Department of Surgery Innovation Fund

Applications for the 2026 - 2027 cycle are currently closed.

The Department of Surgery Innovation Fund provides non-dilutive grant support for faculty- and clinician-led projects advancing toward commercial launch. The program is designed to support Columbia University IP-backed projects with strong near-term commercial potential.

On an annual basis, the fund awards up to $650,000 across selected projects and, to date, has provided more than $2.1 million in support to 20+ projects over four funding cycles. This program is fully funded by the Columbia Department of Surgery. 

Funding Priorities & Eligibility 

  • Projects should be translational in nature with strong commercial potential
  • Funding is intended to de-risk and validate early-stage innovations through prototype development, feasibility studies, workflow pilots, and early clinical or operational validation
  • Advanced translational projects are also eligible for support, including awards for activities such as in vivo validation, regulatory planning, and CRO/CMO engagement
  • Projects and awards are organized around clear, achievable milestones that meaningfully advance partnering, licensing, startup formation, or clinical adoption
  • Projects must be backed by Columbia University intellectual property

The Department of Surgery Innovation Fund portfolio of projects spans AI surgical copilots, organ preservation, next-generation implants, perioperative monitoring, therapeutics, xenotransplantation, and oncology platforms.

Read more about some of the awarded projects below:

Selected Projects

Dr. David Kalfa’s team is creating the first “living” off-the-shelf heart valve capable of growth and repair inside the patient. Their approach uses biochemical and mechanical rehabilitation in a custom bioreactor to preserve donor valve cells and structure, enabling durable, regenerative valve replacements.

Dr. Julia Wattacheril’s project applies a powerful EHR algorithm to automatically identify patients with advanced liver disease who may benefit from bariatric or hepatobiliary surgery. The novelty lies in system-wide, automated detection using rich clinical data to improve early referral and reach patients often missed in standard care.

Dr. Paul Garcia and his startup Lantern Laboratory are developing a next-generation EEG monitor that personalizes anesthetic and pain-medication dosing during surgery. Unlike outdated monitors, it separately tracks sedation and analgesia, adjusts for cognitive age, and guides precise drug titration to reduce postoperative delirium and cognitive decline.

Drs. Makoto Mori and Arnar Geirsson’s team is developing an AI-based co-pilot that recognizes mitral valve anatomy in robotic surgery and links operative video with preoperative imaging. By training the model on Columbia’s high-volume robotic surgery dataset, this work could help surgeons plan repairs, identify critical structures, and deliver more consistent, high-quality mitral valve care.