Award & Investment Overview
The University of South Florida is providing Innovation Fund support to faculty-led projects advancing technologies in healthcare education, neurological monitoring, and gene therapy.
The funded portfolio includes CaseyMD, a healthcare education platform; NeuTrode, a flexible dry electrode for electroencephalogram testing; and a gene therapy being developed to treat canine cognitive dysfunction.
The projects illustrate how university translational funding can address different commercialization gaps depending on technology maturity. Support ranges from pilot testing and evidence generation for an education platform to prototype and manufacturing optimization for a medical device and preclinical scale-up for a gene therapy.
Source: https://www.usf.edu/research-innovation/news/2026/usf-faculty-earn-innovation-fund-support-to-advance-healthcare-training-and-eeg-technology.aspx
Approach & Ecosystem Context
USF’s Innovation Fund is functioning as GAP funding by supporting development activities that sit between academic research and broader market adoption.
For CaseyMD, funding will support pilot testing with students and educators and generate evidence that academic institutions can use when evaluating adoption across healthcare education fields.
NeuTrode is further along technically. The project has reached a proven prototype, and Innovation Fund support will be directed toward additional prototyping, material improvements, and manufacturing optimization. These activities address practical product-development requirements that can determine whether a promising university technology can move toward a market-ready medical device.
The canine cognitive decline project represents a different translational pathway. Funding will support scaling production of the gene therapy and developing assays to monitor treatment effectiveness, preparing the technology for studies in dogs while also building evidence that could support future investment and industry partnerships.
From a Mind the GAP perspective, this portfolio demonstrates the value of milestone-specific translational funding. Rather than funding research broadly, the projects target identifiable commercialization barriers such as customer validation, product engineering, manufacturing readiness, preclinical development, and partner or investor readiness.
Innovation & Technology
CaseyMD
CaseyMD is focused on healthcare education and training. Based on the information provided, Innovation Fund support will enable pilot testing with students and educators and help generate evidence for institutional adoption.
The commercialization objective is to provide healthcare education programs with sufficient evidence to evaluate integration of the platform across multiple healthcare disciplines.
NeuTrode
NeuTrode is a flexible, dry EEG electrode developed by principal investigators Nate Schilaty and Albert Kim.
Traditional wet EEG electrodes can create challenges related to patient discomfort, limited lifespan, setup requirements, and signal consistency. NeuTrode uses a wire-embedded polymer structure designed to provide reliable electrical performance while improving durability.
The electrode is also designed for compatibility with existing EEG systems, which could reduce adoption barriers for hospitals and research facilities. Funding will support further prototyping, material improvements, and manufacturing optimization as the team works to move from a proven prototype toward a market-ready product.
Gene Therapy for Canine Cognitive Decline
Aurelie Joly-Amado is leading development of a gene therapy for canine cognitive dysfunction, an age-related condition in dogs with similarities to Alzheimer’s disease in humans.
Rather than focusing solely on symptom management, the therapy is intended to address an underlying disease mechanism by enabling production of a protective protein. Early studies cited by USF showed improvements in memory and brain health in mice.
Innovation Fund support will help scale production and develop assays for monitoring therapeutic effectiveness. These milestones are intended to prepare the technology for studies in dogs and strengthen its position for subsequent investment and partnerships. The research could also inform potential future human applications, although that pathway remains considerably earlier.
Potential Market Uses and Applications
- Potential Healthcare Education: CaseyMD could support healthcare training programs seeking new approaches to student and clinician education, with pilot evidence supporting institutional purchasing and adoption decisions.
- Potential Clinical and Research: NeuTrode could provide hospitals, neurological clinics, and research facilities with a reusable or more durable dry-electrode approach to EEG testing, with the potential for faster setup and more consistent signal acquisition.
- Potential Veterinary Therapeutics: The gene therapy could provide a disease-modifying approach for canine cognitive dysfunction if subsequent studies establish safety and efficacy.
- Potential Human Therapeutics: Findings from the canine cognitive decline program could eventually contribute to research into related human neurodegenerative diseases, although significant additional development and validation would be required.
Related Topics
University of South Florida, USF Innovation Fund, GAP funding, proof-of-concept funding, translational research, university commercialization, EEG technology, NeuTrode, medical devices, gene therapy, veterinary therapeutics, healthcare education
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innovosource tracks GAP programs, including proof-of-concept programs, startup accelerators, translational research initiatives, university venture funds, and commercialization ecosystems that help move university innovations from research to market.
Our coverage is informed by the Mind the GAP initiative and GAP COA consortium activity, providing practical insights into the evolving commercialization landscape.
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