As part of the nationwide Small Business Forward initiative, the BioInnovation Center has received a $250,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to support small business educational programming for Louisiana entrepreneurs. Propeller and the New Orleans Business Alliance will also each receive $125,000 for their small business support programs. “The biggest business in America is small business. Small businesses in our city have the potential to reduce unemployment and expand opportunity for all,” said Lizette Terral, head of commercial banking for Chase in New Orleans. “Despite their vital importance, small businesses need help to participate fully in New Orleans’ rebirth.”

December 16, 2016 — Read more at The New Orleans Advocate

Two teams of graduate student innovators from Tulane University recently completed the intensive National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. This competitive nationwide program prepares scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research. It offers entrepreneurship training to participants by combining experience and guidance from established entrepreneurs through a targeted curriculum. The goal is to facilitate the commercialization of research with near-term benefits for the economy and society. The two teams of Tulane PhD candidates were the medical imaging innovation team of David Tulman and Mei Wang and the viral diagnostics development team of Jason Ryans and Ashwin Sivakumar.

Learn more about I-Corps at www.nsf.gov.