3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Zimri Hinshaw of BUCHA BIO, Kelly Klein of Easter Seals of Greater Houston, ad John Mooz of Hines. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from esports to biomaterials — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Zimri Hinshaw, CEO of BUCHA BIO

Zimri T. Hinshaw, CEO of BUCHA BIO, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss how he's planning to scale his biomaterials startup to reduce plastic waste. Photo courtesy of BUCHA BIO

After raising a seed round of funding, BUCHA BIO is gearing up to move into its new facility. The biomaterials company was founded in New York City in 2020, but CEO Zimri T. Hinshaw shares how he started looking for a new headquarters for the company — one that was more affordable, had a solid talent pool, and offered a better quality of life for employees. He narrowed it down from over 20 cities to two — San Diego and Houston — before ultimately deciding on the Bayou City.

Since officially relocating, Hinshaw says he's fully committed to the city's innovation ecosystem. BUCHA BIO has a presence at the University of Houston, Greentown Labs, and the East End Maker Hub — where the startup is building out a new space to fit the growing team.

"By the end of this month, our laboratories will be up and running, we'll have office space adjacent, as well as chemical storage," Hinshaw says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. Listen to the episode and read more.

Kelly Klein, development director of Easter Seals Greater Houston

A nonprofit organization has rolled out an esports platform and event to raise awareness and funding for those with disabilities. Photo via Easter Seals

For many video games is getaway from reality, but for those with disabilities — thanks to a nonprofit organization —gaming can mean a lot more. On Saturday Dec. 3 — International Day of Persons with Disabilities — from 1 to 9 pm, Easter Seals Greater Houston will be joining forces with ES Gaming for the inaugural Game4Access Streamathon.

Gaming helps enhance cognitive skills, motor skills, improve mental well-being, and can help reduce feelings of social isolation due to the interactive nature of playing with others.

“This is really a unique way for (people) to form a community without having to leave their house, and being part of an inclusive environment,” says Kelly Klein, development director of Easter Seals Greater Houston. ”The adaptive equipment and specialized technology just does so many miraculous things for people with disabilities on so many levels — not just gaming. With gaming, it is an entrance into a whole new world.” Read more.

John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines

Levit Green has announced its latest to-be tenant. Photo courtesy

Levit Green, a 53-acre mixed-use life science district next to the Texas Medical Center and expected to deliver this year, has leased approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial lab and office space to Sino Biological Inc. The Bejing-based company is an international reagent supplier and service provider. Houston-based real estate investor, development, and property manager Hines announced the new lease in partnership with 2ML Real Estate Interests and Harrison Street.

“Levit Green was meticulously designed to provide best-in-class life science space that can accommodate a multitude of uses. Welcoming Sino Biological is a testament to the market need for sophisticated, flexible space that allows diversified firms to perform a variety of research,” says John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines, in a press release. “Sino is an excellent addition to the district’s growing life science ecosystem, and we look forward to supporting their continued growth and success.” Read more.Read more.

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Hines is doubling down on life science real estate development, the firm recently reported. Image courtesy of Hines

Houston-based real estate giant bets on growing life science sector

shifting focus

An international real estate firm announced recently that it would prioritizing investing in life science industry opportunities when it comes to commercial real estate development.

Houston-based Hines reported that the pandemic has heightened the demand for life science real estate, and the firm explained in a news release that it will be delivering purpose-built life science facilities in growing markets that feature state-of-the-art, operator-driven design and amenities.

“The life sciences sector is experiencing an era of unprecedented growth driven by a rise in both public and private funding combined with a post-pandemic sense of urgency and market opportunity,” says David Steinbach, global CIO at Hines, in the release. “As this industry surges, it is pivotal that developers keep pace by delivering spaces that are as innovative as the tenants occupying them. Hines is dedicated to delivering purpose-built facilities that meet the physical, functional and technological needs of the occupiers.”

When it comes to design, Hines will focus on structural specification and the balance of lab and office space, providing tenants — who are all looking or different types of spaces and amenities — with flexibility and modular design.

ESG is something Hines is reportedly considering top of mind for developers, investors and occupiers, with plans to build efficient assets, source from sustainable energy, and provide low-carbon emission options.

Hines has already announced this type of facility currently in construction in Houston. Levit Green is a five-story, 270,000-square-foot Phase I lab building that has flexible Class AA quality labs key features required by top life science tenants. According to Hines, Levit Green's building features will include emergency power sources, 33-foot structural bay depths, allowing for an ideal 11-foot lab module, and floorplates more than 55,000 square feet will also enable research and office teams to create efficient configurations that enable teamwork and collaboration.

“Our carefully built team of national life science leasing, design and capital experts has put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into Levit Green’s planning and design. We are confident that our team will deliver one of the highest-quality commercial laboratory assets in the world once complete,” says John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines, in the release. “We are excited to bring top-tier projects like Levit Green to other highly anticipated, growing markets.”

Boston and San Francisco have become major life science industry hubs, but there are several global cities on the rise that Hines will be targeting, including London, Boulder, Austin, Shanghai Salt Lake City, and Pittsburgh.

Hines’ investment thesis is based on a confluence of factors that are driving the demand within the global landscape for life sciences real estate that are outlined in the new Hines Perspective: “The Potential of Purpose-Built Properties” white paper.

Levit Green is a 270,000-square-foot Phase I lab building adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rendering courtesy of Hines

The new building features a waterfront, wharf environment. Rendering courtesy of Hines

Pivotal new waterfront science lab set to cast off in The Medical Center

LEVIT GREEN BLOOMS

The first step of a pivotal new Medical Center district has been revealed. International real estate firm Hines and partner 2ML Real Estate Interests have unveiled the first look at the initial building at Levit Green.

This new, 53-acre life science complex will sit adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. The five-story, 270,000-square-foot Phase I building is designated for life sciences; JLL has been selected as leasing representative for the project, per a press release.

Sitting on the first of several lakes that create Levit Green's oasis, Phase I boasts a sprawling boardwalk environment. Tenants will enjoy waterfront amenities including a 5,800-square foot fitness center and outdoor garden, 7,000-square-foot conference center, 3,500 square feet of café and restaurant space, and on-site parking.

Ground-floor plans include more than 25,000 square feet of lab incubator space, which will provide entrepreneurs and early-stage life science companies top-tier, strategically located laboratory and office space as well as networking opportunities, per a release.

As for the building itself, amenities include: 100-percent-redundant emergency power, enhanced structural vibration attenuation, and augmented mechanical systems. Work on Phase I is slated to begin in the second quarter of this year, with occupancy beginning in Q4.

The 53-acre Levit Green proposed site. Rendering courtesy of Hines

According to data, Houston produces more medical doctorates than any other MSA and generates more research doctorates in the key life science subject areas of biology and physical sciences (chemistry, physics, etc.) than San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle. Thus, Levit Green promises to solve the real estate demands of arguably the nation's life science capital.

"Houston is quickly emerging as a top life science cluster city and has been able to do so without the purpose-built product established in other locations," said John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines, in a statement. "The Phase I project at Levit Green has been thoughtfully designed from the inside out to include features that are required of a top-tier research environment. We are excited to deliver the highest quality of building that will enable industry leaders to better conduct their critical research."

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

The Levit Green development will feature office, research, residential, retail, and dining components, along with outdoor amenities and green space. Image courtesy of Hines

New development announced to rise alongside Houston's Texas Medical Center

now building

Two Houston-based commercial real estate companies — Hines Interests LP and 2ML Real Estate Interests Inc. — have teamed up to develop a 52-acre life-sciences-anchored, mixed-use project adjacent to the Texas Medical Center.

The Levit Green development will feature office, research, residential, retail, and dining components, along with outdoor amenities and green space. In a June 15 release, the developers say Levit Green will sit "at the epicenter of Houston's biotech, corporate life sciences, and medical research hub."

Levit Green will be near the planned TMC³ biomedical research campus. The Hines-2ML project will be built at the northwest corner of Holcombe Boulevard and U.S. Highway 288 on an industrial site that was the headquarters of The Grocery Supply Co. Inc., the predecessor of 2ML.

Being built at a cost of $1.5 billion, the 1.5 million-square-foot, 36-acre TMC³ campus is set for completion in 2022.

"At 15.5 percent, Houston has one of the highest five-year growth rates in life sciences establishments in the United States. Impressive advancements in therapeutics, science, and innovation are driving demand for real estate," John Mooz, senior managing director of Hines, says in the release.

Privately held Hines is a real estate investor, developer, and manager whose portfolio comprises $133.3 billion in assets across 24 countries.

Because Levit Green remains in the master-planning phase, the developers aren't able to provide the project's square footage. They plan to break ground once design work for the initial buildings is finished. The developers decline to disclose a price tag for the project.

"Given the explosive growth and investment in innovation in the life science sector, there is an intense need for state-of-the-art facilities which enable the research required to bring these planned advances into being," Mooz tells InnovationMap in a statement. "As Houston is an ascending life science cluster city, which also includes the world's largest medical center, the need to create facilities that enhance research and development was, to us, obvious."

An initial parcel for Levit Green was purchased by Joe Levit, founder of The Grocers Supply Co., which grew into a major independent wholesaler of groceries in the U.S. and the largest supplier of Hispanic groceries in the U.S. The Levit family owns 2ML.

"Our family has deep roots in the neighborhood, and we believe this development will add tremendous value to the area and the Texas Medical Center," Max Levit, president of 2ML, says in the release.

The Levits entered the retail sector with the purchase of the Gerland's Inc. and Fiesta Mart Inc. grocery chains. In 2014, the family sold its wholesale business and the Grocers Supply name. The following year, the company sold Gerland's and Fiesta Mart.

In conjunction with the sale of the wholesale business and the brand, The Grocers Supply Co. changed its name to 2ML Real Estate Interests. The renamed company controls a portfolio of more than 5.2 million square feet of warehouses, shopping centers, supermarkets, and office buildings. The bulk of 2ML's portfolio is in the Houston area.

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Houston engineers develop breakthrough device to advance spinal cord treatment

future of health

A team of Rice University engineers has developed an implantable probe over a hundred times smaller than the width of a hair that aims to help develop better treatments for spinal cord disease and injury.

Detailed in a recent study published in Cell Reports, the probe or sensor, known as spinalNET, is used to explore how neurons in the spinal cord process sensation and control movement, according to a statement from Rice. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Rice, the California-based Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the philanthropic Mary K. Chapman Foundation based in Oklahoma.

The soft and flexible sensor was used to record neuronal activity in freely moving mice with high resolution for multiple days. Historically, tracking this level of activity has been difficult for researchers because the spinal cord and its neurons move so much during normal activity, according to the team.

“We developed a tiny sensor, spinalNET, that records the electrical activity of spinal neurons as the subject performs normal activity without any restraint,” Yu Wu, a research scientist at Rice and lead author of the study said in a statement. “Being able to extract such knowledge is a first but important step to develop cures for millions of people suffering from spinal cord diseases.”

The team says that before now the spinal cord has been considered a "black box." But the device has already helped the team uncover new findings about the body's rhythmic motor patterns, which drive walking, breathing and chewing.

Lan Luan (from left), Yu Wu, and Chong Xie are working on the breakthrough device. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

"Some (spinal neurons) are strongly correlated with leg movement, but surprisingly, a lot of neurons have no obvious correlation with movement,” Wu said in the statement. “This indicates that the spinal circuit controlling rhythmic movement is more complicated than we thought.”

The team said they hope to explore these findings further and aim to use the technology for additional medical purposes.

“In addition to scientific insight, we believe that as the technology evolves, it has great potential as a medical device for people with spinal cord neurological disorders and injury,” Lan Luan, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice and a corresponding author on the study, added in the statement.

Rice researchers have developed several implantable, minimally invasive devices to address health and mental health issues.

In the spring, the university announced that the United States Department of Defense had awarded a four-year, $7.8 million grant to the Texas Heart Institute and a Rice team led by co-investigator Yaxin Wang to continue to break ground on a novel left ventricular assist device (LVAD) that could be an alternative to current devices that prevent heart transplantation.

That same month, the university shared news that Professor Jacob Robinson had published findings on minimally invasive bioelectronics for treating psychiatric conditions. The 9-millimeter device can deliver precise and programmable stimulation to the brain to help treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Houston clean hydrogen startup to pilot tech with O&G co.

stay gold

Gold H2, a Houston-based producer of clean hydrogen, is teaming up with a major U.S.-based oil and gas company as the first step in launching a 12-month series of pilot projects.

The tentative agreement with the unnamed oil and gas company kicks off the availability of the startup’s Black 2 Gold microbial technology. The technology underpins the startup’s biotech process for converting crude oil into proprietary Gold Hydrogen.

The cleantech startup plans to sign up several oil and gas companies for the pilot program. Gold H2 says it’s been in discussions with companies in North America, Latin America, India, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

The pilot program is aimed at demonstrating how Gold H2’s technology can transform old oil wells into hydrogen-generating assets. Gold H2, a spinout of Houston-based biotech company Cemvita, says the technology is capable of producing hydrogen that’s cheaper and cleaner than ever before.

“This business model will reshape the traditional oil and gas industry landscape by further accelerating the clean energy transition and creating new economic opportunities in areas that were previously dismissed as unviable,” Gold H2 says in a news release.

The start of the Black 2 Gold demonstrations follows the recent hiring of oil and gas industry veteran Prabhdeep Singh Sekhon as CEO.

“With the proliferation of AI, growth of data centers, and a national boom in industrial manufacturing underway, affordable … carbon-free energy is more paramount than ever,” says Rayyan Islam, co-founder and general partner at venture capital firm 8090 Industries, an investor in Gold H2. “We’re investing in Gold H2, as we know they’ll play a pivotal role in unleashing a new dawn for energy abundance in partnership with the oil industry.”

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes an e-commerce startup founder, an industrial biologist, and a cellular scientist.

Omair Tariq, co-founder and CEO of Cart.com

Omair Tariq of Cart.com joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to share his confidence in Houston as the right place to scale his unicorn. Photo via Cart.com

Houston-based Cart.com, which operates a multichannel commerce platform, has secured $105 million in debt refinancing from investment manager BlackRock.

The debt refinancing follows a recent $25 million series C extension round, bringing Cart.com’s series C total to $85 million. The scaleup’s valuation now stands at $1.2 billion, making it one of the few $1 billion-plus “unicorns” in the Houston area.

Cart.com was co-founded by CEO Omair Tariq in October 2020. Read more.

Nádia Skorupa Parachin, vice president of industrial biotechnology at Cemvita

Nádia Skorupa Parachin joined Cemvita as vice president of industrial biotechnology. Photo courtesy of Cemvita

Houston-based biotech company Cemvita recently tapped two executives to help commercialize its sustainable fuel made from carbon waste.

Nádia Skorupa Parachin came aboard as vice president of industrial biotechnology, and Phil Garcia was promoted to vice president of commercialization.

Parachin most recently oversaw several projects at Boston-based biotech company Ginkjo Bioworks. She previously co-founded Brazilian biotech startup Integra Bioprocessos. Read more.

Han Xiao, associate professor of chemistry at Rice University

The funds were awarded to Han Xiao, a chemist at Rice University.

A Rice University chemist has landed a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Health for his work that aims to reprogram the genetic code and explore the role certain cells play in causing diseases like cancer and neurological disorders.

The funds were awarded to Han Xiao, the Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator, associate professor of chemistry, from the NIH's Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program, which supports medically focused laboratories. Xiao will use the five-year grant to advance his work on noncanonical amino acids.

“This innovative approach could revolutionize how we understand and control cellular functions,” Xiao said in the statement. Read more.

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