Event Type : Pathways Newsletter

The Transforming Health and Biotech at the Edge of Space challenge is hosted by TechConnect and seeks breakthrough technologies that leverage space and microgravity to advance biotechnology, human health, and advanced biomaterials. It is open to emerging tech teams, startups, entrepreneurs, commercial ventures, and small to mid-sized enterprises with high-impact technologies at any stage of development. Areas of interest include microgravity-enabled drug development, regenerative medicine, disease modeling, advanced biomaterials, human health in space, and automation/AI solutions for space labs. Finalists will pitch their innovations to an expert panel in Raleigh, competing for one of three prizes from a $50,000 pool. The submission deadline is February 5, 2026. To learn more click here.

The Catalyze Preclinical Services Program is now accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI) to support early translational product development in heart, lung, blood, and sleep research.

This program hosted by NHLBI and managed by RTI International,  and provides milestone-driven preclinical support for small molecules, biologics, devices, diagnostics, and technologies.

Interested applicants must submit an EOI by February 13, 2026, after which selected projects will be invited to submit a full application. To learn more about the Catalyze program, click here.

The TRISH Catalyst Program, hosted by the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) in alignment with NASA’s Human Research Program, is now accepting proposals on a rolling basis to support high-impact, proof-of-concept and early technology development projects addressing critical human health risks for space exploration.

Catalyst is designed for U.S. universities, companies, and research organizations developing novel ideas, technologies, or countermeasures that fall outside currently open TRISH solicitations.  Funded projects are expected to begin in Spring/Summer 2026, with Tier 1 awards up to $150K for 12 months and Tier 2 awards of $150K+ for up to 18 months, subject to the availability of NASA funding.

The application deadline is February 18th, 2026. To learn more and begin your application, visit the webpage here.

The UF+FSU Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Hub has announced the launch of the 2025–26 CTS Pilot Award Program (Cycle 1). This intramural funding mechanism supports innovative, interdisciplinary research that advances clinical and translational science (CTS) through the development of reusable tools, methods, frameworks, and scalable resources.

These pilot awards aim to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical and community practice, enhance research efficiency, and improve health outcomes across diverse populations. Eligible Principal Investigators must hold a UF or FSU faculty appointment (assistant, associate, or full professor, including research and clinical faculty).

Eight awards of up to 50,000 dollars will be awarded. The Letter of Intent (LOI) is due ferbuary 20th. To learn more and begin your application, click here.

FORGE is hosting a practical webinar on making intellectual property (IP) attractive to investors led by IP attorneys John Harmon and John Hovestadt of Wolf Greenfield. This online session is designed for startup founders, product innovators, executives, engineers, and business leaders preparing for fundraising, partnerships, or acquisitions. The webinar will cover how investors evaluate IP, strategies for building strong and defensible patent portfolios, protecting trade secrets, ensuring clear IP ownership, and avoiding common compliance pitfalls that can undermine valuation during diligence.

This event will take place on on February 25, 2026, from 10:30 AM–12:00 PM (ET). Register for this event and learn more here.

B2M Talks: Market Research Fundamentals is a free virtual session taking place on February 25 from 12:00–1:00 PM. Hosted as part of the Biolocity Bench2Market (B2M) Talks series, this event is designed for university researchers, innovators, and early-stage product developers seeking to better understand commercialization pathways for medical products.

The session will cover why market research is critical throughout the innovation and product lifecycle, introduce key market research methods and when to use them, and highlight how research can inform unmet needs, market sizing, and stakeholder priorities across the healthcare ecosystem. Register here.

ADVOCATE is a new ARPA-H funding opportunity focused on transforming cardiovascular care through agentic clinical AI. The Agentic AI-Enabled Cardiovascular Care Transformation (ADVOCATE) program seeks teams from industry, academia, nonprofits, and small businesses to develop trusted, FDA-authorized AI agents that can provide continuous, autonomous cardiovascular care, while being safely monitored by a supervisory AI system after deployment.

A Solution Summary is due February 27, 2026, with Full Proposals due April 1, 2026 for teams encouraged to proceed. For more details, click here.

Registration is now open for OUP’s newest installment of the Meet the VCs series, focused on food and agriculture.  Kyle Welborn of Cultivation Capital and Alex Bondar of Acre Venture Partners will be leading the discussing with an overview of the 2025 AgTech area investment and exit data, observations on the various market sectors within AgTech, and key takeaways and trends within the data. Kyle and Alex will then run through the following for their respective funds:

• Investment thesis
• Sourcing investments
• The expertise areas of their team members
• How they work with their portfolio companies
• How founders can approach them
• An example portfolio company

This webinar is intended for all audiences working on AgTech startups out of academia. You can register for the event here.