2 UH projects named finalists for $50M fund to shape future of Gulf Coast

Looking to the Future

One project involves the innovative recycling of wind turbines into seawall and coastal habitats. Courtesy rendering

Two University of Houston science projects have been selected as finalists for the Gulf Futures Challenge, which will award a total of $50 million to develop ideas that help benefit the Gulf Coast.

Sponsored by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Gulf Coast Research Program and Lever for Change, the competition is designed to spark innovation around problems in the Gulf Coast, such as rising sea levels, pollution, energy security, and community resiliency. The two UH projects beat out 162 entries from organizations based in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

“Being named a finalist for this highly competitive grant underscores the University of Houston’s role as a leading research institution committed to addressing the most pressing challenges facing our region,” said Claudia Neuhauser, vice president for research at UH.

“This opportunity affirms the strength of our faculty and researchers and highlights UH’s capacity to deliver innovative solutions that will ensure the long-term stability and resilience of the Gulf Coast.”

One project, spearheaded by the UH Repurposing Offshore Infrastructure for Continued Energy (ROICE) program, is studying ways to use decommissioned oil rig platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as both clean energy hydrogen power generators as well a marine habitats. There are currently thousands of such platforms in the Gulf.

The other project involves the innovative recycling of wind turbines into seawall and coastal habitats. Broken and abandoned wind turbine blades have traditionally been thought to be non-recyclable and end up taking up incredible space in landfills. Headed by a partnership between UH, Tulane University, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the city of Galveston and other organizations, this initiative could vastly reduce the waste associated with wind farm technology.

wind turbine recycled for Gulf Coast seawall. Wind turbines would be repurposed into seawalls and more. Courtesy rendering

"Coastal communities face escalating threats from climate change — land erosion, structural corrosion, property damage and negative health impacts,” said Gangbing Song, Moores Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UH and the lead investigator for both projects.

“Leveraging the durability and anti-corrosive properties of these of decommissioned wind turbine blades, we will build coastal structures, improve green spaces and advance the resilience and health of Gulf Coast communities through integrated research, education and outreach.”

The two projects have received a development grant of $300,000 as a prize for making it to the finals. When the winner are announced in early 2026, two of the projects will net $20 million each to bring their vision to life, with the rest earning a consolation prize of $875,000, in additional project support.

In the event that UH doesn't grab the grand prize, the school's scientific innovation will earn a guaranteed $1.75 million for the betterment of the Gulf Coast.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Tomi Kuye, with the Parkinson's glove. Photo courtesy of Rice University

4 Houston innovators who made headlines in September 2025

Featured innovators

Editor's note: Houston innovators made headlines this month with carbon capture breakthroughs, a cost-effective Parkinson's treatment, and workspace wellness products. Read more about these recent breakthroughs, developments, and launches — and the innovators behind them — below.

Emmie Casey and Tomi Kuye, Rice University

Rice University students Emmie Casey and Tomi Kuye used smartphone motors to develop a vibrotactile glove. Photo by Gustavo Raskosky/ Courtesy Rice University.

Two Rice University undergraduate engineering students have developed a non-invasive vibrotactile glove that aims to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease through therapeutic vibrations. Emmie Casey and Tomi Kuye developed the project with support from the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK).

Based on research from the Peter Tass Lab at Stanford University, the Rice team set out to replicate the breakthrough technology at a lower cost. They are working to develop a commercial version of the glove priced at $250 and are taking preorders now, with hopes to deliver 500 gloves this fall. Read more.

Jules Lairson, Work&

Houston-based Work& has introduced its new Lactation Pod and Hybrid Pod. Photo courtesy Work&.

Houston-based femtech company Work&, led by co-founder and COO Jules Lairson, has introduced new products aimed at supporting working mothers and the overall health of all employees.

The company's new Lactation Pod and Hybrid Pod serve as dual-use lactation and wellness spaces that feature a fully compliant lactation station while also offering wellness functionalities that can support meditation, mental health, telehealth, and prayer.

“This isn’t about perks,” Lairson said. “It’s about meeting people where they are—with dignity and intentional design. That includes the mother returning to work, the employee managing anxiety, and everyone in between.” Read more.

Mim Rahimi, University of Houston

Professor Mim Rahimi, UH. Courtesy photo

A team of researchers at the University of Houston led by professor Mim Rahimi has made two breakthroughs in addressing climate change and potentially reducing the cost of capturing harmful emissions from power plants.

The first introduces a membraneless electrochemical process that cuts energy requirements and costs for amine-based carbon dioxide capture during the acid gas sweetening process. The second demonstrates a vanadium redox flow system capable of both capturing carbon and storing renewable energy.

“From membraneless systems to scalable flow systems, we’re charting pathways to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and support the transition to a low-carbon economy,” Rahimi said. Read more.

University of Houston and MD Anderson researchers are looking to advance early detection methods for ovarian cancer. Photo courtesy UH.

Houston research team lands $1.2M grant for ovarian cancer research

cancer funding

A team from the University of Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center is working to find early markers for ovarian cancer.

Backed by a $1.2 million Department of Defense grant, a team led by Tianfu Wu, associate professor of biomedical engineering at UH, is studying autoantibodies that target a tumor suppressor gene that's often mutated in cancers and serves as an early marker of ovarian cancer development.

According to UH, the majority of women with ovarian cancer (70 percent and 75 percent) are diagnosed once the cancer has already spread, with the chances of survival below 32 percent. Computational models estimate that detecting ovarian cancer earlier could reduce mortality by 10 percent to 30 percent.

Doctors generally screen for ovarian cancer by measuring the rising amount of a protein known as Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125). However, additional biomarkers are needed to improve sensitivity and to detect cancer cases that are missed by CA125 testing.

“Advancing early detection methodologies is essential to improving patient prognosis and survival outcomes,” Wu said in a news release. “The technological challenges in the early detection of ovarian cancer are multifaceted, primarily due to limited sensitivity of currently available biomarkers and the absence of highly accurate biomarkers that can detect the disease well before clinical diagnosis.”

Wu’s team developed a test that detects thousands of immune reactions simultaneously by searching for immune complexes in an effort to identify new autoantibodies. They found more than 100 significantly upregulated immune complexes in ovarian cancer patients compared to healthy patients.

The team will test 10 to 20 of the biomarker candidates to assess their performance in the early detection of ovarian cancer. They will use machine learning modeling to develop computer algorithms for data analysis and disease predictions as well.

Dr. Robert C. Bast at MD Anderson Cancer Center has pioneered the practice of early detection of ovarian cancer, and is Wu’s partner on a team. Ying Lin, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at UH, and Dr. Zhen Lu from at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center are also working on the project.

A team from UH has published two breakthrough studies that could help cut costs and boost efficiency in carbon capture. Photo courtesy UH.

UH researchers make breakthrough in cutting carbon capture costs

carbon breakthrough

A team of researchers at the University of Houston has made two breakthroughs in addressing climate change and potentially reducing the cost of capturing harmful emissions from power plants.

Led by Professor Mim Rahimi at UH’s Cullen College of Engineering, the team released two significant publications that made significant strides relating to carbon capture processes. The first, published in Nature Communications, introduced a membraneless electrochemical process that cuts energy requirements and costs for amine-based carbon dioxide capture during the acid gas sweetening process. Another, featured on the cover of ES&T Engineering, demonstrated a vanadium redox flow system capable of both capturing carbon and storing renewable energy.

“These publications reflect our group’s commitment to fundamental electrochemical innovation and real-world applicability,” Rahimi said in a news release. “From membraneless systems to scalable flow systems, we’re charting pathways to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

According to the researchers, the “A Membraneless Electrochemically Mediated Amine Regeneration for Carbon Capture” research paper marked the beginning of the team’s first focus. The research examined the replacement of costly ion-exchange membranes with gas diffusion electrodes. They found that the membranes were the most expensive part of the system, and they were also a major cause of performance issues and high maintenance costs.

The researchers achieved more than 90 percent CO2 removal (nearly 50 percent more than traditional approaches) by engineering the gas diffusion electrodes. According to PhD student and co-author of the paper Ahmad Hassan, the capture costs approximately $70 per metric ton of CO2, which is competitive with other innovative scrubbing techniques.

“By removing the membrane and the associated hardware, we’ve streamlined the EMAR workflow and dramatically cut energy use,” Hassan said in the news release. “This opens the door to retrofitting existing industrial exhaust systems with a compact, low-cost carbon capture module.”

The second breakthrough, published by PhD student Mohsen Afshari, displayed a reversible flow battery architecture that absorbs CO2 during charging and releases it upon discharge. The results suggested that the technology could potentially provide carbon removal and grid balancing when used with intermittent renewables, such as solar or wind power.

“Integrating carbon capture directly into a redox flow battery lets us tackle two challenges in one device,” Afshari said in the release. “Our front-cover feature highlights its potential to smooth out renewable generation while sequestering CO2.”

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

The Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project identified 37 cancelled or frozen NIH grants for Houston institutions. Photo via Unsplash.

Houston health orgs lost $58M in canceled, stalled NIH grants, new report shows

research cuts

Seven institutions in the Houston area have lost nearly $60 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that were aimed at funding health research.

The Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project identified 37 cancelled or frozen NIH grants worth $58.7 million that were awarded to seven Houston-area institutions. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston suffered the biggest loss — five grants totaling nearly $44.8 million.

The Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported in May that over the previous several months across the U.S., the federal government had terminated roughly 2,100 NIH research grants worth around $9.5 billion.

In August, the U.S. Supreme Court derailed researchers’ efforts to reinstate almost $2 billion in research grants issued by NIH, according to Nature.com.

“Make no mistake: This was a decision critical to the future of the nation, and the Supreme Court made the wrong choice. History will look upon these mass National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant terminations with shame,” the American Association of Medical Colleges said in a statement. “The Court has turned a blind eye to this grievous attack on science and medicine, and we call upon Congress to take action to restore the rule of law at NIH.”

Texas health researchers rely heavily on NIH grants and contracts. During the federal government’s 2024 budget year, NIH awarded $1.9 billion in grants and contracts that directly supported 30,553 jobs and more than $6.1 billion in economic activity in Texas, according to the United for Medical Research coalition.

Here’s a rundown of the cancelled and frozen NIH grants in the Houston area.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston: Five cancelled or frozen grants, totalling approximately $44.8 million in funding lost.
Baylor College of Medicine: 17 grants cancelled or frozen, totalling approximately $8 million in funding lost
University of Houston. Five cancelled or frozen grants, totalling approximately $3.7 million in funding lost
University of Texas Health Science Center Houston: Five grants cancelled or frozen, totaling approximately $1.1 million in funding lost.
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: Two grants cancelled or frozen, totalling $831,581 in funding
Rice University. Two grants cancelled or frozen, totaling $254,645 in funding lost
Prairie View A&M University: One grant cancelled or frozen, totalling $31,771 in funding lost

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation has granted $1.1M to the University of Houston to support research on Usher Syndrome. Photo courtesy University of Houston.

UH receives $1M grant to advance research on rare pediatric disorder

peds research

The University of Houston has received a two-year, $1.1 million gift from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation to advance research on a rare genetic disorder that can lead to both deafness and blindness in children, known as Usher Syndrome.

The current grant will support the research of UH biomedical engineering professors Muna Naash and Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, who work in the Laboratory for Retinal Molecular and Cellular Biology and Gene Therapy in the Cullen College of Engineering. The professors have published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

Naash and Al-Ubaidi’s research focuses on mutations in the USH2A gene, which is crucial to the development and maintenance of the inner ear and retina. The work was inspired by a chance meeting that changed Naash’s life.

“Our work began more than two decades ago when I met a young boy who had lost his both his vision and hearing, and it made me realize just how precious those two senses are, and it truly touched my heart,” Naash said in a news release from UH. “Thanks to the generosity of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, we can now take the next critical steps in our research and bring hope to families affected by this challenging condition.”

The grant from the foundation comes in addition to a previous $1.6 million award from the National Eye Institute in 2023, which helped create a research platform for innovative gene therapy approaches for the condition.

Usher Syndrome affects 25,000 people in the U.S. and is the most common genetic condition worldwide that impacts both hearing and vision in children. Currently, there is no cure for any of the main three types of the condition. UH believes support from the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation will help elevate research, advance real-world solutions in health and improve lives.

“What makes UH such a powerful hub for research is not just its own resources, but also its location and strategic partnerships, including those with the Texas Medical Center,” Al-Ubaidi said in a news release. “We have access to an extraordinary network, and that kind of collaborative environment is essential when tackling complex diseases like Usher syndrome, where no single lab can do it alone.”

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Kids, kicks and connectivity: Xfinity makes soccer a shared experience

The Beautiful Game

For soccer mom Lana Chase, weekends were a whirlwind of cleats, carpooling, and cheering from the sidelines. Now that her daughter Miah graduated high school in May, the Chase Family’s love for the game hasn't stopped. It's shifted to their living room, where Comcast’s new Xfinity streaming platform brings the global game home.

“We’re a soccer family through and through,” says Chase. “Miah played soccer from about age 8 until 16, and we love the World Cup! Xfinity makes it easy for all of us to watch what we love together.”

One platform, every goal

Xfinity's new World Soccer Ticket package eliminates the chaos of juggling apps, subscriptions, or subpar streams. Families can now enjoy more than 1,500 matches from across the globe.

With parental controls, age-appropriate content, and smart recommendations, Xfinity turns soccer into family-friendly entertainment. Whether it’s a weekend watch party or a quiet school night, the platform adapts to every household’s rhythm.

“Figuring out where to watch your favorite team or match is often a painful game of chance. Now, with World Soccer Ticket, there’s no better way to watch the beautiful game than with Xfinity,” says Jon Gieselman, chief growth officer for Comcast's connectivity & platforms. “It’s easy, we did the work for our customers and pulled together the most coveted leagues and tournaments – from Premier League, LALIGA and Champions League to the World Cup – and put them in one place. We added some magic to the experience, with innovations like Multiview, 4K, and Sports Zone all easily accessible with one simple click or voice command.”

World Cup in Houston

With the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, the timing couldn't have been better. The world tournament will be the largest Spanish-language coverage ever offered by Telemundo, powered by Comcast NBCUniversal's technology, storytelling, and scale.

Telemundo and Peacock hold the exclusive Spanish language rights to "el Mundial," including all 104 matches streaming live on Peacock, with 92 matches airing on Telemundo and 12 on Universo. Live crews will cover every event in all 16 host cities, including Houston.

Xfinity customers will have access to pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage with unprecedented immersive experiences. The 2026 World Cup will be the most exciting event of the summer.

"We know other soccer families who watch matches with their little brothers and sisters. It’s not just a game, it’s family time. It's an even bigger deal with the tournament being just down the road in Houston next year,” Chase adds.

Comcast’s AI-powered platform personalizes the viewing experience, recommending matches and highlights based on each family member’s preferences.

World Soccer Ticket is available for an all-in monthly price of $85. It includes nearly 60 broadcast, cable news, and English- and Spanish-language sports channels, and a subscription to Peacock Premium so customers can enjoy a huge collection of movies, shows, news, and other live sports alongside all their favorite soccer programming.

Subscribe to World Soccer Ticket here.

Houston digital health platform Koda closes $7 million funding round

fresh funding

Houston-based digital advance care planning company Koda Health has closed an oversubscribed $7 million series A funding round.

The round, led by Evidenced, with participation from Mudita Venture Partners, Techstars and Texas Medical Center, will allow the company to scale operations and expand engineering, clinical strategy and customer success, according to a news release.

“This funding allows us to create more goals-of-care product lines, expand our national footprint, and bring goal-concordant care to millions more patients and families," Tatiana Fofanova, co-founder and CEO of Koda Health, said in the release.

Koda Health, which was born out of the TMC's Biodesign Fellowship in 2020, has seen major growth this year and said it now supports more than 1 million patients nationwide. The company integrated its end-of-life care planning platform with Dallas-based Guidehealth in April and with Epic Systems in July. Users of Epic's popular Mychart system and Guidehealth's clinically integrated networks can now document and share their care preferences, goals and advance directives for health systems using Koda Health's platform. It also has partnerships with Cigna, Privia and Memorial Hermann.

The company shared that the recent series A "marks a pivotal moment," as it has secured investments from influential leaders in the healthcare and venture capital space.

“Koda is the only company combining technology and service to deliver comprehensive solutions that help health plans, providers, and health systems scale goals-aligned care. With satisfied customers expanding their partnerships and policy shifts reinforcing the need for patient-centered care that also contains costs, we couldn’t be more excited to support the Koda team and their vision,” Sean Glass, managing partner at Evidenced, said in the release.

According to the company, a recent peer-reviewed study with Houston Methodist ACO showed that the platform can have a major impact on palliative care results and costs. The findings showed:

79 percent reduction in terminal hospitalizations
20 percent decrease in inpatient length of stay
51 percent increase in hospice use among decedents
Nearly $9,000 in average savings per patient

“Patients long for clarity, families deserve peace of mind, and providers demand ease of use,” Dr. Desh Mohan, chief medical officer of Koda Health, added in the release. “At Koda, we make it possible to deliver all three — transforming Advance Care Planning into a compassionate, ongoing dialogue that honors patients and supports families every step of the way.”

Koda Health also closed an oversubscribed seed round for an undisclosed amount last year, with investments from AARP, Memorial Hermann Health System and the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund. Read more here.

TXSE Group wins SEC approval for Texas Stock Exchange to start in 2026

Trading in Texas

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given the go-ahead to the Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange to operate as a national securities exchange, clearing the way for the TXSE to begin trading stocks and exchange-traded products by early 2026.

TXSE is the first fully integrated national securities exchange to receive SEC approval in decades. A release calls it "a milestone decision" that restores competition in America's public markets.

The organization has already laid the groundwork with an exchange platform utilizing the appropriate hardware and software that will function in an evolving trading and regulatory environment.

TXSE, which opened its headquarters in Dallas in spring 2025, will launch trading as well as ETP and corporate listings for companies that meet their standards and are fully transparent. Their goal is to compete with the NYSE and NASDAQ by building up a large roster of newly listed companies.

"Today's approval marks a pivotal moment in our effort to build a world-class exchange rooted in alignment, transparency, and partnership with issuers and investors," says TXSX founder and CEO James H Lee. "Real competition for corporate listings in the United States has finally arrived."

According to the release, TXSE's mission is to reverse a decades-long decline in the number of U.S. public companies by reducing the burden of going and staying public while maintaining high quantitative standards in the industry.

They've already pushed for legislative and legal reforms to strengthen Texas' pro-business environment and establish the state as the premier jurisdiction for corporate headquarters, listings, and exchange operators — working alongside Texas leadership to advocate on behalf of issuers and investors to reform policy.

"As the one and only national securities exchange built and headquartered in Texas, we are proud to have been the catalyst for the development of capital markets in our great state," Lee says.

TXSE's founding investors include financial institutions, retail, and institutional investment organizations, including BlackRock, Citadel Securities, and Charles Schwab, as well as major liquidity providers and corporate executives from across the U.S.

TXSE will be one of three exchanges to join Texas' so-called economic hub Y’all Street, along with the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

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