Several Houston-area life science research teams receive thousands in grants

research roundup

It's pay day for several Houston-area research teams thanks to two grant programs. Photo via Getty Images

Several health innovation research teams across Houston are celebrating fresh funds to go toward the development of breakthrough technologies and research projects.

In InnovationMap's latest roundup of research news, check out who received this crucial funding and how their research and work can change the standard of care across the life science industry.

Reliant doles out $100,000 to two Houston Methodist critical care physician-scientists

Reliant announced that the recipients of the Reliant Innovation Fund will be two individuals within Houston Methodist Center for Critical Care in collaboration with Texas A&M's Engineering Medicine (EnMed) program.

"Meaningful innovation is core to us at Reliant and the work these institutions, physicians and students are doing is truly amazing," says Elizabeth Killinger, president of Reliant, in a news release. "We appreciate how Houston Methodist is making a lasting difference in our community by continuing to revolutionize medicine and we are honored to support them through the EnMed program."

Dr. Hina Faisal and Dr. Asma Zainab — along with the EnMed students who will support their work — will use the funds to advance their work. An anesthesiologist and critical care physician, Faisal will lead a project on 3-D-simulated virtual reality technology to prevent delirium in critically ill patients. Zainab, who specializes in cardiovascular ICU and focuses on respiratory failure and ventilator use, will lead a project to help personalize care in lung failure, creating models specific to each patient to avoid unnecessary pressure and injury caused by ventilators, per the release.

"Innovation is at the heart of what we do," says Dr. Faisal Masud, director of the Center of Critical Care at Houston Methodist, in the release. "Thanks to Reliant's generous contribution and ongoing support, we are able to seek out new ways to provide the best quality care for our most vulnerable patients while supporting our physicians, our students and their research."

Researchers at Rice University and Texas Medical Center institutions snag grants

Six research teams have received funding from Rice University's Educational and Research Initiatives for Collaborative Health, known as ENRICH. Established in 2016, the program focuses on connecting Rice faculty with TMC institutions to encourage collaboration. Last year, more than a fifth of Rice faculty were engaged in active collaborations with TMC research partners, according to a news release.

"Partnerships with TMC are an institutional priority, and they enable our faculty to translate their research to clinical practice, directly benefiting the Houston community," says Marcia O'Malley, special advisor to the provost on ENRICH and the Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor in Mechanical Engineering, in the release. "ENRICH has been instrumental in facilitating faculty engagement with TMC partners, reducing barriers to collaboration and investing institutional resources in new partnerships."

The Provost's TMC Collaborator Fund awarded $60,000 in grants to:

Jason Hafner '98, professor of physics and astronomy at Rice, and Carly Filgueira '09, assistant professor of nanomedicine and cardiovascular surgery at Houston Methodist Research Institute, to explore the development of an optical sensor for clinical detection of cholesterol.
Lan Li, assistant professor of history at Rice; Ricardo Ernesto Nuila, associate professor of medicine, medical ethics and health policy at Baylor College of Medicine; and Fady Joudah, a poet, literary translator and physician at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, for a pilot study of community health care access that addresses larger questions about medical racism in Houston.
Oleg Igoshin, professor of bioengineering at Rice, and Anna Konovalova, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's McGovern Medical School, to explore new targets for antibiotic treatment by probing the feedback loop between two important stress-response pathways in bacteria.

Additionally, Rice ENRICH and Baylor's Interdisciplinary Surgical Technology and Innovation Center (INSTINCT) awarded $60,000 in grants to:

Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and chair of Rice's Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, and Crystal Shin, assistant professor of surgery at Baylor, for development of a self-charging, wireless microsensor capable of detecting changes in flow in blood vessels that have been replaced in heart bypass surgery.
Meng Li, Noah Harding Assistant Professor in Statistics at Rice, and Gabriel Loor, associate professor of surgery at Baylor, to study inflammation following lung transplantation and search for the cause of inflammatory responses that differ between men and women.
Vaibhav Unhelkar, assistant professor of computer science at Rice, and James Suliburk, associate professor of surgery at Baylor, to explore how artificial intelligence can augment surgical training.

The Equity Innovation Center Powered by Reliant will have online resources as well as an interactive learning lab at Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA. Photo courtesy of Urban Land Institute Houston

YMCA of Greater Houston announces equity-focused innovation center backed by Reliant

it's fun to innovate at the

Houston is the most diverse city in the nation, and the YMCA of Greater Houston is looking to do its part to promote equity innovation by opening a new center.

The Equity Innovation Center Powered by Reliant will be the first of its kind in the region, and it will operate as a space for Houstonians to gather and collaborate.

"The YMCA of Greater Houston vows to stand with our brothers and sisters who are made to feel less safe by the many recent incidents – fighting for health equity in the face of the inequities being laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and unjust killings," says Stephen Ives, president and CEO, YMCA of Greater Houston, in a press release. "The Y will continue expanding and strengthening its commitment to combat racism, bias, prejudice and inequalities while fighting for justice."

The center will provide resources and activities so that visitors and collaborators can "walk away with a solid learning or unlearning" of social justice issues that are prominent in both Houston and nationally.

Rolling out in three phases, the project's first step is to foster conversations, consulting, and online trainings regarding systemic racial inequities. The next two phases will include setting up an interactive learning lab at Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA, which would come to fruition by early next year.

The project is made possible by Reliant, a partner of the YMCA of Greater Houston.

"At Reliant, we respect, recognize and celebrate that our differences shape us, and that diversity and inclusion make us stronger. We're committed to powering change and supporting progress in the places where we live and work," says Elizabeth Killinger, president at Reliant, in the release. "By powering the Equity Innovation Center, we hope to further strengthen Houston so we can harness our full potential and make lasting change for future generations."

Reliant has donated $100,000 to the project, which will be distributed in $50,000 commitments over two years. The sum is a part of Reliant and NRG's "Powering Change" initiative, which has committed $1 million to go to organizations that combat racial inequities, injustice, and related violence, according to the release.

"We are grateful Reliant is joining our efforts to implement lasting and meaningful change within our community and beyond. We know that when we work as one, we move people and communities forward," Ives says.

Stephen Ives (left) is the president and CEO of YMCA of Greater Houston, and Elizabeth Killinger is president of Reiliant. Images courtesy

Reliant and Aramco Americas have provided Houston Methodist funds to move forward pertinent research and opportunities. Courtesy of Methodist Hospital/Facebook

2 corporations write checks to go toward Houston hospital's COVID-19 efforts

money moves

Two Houston companies have doled out cash to a Houston hospital's efforts in driving innovation during the pandemic as well as moving forward in a post-COVID-19 world.

Houston Methodist received $500,000 from Houston-based Aramco Americas and $130,000 from Houston-based Reliant. Aramco's gift will go toward funding ongoing research on convalescent plasma therapy as a treatment for COVID-19 and Reliant's donation will create the Reliant Innovation Fund.

"The challenges that we have and will continue to face with the COVID-19 pandemic amplifies the need for fresh ideas to combat this disease and treat those who have been affected," says Dr. Faisal Masud, medical director of the Center for Critical Care at Houston Methodist Hospital, in a news release from Reliant. "Innovating is at the core of what we do at Houston Methodist, and this generous gift from Reliant will make a difference for patients both now and for years to come."

According to the release, $100,000 will go toward supporting students in the Texas A&M University's Engineering Medicine program, which combines engineering and medical courses to allow for students to receive a master's in engineering and a medical degree in four years. Currently, A&M is renovating a building in the Texas Medical Center that will be the future home of the program.

"The EnMed program is educating a new type of physician — one with an engineering background and a forward-thinking, innovative medical mindset. Reliant's partnership and donation will allow our students to innovate for the dynamic needs on today's clinical front lines," says Dr. Timothy Boone, director of the Houston Methodist Education Institute and Associate Texas A&M Dean, in the release.

The other $30,000 of Reliant's gift will go towards expanding the hospital's patient-centric mobile app, CareSense, which Houston Methodist has used to connect with COVID-19 patients after they have left the hospital.

Aramco's donation will be used to support Houston Methodist's plasma research on COVID-19 treatment. The hospital was the first academic medical center in the United States to get FDA approval for this type of treatment on COVID-19 patients.

"Convalescent plasma therapy has been effective in other infectious diseases and our physician-scientists are working to develop it into a first-line treatment for COVID-19," says Dr. Dirk Sostman, president at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, in a news release from Aramco.

The treatment collects blood from recovered COVID-19 patients and infuses the plasma into currently ill COVID-19 patients in hopes that the recovered patient's plasma can provide the antibodies for the ill patient to fight off the disease.

"Houston Methodist Hospital is a world-leader in healthcare as well as research and development," says Mohammad S. Alshammari, president and CEO of Aramco Americas in the release. "Our donation is an opportunity to support the innovative work occurring there in support of the Houston community and to contribute to long-term medical solutions for this global health crisis."

Midway's GreenStreet in downtown will be the site of MassChallenge Texas' Houston program. Photo via greenstreetdowntown.com

MassChallenge Texas announces the 26 companies in its inaugural Houston cohort

Startup studs

Since announcing its entrance into the Houston innovation market in January, MassChallenge Texas has been scoring the city — and the rest of the world — for the accelerator programs inaugural cohort. Now, the organization is ready to announce its 26 startups ahead of the program's July 22 launch.

The 26 companies come from three countries and six states, and half have female founders. The startups are mostly within the health care and high tech industries — eight companies reside in each of those categories. Two companies are energy related, and one company has a social impact focus. The remaining seven companies are categorized as "general," according to the release.

"We have an incredibly diverse cohort of startups for our first MassChallenge Texas in Houston program," says Jon Nordby, managing director of MassChallenge Texas in Houston, in the news release. "The startups cross five industries, where 50 percent of the startups come from outside of Houston bringing talent from innovation hubs like New York, San Francisco, and Switzerland. Proving that Houston's global reach is not just for the Fortune 500 and that startups are looking for their place in the global economy, something that Houston is uniquely suited to offer."

As a part of MassChallenge, the selected startups aren't asked for equity in order to participate, and free coworking space, more than $250K in deals and discounts, and more prizes await the top companies at the conclusion of the six-week programming.

Throughout the accelerator, MassChallenge will provide training, guidance, and corporate connections with a large network of companies, such as Southwest Airlines, TMAC, WeWork, USAA, Upstream, Central Houston, the City of Houston, Lionstone, Midway, BAE Systems, BHP, Ingram Micro, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Houston Texans. Houston-based Reliant, an NRG company, is the latest corporate partner to join those ranks, according to the release.

Over 280 companies applied for the program, says Robert Pieroni, director of economic development for Central Houston, in the release, a clear indication for him that the Houston program was a good decision for both the city and MassChallenge.

"When we set out to find a partner to support our innovation initiatives, we were seeking a catalyst for Houston's innovation ecosystem," Pieroni says in the release. "We knew we needed an organization that matched Houston's global reach and our passion for bringing creative ideas to life through business."

Without further adieu, here are the 26 companies that begin their MassChallenge journey on July 22:

AeroGenics (Iowa,)
AeroMINE (Texas,): AeroMINE is a motionless wind turbine created for the building environment. It installs like solar panels but is more cost effective.
Animatus Biosciences, LLC (Texas): Animatus Biosciences is an R&D company focusing on the development of unique regenerative therapeutics based on our modified mRNA platform.
Ask Doss (Texas): DOSS is a Real Estate Operations System (ReOS) that will radically simplify how people search (voice activated) and transact real estate.
Bell Analytics (Texas)
Bright Angle (Texas): Bright Angle is a Pinterest style activity platform for teachers, students, parents, and admins that is the "chalkboard" of the 21st century
Camppedia Inc. (Texas): Camppedia plans to disrupt the $18B children's camps industry and in the process improve the lives of millions of working parents.
Captain (Texas): Captain is a user-friendly, multi-sided platform that connects outdoor sports adventurers and guides.
Celise (Virginia): Celise is a compostable disposables company in the foodservice industry that aims to replace and eliminate single-use plastic waste.
Combined Arms [CAX-X] (Texas): Combined Arms is a forward-thinking nonprofit that is committed to unleashing the impact of veterans on Houston.
DoBrain (Republic of Korea): DoBrain is a children's diagnosis app that detects neuropsychological markers indicative of developmental delays.
Door Space Inc. (Texas): Door Space built a cloud-based platform that automates professional credential management and verification for clinicians and their employers.
ElecTrip (Texas): ElecTrip offers city-to-city, door-to-door transportation services in private-professionally driven Teslas with Wi-Fi and laptop charging. Book online to any major Texas-based city.
FloodFrame (Texas): FloodFrame is a concealed flood protection system that utilizes the natural buoyant force of water to deploy and protect your home.
Māk Studio (Texas): Māk Studio is a fabrication studio in the heart of Houston. We design and fabricate custom walls and furniture for commercial interiors.
NeuroRescue (Ohio): NeuroRescue improves the standard of care used to treat stroke, brain injury, and cardiac arrest to increase neurological outcome by up to forty-percent.
Noleus Technologies Inc. (Texas): Noleus is a novel medical device that reduces post op ileus, saves post op hospital days and accelerates patient recovery
ORDRS (Texas)
PTC Wizard (New York): PTC Wizard helps K-12 schools streamline their scheduling and sign-up process thereby improving parent involvement and decreasing overhead.
RehabMaker Corp. (California): Rehabmaker is a manufacturer of exercise equipment that attaches to wheelchairs and allows people to move their legs.
Reveal Technologies (Texas)
Sensytec Inc. (Texas): Sensytec is revolutionizing the oil & gas, and construction industries by bringing smart cement technologies and real-time data collection.
Swoovy (Texas): Swoovy is a mobile app that connects single people and volunteer opportunities with nonprofits, as a date.
Waterdata (Ticino, Switzerland): Waterdata offers Liquidprice, an Intelligent pricing software that optimizes prices with AI by adapting to customers, competitors and market behavior quickly.
WellWorth (Texas)
Zero5 (California)

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Houston femtech co. debuts first holistic wellness suite following rebrand

work perks

Houston-based femtech company Work&, previously Work&Mother, debuted new lactation suites and its first employee wellness space at MetroNational’s Memorial City Plazas this month.

The 1,457-square-foot Work& space features three lactation rooms and five wellness suites, the latter of which are intended to offer employees a private space and time for telehealth appointments, meditation, prayer, and other needs. The hybrid space, designed by Houston-based Inventure, represents Work&'s shift to offer an array of holistic health and wellness solutions to landlords for tenants.

Work& rebranded from Work&Mother earlier this year. The company was previously focused on outfitting commercial buildings with lactation accommodations for working parents, equipped with a hospital-grade pump, milk storage bags, sanitizing wipes, and other supplies. While Work& will still offer these services through its Work&Mother branch, the addition of its Work&Wellbeing arm allows the company to also "address the broader wellness needs of all employees," according to an announcement made on LinkedIn.

"We are thrilled to bring Work&Mother and Work&Wellbeing to The Plazas," Jules Lairson, co-founder and COO of Work&, said in a news release. “This partnership brings every stakeholder together – employees, employers and landlords all benefit from this kind of forward-thinking tenant experience. We are excited to launch our Work&Wellbeing concept with MetroNational to ensure that all employees have their wellness needs met with private, clean, quiet spaces for use during the workday.”

The new space is available to all tenants across Memorial City Plazas, comprised of three office towers totaling 1 million square feet of Class A office space. In addition to the lactation and wellness suites, the space also features custom banquettes, private lounge seating and phone booths.

“As a family-owned and operated company, MetroNational is deeply committed to fostering a workplace that supports both productivity and the well-being of all our tenants,” Anne Marie Ratliff, vice president of asset management for MetroNational, added in the release. “Partnering with Work& reinforces this commitment, enhancing our workplace experience and setting a new standard for tenant amenities.”

Work& has five Houston locations and several others in major metros, including New York, Austin, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami. According to its website, the company will also introduce a Work&Wellbeing suite in New York.

Abbey Donnell spoke with InnovationMap on the Houston Innovators Podcast about why she founded the company and its plans for growth in 2021. Click here to learn more.

9 Houston universities make U.S. News' list of best grad schools 2025

Top of the class

Nine Houston universities have climbed through the ranks in U.S. News & World Report’s recently released report of the best graduate schools nationwide for 2025. Several graduate programs also appeared among the top 10 in a Texas-wide comparison.

U.S. News published its annual national "Best Graduate Schools" rankings on April 8. They look at several programs including business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, and many others.

For the 2025 report, the publication added new Ph.D. social sciences and humanities program rankings in English, history, political science and sociology for the first time since 2021. U.S. News also ranked graduate economics and psychology programs in the social sciences and the humanities for the first time since 2022.

Among the newcomers are Houston Christian University and Texas Southern University.

Here's how the nine local schools ranked, statewide and nationally, and how they compared with last year's national ranking:

University of Houston

No. 4 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 72 nationally
No. 5 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 81 nationally (down from No. 63 last year)
No. 5 best law school in Texas; No. 63 nationally (up from No. 68)

The University of Houston Law Center has the No. 9 best health law program in the nation, and ranked No. 15 for its legal writing program. The university's part-time MBA program ranked No. 38 nationally

University of Houston, Clear Lake

No. 12 best graduate education school in Texas; No. 166 nationally

The Clear Lake branch of the University of Houston tied for No. 166 for its part-time MBA program.

Houston Christian University

No. 21 best graduate education school in Texas; tied for No. 234-258 nationally

University of Texas Health Science Center

No. 1 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; No. 33 nationally (up from No. 45)
No. 2 best graduate nursing program in Texas; No. 41 nationally (down from No. 31)

Prairie View A&M University, Northwest Houston Center

No. 5 best graduate nursing program in Texas; No. 104 nationally (up from No. 117)
No. 7 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; tied for No. 143-158 nationally

Rice University

No. 2 best graduate business school in Texas; No. 29 nationally (unchanged)
No. 3 best graduate engineering school in Texas; No. 26 nationally

Rice's entrepreneurship program is the 9th best in the country, and its part-time MBA program ranked 13th nationally. The George R. Brown School of Engineering earned nods for its No. 10-ranking biomedical engineering and environmental engineering programs.

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston

No. 5 best Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Texas; No. 76 nationally

South Texas College of Law Houston

No. 7 best law school in Texas; No. 138 nationally

Out of the 11 law programs ranked by U.S. News, the South Texas College of Law performed the best for its trial advocacy (No. 12), dispute resolution law (No. 23), and legal writing (No. 51) programs.

Texas Southern University

No. 10 best law school in Texas; tied for No. 178-195 nationally

More specifically, TSU has the 64th best trial advocacy law program in the nation, U.S. News said.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap.com.

VC firm partners with Rice Nexus to open first global office

strategic partnership

Luxembourg-based venture capital and advisory firm MoreThan Capital (MTC) has established its first global office at the new Rice Nexus in Houston’s Ion District as part of a strategic partnership aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and growing Houston as an innovation hub.

MTC has committed to offering its “time, mentorship, industry expertise and global connections” to Rice Nexus. The state-of-the-art Rice Nexus, which opened earlier this year, aims to support and provide resources for ventures that are looking to scale and have "artificial intelligence (AI) as a central pillar of its innovation strategy," according to a statement from Rice.

“The Rice Nexus is a launchpad for world-changing ideas, and this partnership with MoreThan Capital is a key step in realizing that vision,” Sanjoy Paul, executive director of the Rice Nexus, said in a news release. “By combining Rice’s research and entrepreneurial talent with MTC’s global network and mentorship, we are creating an unparalleled engine for innovation that starts in Houston and reaches the world.”

MoreThan Capital has over 100 limited partners, including senior executives and professional investors, based in more than 35 countries.

“Establishing our first global office at the Rice Nexus within the Ion District is a significant milestone for MoreThan Capital,” Guillermo Ruiz, general partner of MoreThan Capital, said in a news release. “We are dedicated to partnering with top-tier academic institutions like Rice University and aligning with organizations that share our core values of trust, engagement and impact.”

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Rice Nexus announced its partnership with Google Public Sector to launch the new Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

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