Launching Innovations

When a team of UT Southwestern scientists discovered a naturally occurring antibody in the spinal fluid of patients with neurological disease, developing a therapy to help neurons survive cellular stress became a real possibility. The team knew that antibody-based treatment could offer hope for patients with multiple sclerosis, ALS, and other serious neurological conditions.

What they didn't know was that their discovery could spark $5.6 million in seed funding to support late-stage preclinical work, positioning GenrAb – a newly created company that got its start at UT Southwestern – to target beginning human studies in 2027.

Enter the new Innovation Hub at UT Southwestern, which is building an agile research-to-patient infrastructure dedicated to bridging the gap between the groundbreaking sciences at UT Southwestern and tangible patient solutions. It is uniquely designed to fast-track innovations and translate them into practical applications that solve big problems and directly improve human health.

As part of a bold new effort to integrate innovation into every facet of UT Southwestern's operations – from patient care to education and research – the Hub will help create biotech startups like GenrAb, which offer the potential to deliver lifesaving therapies.

Aiming to be a "front door" for turning ideas into hope for patients, the Hub will provide physician-scientists with the tools and support they need to cultivate new inventions and field real-world applications. Dallas offers advantages that are rare in the biomedical world, with a central location offering quick access to both coasts for clinical partnerships. The Hub will also serve as an interface with the community and a matchmaker between scientists and investors.

“The goal is for discoveries like ours to reach patients faster, more often, and with a clear path.”

For more than 50 years, UT Southwestern has been a leader in biomedical research, producing landmark discoveries reshaping medicine through blockbuster drugs (e.g., statins for cardiovascular health) and devices such as medical vision goggles aimed at detecting cancer cells. In fact, UT Southwestern ranked fourth nationally and first in Texas for fielding new biomedical technologies in a survey done by Heartland Forward, an economic think tank.

Yet despite UT Southwestern's formidable research strengths, the need grew to help move ideas with potential for patient applications to the clinic faster.

The Innovation Hub is designed to support that.

"It's about taking the most innovative thought leaders in science, applying new ways of thinking to solve problems, and translating those ideas into products – whether that's a drug, a device, or a software solution," said Nicole Small, CEO of LH Capital Inc. and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, a supporter of the project. "We have all the pieces here in Dallas. The Hub will be the catalyst that connects them."

Hub and spoke

Benjamin Greenberg, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research, and co-founder of GenrAb, said he believes growing awareness of the importance of technology transfer – as embodied in the Innovation Hub – helped him and fellow GenrAb co-founder and CEO Nancy Monson, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology and Immunology, secure the tools and capital necessary to begin developing drugs that preserve neurons.

But according to Dr. Greenberg, the Hub is much more because it represents cultural transformation. For decades, he noted, discoveries typically moved from university research labs to outside companies in a handoff that often meant losing control and slowing progress. Now, academic medical centers have the opportunity to take innovations from concept to clinic under their own roofs.

"The Hub creates a structure for us to do the lift ourselves," Dr. Greenberg said. "That shift has downstream benefits beyond speed and efficiency. The goal is for discoveries like ours to reach patients faster, more often, and with a clear path."

Far from a rare exception, GenrAb is exactly the kind of transformational company the Innovation Hub aims to incubate, fostering paradigm-shifting advances that can more quickly translate academic medicine into new treatments for patients.

Another example can be seen in Exonics Therapeutics, a biotechno-logy company focused on geneediting technologies, including CRISPR, to correct mutations responsible for neuromuscular diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Eric Olson, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Molecular Biology, co-founded the company based on research from his lab. Exonics advanced an effective gene-editing approach for DMD through animal studies before being acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which provided the clinical development and regulatory expertise needed to move the technology to clinical trials.

After being recruited to UT Southwestern in 1996, Dr. Olson focused his research on DMD, a muscle-atrophying disease that mainly affects boys and for which there is currently no cure. Dr. Olson has become widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of CRISPR gene-editing technology, which offers hope for the 20,000 children diagnosed with the genetic disorder each year. He aims to accelerate drug development for DMD and has received much-needed guidance and support from UT Southwestern's growing research infrastructure.

Over the years, Dr. Olson said he's watched talented researchers struggle to move their discoveries toward patient care simply because they didn't know the language or processes of biotech.

"Beyond having an idea, the most important thing is aligning yourself with a trustworthy investor who understands biotech and shares your goals," Dr. Olson said.

Connecting the dots

For many faculty, the barrier to blockbuster biomedical innovation isn't scientific, it's business.

"Faculty need our help making connections," said Samuel Achilefu, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering. "We can not only help interested faculty navigate the process but also inspire those who may not otherwise have thought about pursuing this path. All of this helps build a strong ecosystem of innovation."

Dr. Achilefu has seen firsthand how such an ecosystem jump-started the design of one of his own medical devices – a wearable, cost-effective vision system for use in fluorescence-guided cancer surgery. His feat of biomedical engineering illuminates dyes attached to tumors so they give off distinct, invisible, near-infrared light. Cancer cells literally light up while the device is being used. Ultimately, surgeons wearing the head-mounted device are able to precisely cut away the cancer and ensure that no tumor remnants are left behind.

“Many of the best ideas come from inside hospitals.”

Prior to the Hub's inception, UT Southwestern established the Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2021. Two years later, applied science and medicine at UT Southwestern took a significant leap forward when UT Southwestern and UT Dallas joined forces to create lab-grown bone tissue that can be grafted onto aging hips, nanotubes that can shine precision light on cancer cells, and wearable sensors that continually monitor a patient's vital signs, among many other projects now being undertaken in a new shared facility.

The Hub's model will enable faculty to share similar ideas with advisory committees that can vet projects to ensure resources go where they have the most impact. UT Southwestern has a deep bench of assets that the Hub will also bring together in new ways.

The Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics will help innovators harness artificial intelligence and create computational models that detect complex patterns in biomedical data. The Department of Biomedical Engineering will apply engineering principles to build prototypes in industry collaboration spaces where faculty and external experts can solve real-world problems together. UT Southwestern's Simulation Center offers hands-on environments for testing processes and devices without risk to patients.

With these resources, the Hub will operate across biotechnology, health IT, and medical devices, helping faculty pursue everything from therapeutic antibodies to telemedicine platforms to advanced diagnostic tools.

To carry ideas from concept to patient care, the Hub will also provide targeted funding. Early-stage ideation grants will allow faculty to build prototypes, test feasibility, and gather data. Proof-of-concept support, structured around specific milestones, will help refine technologies and accelerate their development. These resources will give researchers the means to advance their discoveries toward real-world applications to improve patient care.

Leveling up

To helm the new Innovation Hub, UT Southwestern selected Daniel Hommes, M.D., Ph.D., an expert in gut immunology and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Hommes spent several highly formative years in the San Francisco Bay Area as an entrepreneur and health care executive.

"We often see a gap between research in academic medicine and its real-world application," said Dr. Hommes, the new Hub leader and UT Southwestern's Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer. "UT Southwestern has unmatched science and a community that backs it. The Hub is our chance to connect these two, turning local scientific breakthroughs into life-changing treatments for patients in Dallas and around the world."

That conviction is shared by David Wiessman, who initiated one of Israel's most successful hospital-based innovation centers and has seen how similar efforts have transformed Israel's health care innovation scene. With more than 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, Mr. Wiessman is currently a partner at Gefen Capital and the Executive Chairman of Sonol, one of Israel's leading energy firms.

"Many of the best ideas come from inside hospitals," he said. "With mentorship, legal support, and other resources, staff can create solutions that emerge bottom-up from daily challenges and can change lives."

Mr. Wiessman helped seed the Hub after his hands-on experience in Israel, where the hospital innovation center he initiated turned ideas into thriving startups. He sees Dallas as uniquely positioned to replicate – and even surpass – those successes.

"There are a lot of similarities between Texas and Israel," Mr. Wiessman said. "The people have shown how constant innovation can turn challenges into breakthroughs, and Dallas has the potential to do the same."

GenrAb and other companies like it are proof of what's possible. The company's discovery – an antibody that crosses the blood-brain barrier, enters neurons, and modulates stress-management pathways to protect cells – is one of more than 400 neurotherapeutic antibodies identified through UT Southwestern research. And the foundational work the new Hub is building on across UT Southwestern is already impressive: UT Southwestern has already accumulated nearly 900 patents, disclosed more than 4,300 inventions, and executed some 1,300 licenses.

The leaders of the Hub see it not only as a continuation of excellence, but a sign that Dallas is taking the next leap in promoting health and a healthy society in alignment with the Medical Center's mission.

Ms. Small, of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, has a metric of success for the Hub.

"We want to look back in 10 years and see 25 drugs that changed people's lives, all starting here," Ms. Small said. "We've done it before with breakthroughs like statins. The science is here. The talent is here. The Hub will ensure that ideas make it from bench to bedside here."

For supporters, that vision offers both impact and legacy. Support for the UT Southwestern Innovation Hub will fuel a system that turns novel ideas into lifesaving tools, keeps talent in Dallas, and positions the region as a leader in global health care. Dallas is ready. The science is ready. With the Hub, UT Southwestern is ready. And the next Exonics or GenrAb is already waiting for the spark that will carry it from concept to the people who need it most – patients.

For more information on how you can support the Innovation Hub, please contact Kelly Thomas at kelly.thomas@utsouthwestern.edu.

• Dr. Achilefu holds the Lyda Hill Distinguished University Chair in Biomedical Engineering.
• Dr. Greenberg is a Cain Denius Scholar in Mobility Disorders.
• Dr. Olson holds the Pogue Distinguished Chair in Research on Cardiac Birth Defects, The Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Science, and the Annie and Willie Nelson Professorship in Stem Cell Research.