From the first pacemaker to the world’s first heart transplant, the University of Minnesota has a long, proud history of medical innovation.
Today, Minnesota has more than 1,000 health-related companies and is known around the world as “Medical Alley” because it has the world’s largest cluster of medical device companies and healthcare organizations. More than a half million people around the world are employed by Minnesota-based health companies. In addition, our state has the most medical device patents per capita.
This presents unparalleled opportunities for the University of Minnesota. In addition to educating the next generation of leaders in these Fortune 500 and startup companies, we are uniquely positioned to move discoveries to the marketplace.
Our ecosystem encourages scientists and engineers to work side by side with medical doctors (who are literally located across the street) and industry partners.
Our University’s Technology Commercialization Office brings these new ideas to market. Since 2006, Tech Comm’s Venture Center has helped launch more than 123 medical device and bio/pharma startup companies.
In this issue of Inventing Tomorrow, we highlight a few of our faculty, students, and alumni who are on the cutting edge of discoveries involving the brain, heart, cancer, mental health, and more. Some are using the newest artificial intelligence technology while others are turning to ancient arts, like origami, to find new solutions.
As we look to the future, it’s clear that the synergy among innovation, education, and collaboration at the University of Minnesota will continue to drive advancements in healthcare.
The stories in this issue reflect not only individual brilliance but also the collective potential of our community to tackle some of the most pressing health challenges of our time.
At the College of Science and Engineering on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, we continue to strengthen our long-standing partnerships with industry and government—see photos from a few recent visits.
