Ventures
Did you know our students, faculty, and alumni are responsible for more than 55 active Gillings-affiliated startups?
Impact of Gillings-Affiliated Startups
(Metrics reflect fiscal year 2020 and exclude IQVIA/Quintiles)
Take a Leap.
Recent student and faculty early- mid- and late-stage ventures
SNP Therapeutics: Precision Gene-Guided Nutrition
Gillings Innovator: Steven Zeisel, Chair of Scientific Advisors (Kenan Distinguished Professor, Nutrition)
SNP Therapeutics is a new company exploring the role of genetics in precision nutrition. Originating from the research of Gillings researcher Steven Zeisel, the company plans to launch their first genetic test in Q4, 2021 and is poised to be a leader in the precision nutrition market segment thanks to the unique way they develop their genetic tests and algorithms to identify the genes/variants contributing to various health issues and disease, including Fatty Liver (NAFLD or IFALD), Male Infertility – Sperm Motility, Pregnancy – Prenatal Nutrition, and Muscle Wasting – Sarcopenia.
Read more about SNP Therapeutics The Company plans to launch their first genetic test in the Prenatal / Maternal Health category later in 2021 with companies from the nutrition industry that will provide sales and marketing for the test. These partner companies will position the SNPT Prenatal Test with their prenatal and lactation nutritional products launching a true precision nutrition approach. The Company has benefited from early funding from Coddle Creek Capital; a North Carolina based Venture Company with a focus on early-stage life science and also from the Balchem Corporation which is a global nutrition ingredients manufacturing company. SNP Therapeutics has been awarded the Presidential Initiative Award from the NC Biotech Center which assisted the company in the development of the medical nutrition therapies for the first portfolio of products. The company is currently working with Hatteras Venture Partners to raise a priced round of funding to support the launch of their first genetic test. Future funding will be utilized to support company organizational growth including research (clinical studies) with the first being in Fatty Liver, (NAFLD). Therapies are being developed in the Fatty Liver market by several pharmaceutical companies and this market is expected to reach $40B in the next 5 years. There are many other disease states and disorders in metabolism that SNP Therapeutics plans to explore with their precision nutrition approach and the company is well positioned to start additional research for the next wave of genetic tests.
Equiti Foods (formerly Good Bowls)
Gillings Innovators: Alice Ammerman, Founder (Mildred Kaufman Distinguished Professor, Nutrition), Morghen Philippi, Chief Operating Officer (MPH, Global Health, 2021)
Founded by UNC Nutrition faculty member Alice Ammerman, Equiti Foods makes Good Bowls – frozen, healthy meals on a mission. In an effort to support the local food system and work toward food equity, Equiti Foods sources local ingredients, produces Good Bowls locally in Hillsborough, NC, and sells the bowls using a cost-offset model to ensure everyone has access to healthy, local food. Since incorporating in 2018, Equiti Foods has won NIH STTR Phase I and Phase II grants, a USDA LFPP grant, and secured over $2 million dollars in total funding. Equiti Foods has expanded into direct-to-consumer and retail markets – including grocery stores and university campuses – selling over 5,000 Good Bowls and growing quickly.
Instagram: @good_bowls
mPower
Gillings Innovators: Snigdha Peddireddy (MPH, Health Behavior, 2021), Gretchen Mason (MPH, Health Policy and Management, 2021)
mPOWER is a social venture designed to address the problems faced by community members with multiple chronic illnesses. The team wants to design a solution addressing two key issues they’ve identified through conversations with folks living with multiple chronic illnesses: 1) lack of peer support and 2) a lack of awareness of existing and relevant community resources. Peddireddy and Mason are dedicated to engaging community experts in every stage of the venture building process as co-leaders. They feel fortunate to take part in CUBE, UNC’s only accelerator focused on social innovation, this upcoming academic year. During the CUBE residency, the team will focus on co-creating a minimum viable product that can be tested alongside community experts. The end goal is to offer a community-based solution that drives health equity for those most impacted by chronic illness.
Updates/Awards: mPower has received awards and funding through: Carolina Center for Public Service (Service Partnership Mini-Grant), Carolina Challenge Makeathon (1st place – Early Digital Track), Graduate Certificate in Participatory Research Seed Grant, and the Gillings Student Research and Entrepreneurship Showcase (Best Student Venture). They were also selected as part of the 2020-2021 Cube Cohort. mPower has established connections with local community health workers and Piedmont Health (potential beneficiaries!) and are really looking forward to building on these relationships. mPower is also actively working on building a minimum viable product.
Newman Carpenter, L.L.C.
Gillings Innovators: Emily Newman (MPH, Health Behavior, 2020), Kathryn Carpenter (MPH, Health Behavior, 2020)
(L-R) Emily Newman and Kathryn Carpenter
Newman Carpenter is a creative agency impacting health behavior change. Communicating health information has never been more important. We work with individuals and organizations across health issues and populations to create engaging, accessible health communication materials and tools to ensure that they don’t leave impact on the table. Founded by two public health practitioners with over a decade of prior experience in TV production, design, education, and linguistics, Emily Newman, MPH, and Kathryn Carpenter, MA, MPH, combine the theory and behavior change strategy of public health with high-quality design and engaging communication tools. They’ve worked with university centers, hospitals, clinics, researchers, and health departments to further impact. Follow the story of Emily Newman and Kathryn Carpenter on their public health entrepreneurial journey.
Updates/Awards: Launch Chapel Hill acceptance and funding, 1789 funding
Elementos
Gillings Innovator: Christopher Westgard (Doctoral student, Maternal and Child Health)
Elementos is a global non-profit research training institute, with the aim of training young researchers while improving policies and programs for public health. Established in 2017, Elementos grew after Westgard was awarded principal investigator of a Grand Challenges Canada, Saving Brains grant which allowed him to pilot digital health tools to improve health promotion and surveillance, program evaluation of community health programs, and capacity building of rural health systems . Westgard returned to academia to obtain his doctorate in public health and receive training in implementation science and program design through the WHO Collaborating Center at UNC. He continues to build collaborations with universities and government agencies in Peru and internationally, to improve research capacity and public policies for the future of children in LMICs.
LiRA
Gillings Innovators: Nga Nguyen (MPH, 2021)
LiRA partners with patients, caregivers and health systems to provide lip-reading technology that empowers voiceless individuals and advances quality medical care. Currently, LiRA is a growing startup company and social venture developing AI-based lip-reading technology that employs advancements in computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing. They aim to build a world where all communication is realized.
LiRA is made up of an interdisciplinary team of public health, medical, business, and tech professionals impassioned to redefine patient communication.
Awards: In 2020, LiRA took first place in the Gillings Pitch Competition. Read more about their success here.
Active Gillings School Affiliated Ventures
| Company | Company | Date of Legal Structure | Founding School | Additional Founding Schools or Programs | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Nutrigenomics | Advanced Nutrigenomics | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Implementing precision nutrition and nutrigenetic testing at the next level | ||
| Aloha Social | Aloha Social | 2017-09-02 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Aloha is an application for making a big community like a college campus feel smaller, reducing the fear of rejection and making it that much easier to start a friendly face-to-face interaction with someone in the same building as you. | |
| Anansi Skills | Anansi Skills | 2019-01-18 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | College of Arts & Sciences | Anansi uses an app platform to match students with teachers in their communities so that anyone can share and learn skills for free.Our goal is to allow people to teach what they love and learn whatever they desire. |
| Aquagenx LLC | Aquagenx | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | College of Arts & Sciences; Institute for Convergent Science | Aquagenx provides portable water-quality testing products that detect E. coli bacteria that are ideal for places with fewer resources like developing countries and emergecy/disaster areas. |
| Be Healthy Ministries Inc | Be Healthy Ministries, Inc. | Gillings School of Global Public Health | We are a Holistic Health Ministry, seeking to connect people with public health and safety resources, to promote health and reduce/prevent illnesses. | ||
| Cat Tales Cat Cafe | Cat Tales Cat Cafe | 2018-02-22 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Cat Tales Cat Cafe is an aMEOWzing place to spend time in the company of adoptable cats. Guests can get to know the cats in a cage-free comfortable lounge. The low stress, free roaming environment lets the kitties be themselves. A win for adopters, a win for the kitties, and a win for overburdened shelters! | |
| Circular Triangle | Circular Triangle | 2021 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Circular Triangle focuses on the implementation of a circular economy through initiatives, policy advocacy, and community awareness. | |
| Clutch Inc | Clutch Inc | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | College of Arts & Sciences; Institute for Convergent Science | Clutch Lotion is an antiperspirant hand lotion that keeps your hands fresh, clean, and sweat-free all day. |
| Counter Tools | Counter Tools | 2012-06-28 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Institute for Convergent Science; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) | Counter Tools is a not-for-profit business that provides training, software tools, and technical assistance to public health and disease-prevention organizations. |
| Couplet Care LLC | Couplet Care LLC | 2018-07-02 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | The new bassinet addresses the shortcomings of hospital infant bassinets by improving access and safety, promoting mother-infant bonding, and reducing nursing staff burden | |
| DreamWork Consulting LLC | DreamWork Consulting LLC | Gillings School of Global Public Health | DreamWork Consulting, LLC provides a suite of essential consulting services for growing non-profit organizations, including executive coaching, strategic planning, board governance and information technology. | ||
| Durham Volunteer Doulas | Durham Volunteer Doulas | 2018-08-10 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Connecting volunteer birth doulas to women with low-resources who want a birth doula in the Triangle area. | |
| Epidemico Inc | Epidemico Inc | 2007-10-26 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | So you have a ton of unstructured data and want to extract insight. Or, you need to bring data into the cool analytics platform you have already built. We understand that your needs are unique, which is why we built a completely modular infrastructure allowing us to snap together components of our capabilities to provide you a tailored solution. We work with you to select from our capabilities, apply it to your specifications, then provide the output you need - whether it's a private API into which you can make unlimited calls, or a customized real-time visualization. | |
| Equiti Foods LLC | Equiti Foods LLC | 2018-06-22 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Equiti Foods increases healthy food access in low income communities and improves market opportunities for local farmers and retailers. | |
| Everybody Eats Agronomics LLC | Everybody Eats Agronomics LLC | 2015-09-25 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Focuses on urban farming and local farm produce aggregation in the Triad area with the goal of making fresh, healthy, local produce affordable while creating self-sufficient communities through farming and social entrepreneurship development. | |
| Frame Fertility | Frame Fertility | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Digital health platform that helps individuals plan ahead for fertility | ||
| Healthy Bytes Inc | Healthy Bytes Inc | 2013-11-14 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | A healthcare technology company offering a billing and client flow platform for dietitians, and includes a mobile application for clients to track eating and share with their dietitian. | |
| Healthy Girls Save the World | Healthy Girls Save the World Inc | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Not-for-profit business fostering proper nutrition, physical activity, and overall healthful lifestyles for elementary school- and high-school-aged girls by organizing affordable community events. | |
| HOPE Gardens | HOPE Gardens | 2013-11-04 00:00:00 | College of Arts & Sciences | Applied Physical Sciences; Gillings School of Global Public Health; Institute for Convergent Science | HOPE Gardens is a not-for-profit business operating an urban farm that serves the Chapel Hill-Carrboro, NC area. |
| Jump Ahead | Jump Ahead | Gillings School of Global Public Health | College of Arts & Sciences | Jump Ahead combines jump rope with the success of nutrition education to foster positive health behavior change in school-aged children. | |
| Life-improving Ventures | Life-improving Ventures | 2010-10-11 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Institute for Convergent Science; Kenan-Flagler Business School | Develops products and services around mentrual management that improve quality of life of women in low-resource communities in India. |
| MyHealthEd Inc | MyHealthEd Inc | 2016-08-17 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | MyHealthEd's vision is to improve health outcomes, and thereby educational outcomes, for students in rural communities by decreasing rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. | |
| Newman Carpenter | Newman Carpenter | 2020-07-01 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | We are a creative agency that works with organizations to impact health behavior change. We combine science and art to deliver impact. | |
| Persever8 | Persever8 | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Persever8 uses technical training and life skills education to cultivate the potential of people with autism to obtain fulfilling jobs and live meaningful, independent lives. | |
| Plex Diagnostics Inc | Plex Diagnostics Inc | 2013-03-21 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Institute for Convergent Science; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) | PleX Diagnostics is a clinical diagnostic development firm focused on cost-effective, multiplexed oncology diagnostics. The company's patent-pending technology combines serum biomarkers and a proprietary algorithm to predict presence of hepatocellular carcinoma, applicable across multiple types of cancer and useful for clinicians in predicting early carcinogenesis. |
| Producktive LLC | Producktiv LLC | 2018-05-25 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Producktiv empowers knowledge workers to enhance productivity so they can crush it at work while making more time for what matters most. | |
| Seal the Seasons | Seal the Seasons Inc | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 | College of Arts & Sciences | Gillings School of Global Public Health; Institute for Convergent Science | Seal the Seasons is a local frozen produce company that partners with small family farmers to freeze, market, and distribute locally grown produce. Seal the Seasons donates 20 percent of profits to make healthy affordable food available in food deserts. |
| Shifra | Shifra | 2016-12-30 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | The mobile app provides refugees with fast answers to questions about pressing reproductive health needs. Users can search for information by location and/or language, and the app will connect them with accessible health-care services near their current location. | |
| Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc | Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc | 1982-02-26 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | A global contract-research organization that is the world's largest provider of biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services to clients in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. | |
| Advance Access & Delivery | Advance Access & Delivery | 2015-06-23 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | AA&D is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that is working in solidarity with partners around the world to overcome barriers to high quality health care and medicines, particularly for economically and socially marginalized groups. | |
| Community Nutrition Partnership | Community Nutrition Partnership | 2009-07-29 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | The Community Nutrition Partnership is a Durham, NC-based business that uses market-based approaches to increase access to healthful, local food for people of all incomes and backgrounds. | |
| Food Insight Group LLC | Food Insight Group LLC | 2016-11-07 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Food Insight Group (FIG) is a food systems consulting firm that works with partners like grocery retailers, school food programs, and other community institutions to promote health through carefully designed interventions and evaluation strategies that support better eating. With an emphasis on reducing health disparities in lower-income communities, FIG believes in addressing root causes of poor health through interventions at all levels of the food system. | |
| Global Citizen LLC | Global Citizen LLC | 2011-01-25 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Global Citizen, LLC is a consulting firm that works in the U.S. and internationally to strengthen leaders' capacity and performance to advance public health, human rights and intercultural relations, effect social and organizational transformation and deliver mutually-beneficial, effective and high impact results for a better world. | |
| Global Health Equity Intelligence Collaborative LLC | Global Health Equity Intelligence Collaborative LLC | 2014-12-04 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Global Health Equity Intelligence Collaborative, which also operates under the name GHEIC, is located in Durham, NC, and provides online and technology consultation services. | |
| Health Decisions Inc | Health Decisions Inc | 1989-01-25 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Health Decisions is a global clinical research organization that specializes in applying adaptive principles to both trial design and operations. | |
| Ipas | Ipas | 1973-10-05 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Ipas is a business dedicated to ending preventable deaths and disabilities from unsafe pregnancy termination. It works through local, national, and global partnerships to ensure that women around the world are able to obtain safe and comprehensive reproductive care including counseling and contraception. | |
| IQVIA Holdings Inc | IQVIA Holdings Inc | 2016-10-03 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | IQVIA is a world leader in using data, technology, advanced analytics and expertise to help customers drive healthcare - and human health - forward | |
| Management & Development Consulting Inc | Management & Development Consulting, Inc. | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Management & Development Consulting, Inc. (M&D Consulting). aims to promote positive human development that integrates an equity perspective in international development and humanitarian programmes and fosters people-focused management. | ||
| Monuts LLC | Monuts LLC | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | College of Arts & Sciences | Monuts is a busy bakery and cafe located in Downtown Durham. Monuts takes an updated approach to the American breakfast and lunch, pairing bold ethnic flavors with seasonal and local ingredients. |
| NoviSci Inc | NoviSci Inc | 2014-05-20 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Eshelman School of Pharmacy | NoviSci seeks to accelerate learning and action from real-world health data through the development and application of tools to enable scalable, state-of-the-science causal inference, prediction, and visualization. |
| PHE Inc/ Adam and Eve | PHE Inc / Adam & Eve | 1982-06-23 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | PHE is a marketing, sales, and distribution company in the adult products/sex education field. | |
| Pillar Consulting Group | Pillar Consulting Group | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Pillar Consulting is your go-to consulting firm for rigorous, scientifically sound evaluation of your company's initiatives. Working closely with clients and stakeholders, we strive to understand your needs and work collaboratively to develop an evaluation framework that is both practical and feasible for your organization. | ||
| Polyglot Systems Inc | Polyglot Systems Inc | 2010-08-20 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Eshelman School of Pharmacy | Polyglot's award-winning software is designed to improve patient understanding, thereby improving health, reducing costs and increasing patient satisfaction. Polyglot's products have been licensed to hospitals, health systems, clinics, pharmacies and public health departments across the country. |
| Population Services International | Population Services International | 1970-01-22 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Population Services International (PSI) is a global nonprofit organization focused on the encouragement of healthy behavior and affordability of health products. | |
| Pregistry LLC | Pregistry LLC | 2014-01-07 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Pregistry provides pregnant and nursing mothers and their health care providers with the information they need to safely treat their medical conditions and ensure the best health outcomes for mothers and their babies. | |
| Project Lazarus | Project Lazarus | 2007-10-26 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Project Lazarus is a public health oriented non-profit organization established in 2008 in response to extremely high drug overdose death rates in Wilkes County, North Carolina (five times higher than the state average at that time). | |
| Quark Matrix Inc | Quark Matrix Inc | 2012-05-24 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Quark Matrix offers data warehousing, business analytics, advanced visualization, statistical analysis, and predictive analytics to businesses using portal solutions customized for health care. | |
| Railcare Health | Railcare Health | 2017-05-12 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Established since 2016, we are a free, mobile clinic that provides healthcare to the underinsured and uninsured in North Carolina. Using an interdisciplinary model, we are able to cater healthcare to serve the broadest range of patients. | |
| Rho Inc | Rho Inc | 1984-10-24 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Chapel Hill, NC-based Rho is a contract-research organization that provides clinical research services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies, and to academic and government organizations. | |
| SciMetrika LLC | SciMetrika LLC | 2001-12-14 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Our mission is to craft sustainable solutions for optimal health. We are proud of our comprehensive work in population health. SciMetrika provides clients with holistic solutions to identify, assess, implement, and evaluate health determinants, programs, and initiatives. | |
| ScitoVation | ScitoVation | Gillings School of Global Public Health | We help clients assess the safety of chemical compounds using innovative science, next-generation technology, and professional expertise. | ||
| SNP Therapeutics LLC | SNP Therapeutics LLC | 2018-08-24 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Institute for Convergent Science; Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) | GENE-GUIDED NUTRITION: Individualized Healthcare, Personalized Nutrition |
| Spiro Collective | Spiro Collective | 2014-10-20 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Happy Healthy Human offers corporate wellness coaching including yoga instruction and nutrition advice. | |
| Startup High Country LLC | Startup High Country, LLC | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | SHC's mission is to create more high-tech (high-paying) jobs and more growth investment opportunities for the residents of the high country. We're doing this by investing time, expertise, fresh ideas and money into existing and new startups. | |
| The MindsparQ | The MindsparQ | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Providing project management training and professional development | ||
| Throne LLC | Throne LLC | 2013-02-06 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Kenan-Flagler Business School | The company's mobile application fills a gigantic void in the footwear industry by making it easy and seamless for us all to find the footwear we need or desire. |
| Upstream Works Collaborative | Upstream Works Collaborative | 2018-05-21 00:00:00 | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Upstream Works is a collaborative of contractors, freelancers, consultants, researchers, and people with bright ideas. We use our skills and expertise to support community initiatives that build creative and effective solutions to complex challenges. | |
| The Ellie Helm Foundation | The Ellie Helm Foundation | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Supporting educational opportunities and positive life skills development for youth. Promoting awareness of depression and preventing suicide among young adults. Bringing joy, meaningful connections and social engagement to the elderly. |
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| Venebio | Venebio | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Life Sciences Research Consultancy | ||
| Water.org | Water.org | Gillings School of Global Public Health | Water.org has empowered more than 33 million people with access to safe water or sanitation. Access to safe water at home directly helps families in need prepare and protect themselves from this pandemic, because they can wash their hands and don't have to leave their homes to collect water. | ||
| Water Equity | Water Equity | Gillings School of Global Public Health | WaterEquity puts capital to work to deliver universal access to safe water and sanitation. | ||
| LiRA Global | LiRA Global | Gillings School of Global Public Health | UNC School of Medicine, Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC & NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering | LiRA is made up of a multi-disciplinary group of professionals impassioned to partner with patients, caregivers, and health systems to provide lip-reading technology that empowers voiceless individuals and advances the standard of medical care. |