Learning to ride the COVID-19 innovation wave has never required so many surf lessons. Thankfully, UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s Student Startup Fund provided some UCI startup teams with a paddle to navigate the waves.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given startups reason to pivot to help those in need of medical supplies and everyday resources during this most unpredictable time.

With Applied Innovation’s Student Startup Fund, student-led startups have received help to bridge the funding gap by receiving micro-grants to engage in UCI’s entrepreneurial programs, competitions and centers.

When Hunter Vinsonhaler, UCI undergrad in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, noticed the COVID-19 problem in February, her startup team, Hiroh Detection, saw what many began to see: a lack of viable rapid detection tests for the SARS-COV-2 virus. In the Khine Lab under the guidance of Michelle Khine, Ph.D., and Julia Zakashansky, materials science and engineering doctoral student, the team quickly shifted their focus from testing for bacterial sinusitis to COVID-19.

“When we researched the lack of readily available tests for acute bacterial sinusitis, we saw a great opportunity to develop a product that addressed a relevant need in the medical community,” said Vinsonhaler. “Because the goal of the new project was to develop a rapid detection device, much of the work that we had already done was applicable.”

With the help of the Student Startup Fund’s specialized COVID-19 track, the Hiroh Detection team received $1,000 to order the components of the lateral flow assay they were originally developing for acute bacterial sinusitis, which would now be used for SARS-COV2 rapid detection.

UCI student startup Retrain to Regain, a program that delivers a series of educational and social workshops for underrepresented youth, also pivoted their business to help their audience adjust to stay-at-home orders by providing their students virtual access to their workshops and learning platforms. These workshops empower youth, ages 14-21, to succeed beyond high school and college with relationship-building practices that secure financial understanding and safety. The team has increased the amount of weekly workshops to meet the needs of their audience with limited internet access.

Retrain to Regain discovered the Student Startup Fund during UCI’s Homecoming after stopping by the ANTrepreneur Center’s booth. The team received $1,000 from the Student Startup Fund, and with that funding, was able to file a trademark application and has begun their website development.

“After learning about the ANTrepreneur Center, UCI Beall Applied Innovation and Student Startup Fund, we are truly grateful for such resources readily available on campus for students,” said Ray Alexander, Retrain to Regain co-founder and graduate student in the joint J.D./Ph.D. program at UCI’s School of Social Ecology.

Learn more about the Student Startup Fund.

*Illustration: Selina Tieu, UCI Beall Applied Innovation