UNeMed, the tech transfer and commercialization office of the University of Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, hosted its 2025 Innovation Research Awards Wednesday night at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha. The invite-only event recognized university faculty, researchers and inventors for the real-world  solutions and scalable startups stemming from their work. 

The Innovation Research Awards are part of the 19th annual Innovation Week organized by UNeMed. The daily programming gives academics opportunities to network, discover resources and showcase the products they are developing in the lab to Nebraska’s business and startup communities. 

UNeMed President and CEO Michael Dixon opened the Innovation Research Awards by highlighting the people, and metrics, that contribute to positioning the University of Nebraska System in the top 100 universities in the world for developing intellectual property. UNeMed boasted 127 new inventions and 33 U.S. patents issued over the last fiscal year, as detailed in its 2025 Annual Report. 

“A patent is more than a number or a piece of paper,” Dixon said. “It’s really an investment in innovation — a testament to persistence, creativity and the pursuit of meaningful solutions.”

The ceremony also marked the launch of UNeMed’s Innovation Ambassadors program: an initiative to connect faculty who may be unfamiliar with — or skeptical about — the commercialization process with faculty who have collaborated with the tech transfer office. Dixon said he envisions a cross-pollination of ideas and skill sets across campuses through this initiative by simply having experts talk to each other. 

In a time of uncertainty due to cuts to federal research funding and state resources, Dixon said he was optimistic for the future of UNeMed and the innovations coming out of the universities. 

“We’re going to have to continue to drive inventions, drive development, drive gap funds, drive investment funds, drive all of these things — drive Invest Nebraska to continue to have the resources to invest,” Dixon said. “As new things come up, we’re going to see them start to really cement their roots here and grow.” 

Winners at UNeMed’s 2025 Innovation Research Awards

Most Promising New Invention Award: Cardiac Cath Lab Mentor

Edward O’Leary developed Cardiac Cath Lab Mentor in collaboration with Omaha-based app developer Appsky. The medical education software program uses portable 3D visualization tech and artificial intelligence to teach medical students highly specialized procedures, such as coronary angiography. 

O’Leary’s startup, Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions, will be commercializing the invention. 

Emerging Inventor Award: Ashok Puri, MBBS

Joining UNMC in 2024, Puri submitted four inventions in less than a year — resulting in four U.S. patent applications. His research centers around AI and creating tools for improving medical practices. He co-founded the startup Deep Health Diagnostics with the initial focus to help non-expert clinicians in rural and remote areas diagnose serious eye conditions. 

“For a clinician to learn artificial intelligence is relatively easy as compared to a technology person to learn medicine because you don’t need just a subject,” Puri said. “You need to go deep into the experience of medicine. Only after that you could really do it well.”  

Startup of the Year Award: RespirAI 

RespirAI is a U.S.-Israeli medtech company developing a wearable solution to monitor a patient’s well-being and detect COPD exacerbations. The startup is headquartered in Omaha and originates from cross-campus research and collaboration between UNO and UNMC.

RespirAI received a grant from the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation and has partnered with Right at Home, an Omaha-based in-home care franchise. The company is currently working to raise a $5 million Series A round to fund the completion of FDA clinical trials and launch their first product.

Faculty Entrepreneur Award: Thanh Nguyen

Nguyen has had 91 total invention submissions at UNMC since disclosing his first invention in Oct. 2011 — making him “the most prolific inventor in UNeMed history,” according to UNeMed. He recently received the Faculty IP Innovation and Commercialization Award through the University of Nebraska.

Nguyen’s work has led to the creation of the startup companies HemaGlobal and University Medical Devices. The MicroWash, the first product of University Medical Devices, became available nationwide earlier this year. 

“Even if we don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel with these crazy ideas, oftentimes someone else will,” Nguyen said. “And that’s when that collaboration starts.”

Innovation Champion Award: Invest Nebraska

The nonprofit venture development organization received the award for its ongoing contributions and work building up Nebraska’s startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

“Invest Nebraska has invested $4.6 million in 12 startups built around University of Nebraska technologies, half of them UNeMed startups,” according to leaders at UNeMed. “That support has led to more than $150 million in additional funding for UNMC and UNO startup companies.”

Programming for the 19th annual Innovation Week runs through Oct. 25. You can see the full schedule on UNeMed’s website. 

Winner at Bio Nebraska’s 2025 Annual Event

Earlier this month, Bio Nebraska similarly convened stakeholders and contributors to bioscience industries for a night of celebration. Bio Nebraska is a nonprofit trade association focused on supporting and growing the state’s bioscience sector. 

At the event, attendees recognized the 2025 recipient of the Governor’s Bioscience Award, which honors individuals and companies making significant contributions to the bioscience industry in Nebraska. Gov. Jim Pillen presented the award and signed a proclamation declaring October as Bioscience Month.

“The State of Nebraska strongly supports the innovative efforts by our state’s diverse bioscience industries to improve human and animal health, medical research, renewable fuels and agricultural processing not only to support growth and sustainability, but also to expand trade to national and international markets,” Pillen said in his proclamation. 

“Without such effort, the State of Nebraska could not hope to prepare its workforce and trade to compete in today’s global economy,” he added. 

Governor’s Bioscience Award: ADS Biotech

ADS Biotech has operations around the world, with its headquarters and manufacturing in Omaha. The company develops, manufactures and sells automated instruments and bioconsumables for cytogenetic, pathology and research laboratories. 

“Their economic impact, creation of jobs and outstanding reputation in the field is an example to hold up of the importance of growing and attracting bioscience companies to our state,” Bio Nebraska Executive Director Rob Owen said in a press release.