3 Houston health-focused innovators to know this week

Who's who

From a locally sourced meal service company to stem cell research and a balance measuring device, this week's innovators are ones to know in the health industry. Courtesy photos

More and more Americans are focusing on their health, from eating right to experimenting with new treatments or devices. These three Houston innovators are riding the coattails of this health-focused movement with their startups. With advances in technology and the movement only growing faster and faster, you'd better keep your eye on these Houston innovators.

Marla Murphy, founder of The Blonde Pantry

Courtesy of The Blonde Pantry

Marla Murphy didn't feel like she was doing enough to promote health and wellness with her platform, The Blonde Pantry. So, she expanded it to incorporate locally sourced produce and easy-to-make recipes she gets ready every weekend to deliver to her members by Monday.

"It's not about selling meals and moving on, I want this to be a lifestyle company that is really founded and has deep roots in Houston," says Murphy in a InnovationMap story.

Murphy tells InnovationMap that in the next year she hopes to expand into the retail space and find a bigger commercial kitchen to function as their own. She also hopes to partner with companies outside of food and continue to nourish lives in someway.

David Eller, chairman, co-founder and CEO of Celltex

Courtesy of Celltex

Stem cell treatment is personal to David Eller, chairman, co-founder and CEO of Celltex. Eller had the treatment in hopes of resolving pain from a college football injury.

"I would go to work and put four to six Advil in my pocket," Eller says in an InnovationMap story about Celltex's technology. Within months, he stopped needing those pills.

Houston-based Celltex tracks its progress with its patients. Eighty-three percent of multiple sclerosis patients have reported improvement of symptoms specific to their disease, as have 73 percent of Parkinson's sufferers. But the staggering fact is that 100 percent of 58 respondents with rheumatoid arthritis say they have benefited.

Katharine Forth, founder and CEO of Zibrio

Courtesy of Zibrio

Katharine Forth has used a technology she developed with her colleague at NASA to measure balance in astronauts to create a device that any terrestrial human can now use from the comfort of their own homes.

"The machines typically used for balance measurement can be as large as a telephone booth, so we invented a new way to measure postural control using a much smaller mechanism that fit inside a moon boot," Forth says in an InnovationMap article about Zibrio, The Balance Company. Zibrio, The Balance Company.

Zibrio is now a finalist for the 2019 SXSW Pitch in the health and wearables category and will take its balance technology to the stage in March.

Celltex's stem cell technology has received positive results from its multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and rheumatoid arthritis patients. Courtesy of Celltex

Houston company uses stem cell technology to treat patients suffering from degenerative diseases

Regeneration nation

The medical community has former governor Rick Perry to thank for a major stride in regenerative medicine.

"He had just gotten elected for the last time and he wanted to leave a legacy. He was tired of people going to Japan or Germany when they needed stem cells," recalls David Eller, chairman, co-founder and CEO of Celltex.

That was 2011, the year that the former president of Dupont Pharmeceuticals-Europe and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Stanley Jones incorporated as Celltex. Perry got the law passed to make it legal to harvest his stem cells, and Jones implanted them while the governor was under the knife for a spinal fusion surgery.

Perry resigned from the Celltex board in 2017, but the truth is, the company no longer needed his clout. Just a year after its debut, the company had in excess of 200 clients, each paying a banking enrollment fee of $6,500. Now, there are close to 1,300.

From research to recovery
Eller is originally from Houston, and he says his hometown is the ideal home base for the company, with its access to the world's largest medical center. The Galleria-area office and lab employ 35 people, with about 50 workers worldwide.

Close to the same time that his friend Perry received his stem cells, Eller also had the treatment in hopes of resolving pain from a college football injury.

"I would go to work and put four to six Advil in my pocket," the CEO recalls.

Within months, all of them remained in his pocket.

But others have had even more dramatic results. Celltex checks in with patients three, six and nine months after their treatments to find out how they're doing. Eighty-three percent of multiple sclerosis patients have reported improvement of symptoms specific to their disease, as have 73 percent of Parkinson's sufferers. But the staggering fact is that 100 percent of 58 respondents with rheumatoid arthritis say they have benefited.

Implementation and the FDA
Celltex's chief scientific officer, Dr. Jane Young, co-authored a study of two severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients whose conditions didn't respond to standard treatments. After trying stem cells, both reported marked improvement in autonomic nervous system and immune function.

Stem cells are gathered through a patient's fat, which can be extracted at any of the 80 facilities around the country that partner with Celltex. The fat is processed at the Houston lab, where processing takes 30 to 35 days.

"We have 15 billion cells in process each day," says Erik Eller, the company's vice president of operations, clarifying that some clients' cells grow faster than others'.

It takes 14 days to come out of cryostasis and leave the lab. From there, the stem cells travel to Hospital Galenia in Cancun, Mexico for implantation, since the FDA categorizes stem cells as a drug if they have expanded as they do at Celltex. That means that a patient cannot use his own stem cells in the United States without a clinical trial. To circumnavigate the red tape, Celltex has simply partnered with the luxurious Mexican hospital.

This is currently the company's biggest challenge, says David Eller, but one he expects to overcome.

"We have very good relations with the US FDA," he says. "They are very interested in what we know. Our approach is really is very progressive and we've grown every year."

Ultimately, Eller hopes to be able to implant stem cells in the United States. But the company's foreign growth is a good start. Celltex is now operating in the Bahamas and is hoping to add Australian extraction facilities sometime this year. They are also in negotiations with a team from Saudi Arabia interested in expanding Celltex to the Middle East.

Other goals for Celltex include improvements both in the realms of sales and revenue and streamlining and improving the safety and efficacy of treatment. Research collaborations with Baylor College of Medicine and Texas A&M will help with the company's medical credibility. This all may help to convince the FDA to allow the Celltex to get a biologics license, the final proof that it is not a drug company. But no matter how it's categorized, Celltex is growing exponentially as its cells.

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Rice biotech studio secures investment from Modi Ventures, adds founder to board

fresh funding

RBL LLC, which supports commercialization for ventures formed at the Rice University Biotech Launch Pad, has secured an investment from Houston-based Modi Ventures.

Additionally, RBL announced that it has named Sahir Ali, founder and general partner of Modi Ventures, to its board of directors.

Modi Ventures invests in biotech companies that are working to advance diagnostics, engineered therapeutics and AI-driven drug discovery. The firm has $134 million under management after closing an oversubscribed round this summer.

RBL launched in 2024 and is based out of Houston’s Texas Medical Center Helix Park. William McKeon, president and CEO of the TMC, previously called the launch of RBL a “critical step forward” for Houston’s life sciences ecosystem.

“RBL is dedicated to building companies focused on pioneering and intelligent bioelectronic therapeutics,” Ali said in a LinkedIn post. “This partnership strengthens the Houston biotech ecosystem and accelerates the transition of groundbreaking lab discoveries into impactful therapies.”

Ali will join board members like managing partner Paul Wotton, Rice bioengineering professor Omid Veiseh, scientist and partner at KdT Ventures Rima Chakrabarti, Rice alum John Jaggers, CEO of Arbor Biotechnologies Devyn Smith, and veteran executive in the life sciences sector James Watson.

Ali has led transformative work and built companies across AI, cloud computing and precision medicine. Ali also serves on the board of directors of the Drug Information Association, which helps to collaborate in drug, device and diagnostics developments.

“This investment by Modi Ventures will be instrumental to RBL’s growth as it reinforces confidence in our venture creation model and accelerates our ability to develop successful biotech startups,” Wotton said in the announcement. "Sahir’s addition to the board will also amplify this collaboration with Modi. His strategic counsel and deep understanding of field-defining technologies will be invaluable as we continue to grow and deliver on our mission.”

New peer-to-peer grocery app launches in Katy with plans to expand

local goods

If computer scientist and mobile applications developer Arfhan Ahmad has his way, his burgeoning Houston-based startup, QuickPantri, will be directly responsible for adding to the definition of what it truly means to be neighborly.

“Fast delivery from next door” — that’s the tagline for Ahmad’s hyperlocal grocery platform, which focuses on solving last-mile access, neighborhood commerce and food affordability.

“I’m passionate about combining technology with real-world problems, especially those that impact working families and underserved communities,” Ahmad says. “I moved to Houston two years ago, and here I realized that grocery stores are far from the neighborhoods.”

Ahmad envisions QuickPantri will help people who need grocery items urgently, sparing them a trip to the store or costly delivery fees by letting them source items directly from their neighbors’ cupboards.

With his new peer-to-peer app, members — especially those tethered to their residence due to disability or immobility or those unable to make grocery runs with children in tow — can simply log on to QuickPantri and purchase grocery items from their own neighbors.

“My initial thought was, 'What if we have an app that allows people to open a grocery store at their own home and sell any essential items to other neighbors?'” Ahmad says. “So, after having this idea in my mind, I asked my neighbors, 'If I sell groceries from my home, would you buy them from me?' And most of them gave me positive responses. After doing some surveys online on the Nextdoor app and Facebook, I started building this app.”

And like a good neighbor, Ahmad launched QuickPantri in his own neighborhood in Katy.

He then looked at scaling, first by securing approvals from Harris County to sell pre-packaged grocery items from his home. The response exceeded his own expectations. In the last two months, Ahmad estimates that he has delivered to 250 homes in the Katy area. Ahmad has seen that most customers use the app in search of late-night snacks and drinks.

“Ninety-five percent of those orders were delivered in 15 to 30 minutes … Our plan is to expand in other high-risk communities and other cities,” Ahmad says.

To date, Ahmad has obtained approvals from Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

He’s in the process of launching version two. Starting September 1, other sellers will be able to join the app and apply to sell goods to their neighbors. Ahmad says he currently has 50 sellers on the waitlist.

Each seller is allotted a potential selling radius of 10 minutes to ensure swift delivery. Also, sellers are required to deliver the goods via bicycle or on foot, making QuickPantri a pollution-free delivery option.

Currently, the app only sells pre-packaged items and sellers are required to show the expiration date in photos. The app utilizes AI to check pricing for goods in the area, and Ahmad says the app typically lists prices lower than what AI predicts.

Outside of geographic reach and number of buyers and sellers, Ahmad also hopes to expand the list of items that can be sold on the app to include clothes, electronics and cleaning supplies.

“We want our seller to be the ultimate source,” Ahmad says.

2 Houston universities excel on 2026 list of best U.S. colleges

Best in Class

Two top-tier Houston universities have been inducted into a new "hall of fame" list of the best colleges in the U.S. for 2026.

Rice University and the University of Houston were both praised in The Princeton Review's "The Best 391 Colleges: 2026 Edition."

Released August 12, the comprehensive guide annually ranks the best universities across 50 categories based on a survey of 170,000 current college students. Survey questions cover topics such as a school's academics and administration, student quality of life, politics, campus life, city life, extracurricular opportunities, and social environment.

The Princeton Review did not numerically rank the schools overall, but it does report the top 25 schools (out of the total 391) for each of the 50 different categories. The report also clarifies that while schools did not pay to be included in the guide, they could pay for a "featured" designation. Neither Houston university paid to be featured on the list.

Rice University, Houston's most prestigious private institution, appeared in the overall 391 best colleges list, and it also appeared in the regional "Best Southwest" list, the "Best Value Colleges" list, and the "Colleges That Create Futures" list. Rice's overall quality and its academic integrity are what students say are its greatest strengths. Students are additionally encouraged to think creatively — and even unconventionally — about how to approach course assignments.

"There's also an outside-the-box thinking when it comes to assessments, like 'the option to make a 30 minute scientific podcast instead of taking the final,' explains one sophomore," the school's profile says. "This isn't unusual for first-years either; one notes that 'instead of doing a bunch of writing and essays, I was tasked with creating...a TED Talk, which really lit a creative flame in me.'"

Rice students can brag about attending a school with the seventh best college newspaper and the 10th best college dorms and quality of life out of all colleges nationwide. The university's financial aid is also the ninth best in the country.

Here's how Rice fared in other Princeton Review rankings:

No. 14 – Top 50 Best Value Private Colleges
No. 14 – Lots of Race/Class Interaction
No. 17 – Best College Radio Station
No. 18 – Top 20 Best Value Private Colleges without Financial Aid
No. 19 – Best Science Lab Facilities
No. 23 – Best-Run Colleges
No. 25 – Students Study the Most

Rice has recently earned praise in a separate 2026 ranking of the best universities in the world, and its MBA program scored highly in The Princeton Review's 2025 best business schools list.

University of Houston also appeared in The Princeton Review's "Best Value Colleges," "Best Southwest," "Green Colleges," and "Colleges That Create Futures" lists. Students at this university also benefit from having the No. 1 undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the nation.

"Whether you're in or out-of-state, students consider their school to be 'not very expensive for the quality of education you're getting,' and the constant improvements help 'you feel like your degree is appreciating in value over time along with the school itself," the university's profile says.

Here's how University of Houston performed in other rankings:

No. 20 – Students Love Their School Teams
No. 21 – Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch (this list measured schools based on "the use of hard liquor" as reported by student surveys)
No. 22 – Cancel the Keg (this list measured "how widely beer is used" at schools based on student survey results)
No. 22 – Pot's Not Hot (this list ranked colleges with the "least marijuana usage based on ratings from real students about the popularity of marijuana on campus")
No. 25 – Most Politically Moderate Students
No. 42 – Top 50 Best Value Public Colleges

Unfortunately, UH ranked No. 11 in The Princeton Review's ranking of schools where financial aid is "not so great." However, there is plenty else to appreciate about this high performing university.

Other Texas universities included in The Princeton Review are:

University of Texas at Austin
Southwestern University in Georgetown
Texas State University in San Marcos
Trinity University in San Antonio
Texas A&M University in College Station
Angelo State University in San Angelo
Baylor University in Waco
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth
Southern Methodist University in Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson
University of Dallas in Irving
Austin College in Sherman

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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