Chemical engineering postdoc Nathan Mullins was awarded McMaster’s Postdoc Entrepreneur Fellowship for his groundbreaking technology that has the power to revolutionize cancer drug development.
“The biopharmaceutical industry is rapidly evolving, driven by the demand for complex biologics and targeted small molecule therapies, especially in oncology,” he explained in his pitch for the Fellowship.
“However, purification remains a critical bottleneck.”
Mullins’ cutting-edge membrane technology addresses current limitations in purification, providing a scalable, reusable and sustainable solution to support pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Launched in 2024, the Postdoc Entrepreneur Fellowship provides postdocs with salary support for a full year, giving them more time to focus on commercializing their ideas, as well as access to expert mentorship and resources.
This year, the number of applications submitted jumped 50%, with ideas spanning advanced manufacturing, mobility, biopharma, diagnostics and more.
Of the 23 submitted, six finalists were selected to pitch their innovations in front of a live audience and panel of judges during McMaster Entrepreneurship Week.
Inaugural Fellowship winner Stevie Foglia stopped by to offer words of encouragement for the competitors and provide an update on his company, Neuro-Mod Inc.
“This fellowship has been transformative – not only for my company but for me personally. It’s given me time to dedicate myself to something I’m passionate about: bringing Neuro-Mod’s pain management solution to those who need it most,” he said.
Mullins took home this year’s Fellowship and Hasam Madarati and Fereshteh Bayat won the audience-voted People’s Choice award. They’ll receive access to mentorship and professional development training.
“Entrepreneurship and commercialization are vital pathways for translating research into real-world solutions that improve lives, strengthen communities and drive economic growth,” said Gianni Parise, Vice-President, Research.
“Postdoctoral Fellows play a pivotal role in this transformation. They bring deep technical expertise, creativity and the determination to see their ideas through. That’s why we launched this Fellowship: to remove barriers and give postdocs the runway they need to turn research into impact.”
Meet the 2025 Finalists
Hasam Madarati | Department of Medicine
Madarati’s startup company Rayyan Therapeutics is developing a safer, longer-window stroke treatment.
By extending the therapeutic window to approximately six hours, it has the potential to unlock treatment for an additional 3.4 million patients globally each year.
Sean Vandersluis | Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Vandersluis’ precision oncology platform can predict patient-specific drug combinations to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The screening platform provides real-time, quantitative data to guide therapy selection within 10 days of diagnosis, enabling true personalized medicine and addressing critical barriers in AML management.
Nathan Mullins | Department of Chemical Engineering
Mullins’ PFAS-free PEEK membranes have the potential to modernize drug purification workflows while reducing environmental impact.
The membranes offer a sustainable, high-performance alternative that aligns with industry trends, regulatory shifts and the growing demand for cost effective, scalable purification technologies in cancer drug development and beyond.
Fereshteh Bayat | Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bayat’s rapid colorimetric platform for UTI detection and antibiotic susceptibility provides a more accurate testing solution for UTIs at point-of-care.
The technology has the potential to address the urgent need for rapid UTI diagnostics, particularly in long-term care homes, emergency departments and resource-limited settings.
Eduardo González Martínez | Department of Medicine
Martínez’s 3D bioprinting platform unlocks new opportunities for health research and clinical translation.
The platform targets unmet needs in reproducibility, scalability and cell compatibility for researchers in academia, biotech and pharma building tissue models and regenerative medicine therapies.
Kay McCallum | Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
McCallum’s Qorodi is a platform for fast, reliable emissions testing of materials used in galleries and museums to enclose and display artifacts.
Qorodi is compact, easy to use, and includes proprietary software for streamlined comparison of results to support the work of curators and conservators.
Judges evaluated each pitch and chose the winner based on their inventions’ potential for commercialization and the impact the fellowship could have on the success of their venture.
This year’s judges were Bart Hettinga, Chief Operating Officer, Exerkine Corporation; Jocelyn Wessels, Co-founder and CSO, Afynia Laboratories; Paul Fowler, Co-founder and CEO, MesoMat; Louisa Ho, Senior Program Officer, NSERC Research Partnerships Division; and Chris Delvecchio, President, CJD Life Sciences Consulting.