Six Cornell research teams will share $292,869 to move technologies ranging from cancer vaccines to native lawns closer to commercial use. The awards support specific development milestones rather than establishing that the products are ready for market.
The spring 2026 grants come through the Center for Technology Licensing's Ignite Innovation Acceleration program, according to a Cornell announcement. Each project received up to $50,000 for work intended to support licensing, startup formation or an industry partnership.
The projects span four colleges and six areas of research:
- Gene insertion: Joseph Peters' laboratory has engineered a more compact, programmable system inspired by CRISPR-associated transposons. It has demonstrated guide-RNA-directed DNA insertion in bacteria, offering a starting point for further work on tools that could insert larger genetic sequences. Delivery and therapeutic applications still require development.
- Cancer vaccines: Matthew DeLisa's team is developing a platform that positions tumor-associated sugar molecules near parts of a carrier that drive immune activation. Earlier proof-of-concept work improved responses against bacterial carbohydrate targets and protected mice from infection. The team is extending that approach to cancer targets and has founded the early-stage company Gauntlet Bio.
- Thin optical chips: Nicholas Behrens is developing flat, compact optics based on Francesco Monticone's research. The first target is thermal and infrared imaging for drones, where smaller and lighter components could be useful. Work now focuses on a prototype and market readiness.
- Poultry health: Erick Maosa and colleagues are developing a virus-based way to deliver instructions for producing a fatty acid inside Salmonella. The approach aims to disable the bacterium's ability to invade the gut rather than kill bacteria broadly. The team envisions a treatment administered through chicks' drinking water.
- Carbon capture: Phillip Milner's laboratory has developed a system that uses one color of light to capture carbon dioxide and another to release it. The goal is to reduce the heating or pressure requirements that make existing capture methods costly, potentially using sunlight for the process.
- Native lawns: Todd Bittner and Cornell Botanic Gardens are advancing a native seed mix that needs mowing only once or twice annually and no irrigation after establishment, fertilizer or pesticides. Cornell reports that test plantings maintained more than 85% native coverage after 15 years and supported three times the insect diversity of conventional lawns. The team is testing commercialization with Meadow Lab.
Two teams are evaluating new companies, and another is testing its product with commercial partners. Across the program's history, Cornell says more than 44% of funded projects have progressed to a licensing agreement or startup.
Center Executive Director Alice Li said each award is linked to a milestone intended to increase the likelihood of commercialization. Previous recipients have used grants for prototypes, proof-of-concept studies, market research and regulatory submissions.
The fall 2026 application cycle remains open through November 6 for Cornell innovators who have disclosed an invention to the licensing center and seek funding for the next stage of development.
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