Through the NSF I-Corps program, the Virtual Lung Solutions team at Texas A&M won two national awards and took significant strides toward commercialization while sharpening their entrepreneurial mindset.
The Virtual Lung Solutions team received national honors for their work in the NSF I-Corps program. | Video: Logan Jinks/Texas A&M Engineering
The Virtual Lung Solutions team entered the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) I-Corps program with an idea: developing a digital twin.
This predictive tool would leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist clinicians in predicting patient outcomes while also improving therapeutic decision-making strategies, giving clinicians a second opinion in real time. Through the program, they were able to transform their research into reality, taking steps toward making the digital twin a viable commercial product.
Composed of two doctoral students, a former student, and a faculty member from Texas A&M University, the team pushed themselves out of the lab and into the field, conducting over 150 extensive customer discovery interviews with healthcare professionals and industry stakeholders from around the world. As a result, they received the Pacemaker Award for completing the highest number of customer interviews and the Road Warrior Award for the highest number of in-person interviews.
“The NSF I-Corps program at Texas A&M is geared towards developing the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in our students and faculty, with the latter serving as principal investigators to develop this skillset,” said Dr. Debjyoti Banerjee, project lead and professor in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The team initially completed the Southwest Regional I-Corps Hub course during the 2024 summer semester under the mentorship of Lenae Scroggins, I-Corps Hub manager and program specialist at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). Dr. Saurabh Biswas, professor of practice and global programs coordinator in Texas A&M’s biomedical engineering department and executive director of technology transitions at TEES, also provided the students with mentorship.
Entrepreneurial leads Syed Anas Nisar and Chinmay Rajesh Chavan, alongside industry mentor Mike Wilkinson, immersed themselves in weeks of intensive training hosted by the Texas A&M I-Corps Hub: Southwest.
The team members quickly learned and applied the customer discovery methodology, generating significant insights within four weeks. Their success led to selection for the prestigious National I-Corps program, placing them among a select group of innovators recognized for commercial potential and market readiness.
Through the program’s lean startup framework, the team uncovered critical insights into hospital purchasing decisions, stakeholder roles and barriers to clinical adoption, including strategies that empower physicians to embrace innovative technologies and integrate predictive tools into their decision-making. These efforts are helping shape their next steps, including pathways to startup formation and small-business grant applications.
The team’s achievements underscore the Aggie community’s role in translational research and entrepreneurial excellence. As a founding member of the NSF I-Corps Hub: Southwest, Texas A&M supports innovators across disciplines in bringing their research to market.
“The National I-Corps program has become a benchmark for researchers with deep technical expertise seeking to translate their discoveries into real-world solutions,” said Biswas. “Its structured approach to problem validation, industry engagement, and customer discovery provides an exceptional pathway to transform research into innovation. Completing the program along with key recognition reflects our faculty and student team’s commitment to building strong industry partnerships and advancing technologies that can lead to successful start-ups and eventual societal impact. We will work with the team to keep moving the translation process forward through our Texas A&M and Southwest I-Corp Hub.”
The Virtual Lung Solutions team strives to exemplify the power of blending deep-tech research with real-world applications. With their eyes set on clinical impact, they continue to move forward, fueled by the insights and momentum gained through the program.
“This experience catalyzed our entrepreneurial mindset. The biggest lesson we learned is to build what people need, not what you assume they want,” said Chavan. “The I-Corps journey gave us tools to validate need, shape product-market fit, and approach commercialization with clarity and confidence.”
This story was originally shared via Texas A&M University Engineering News on January 7, 2026. View the original article here.
