At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Technology Entrepreneurship Office (TEO) plays a pivotal role in helping graduate students and faculty translate their research into real-world impact. Through programs like WARF Accelerator, Discovery to Product (D2P), and the Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (MEB), students gain the tools, mentorship, and confidence to explore commercialization pathways. We interviewed graduate students and their faculty advisors about two different success stories to better understand how their startup journeys have shaped their careers, research, and perspectives.
Phill Huss and Vatsan Raman are members of Synpha Biosciences, a startup born from academic research and nurtured by UW–Madison’s vibrant innovation ecosystem. They shared their experience navigating the long journey of translating academic research into real-world clinical solutions, and the challenge of learning commercial concepts such as product-market fit, regulatory strategy, and how to communicate value beyond the lab.
Read the full story here: https://teo.wisc.edu/2025/07/07/how-uw-madisons-startup-ecosystem-is-shaping-the-next-generation-of-innovators-faculty-and-graduate-student-qa/