Just before the world shut down in 2020 due to COVID-19, Hao Shi, Ph.D. ’20, finished the last experiment for his doctoral research. He had developed an advanced imaging tool that visualizes the gut microbiome – the community of bacteria and other tiny organisms that live in human intestines – and saw the innovation’s potential for real-world impact for fighting disease.
“I wanted to do something that will make a real difference I can feel in my lifetime,” Shi said. “The pandemic really gave me this drive to actually try to do something now.”
Shi is now chief technology officer of a company leveraging his work to start clinical trials with cancer patients.
That year, Shi launched Kanvas Biosciences with his Ph.D. adviser, Iwijn De Vlaminck, and medical microbiologist Matt Cheng. The team licensed the technology through Cornell’s Center for Technology Licensing and joined the Center for Life Science Ventures, where they explored potential markets for the mapping platform. Eventually, they identified cancer immunotherapy as an area where their innovation could meet an urgent demand.