As part of the Mountain West IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) Program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, ASCEND 2.0 has launched a series of experience-based entrepreneurship educational modules, products, and tools. These resources are now available through the I-RED Commercialization Program. The goal of the I-RED Program is to equip university-based biomedical researchers and students with the entrepreneurial skills necessary to translate scientific discoveries and innovative technologies into commercial products, thereby reducing the time it takes to bring these technologies from the lab to the market.

The ASCEND team will collaborate closely with selected innovators to help them gain essential business knowledge and entrepreneurial skills. This support aims to assist them in successfully commercializing their technologies, either by creating scalable healthcare startups or by licensing their innovations to existing businesses. "Scalable" refers to the ability of founders to:

  1. develop and launch commercially viable and competitively strong technologies that address real-world problems,
  2. secure funding to bring their innovation to market,
  3. expand their team as needed, and
  4. attract, grow, and retain customers.

If you are interested in participating in the I-RED program, please complete the form to the right.


Educational Modules

  • SBIR/STTR Funding
  • Angel & Venture Capital Funding
  • Lean Startup
  • Working with your TTO
  • Protecting your Intellectual Property
  • Legal Aspects of Starting a Business
  • Unit Economics
  • Revenue Model
  • Financial Modeling
  • Sizing the Market
  • Evaluating the Competition
  • Scaling your Business
  • Partnering Strategies
  • Regulatory
  • Reimbursement
  • Commercialization



Who Qualifies?

Eligible participants include faculty, academic investigators, clinicians (with university faculty appointments), and students who meet one of the following criteria:

  1. They are close to or ready to translate their human health-related technologies into commercial products, such as medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, digital health solutions, and tech-enabled healthcare services.

  2. They are considering or have already established a company and seek support for commercialization, customer development, and fundraising.