Ideas to impact: A decade of growth at Innovation Gateway

By Brandon Ward and Melania Pacheco

For the past decade, Innovation Gateway has been the heartbeat of the University of Georgia’s mission to translate groundbreaking research into real-world solutions. A bold vision at launch, it has blossomed into a technology commercialization operation consistently ranked among the nation’s best. To mark this 10-year milestone, we reflect on a journey through which more than 600 products have been introduced to the marketplace, cementing UGA’s status as a national leader in translating ideas into impact.

The origin of an innovation ecosystem

Launched in March 2015, Innovation Gateway’s story began as a strategic merger that redefined technology commercialization at UGA. Formed by merging the Georgia BioBusiness Center, UGA’s startup incubator at the time, with the Technology Commercialization Office, Innovation Gateway was designed as a comprehensive engine to translate innovations from lab to the marketplace through licensing and startup support.

In its infancy, the unit focused on strengthening foundational processes—invention intake and evaluation, faculty engagement, and aligning commercialization services with UGA’s growing research ecosystem. Innovation Gateway also maintained the university’s long-standing commitment to honoring inventors with annual celebrations to recognize new disclosures, patents, and entrepreneurial activity.

Derek Eberhart, associate vice president for research and Innovation Gateway’s executive director since its launch, recognized early that many large companies were scaling back early-stage R&D programs in favor of more mature, technologies.

“This shift meant that startup companies based on university research became a vital pathway for moving technologies from the lab toward the market,” Eberhart said. “Innovation Gateway’s investment in building programs and resources to educate and support UGA entrepreneurs has been critical for growing the startup project pipeline from 36 projects to 226 projects over the past 10 years.”

This momentum aligned with a university-wide push to create the Innovation District, which pulled together under a single thematic umbrella all of UGA’s programs in entrepreneurship and commercialization. A key milestone in this era was the transformation of the Spring Street building into the Delta Innovation Hub, thanks in part to a gift from the Delta Airlines Foundation. The Delta Innovation Hub became the District’s primary home and a dedicated space for collaborative work, startup activity, and community-facing innovation programs.

“The launch of the Innovation District initiative was a key landscape change that has enhanced UGA’s innovation ecosystem, engaged more innovators, and raised the visibility of UGA innovation, leading to more opportunities to connect with key external partners, including mentors and investors,” said Eberhart.

With support from the Delta Air Lines Foundation, the former Spring Street Business Services Annex was transformed into the Delta Innovation Hub.

In 2022, a $1.25 million gift from the Truist Foundation and SunTrust Trusteed Foundations enabled Innovation Gateway to expand its Innovation Bootcamp program, which had begun in 2019 as a training platform for early-stage innovators. The funding allowed Bootcamp to broaden its reach and offer no-cost, multi-week sessions to a wider range of participants.

“Innovation Bootcamp represents the best of what we do. From providing an entry point to UGA’s innovation ecosystem to facilitating critical connections and partnerships that help our entrepreneurs succeed, Bootcamp is the blueprint for how Innovation Gateway can support the university community,” said Dan Geller, director of startups.

By 2023, the program had become a reliable on-ramp for dozens of emerging founders, offering opportunities like a seed-funded pitch competition, an alumni networking program, and enhanced resources such as I-Corps training, mentorship, and access to prototyping facilities. Each new program demonstrated Innovation Gateway’s continued investment in a stronger, more accessible innovation pipeline.

During this period, UGA climbed national rankings for commercialization performance. Year over year, the university improved in key AUTM metrics for licensing activity, startup formation, and productivity benchmarks. Most notably, UGA consistently ranked as the nation’s best in bringing new products to market, an indicator that faculty innovations were not only being licensed but also successfully commercialized.

A decade of impact: by the numbers

The outcomes of this decade speak volumes. Here is a statistical snapshot of the impact:

STARTUP PROJECT PIPELINE

NEW PRODUCTS TO MARKET

    TOTAL LICENSE      INCOME

Fueling Founders

Spotlight on success: From lab to market

Behind every statistic is a story of dedication and discovery. Innovation Gateway’s decade has been marked by standout innovations that address global challenges, driven by the brilliance and creativity of UGA faculty, staff, and students.

Qingguo “Jack” Huang, professor in the College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, has tackled one of the most stubborn environmental challenges—the persistence of toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in water. After years of research, he and colleagues developed a patented electrochemical oxidation process using titanium-suboxide anode materials to break the strong carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS, effectively destroying the chemicals rather than just containing them. That technology has been licensed worldwide by AECOM and marketed under the name DE-FLUORO, offering a first-of-its-kind, cost-effective solution for treating PFAS-contaminated water. His work earned him UGA’s 2024 Inventor of the Year award and highlights how university-based research can lead to real-world environmental impact.

Naola Ferguson-Noel, a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and researcher at UGA’s Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, is internationally recognized for her work on Mycoplasma gallisepticum, a major infectious disease impacting poultry producers worldwide. Her applied research and clinical mycoplasmology services have supported both U.S. and global industries for years. She is the co-inventor of multiple patented vaccine strains—with additional patents in progress—and her technologies have been licensed to animal-health companies such as Vaxxinova, Avimex, and ECO Animal Health. These partnerships have led to the commercial vaccine MG Live and two additional products now in clinical development, generating more than $1.4 million in royalties for UGA. Ferguson-Noel’s work exemplifies how university research can advance animal health while creating worldwide industry impact.

John Ruter, Allan M. Armitage Professor and director of the UGA Trial Gardens, has spent decades developing ornamental plant varieties, from hibiscus and hollies to conifers and more, that thrive in a range of climates. A self-described “plant-breeder from A to Z,” Ruter combines traditional greenhouse crosses, ploidy manipulation, and even mutation breeding to generate novel cultivars; many require eight to 15 years of evaluation before they’re ready for market. With the commercialization support of Innovation Gateway, more than 30 of his cultivars have been licensed to nurseries and plant companies in Georgia, across the U.S. and internationally—including the widely sold Emerald Colonnade holly, which remains a top-performing broadleaf evergreen in the industry.

Karen Norris, GRA Eminent Scholar in Immunology and Translational Biomedicine and professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, leads efforts to develop a first-in-class vaccine to prevent invasive fungal infections. Her vaccine, named NXT-2 and developed under her startup NXT Biologics, has demonstrated broad, cross-protective antifungal immunity in multiple animal models, including nonhuman primates, and successfully prevented vaginal yeast infections in mice. The data paves the way for human clinical trials, beginning with women suffering recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, and eventually aiming to protect immunocompromised individuals at high risk of life-threatening fungal diseases like aspergillosis or invasive candidiasis.

Biao He, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Fred C. Davison Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine, and GRA Distinguished Investigator, has spent decades advancing viral-vector platforms that enable safer, more effective vaccines for both human and animal health. Building on this foundational research, he launched CyanVac LLC to translate his modified PIV5 vector technology into commercial vaccines. The company’s lead candidate, an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine called CVXGA, has received major federal support through BARDA’s Project NextGen and is now moving into a large Phase 2b clinical trial. If successful, this needle-free approach could offer broader immune protection and reduce transmission by targeting mucosal immunity.

Ron Orlando, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and chemistry at UGA, has turned decades of basic research on glycoproteins, glycation, and proteomics into multiple successful commercial ventures. He co-founded three companies, BioInquire, GlycoScientific and PhotoChem/GenNext Technologies, bringing to market tools and technologies such as proteomics data-analysis software, research reagents, and analytic devices that stem directly from UGA-developed science. Over the years, Orlando’s ventures have secured more than $17 million in commercialization funding, generated over $4.5 million in sales and contracts, created nearly 60 jobs and produced over 100 new products. He was named UGA’s first Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010 and is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors, a fitting testament to his sustained impact on translating university research into tools and products with real-world value.

The next decade of innovation

Ten years after its inception, Innovation Gateway has evolved into a comprehensive innovation platform for UGA, propelling ideas from concept to market with increasing speed and sophistication. Looking ahead, Eberhart sees significant opportunity in the rapid expansion of UGA’s research enterprise—particularly in biomedical and medical device innovation. With the growth of the College of Engineering and the new schools of Medicine and Nursing, he believes UGA is poised for a dramatic rise in translational biomedical and medical device discoveries.

“UGA’s innovation ecosystem must evolve to ensure access to the necessary resources to facilitate translation of these discoveries including more translational funding, attracting experienced entrepreneurial talent and investment capital for UGA startup companies,” Eberhart said.

As these capabilities strengthen, Eberhart envisions Innovation Gateway continuing to evolve alongside the university’s Innovation District, deepening industry engagement and supporting a growing pipeline of technologies ready for market.

UGA’s licensing income has already tripled since Innovation Gateway was formed, surpassing $120 million over the past decade. Eberhart expects this impact to grow as more products reach the marketplace and startup companies mature. He also points to the importance of the longstanding partnership with the Georgia Research Alliance’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, which provides valuable seed support, but stresses the need for expanded translational funding to accelerate high-potential discoveries and maximize the impact of UGA research.

“I want Innovation Gateway to continue as a national leader in bringing new products to market and leveraging the growing startup pipeline to maximize the societal and economic impact of UGA research,” he said. “In the next 10 years, I hope to see 500 new products reach the market and dozens of startup companies emerge from UGA to create new jobs and products.”

The decade tells a story of steady investment, strategic partnerships, and measurable impact—one that positions the university to continue shaping the future of innovation in Georgia and beyond.