William Klein, also Northwestern, for imaging technology which can detect Alzheimers at very early stages.

–          Peter O’Donnell, Chicago, for technology which can prescribe the best medication for a patient based on their genetic profile.

–          Bellur Prabhakar, University of Illinois at Chicago, for treatment of Type 1 Diabetes.

The fund plans to announce a further three rounds throughout the year.

Nancy Sullivan, CEO at Illinois Ventures, said: “Illinois Ventures is excited to be partnering with the State, ISTC, and research institutions across Illinois to help catalyse new ventures from the world-class research occurring in the universities and federal labs across the state. It takes an enormous amount of time and money to commercialise laboratory research and this program helps identify technologies with the highest potential for success and provides additional funding to accelerate commercialisation. We are excited to announce these initial award winners and look forward to continuing to grow the Regional Proof of Concept Matching Fund Program.”