Innovation and New Inventions

Researchers at Saint Louis University are not only generating new knowledge in their labs and classrooms; they’re taking it into the real world with inventions and novel approaches that have the potential to improve the quality of life for all.

Innovation in St. Louis

SLU is proud to support the St. Louis region, leveraging its assets as a Catholic, Jesuit, Carnegie R1 university to address social and environmental challenges, develop a regional talent pipeline, and forge partnerships that are shaping the future of the city. 

• SLU is a founding member of the Cortex Innovation Community, a nationally and internationally recognized urban innovation hub. Cortex houses more than 425 companies, from startups to divisions of Fortune 500 enterprises, at its 200-acre campus, fueling scientific discovery across industry and academia.
• SLU is co-leading research and development for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis, which aims to make St. Louis an epicenter for advanced manufacturing.
• SLU is a founding member of the Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI), which launched in 2022. A first-of-its-kind consortium of eight regional research institutions, TGI is a cornerstone of the efforts to establish St. Louis as a global center for geospatial excellence.
• The SLU Center for Additive Manufacturing (CAM) collaborates with researchers on and off campus to translate ideas and concepts into real prototypes and systems. In 2025, SLU CAM brought Project MFG, a national initiative to elevate the next generation of skilled labor professionals, to St. Louis to host an inaugural additive manufacturing competition where nine local high school teams gained experience in industrial additive manufacturing to prepare them for the future workforce.

Incubating Excellence on Campus

The SLU New Venture Accelerator (SLU NVA) is sponsored by the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business. This 14-week accelerator provides SLU founders, including student entrepreneurs, with access to funding, resources and advisors to propel their ideas into reality. Participants are eligible for equity-free investments up to $50,000 through a special accelerator fund created through donor support.

Previous SLU NVA projects by students and faculty researchers include GenAssist, a regenerative biomaterial aimed at treating various muscle conditions, which won an Arch Grant in October 2025. 

More About the New Venture Accelerator

Research Commercialization

The SLU Research Innovation Group works alongside SLU researchers to protect the intellectual property and bring their discoveries to the marketplace

During the period from July 1, 2021, to July 1, 2025, there were:

• 89 invention disclosures
• 99 patent applications
• 27 issued patents
• 11 active licenses/options to startup companies

A number of SLU researchers have spun their discoveries into startups. These startups develop a variety of products, including non-opiate painkillers for patients with chronic pain.

Engineering for Humanity

Too often technology is difficult or frustrating to use. The challenges of today demand intuitive technologies designed by researchers who know how best to use them. At SLU, researchers are creating new software and technologies that augment human capability rather than hinder it – technologies for a greater good, designed in collaboration with communities in St. Louis and beyond.

Engineering for Health Care

 

• Silviya Zustiak, Ph.D., develops a variety of new biomaterials, including hydrogels. These jelly-like materials can be used for the controlled release of drugs and other therapeutics.
• Koyal Garg, Ph.D., develops new strategies for muscle rehabilitation and regeneration in patients who have experienced traumatic injuries. One of these strategies includes the use of multifunctional biomaterials that enhance muscle regeneration and function. 

Human-Machine Interfaces

 

SLU researchers are interested in human-machine interfaces, developing new ways for information to be transferred and new technologies with which humans can seamlessly interact. 

• Jenna Gorlewicz, Ph.D., and her students have developed next-generation, multimodal touchscreen experiences that can deliver information through several senses including sight, sound and touch. Applications of this technology include making classroom materials accessible for students with disabilities, including blindness and low vision.
• Yan Gai, Ph.D., studies auditory pathways and interactions between the human brain and technology. Her neuroengineering lab has developed a variety of new technologies, including smart hearing aids.

Programming with a Purpose

SLU researchers have leveraged their expertise in artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity and more for the greater good of humanity. 

• Abby Stylianou, Ph.D., works with large datasets of images and their metadata, building image-search tools to support the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as well as a sensor system that detects plant stress and pathogens on Midwest farms and distributes that data to farmers.
• Open Source with SLU gives SLU students the opportunity to develop software to support ongoing research. The team has created a platform for testing small unmanned aerial systems, a scheduling platform for local homeless shelters and a mobile app that allows users to upload audio and images that demonstrate how religion is lived throughout the St. Louis region.

Inventors and Leaders

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a member organization that brings together academic inventors from across the country and recognizes and encourages their success in patents, licensing and commercialization of new technologies. 

Since 2019, two SLU researchers have been inducted into the NAI as fellows, and 16 have been inducted as senior members. In 2025, four SLU faculty were inducted: 

• Koyal Garg, Ph.D., for biomaterials treating traumatic muscle injuries
• Silviya Zustiak, Ph.D., for hydrogel-drug fabrication and delivery
• Nicola Pozzi, Ph.D., for clotting disorder treatments and diagnostics
• Enrico Di Cera, M.D., for thrombosis therapeutics 

NAI Fellows at SLU

NAI Senior Members at SLU