Brandeis Innovation’s FY 2025: A Year of Momentum and Meaningful Impact
Brandeis Innovation’s FY 2025 Highlights reveal a campus ecosystem in motion—one where ideas move with purpose, where researchers and students take bold steps toward real-world solutions, and where the university’s innovation engine continues to grow in sophistication and strength.
This past year was marked by a sharpened mission, expanded programming, and a compelling wave of scientific and entrepreneurial breakthroughs. At its core, the report tells a story of a university embracing innovation as both a mindset and a practice.
A Mission with Greater Clarity and Reach
One of the most significant developments this year came from within: Brandeis Innovation refined its mission to more clearly articulate its role providing comprehensive support to Brandesian innovators—from the earliest stages of invention triage and intellectual property management to the more advanced processes of strategic marketing, licensing, iEdison compliance, and educational outreach.
This shift reflects a broader truth about FY 2025: Brandeis is not simply producing innovations; it is building the infrastructure to guide them all the way to impact.
A Thriving Tech-Transfer Pipeline
The report highlights a consistently active and productive tech-transfer operation. In FY 2025, Brandeis researchers filed dozens of invention disclosures and saw nearly twenty patents issued, while the university continued to maintain dozens of active licenses across its portfolio. The volume of agreements processed—from material transfer agreements to nondisclosure agreements—demonstrates both the scientific vibrancy of the campus and the strong collaborative relationships Brandeis maintains with industry and research partners.
Meanwhile, licensing income for the year reflects ongoing engagement with commercialization pathways, underscoring that Brandeis discoveries are not only scientifically meaningful but economically relevant.
Growing the Next Generation of Innovators
Beyond metrics, FY 2025 was a year deeply rooted in community building. Hundreds of hours of mentorship and training were delivered, engaging a wide range of faculty, students, and researchers who sought to develop their ideas more fully. The report emphasizes a robust network of mentors—more than ninety of them—who play an essential role in coaching teams, stress-testing ideas, and supporting the innovation mindset across campus.
Brandeis innovation teams this year represented a remarkable cross-section of cutting-edge fields. From biotech to agtech, defense technologies to consumer apps, the diversity of projects signals a university that embraces innovation in many forms, not confined to a single domain.
Spark, Sprout, and I-Corps: Innovation in Action
The heart of the FY 2025 highlights lies in the stories of the teams advancing through Spark, Sprout, and I-Corps—the three flagship programs that nurture innovation at different stages of maturity.
Spark, the program dedicated to student and community entrepreneurs, supported ventures tackling challenges as varied as equitable access to healthcare, mastery-based STEM learning, and new forms of digital entertainment and social engagement. Teams such as DermX, Master Learning Assessment, and Bar Bets illustrate the creativity and ambition emerging from the Brandeis community.
Sprout, with its focus on high-impact scientific research, showcased projects with potential to reshape fields ranging from infectious disease and liver inflammation to renewable energy and environmentally conscious pest control. This year’s Sprout teams reflect the kind of foundational scientific work that anchors Brandeis’ research reputation.
I-Corps, which helps transform early scientific discoveries into market-ready innovations, guided teams exploring commercialization paths for technologies in solar heat storage, AI-enhanced STEM education, circRNA biomarkers, therapeutic targets for liver disease, and advanced NMR analysis. Through this program, scientific insight becomes market understanding—an essential step in moving research out of the lab and into the world.
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Throughout the report, one theme emerges repeatedly: none of this progress happens alone. FY 2025 was shaped by the generosity of mentors, advisors, and friends of Brandeis Innovation who share their expertise, time, and commitment to advancing the university’s impact. Their contributions amplify the work of innovators across campus, making it possible for promising ideas to find direction, resources, and momentum.
Looking Ahead
The FY 2025 Highlights portray a university not only rich in discovery but increasingly prepared to shepherd those discoveries into the world. With a clarified mission, a thriving network of mentors and partners, and a growing portfolio of ventures and technologies, Brandeis Innovation is laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs.
The report is, at its core, a demonstration of how curiosity becomes impact—and a testament to the people who make that journey possible.