TMC names former JLABS leader as the director of the Innovation Institute

taking control

Tom Luby will run the Texas Medical Center's Innovation Institute. Courtesy of TMC

The Texas Medical Center didn't have to go very far to find its new Innovation Institute director. Tom Luby, who most recently served as the site head for Johnson & Johnson Innovation's JLABS @ TMC, has been hired for the position.

"I am very excited to begin the next chapter in my journey at TMC Innovation," Luby says in a release. "My time at JLABS @ TMC has shown me the tremendous opportunity there is to work with a host of talented people and companies here in Houston. Now, I'm ready to expand my role and help take TMC Innovation as a collective unit to the next level."

Luby replaces Erik Halvorsen, who left abruptly in December. According to LinkedIn, Halvorsen is now the chief business and strategy officer for Houston-based FAR Biotech, for which he previously served on the board of directors. Lance Black, associate director at TMCx, served as the director in the interim for the past few months.

Prior to JLABS, Luby was in Boston at Johnson & Johnson and served as the new ventures lead. He has 14 years of research and design experience in the Boston area.

TMC as an organization has a lot up its sleeves, says President and CEO Bill McKeon in a release, and he trusts Luby to take the lead on innovation.

"With major developments in 2018, including the announcement of the forthcoming TMC3 translational research campus, Texas Medical Center is now on the fast track to becoming the third coast for life sciences, and TMC Innovation is a critical component in the ultimate realization of this goal," says McKeon. "Tom Luby is an outstanding individual, and his proven track record working with startups in Boston and within the walls of JLABS @ TMC will serve him well as he leads us through the next evolutionary phase of the TMC Innovation Institute."

Luby will oversee the med center's accelerator program, TMCx, which is currently in the midst of its eighth cohort.

Houston has just been named an emerging life sciences hub by CBRE. The recognition took job growth and lab space into consideration for the ranking.

Among this week's top stories is a feature on a Houston-based startup aiming to be the Uber or Lyft of personal trainers. Courtesy of Kanthaka

5 most popular innovation stories in Houston this week

Now trending

Editor's note: Houston saw big shake ups at some major innovation institutions this week, which made for some trending stories. And, per usual, readers enjoyed learning about local entrepreneurs fighting the good fight with their organizations.

Station Houston announces its transition into becoming a nonprofit

Station Houston's stakeholders voted in favor of the organization transitioning to a nonprofit. Station Houston/Facebook

Houston's startup scene just got a little more accessible. Station Houston's stakeholders voted to transition the organization to nonprofit status from the C-corp status it currently holds. The status change is effective January 1, 2019, for the acceleration hub, which is based in downtown Houston. The news was announced to its members in an email sent on December 13. Read the full story here.

Houston entrepreneur creates a network to link up with other blockchain professionals

The Houston Blockchain Alliance aims to connect and educate tech professionals in town. Getty Images

Houstonians traveling around the country might covet other cities for their mountain scapes, beaches, or more mild summers, but Mahesh Sashital envied the fact that other major cities had developed networks and organizations focused on connecting and educating tech professionals. Houston, it seems, was late to the party.

So, he decided to make his own blockchain-focused organization, and a few months ago, he launched the Houston Blockchain Alliance. Read the full story here.

3 Houston energy innovators to know this week

These energy startup leaders are the reason Houston will keep its "energy capital of the world" title. Courtesy images

Houston's known as the energy capital of the world, but it won't stay that way if the city as a whole doesn't work toward innovation. These three professionals started their own companies to improve efficiency and promote ingenuity in their fields. From drones and AI to quicker pipeline data access, this week's three innovators to know are the future of the energy industry. Read the full story here.

TMC Innovation Institute leader leaves the organization

Erik Halvorsen has reportedly left his position at the TMC Innovation Institute. Courtesy of TMC

Erik Halvorsen, director of the Texas Medical Center's Innovation Institute, has left his position, according to multiple reports.

TMC's medical device innovation team lead, Lance Black, was named as the interim replacement for Halvorsen, according to Xconomy. Black has been with TMC for almost two years. Read the full story here.

Get on-demand personal training from Houston-based app

Houston-based Kanthaka is the Uber or Lyft of personal training, and has recently expanded into the Austin market. Courtesy of Kanthaka

As a busy lawyer who traveled heavily for work, Sylvia Kampshoff found her workouts were often overlooked as she went from city to city, a casualty of long hours and a busy schedule. And, even though she did have a membership to a national gym with privileges at any of its locations, she hated the feeling of always being sold something and disliked that both the trainers and managers she worked with took very little interest in her personal needs and fitness goals.

She wanted something that allowed her to exercise with someone on her own schedule, and with people who valued customer service. That's how the idea for Kanthaka was born. Read the full story here.


Erik Halvorsen has reportedly left his position at the TMC Innovation Institute. Courtesy TMC

TMC Innovation Institute leader leaves the organization

TMC exited

Erik Halvorsen, director of the Texas Medical Center's Innovation Institute, has left his position, according to multiple reports.

TMC's medical device innovation team lead, Lance Black, was named as the interim replacement for Halvorsen, according to Xconomy. Black has been with TMC for almost two years.

Neither Halvorsen nor Black could not be reached for comment. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Halvorsen has lead the organization since 2015. Before that, he worked in various health technology focused roles in Boston. He oversaw TMC's accelerator program, TMCx. The program graduates around 20 companies per cohort, and there's two cohorts each year — one focused on medical devices, which just concluded with the Nov. 15 Demo Day, and the other, which is about to launch, focused on digital health. TMCx was recently given silver recognition from the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project.

In an interview with InnovationMap earlier this month, Halvorsen talked about his career and Houston's medical innovation ecosystem.

"One of the things that I knew moving to Houston from Boston was that the investment environment for life sciences wasn't as robust as Boston," he said in that interview. "I knew coming in that was going to be a bit of an issue. I also felt like we had the raw materials, that if we ran our program the right way and attracted those companies we needed, the dollars would flow. And that's really been the case."

These three entrepreneurs didn't see their careers coming. Courtesy photos

3 Houston innovators to know this week

Who's Who

The career paths of startup or innovation leaders isn't usually a direct path. All three of this week's innovators to know took a roundabout way to their current gigs, which included a leap of faith or two for each of them. If their winding careers are any indication, they've got more exciting leadership ahead.

Youngro Lee, CEO and co-founder of NextSeed

Courtesy of NextSeed

Starting off on Wall Street as a private equity lawyer, Youngro Lee knows money. And he knew when the Jobs Act went into effect several years ago, there was a huge opportunity for companies to raise money from non-accredited individual investors, rather than just the super wealthy private investors. He left his legal career to leverage this new law to start NextSeed, which is a platform for businesses to raise capital for from anybody. Read more here.

Jane Henry, founder and CEO of SeeHerWork

Courtesy of SeeHerWork

Jane Henry watched as her glove flew right off her hand when she was cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey — her house got three feet of mud, and she got the idea for her company. SeeHerWork goes above and beyond the normal "pink it and shrink it" approach to women's workwear. Henry wants to see female workers with better fitting safety gear. Read more here.

Erik Halvorsen, director of the TMC Innovation Institute

Courtesy of TMC

As a kid, Erik Halvorsen wanted to be a doctor — he even took the MCAT and was on track for med school. He decided to look into other avenues that combined his passion for medicine and his entrepreneurial spirit. As director of TMCx, he helps innovative medical technologies become standard practice in hospitals. Read more here.

Editor's note: Halvorsen reportedly left his position at TMC on December 13, 2018.

Erik Halvorsen is sparking a medical innovation revolution with TMCx. Courtesy of TMC

TMCx leader is ready for Houston's health care innovation ecosystem to fully bloom

MedTalk

Editor's note: Halvorsen reportedly left his position at TMC on December 13, 2018. The original article as it first published is below.

Erik Halvorsen describes himself as an impatient guy, which is why, rather than wait for Houston's medical startup culture to evolve to meet Boston's or Silicon Valley's, he's taking steps to change it now.

"The reality is Houston is not Boston or Silicon Valley, and it comes down to a couple things: access to capital and the pool of entrepreneurs running around," says Halvorsen, director of the TMC Innovation Institute.

But the Texas Medical Center is looking to change that in the health care sector with TMCx, its accelerator.

TMCx was recently given silver recognition from the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project. While it's an impressive feat, Halvorsen envisions TMCx rise through the ranks of that award over the next few years.

"For us, we're kind of competing with ourselves to be as good as we possibly can be."

TMCx graduates around 20 companies per cohort, and there's two cohorts each year — one focused on medical devices, which just concluded with the Nov. 15 Demo Day, and the other, which is about to launch, focused on digital health.

InnovationMap: How did you get your start in your industry?

Erik Halvorsen: From as young as I can remember, I wanted to be a medical doctor. Fast forward, all through undergraduate, I was pre-med. Took the MCAT, scored in the 99 percentile, but when it came time to apply to medical school, I chose not to. I ended up applying to a "tweener program" at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, and they had these master's programs where you would take all the first year's classes of medical school and do research in a particular discipline. I was doing research in biochemistry. I go through that whole program, and then I still wasn't sure I wanted to be a doctor or go to medical school, but I liked research. I got offered a full scholarship to do a Ph.D. program at the University of Virginia, but I didn't love being in the lab. I found an ad somewhere about an internship at the UVA Patent Foundation. It was basically taking early stage innovation, discoveries, and IP out of universities and medical centers and turning them into products, and what that's look like — whether it was startup companies or corporate partners, and that's when the lightbulb went off for me. I was really good at speaking the science to the business side, and then speaking the business and finance side to the scientists and doctors. The rest of my career became some version of playing in that in between space in helping translate ideas to ultimately get to the big companies and ultimately in the market to help patients.

IM: In your role at TMCx, you oversee the accelerator and what companies make it in. What does TMCx look for in its cohort?

EH: What we're looking for is what we think is cutting edge, and truly innovative addressing an unmet need. We consult with a lot of the hospitals here. I ask them what's keeping them up at night. That list helps me select the companies. If I see companies that are making cool products that meet one of these unmet needs in TMC, then I know that company will get traction if they were in town, and that's important.

IM: What's the process of picking the companies?

EH: We'll get 200 to 300 applications and interview about 75 companies for the 20 to 25 spots. When we interview, we get at what is their understanding of the current practice, competitive landscape, etc. It's also a good chance for us to glean a little bit of the personality of the teams we're bringing in. We learned a long time ago that we don't want to work with assholes. We go a long way to find the people who are in it for the right reasons. You have to be really smart and confident — you've got to be pretty self confident if you're think you're bringing a solution to a problem that no one has success doing before. But it has to be self confidence without arrogance.

IM: What's the economic impact of the accelerator?

EH: I think we're clearly a major piece of the Houston ecosystem. JLabs has 50 companies under their roof, and when you add TMCx and the coworking space, we have about 100 health care companies under our roof. When you think about the companies that came through our program, that's a total of 250 companies. Those companies are important to the ecosystem because they are out there telling the world about Texas, the medical center, and Houston. Their word of mouth is the reason we see the volume and the quality of the applications going up each year. A lot of our companies choose to stay in Houston.

IM: What sets TMCx apart from its competition?

EH: We don't take equity. That sets us apart. I think this is a major reason we've been able to attract companies that are more advanced — still startups, just far down the path. Those of the kinds of companies who would never consider an accelerator program that asks them to give up equity.

IM: Where does Houston's innovation sector have room for improvement?

EH: One of the things that I knew moving to Houston from Boston was that the investment environment for life sciences wasn't as robust as Boston. I knew coming in that was going to be a bit of an issue. I also felt like we had the raw materials, that if we ran our program the right way and attracted those companies we needed, the dollars would flow. And that's really been the case.

Another area we have to grow is international collaborations. We already have a high percentage of international applicants, but now we're trying to build these biobridges to other ecosystems where we can collaborate on two areas: research and innovation commercialization.

IM: What all are you excited about seeing from TMC3?

EH: I think it's really unique to Houston to bring all of these elements together in what I think is a well-designed manner. It will really transform the city. You're going to have big industry down there — a lot of those conversations are still ongoing. I mean, 116,000 medical employees and 10 million patients a year, these big health care companies want to be close to that.

This will be another way we can accelerate what we learn in the lab to treatment for patients. I'm really excited about it, and I think the startup companies we continue to bring to Houston and nurture in the TMC Innovation Institute will be a major part of bridging that gap between research and discovery to the big companies that will bring that product to market.

IM: What advice do you have for health-related startup companies?

EH: There are plenty of studies that have been done that have shown that the main reason companies fail is that there's no market for their product — and that's industry agnostic, but it's definitely true in health care. What we spend a lot of time in our program is helping the companies evaluate that and understand what their product market is — and really validating that people are going to use it and, more importantly, people are going to pay for it.

My advice would be not to just assume there's a need. Go figure out how to validate that it's a better technology and that people will use it and buy it.

------

Portions of this interview have been edited.

TMCx was nationally recognized by Seed Accelerator Rankings Project. Courtesy of TMCx

TMCx receives national award for unique startup accelerator program

x marks the spot

The Texas Medical Center has once again received national acclaim — this time, for its innovation.

Seed Accelerator Rankings Project selected TMCx for a "Silver" distinction in its 2018 awards. SARP evaluated accelerators' success and selected 25 honorees in four categories — Platinum Plus, Platinum, Gold, and Silver. The distinction is aimed to help startups navigate accelerators and find the ones of quality.

SARP objectively measures the impact of these accelerator programs, says Erik Halvorsen, director of the TMC Innovation Institute. There simply isn't non-biased information about accelerators out there. Most startups are forced to rely on marketing materials from the programs.

"One of the things I say often is, 'If you see one accelerator, you've seen one accelerator,' meaning they are all different," Halvorsen says. "There are so many out there, and it can be confusing for startups who think they are all the same."

Now in its fifth year, SARP collected sensitive information, such as fundraising and valuations, and evaluated each accelerator to select the top 25.

The TMCx accelerator program has two cohorts a year, alternating between digital health and medical device focuses. Currently, TMCx has 23 medical device companies participating in the accelerator. Halvorsen says what sets TMCx apart is its focus on medicine, but also the fact that the accelerator doesn't take equity of its companies. Other programs require anywhere from 3 to 7 percent equity in the company in exchange for participation.

"I think this is a major reason we've been able to attract companies that are more advanced — still startups, just further down the path. Those are the kinds of companies who would never consider an accelerator program that asks them to give up equity."

This is the first year TMCx has made it on to the SARP listing, but Halvorsen says it won't be the last.

"I love the fact that there's still a couple levels above where we're ranked, so we definitely have something to shoot for as we grow and improve our program," he says. "For us, we're kind of competing with ourselves to be as good as we possibly can be."

TMCx's fall cohort participants showcase their work in a final presentation called Demo Day, which is on November 14.

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Rice Alliance and the Ion leader Brad Burke to retire this summer

lasting legacy

Brad Burke—a Rice University associate vice president who leads the Ion District’s Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and is a prominent figure in Houston’s startup community—is retiring this summer after a 25-year career at the university.

Burke will remain at the Rice Alliance as an adviser until his retirement on June 30.

“Brad’s impact on Rice extends far beyond any single program or initiative. He grew the Rice Alliance from a promising campus initiative into one of the most respected university-based entrepreneurship platforms,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said in a news release.

During Burke’s tenure, the Rice Business School went from unranked in entrepreneurship to The Princeton Review’s No. 1 graduate entrepreneurship program for the past seven years and a top 20 entrepreneurship program in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for the past 14 years.

“Brad didn’t just build programs — he built an ecosystem, a culture, and a reputation for Rice that now resonates around the world,” said Peter Rodriguez, dean of the business school. “Through his vision and steady leadership, Rice became a place where founders are taken seriously, ideas are rigorously supported, and entrepreneurship is embedded in the fabric of the university.”

One of Burke’s notable achievements at Rice is the creation of the Rice Business Plan Competition. During his tenure, the competition has grown from nine student teams competing for $10,000 into the world’s largest intercollegiate competition for student-led startups. Today, the annual competition welcomes 42 student-led startups that vie for more than $1 million in prizes.

Away from Rice, Burke has played a key role in cultivating entrepreneurship in the energy sector: He helped establish the Energy Tech Venture Forum along with Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week.

Furthermore, Burke co-founded the Texas University Network for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2008 to bolster the entrepreneurship programs at every university in Texas. In 2016, the Rice Alliance assumed leadership of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.

In 2023, Burke received the Trailblazer Award at the 2023 Houston Innovation Awards and was recognized by the Deshpande Foundation for his contributions to innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.

“Working with an amazing team to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Rice, in Houston, and beyond has been the privilege of my career,” Burke said in the release. “It has been extremely gratifying to hear entrepreneurs say our efforts changed their lives, while bringing new innovations to market. The organization is well-positioned to help drive exponential growth across startups, investors, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Starting April 15, John “JR” Reale Jr. will serve as interim associate vice president at Rice and executive director of the Rice Alliance. He is managing director of the alliance and co-founder of Station Houston, beginning April 15. Reale is co-founder of the Station Houston startup hub and a startup investor and was also recently named director for startups and investor engagement for the Ion.

“The Rice Alliance has always been about helping founders gain advantages to realize their visions,” Reale said. “Under Brad’s leadership, the Rice Alliance has become a globally recognized platform that is grounded in trust and drives transformational founder outcomes. My commitment is to honor what Brad has built and led while continuing to serve our team and community, deepen relationships and deliver impact.”

Burke joined the Houston Innovators Podcast back in 2022. Listen to the full interview here.

Houston team uses CPRIT funding to develop nanodrug for cancer immunotherapy

cancer research

With a relative five-year survival rate of 50 percent, pancreatic cancer is a diagnosis nobody wants. At 60 percent, the prognosis for lung cancer isn’t much rosier. That’s because both cancers contain regulatory B cells (Bregs), which block the body’s natural immunity, making it harder to fight the enemies within.

Newly popular immunotherapies in a category known as STING agonists may stimulate natural cancer defenses. However, they can also increase Bregs while simultaneously causing significant side effects. But Wei Gao, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, may have a solution to that conundrum.

Gao and her team have developed Nano-273, a dual-function drug, packaged in an albumin-based particle, that boosts the immune system to help it better fight pancreatic and lung cancers. Gao’s lab recently received a $900,000 grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to aid in fueling her research into the nanodrug.

“Nano-273 both activates STING and blocks PI3Kγ—a pathway that drives Breg expansion, while albumin nanoparticles help deliver the drug directly to immune cells, reducing unwanted side effects,” Gao said in a press release. “This approach reduces harmful Bregs while boosting immune cells that attack cancer, leading to stronger and more targeted anti-tumor responses.”

In studies using models of both pancreatic and lung cancers, Nano-273 has shown great promise with low toxicity. Its best results thus far have involved using the drug in combination with immunotherapy or chemotherapy.

With the CPRIT funds, Gao and her team will be able to charge closer to clinical use with a series of important steps. Those include continuing to test Nano-273 alongside other drugs, including immune checkpoint inhibitors. Safety studies will follow, but with future patients in mind, Gao will also work toward improving her drug’s production, making sure that it’s safe and high-quality every time, so that it is eventually ready for trials.

Gao added: “If successful, this project could lead to a new type of immunotherapy that offers lasting tumor control and improved survival for patients with pancreatic and lung cancers, two diseases that urgently need better treatments."

Houston booms as No. 2 U.S. metro for new home construction

Construction Boom

Driven by population growth, more residential rooftops are popping up across Houston and the rest of Texas than anywhere else in America.

Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow, Construction Coverage found 65,747 new residential units were authorized in greater Houston in 2024. That figure landed Houston in second place among major metro areas for the total number of housing permits, including those for single-family homes, apartments, and condos.

Just ahead of Houston was the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, which took first place with 71,788 residential permits approved in 2024. In third place was the country’s largest metro, New York City (57,929 permits).Elsewhere in Texas, the Austin metro ranked sixth (32,294 permits), and the San Antonio metro ranked 20th (14,857 permits).

Construction Coverage also sorted major metro areas based on the number of new housing units authorized per 1,000 existing homes in 2024. Raleigh, North Carolina, held the No. 1 spot (28.8 permits per 1,000 existing homes), followed by Austin at No. 2 (28.6), DFW at No. 3 (22.2), Houston at No. 4 (21.6), and San Antonio at No. 13 (13.6).

A Newsweek analysis of Census Bureau data shows building permits for 225,756 new residential units were approved in 2024 in Texas — a trend fueled largely by activity in DFW, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. That put Texas atop the list of states building the most residential units for the year.

Through the first eight months of last year, 145,901 permits for new residential units were approved in Texas, according to Census Bureau data. That’s nearly 80,000 permits shy of the 2024 total.

Among the states, Construction Coverage ranks Texas sixth for the number of residential building permits approved in 2024 per 1,000 existing homes (17.9).

Extra housing is being built in Texas to meet demand spurred by population growth. From April 2020 to July 2024, the state’s population increased 7.3 percent, the Census Bureau says.

While builders are busy constructing new housing in Texas, they’re not necessarily profiting a lot from homebuilding activity.

“Market conditions remain challenging, with two-thirds of builders reporting they are offering incentives to move buyers off the fence,” North Carolina homebuilder Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a December news release. “Meanwhile, builders are contending with rising material and labor prices, as tariffs are having serious repercussions on construction costs.”

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