{"id":199453,"date":"2023-05-30T07:40:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T11:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=199453"},"modified":"2023-05-30T13:03:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T17:03:09","slug":"the-making-of-a-uconn-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2023\/05\/the-making-of-a-uconn-startup\/","title":{"rendered":"The Making of a UConn Startup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like the company they created together, Leila Daneshmandi \u201920 Ph.D., \u201921 MA and Armin Tahmasbi Rad \u201919 Ph.D., \u201920 MA got their starts at UConn. <\/span><\/p>\n

During their PhDs, Daneshmandi focused on tissue regeneration, while Rad specialized in nanotechnology and cancer medicine. The stars aligned for the creation of their biotech startup when they both enrolled in a class on technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship led by Profs. Hadi Bozorgmanesh and David Noble. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s where we came together and we learned about the process of user-driven innovation and entrepreneurship,\u201d says Daneshmandi. The pair began to speculate about what they could accomplish by combining their respective expertise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four years later, their startup, Encapsulate<\/a>, is on a mission to change the future of precision cancer treatment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing (and treating) tumors on a chip<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before the launch of Encapsulate, Rad had been working with Prof. Mu-Ping Nieh in the Institute of Materials Science to create a nanoscale universal drug delivery system for fighting cancer. The <\/span>resulting product<\/span><\/a> could \u201cencapsulate\u201d any type of cancer drug for targeted delivery into tumors. During its development process, Rad worked with cutting-edge <\/span>ex vivo <\/span><\/i>research techniques, which allow scientists to test the efficacy of different treatments on patient cell samples that are cultured outside the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Three
Encapsulate’s signature biochips at work. (McKaylah DeKay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Drug developers have had a few decades to appreciate <\/span>ex vivo <\/span><\/i>research since the technique’s development, around the close of the last century<\/span>. But clinicians and patients typically don’t have access to the same technology for their own use. Together, Daneshmandi and Rad began envisioning a way to bridge that gap: an automated system that would allow cancer patients to receive personalized, precision medicine based on tests from their own tumor biopsies.<\/span><\/p>\n

C<\/span>urrent<\/span>ly, oncologists <\/span>monitor<\/span> patients\u2019 response to a given treatment<\/span>, <\/span>determining<\/span> a<\/span>fter a certain period whether <\/span>a<\/span> therapy had a positive, negative, or negligible effect on the patient\u2019s cancer. <\/span>Often <\/span>the wait means a loss of valuable time, with the care team ending up back at square one if the treatment <\/span>isn\u2019t<\/span> effective.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rad<\/span>,<\/span> Daneshmandi<\/span>, and their co-founder,<\/span> Reza Amin<\/span> \u201918 Ph.D., \u201920 MA, wanted to create<\/span> a technology that would allow clinicians to test multiple drugs at once and quickly <\/span>determine<\/span> the best course of action for each patient.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In short, they wanted to develop nCapsule, the startup\u2019s signature product. This biochip is \u201cable to very quickly, very precisely mimic the body,\u201d according to Rad. It can grow bona fide microtumors using the cell<\/span>s<\/span> from patients\u2019 tumors. Encapsulate\u2019s other staple technology, nCapsulizer, processes the biochips and tackles treatment analysis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou will find a way to persevere\u201d<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Early responses to their idea ran the gamut, from skepticism to enthusiastic collaboration. Daneshmandi describes being kicked out of one office in the early days of their talks with clinicians.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone said, \u2018This is never going to work,\u2019\u201d she recalls. \u201cIt’s definitely not easy. Not everyone is going to say, \u2018This is brilliant. I can’t believe no one has done this before.\u2019 You will hear many critiques, especially in the early days, but you know, you actually want that. You want all the feedback <\/span>\u2014<\/span> to take it all in and build something better based on the questions and concerns you get.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The startup\u2019s success is a testament to Rad and Daneshmandi\u2019s perseverance and commitment to creating a product that meets the needs of oncologists and patients. They worked closely with Dr. Bret Schipper, the chief of surgical oncology at Hartford Hospital, and took feedback and advice from industry stakeholders. Their background research also involved conversations with patients in various stages of cancer treatment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking with cancer patients about how Encapsulate could help them was a sobering reminder of the urgency of their work, Daneshmandi says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The
Rad and Daneshmandi work together in the lab. (McKaylah DeKay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen you sit down and have a conversation with a patient who would eventually be using your technology, and you hear their stories, that’s when it starts to come into reality a little bit more. That\u2019s when you realize you have the potential to change the life of someone who\u2019s experiencing pain, unnecessary pain,\u201d she says. \u201cThose were difficult conversations.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The talks galvanized them to bring their technology to market, and quickly. From conception to clinical studies, Encapsulate\u2019s development process took about three years, according to Rad. The experience taught both researchers a great deal about maintaining conviction in an idea and working hard to clear the hurdles to helping others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to tell this to my young fellows at UConn, students who are dreaming about their own ideas,\u201d Rad says. \u201cYou will find a way to persevere. It\u2019s difficult, and there are many bumps in the road, but you will work hard and meet wonderful people along the way that make the journey enjoyable.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shooting for the stars<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Daneshmandi and Rad netted an impressive number of awards from UConn, the state of Connecticut, and external organizations for their work with Encapsulate. Their research journey made them remarkably successful Ph.D. students: they graduated with a combined total of no less than six patents and 28 published papers. They are now completing their NSF Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But perhaps the most exciting endorsement was the \u201cTechnology in Space\u201d prize from Boeing and the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory, which will allow researchers to test Encapsulate\u2019s technologies under the zero-gravity conditions of the ISS.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The company\u2019s biochips are set to launch to the ISS this summer, according to Daneshmandi. The mission\u2019s dual aims are to develop a universal platform for cancer research in the space station (which will require instruments that can perform analysis mostly autonomously, in a hands-off research environment), and to gain insight into chemotherapy in zero gravity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that cancer cells behave differently in space\u2013 because of the conditions of zero gravity \u2013 but we don’t know yet how that will affect treatment efficacy, and that’s what we want to explore,\u201d Rad says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Daneshmandi
Daneshmandi and Rad outside the lab in Farmington. (McKaylah DeKay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here on Earth, Encapsulate is busy with patient trials, exploring business development opportunities with partner companies, and gearing up for their next priced round to raise funds. Since graduating with his Ph.D., Rad has worked full-time as the company\u2019s CEO, based out of its headquarters in Farmington. For her part, Daneshmandi has joined UConn\u2019s faculty as an <\/span>Assistant Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the School of Engineering and serves as the School\u2019s Entrepreneurship Hub (<\/span>eHub<\/span><\/a>) Director. She also continues to work as Encapsulate\u2019s COO, commuting between Storrs and Farmington.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The energy that first animated their partnership keeps them afloat through all the challenges of running a startup and conducting research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>You\u2019re chartering into this world of unknowns<\/span> \u2014 it<\/span> could tire you out. B<\/span>ut at<\/span> the end of the day, are you really passionate about solving the problem that you\u2019re working toward? Do you wake up every day excited about what you\u2019re doing? And is your heart really into it?\u201d Daneshmandi says. \u201cThat\u2019s what keeps you going.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How \u201cEncapsulate\u201d co-founders went from the classroom to curing cancer in less than four years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":199455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1731,2076,2364,2235,2227],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2413],"class_list":["post-199453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-entrepreneurship","category-research","category-technology-commercialization","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-edu-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 04:39:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199453"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199622,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199453\/revisions\/199622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/199455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199453"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=199453"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=199453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}