Office For Research Announces 2026 Rutgers Innovation Awards Winners

Ten research teams representing all four Rutgers Chancellor-led Units are the recipients of the 2026 Rutgers Innovation Awards.

In their third year, the Rutgers Innovation Awards (RIA) recognize researchers who have demonstrated excellence by developing a breakthrough idea, process, or technology that has the potential to benefit society and create economic value.

“Rutgers researchers are leading the future of innovation by transforming groundbreaking discoveries into solutions that improve people's lives and create lasting societal impact,” said Michael E. Zwick, PhD, senior vice president for research at Rutgers. “As New Jersey's leading research institution, Rutgers is proud to support the ideas and innovations that help drive economic growth and opportunity. I congratulate the 2026 Rutgers Innovation Awards winners and look forward to honoring their achievements.”

Candidates submitted applications, which were then reviewed by external experts, who selected the winners based on novelty, competitive advantage, impact, utility, socio-economic value of the innovation, and the significance of the problem solved. The 2026 winning innovations include:

•  An AI-powered drone that uses thermal-sensing sensors and a mini-EKG (electrocardiogram) on board to locate victims, monitor vital signs, build 3D maps of hazardous zones, establish paths safe for human rescuers, and autonomously deliver first-aid kits in the key 72 ‘golden’ hours following a natural disaster.
• An antiviral portfolio that addresses three distinct viral families – MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), Enterovirus D68, and Chikungunya virus – by combining advanced computer-guided drug design with a ‘Direct-to-Biology’ testing platform for a highly scalable therapeutic pipeline.
• A transformative regenerative medicine strategy for Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders through a first-in-class programmable microglial cell therapy platform capable of both neuroprotection and neuronal regeneration.
• A solid-state nanopore platform capable of detecting proteins at the single-molecule level, which could revolutionize the advancement of medical and biological research.
• A next-generation 3D-hybrid nanoscaffold that unifies regenerative scaffolding, programmable drug and gene delivery, and real-time theranostic monitoring within a single biodegradable platform for central nervous system injuries and neurological disorders.
• A first-in-class, conditionally immortalized, monoclonal, and traceable Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) platform as an off-the-shelf cell source for the delivery of biologics, which could have broad applications in biomedicine.
• A rapid, low-cost, sensitive diagnostic platform (OncoFloraRT) designed to detect cancer-associated microbiomes non-invasively from blood or urine to deliver sensitive, low-cost microbial detection and capture tumor microbial dysbiosis accurately and quickly.
• The Eviction Tracking System (ETS), which collects and analyzes eviction cases in real time, data that has proven vital during and beyond the Coronavirus pandemic and is used by journalists, advocates, policymakers, planners, and researchers.
• Award-winning basil varieties developed through a pioneering breeding program focused on resistance to downy mildew, a major threat to basil production, with subsequent advances in engineering other traits, such as tolerance to cold and chilling stress.
• A startup company working to develop safer medications that could minimize or even eliminate overdoses from prescription drugs used across mental health, neurology, and addiction medicine.

“The Office for Research’s Technology Transfer team is proud to work with Rutgers researchers to protect and commercialize their incredible innovations,” said Deborah Perez Fernandez, PhD, MBA, executive director of Technology Transfer. “These 10 Rutgers Innovation Awards winners are emblematic of the work being conducted at Rutgers to solve the issues that impact us all.” 

“Congratulations to the 2026 Rutgers Innovation Awards winners, whose work is already making a difference in the world,” said Vince Smeraglia, JD, executive director of the New Ventures unit within the Office for Research. “We would also like to thank the external experts who had the difficult job of selecting just 10 winners from the many amazing applications.”

The 10 winners will be honored at the Rutgers Innovation Awards banquet on Thursday, October 1. The event will also recognize current Rutgers inventors who were issued U.S. patents during fiscal year 2026, and innovators with non-patent intellectual propertywho did not receive the award in prior fiscal years and are either licensed with revenue received or licensed multiple times, with or without revenue. The Office for Research will also celebrate its Technology Transfer Trainees who have completed their year-long appointment.

Each Innovation Award winner will receive an award, and every team member will receive a certificate. Patent recipients and non-patent honorees will receive plaques. For more information, click here.

2026 Rutgers Innovation Awards Recipients