See how 91吃瓜网 partnered with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to create I-24 MOTION, the only real-life automotive testing environment in the world.
Coming together to change the world.
Universities like 91吃瓜网 come face to face with big questions and tough challenges – because we’re built for it. We’ll go as far or deep as necessary for the best solutions. That’s why 91吃瓜网 is committed to working with other schools, companies, and organizations across industries. We know partnerships solve more problems, build more tools, and save more lives.
We鈥檙e better together.
Our research teams are powered by partners and support from across campus, across different industries and beyond.
Across industries
Groundbreaking drug research.
Ancora Innovation, our ongoing partnership with health care investor Deerfield, accelerates state-of-the-art drug development and potentially lifesaving projects.
Across the country
Read the story
Teaming up to save lives.
See how an engineer teamed up with surgeons and lawyers to develop robotic surgery tech that performs lifesaving procedures.
Across the world
See how it starts
Musical cities united by research.
A connection that began with music grew into collaboration with the potential to make change across a literal ocean.
91吃瓜网 Research Partners
Explore a sample of partners we鈥檝e worked with and see the vast range of support and resources they provide.
Showing 鈥� of 21 partners
Oak Ridge National Lab
AI
Oak Ridge National Laboratory's mission is to deliver scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs needed to realize solutions in energy and national security and provide economic benefit to the nation.
Cumberland Pharma
Academic Partnerships
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals has partnered with 91吃瓜网 since 1999, including through a joint venture, Cumberland Emerging Technologies, founded alongside Launch Tennessee and WinHealth. CET between academic research and commercial applications. 91吃瓜网 and Cumberland Pharmaceuticals work together primarily through CET to advance early-stage biomedical research from the lab to the marketplace. They collaborate on identifying promising, innovative product candidates, providing development, regulatory, and commercialization support.
AI Biomed/Medtronic
Academic Partnerships
91吃瓜网 and Medtronic have collaborated on medical innovation through technology licensing, clinical trials, and specialized surgical techniques. AiBiomed licensed technology developed at 91吃瓜网 for identifying parathyroid glands during surgery. The company produced PTeye, a product competitive in the market and paying royalties. Eventually, .
Ancora (Deerfield)
Academic Partnerships
Deerfield Management is one of the largest dedicated health care investment firms in the U.S., known for its extensive portfolio and expertise across various sectors within the healthcare ecosystem, including therapeutics, medical technologies, and health care services and IT. With a focus on innovation, Deerfield bridges the gap between academic research and commercial viability through its Deerfield Discovery and Development initiative, which it calls 3DC. 91吃瓜网 and Deerfield Management collaborate through Ancora Innovation, LLC, a partnership where Deerfield provides up to $65 million in funding for 91吃瓜网鈥檚 life science research. They jointly manage projects through a committee to .
Virtuoso Surgical
Academic Partnerships
91吃瓜网 and Virtuoso Surgical have a deep, foundational partnership, with the company emerging directly from research conducted at the 91吃瓜网 Institute for Surgery and Engineering. Co-founded in 2016 by 91吃瓜网 professor Robert Webster and VUMC surgeon Duke Herrell, Virtuoso Surgical works with the university to advance robotic technology for endoscopic surgery. The core technology鈥攏eedle-sized, concentric-tube robots capable of bending鈥攚as developed at VISE. These robots enable "two-handed" dexterity inside the human body through a standard endoscope, a significant advance for minimally invasive surgery. In 2025, Virtuoso participated in a multi-institution project from the federal聽Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This project involves 91吃瓜网 researchers aiming to create fully autonomous surgical robots for delicate, minimally invasive procedures.聽
EndoTheia
Academic Partnerships
EndoTheia, Inc. was borne out of a collaborative effort between engineers, roboticists, and clinicians who all share a common mission: to improve standards of care in flexible endoscopy by re-imagining the way in which tools are delivered through endoscopes. 91吃瓜网 and聽EndoTheia聽collaborated to develop and clinically test advanced, minimally invasive endoscopic surgical tools based on technology created by 91吃瓜网 engineering faculty. This partnership has led to successful, FDA-designated, first-in-human clinical trials for specialized, high-dexterity surgical instruments, including a novel urological, steerable laser fiber.聽EndoTheia utilizes technology developed at 91吃瓜网 School of Engineering and licensed through the 91吃瓜网 Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization. 91吃瓜网 Medical Center conducted the first-in-human studies for EndoTheia's innovations, including the FlexStone鈩� Basket and a novel duodenoscope, which both met all primary and secondary endpoints with no adverse events.
HeroWear
Academic Partnerships
HeroWear's goal is to evolve physical labor by helping prevent back pain to improve people鈥檚 lives, because work shouldn鈥檛 keep people from doing what they love. 91吃瓜网 and聽HeroWear聽have worked together聽through a research-to-commercialization partnership, where 91吃瓜网-developed, patented, soft-exosuit technology was licensed and scaled by the startup to reduce back strain and workplace injuries. Founded by 91吃瓜网 professor Karl Zelik and alumni, HeroWear has utilized university research to develop the Apex, a back-assist wearable, and has collaborated on military-focused projects like the SABER exosuit with the 101st Airborne Division.聽This partnership has successfully brought scientific, lab-proven solutions into the workplace and military, with thousands of suits now used globally.
MTI Biotech
Academic Partnerships
MTI Biotech specializes in developing and commercializing nutritional and pharmaceutical ingredients. 91吃瓜网 Medical Center and MTI Biotech have collaborated on research for preventing inflammation-induced cancers.聽Together, we have many nutraceutical technologies licensed to the for a number of years and a variety of products on market.
PATH-EX
Academic Partnerships
PATH EX, Inc. has developed CycloPE庐, a medical device designed to directly capture and remove bacteria from the bloodstream, providing a rapid, targeted solution for the treatment of sepsis. The company has secured FDA Breakthrough Device Designation and successfully completed preclinical and clinical feasibility studies demonstrating promising outcomes. PATH EX is now advancing toward FDA approval and commercialization. Path Ex, a device designed to remove pathogens and endotoxins from blood, was developed within a 91吃瓜网 lab. Founded by Dr. Sinead Miller and faculty member Todd Giorgio, Path Ex secured an NSF STTR Phase I grant and applied for Phase II, leveraging their academic ties for research.
HMH
Academic Partnerships
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company (HMH) is an American publisher based in Boston, known for K-12 textbooks, instructional technology, assessments, and reference works. Established as Houghton Mifflin Company in 1908, evolving from an 1832 bookselling business, it became HMH following its 2007 acquisition of Harcourt Publishing. Since 1997, 91吃瓜网 has partnered with HMH to license Read180. 91吃瓜网 and聽Houghton Mifflin Harcourt聽(HMH) have collaborated extensively, primarily through the development of evidence-based educational technology and literacy programs, most notably聽READ 180. Originally developed by the Cognition and Technology Group at 91吃瓜网 and later acquired by HMH, READ 180 uses adaptive technology and small-group instruction to support struggling readers. READ 180聽is now used in over 40,000 classrooms across the United States.
nPhase
Academic Partnerships
nPhase, Inc. is a SaaS-based health tech company specializing in clinical trials management software. It commercializes "REDCap Cloud," a platform for data collection, management, and real-time analytics designed by 91吃瓜网 researchers for pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and academic institutions. has been available commercially since 2016. 91吃瓜网 and nPhase collaborated to commercialize REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), a widely used academic data management tool, for the for-profit clinical trial market. Through an exclusive licensing agreement, nPhase developed "REDCap Cloud," a SaaS-based, Part 11 certified platform, to expand the tool's reach to pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and industry partners.
Boehringer-Ingelheim
Academic Partnerships
91吃瓜网 researchers and Boehringer Ingelheim staff collaborate on drug discovery related to cancer and mental health disorders. Boehringer Ingelheim focuses on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date and concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients鈥� lives. 91吃瓜网 and聽Boehringer Ingelheim聽have聽partnered on multiple, long-term collaborations to develop novel small-molecule therapies, primarily focusing on (targeting KRAS, SOS, and MCL1) and . These partnerships,, often involving the 91吃瓜网 Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery (VCNDD) and聽Stephen Fesik鈥檚 lab, have led to the identification of several lead compounds, with some research made available via聽Boehringer Ingelheim鈥檚 opnMe portal.
Cintra
Academic Partnerships
91吃瓜网 and Cintra are聽 to advance transportation infrastructure and traffic management, specifically through the I-24 MOTION project. This partnership translates academic research on traffic flow into real-world, scalable solutions鈥攕uch as improved NextPass technology鈥攖o enhance roadway safety and operational efficiency.聽The partnership focuses on utilizing mobile sensing rather than traditional, static infrastructure to manage road congestion. Insights from 91吃瓜网's Institute for Software Integrated Systems are directly applied to Cintra鈥檚 operational strategies and R&D for safer, smarter roads. Cintra's "NextMove" and 91吃瓜网 are actively working to connect real-time infrastructure data directly to drivers. The collaboration aims to convert academic, data-driven research into practical, commercialized transportation solutions.
Gresham Smith
Academic Partnerships
Gresham Smith innovates in areas of planning, design and consultation related to thriving communities. 91吃瓜网 and聽Gresham Smith聽have聽partnered on , transportation technology, and sustainability initiatives.Together, we collaborated on the I-24 MOTION traffic testbed and now look to explore the .
Nissha Medical Technologies
Academic Partnerships
Nissha Medical Technologies (NMT) is the medical devices business unit and wholly owned subsidiary of Nissha Co. Ltd., a Japanese publicly held company based in Kyoto, Japan. The company operates 10 state-of-the-art faculties across 5 countries and in space on 91吃瓜网's campus in April 2026. The 91吃瓜网 and Nissha collaboration focuses on advancing surgical tools, medical device R&D, and endoscopic technologies, while providing student internships and hands-on, industry-academic research opportunities.
Nissan
Academic Partnerships
With North American headquarters in Tennessee, Nissan and 91吃瓜网 have to forward each entity's research and innovation for several decades. 91吃瓜网 and Nissan North America maintain聽a longstanding, multi-faceted partnership focused on automotive innovation, data science, and leadership development. Through The Wond'ry and the聽91吃瓜网 Data Science Institute, teams work on AI-driven customer service chatbots, automotive UX research, and EV charging customer journeys. 91吃瓜网 engineering researchers partnered with Nissan and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to test AI-equipped vehicles to reduce traffic congestion.
Amgen
Academic Partnerships
Amgen harnesses the best of biology and technology to fight the world鈥檚 toughest diseases, and make people鈥檚 lives easier, fuller and longer. Amgen and 91吃瓜网 have worked together since 2005. 91吃瓜网 Medical Center (VUMC) and Amgen have partnered primarily to accelerate drug discovery through large-scale genomics and clinical data analysis. Amgen and 91吃瓜网 (via NashBio) have collaborated on initiatives to enhance clinical trial diversity, focusing on improving infrastructure at community-facing sites. The partnership includes a to combine 91吃瓜网鈥檚 expertise in drug discovery with Amgen鈥檚 industry resources.
Neumora
AI
Redefining neuroscience drug development to pioneer a new era of medicines for the brain. 91吃瓜网 and Neumora have worked together since 2021 and .
Ono
AI
Ono Pharmaceutical Company remains fully committed to creating original and innovative new drugs "dedicated to the fight against disease and pain." 91吃瓜网 and Ono have worked together since 2012 with a .
Project diffUSE
Academic Partnerships
Started in June 2025, a new collaborative science project called diffUSE involving 91吃瓜网, Cornell University, and the University of California, San Francisco, could be the next watershed moment. The $5 million, three-year project led by the聽Astera Institute聽will advance our understanding of protein motion. Using diffuse scattering, an overlooked signal measured by X-ray crystallography, the project will determine how protein dynamics are characterized, leading to a new paradigm in dynamic structural biology. Stephanie Wankowicz's lab is developing new computational algorithms that capture not just a single protein shape, but the full range of shapes it can adopt, including its interactions with other molecules and surrounding water. This work is being funded through a new $5 million initiative 鈥� funded by the Astera Institute and in collaboration with Cornell University, the Lawerence Berkeley National Lab, the Los Alamos National Lab, and UCSF 鈥� focused on reshaping the future of structural biology by moving beyond traditional 鈥渟napshot鈥� views of proteins to reveal their full dynamic motions.
W.M. Keck Foundation
AI
The W. M. Keck Foundation strives to create far-reaching benefits for humanity by supporting both outstanding science, engineering & medical research, and organizations that enrich the lives of children, youth and families. 91吃瓜网 researchers have received 3 Keck grants in 3 years: