U of A research teams dominate 2025 $100K Flinn Foundation seed grants

The Flinn Foundation Seed Grants to Promote Translational Research program has awarded seven University of Arizona research teams $100K each to advance their findings toward commercial products and real-world patient impact. Two other U of A teams received an additional $100,000 in follow-on funding to advance research and innovation projects previously awarded Flinn grants. 

Based on 82 proposals received, the foundation made awards to a total of ten Arizona research teams that demonstrated maximum potential to translate their findings into viable and impactful products and treatments.

The seven U of A and three Arizona State University projects represent partnerships between the two universities, Mayo Clinic, Banner Health, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, Midwestern University, venture capital firms and startups. 

Given the focus on developing translational, impactful research, all of the winning U of A teams have close collaborative relationships with Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), the university's office that commercializes inventions stemming from faculty, research, staff and student innovation. TLA works with these investigators and teams to move their innovations from the lab to the marketplace; sometimes those pathways are licenses to existing companies, but often the best path to market is via a startup.  

Bruce Burgess, Director of Venture Development for TLA added, “We continually work with these and other teams from across the university to help them develop translational strategies and plans to bring new products to market. We’re excited to see so many of them receive the Flinn Seed Grant award. These projects were funded because of their potential for commercial success and real-world impact. We anticipate that all will be licensed to existing companies or startups as they advance through this program.”

To be eligible for the program, research projects must be directed by investigators from Arizona nonprofit institutions and address significant clinical needs in areas like diagnostics, medical devices, therapeutics, precision medicine, and healthcare delivery.

U of A 2025 Flinn Foundation Translation Seed Grants

Coupling AI to Green Light Therapy: Developing an Easy-to-use and Portable Device to Treat Chronic Pain Using Photoneuromodulation with Personalized Medicine
Principal Investigator: Assistant Professor Laurent Martin, College of Medicine – Tucson
Partner: AdaptiveSN
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

Under the leadership of Laurent Martin, assistant professor of anesthesiology, a research team has developed a technology that uses green light-emitting diode (GLED) technology to provide a non-pharmacological, non-opioid pain treatment solution. The technology changes the function of the parts of the brain that are involved in recognizing pain through either a panel of green lights or through green light-emitting eyewear. There is a clinical need to innovate pain management while reducing use of opioids. Current solutions include both non-pharmacological treatments, such as physical therapy and acupuncture, and pharmacological treatments, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids, but these treatments have known barriers. By offering a non-drug-based treatment option, the team hopes to reduce the risk of opioid addiction and improve chronic pain care. 

Development of a Wearable Carpal Arch Space Augmentation Device to Treat CTS
Principal Investigator: Professor Zong-Ming Li, College of Engineering, College of Medicine – Tucson, BIO5 Institute  
Partner: K1C Consulting
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

Li and his team have developed a device that applies pressure to the wrist to relieve compression for carpal tunnel syndrome, (CTS). CTS is a commonly diagnosed hand neuropathy due to the compression of nerves that run through a channel in the wrist. Approximately 4 percent of the U.S. population have the condition, affecting both the healthcare system and patients’ quality of life. As a effective and safe non-surgical treatment, the device that Li and the team have designed stabilizes and compresses the wrist to expand the tunnel and decompress the nerves. 

Molecular Approach for Oropharyngeal Cancer
Principal Investigator: Professor Mark Nelson, College of Medicine – Tucson 
Partners:  Precision Epigenomics, Midwestern University, next Steps Biotech, and the Da Vinci Helpth Group
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

This team aims to develop a new test for oropharyngeal cancers using a gargle/oral rinse biofluid for specimen collection. The current state-of-the-art biopsy available available for this disease uses blood samples, is specific to human papillomavirus (HPV) positive head and neck cancers, doesn’t detect other oral cavity cancers, and is expensive. The minimally invasive testing option the team is developing is targeted to provide opportunities for cancer screening, and monitoring response and disease states during and after therapy. 

New Date. The First Accurate Due Date Predictor
Principal Investigator: Professor Elise Erickson, College of Nursing
Partners: College of Nursing, People Science, Rajant Health, and Army Research Labs
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

To better manage pregnancy and the possibility of preterm labor, Erickson and her research team are developing a device aims to collect and recognize physiological cues to predict a mother’s due date. Only 5 percent of the nearly 4 million annual U.S. births occur at the 40-week due date. The onset of labor is difficult to predict, particularly when labor starts preterm. This can result in more health problems and stress for mothers and newborns and providers may not be prepared to handle pre-term birth effectively, leading to death. The team uses commercially available wearable devices (e.g., Oura rings) paired with new software to study how the mother’s body changes prior to labor to provide a personalized due date. It will be further developed to include a user interface and mobile application for transmitting real-time predictions.

Predictive Diagnostics for Immunomodulatory Therapy in Inflammatory and Fibrotic Disease
Principal Investigator: Dr. Steven Goldman, Sarver Heart Center, College of Medicine – Tucson 
Partners: University of Minnesota, NYU Langone, Tulane University and the VA Medical Center
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

Diagnostic tools that enable patient stratification have been effective in cancer treatments. Under the leadership of Steven Goldman, M.D., this project aims to develop similar tools for patients with cardiovascular disease where they currently don’t exist. Inflammation and fibrosis result in intractable diseases worldwide, such as chronic ischemic heart failure. The project team has developed tests to determine which patients have significant levels of inflammation, theorizing that they will identify which patients will have a positive benefit if treated with immunomodulation. This proposed approach is being designed to screen for multiple immunomodulatory treatments.

Regenerating the Parkinson’s Brain: Assessing the Effect of Allopregnanolone on Striatal Dopamine Transporters
Principal Investigator: Professor Roberta Díaz Brinton, College of Medicine – Tucson 
Partners: University of Arizona with Banner Health, and ADMdx
Anticipated impact pathway: License to a diagnostic/therapeutic company

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease and is a growing source of disability and mortality. The therapy developed by this team aims to regenerate affected areas of the brain and treat the underlying cause of PD, which impacts about 1 million Americans. The disease is characterized by progressive loss of motor control but also affects multiple neural systems including sleep, sense of smell, taste, and cognition. The use of allopregnanolone (Allo; a naturally occurring molecule) for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s is being licensed from the University of Arizona. Allo is a neurosteroid, used here because it causes a fast increase of human neural stem cells, or cells that can self-renew and create more cells in the central nervous system.

Superior Multi-Targeted WNT Inhibitors Towards Colorectal Cancer
Principal Investigator: Professor Christopher Hulme, Chemistry & Biochemistry
Partners: University of Arizona with University of Dundee; Agenus, Inc.
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

For colorectal cancer (CRC), the proposed pharmaceutical aims to stop growth of tumors and boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer cells in combination with using immuno-oncology medication botensilimab and balstilimab. This team is developing a new drug (CC895) that inhibits the “WNT pathway.” This pathway is very active in CRC so using it to stop growth is promising. There is an urgent need for new treatments for the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., and it’s felt that a combination of CC895 and immuno-oncology therapy will be best. Additionally, a novel feature of the proposed solution is the ability of CC895 to allow the body to recognize tumors as threats and respond accordingly. 

$100,000 in Follow-on Funding

Three projects that received their initial grant in 2023 also qualified for an additional $100,000. One was a partnership between Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic Arizona; the other two were U of A projects. 

Developing a Novel Therapy to Treat Obstructive Lung Diseases
Principal Investigator: Associate Professor Julie Ledford, College of Medicine – Tucson, BIO5 Institute
Partner: Aspiro Therapeutics
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

Club cell secretory protein (CC16) has been identified as an important protein protecting against chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the third leading cause of death worldwide. This collaboration aims to develop a pharmaceutical that will supplement patients’ levels of CC16. Ledford is leading the research and development effort. The follow-on funding will allow the team to conduct an aerosol feasibility study, including excipient compatibility, solubility, stability, and in vitro characterization studies.

Transcranial Acoustic Electric Imaging of Deep Brain Stimulation Currents
Principal Investigator: Professor Russell Witte, College of Medicine Tucson, College of Engineering, BIO5 Institute
Anticipated impact pathway: License to startup

This project aims to develop further a real-time transcranial acoustoelectric brain imaging (tABI) system to map DBS currents through the skull. This technology could then be used to guide DBS lead location during surgical placement, to better inform stimulation settings, and to monitor patients long-term. The follow-on funding will assist in optimizing tABI performance and a feasibility study. 

The Flinn Foundation has awarded 83 seed grants totaling about $9.5 million since 2013.

The Flinn Foundation is a Phoenix-based privately endowed, philanthropic grantmaking organization established in 1965 by Dr. Robert S. and Irene P. Flinn that awards grants and operates programs in four areas: the biosciences, the Flinn Scholars, arts and culture, and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership. The foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations.