As urban tree shade shrinks, mortality rises
August 5, 2026
The Querrey InQbation Lab (The Q) at Northwestern University has reached a significant milestone, becoming home to 25 resident companies commercializing Northwestern breakthroughs in just three and a half years. The achievement reflects the continued growth of Northwestern’s innovation ecosystem and The Q’s role in helping science- and engineering-based startups launch and grow in Illinois.
The newest resident companies, Atrellx and Amino Cosmetic Peptides, are advancing high-potential discoveries toward commercialization while creating opportunities for growth and local job creation.
They join more than 100 active startup companies based on Northwestern intellectual property that collectively employ more than 1,200 people, underscoring the strength of the University’s innovation ecosystem.
“The Q plays a critical role in our University ecosystem by providing specialized laboratory space, shared equipment and an entrepreneurial community that enables the most promising science- and engineering-based ventures to transition from University research into scalable businesses,” said Sonia Kim, executive director of the Querrey InQbation Lab.
“DCEO (Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) was proud to support the launch of The Q and the companies leveraging research to improve lives while strengthening Illinois’ economy,” said Kristin Richards, director of DCEO. “Reaching 25 resident companies in just over three years shows how strategic investments can help innovative companies start, grow and create jobs right here in Illinois.”
Two new science-driven ventures join the community
Atrellx has developed an advanced microphysiological system (MPS) platform based on the pioneering research of former Northwestern faculty member Teresa K. Woodruff and current Northwestern faculty member Julie Kim, and is led by entrepreneur and Northwestern alum Bob Cook. Connecting cells and tissue using microfluidics in a dish, the platform creates an unprecedented mimic of organs connected through blood vessels in the body. The device is poised to transform drug development, accelerate advances in women’s health and enable more personalized medicine by improving researchers’ ability to predict the safety and effectiveness of new therapies before they reach clinical trials.
Amino Cosmetic Peptides is commercializing a regenerative peptide technology based on the research of Northwestern faculty member Samuel I. Stupp, and is led by Q Entrepreneurial Fellow Doruk Cezan. The company’s proprietary peptide system signals skin cells to produce collagen and elastin at levels not previously achieved in the skincare industry, opening new possibilities for scientifically validated regenerative skincare products.
The two companies join a growing community of science-driven ventures at The Q, including Coral Innovations, HIDENN-AI, Melanyze, Rhaeos, Syenex, Volexion, NylaNova and many others in biotechnology, data, advanced materials, energy and other high-impact fields.
As The Q’s resident companies mature, many are demonstrating how the combination of specialized laboratory infrastructure, entrepreneurial support and industry connections can accelerate the path from university discovery to commercial success.
Syenex, a biotechnology company providing genetic medicine developers with access to best-in-class targeted delivery technologies, collaborates with a broad array of industry partners while continuously advancing its platform technologies. The company, co-founded by Northwestern faculty member Josh Leonard, has leveraged The Q’s laboratory space and shared scientific resources to rapidly grow its operations.
“The Q has been incredibly enabling for Syenex,” Leonard said. “Having immediate access to purpose-built laboratory space, shared equipment and a vibrant community of fellow entrepreneurs allowed us to focus our resources on advancing our technology and building partnerships, rather than focusing on the significant overhead of establishing laboratory infrastructure.”
Another company gaining momentum is NylaNova, which emerged from work by Northwestern faculty members Tobin Marks and Yosi Kratish to address one of the plastics industry’s most persistent recycling challenges. The company has developed a process that converts mixed nylon-6 waste, material that would typically be landfilled or incinerated because it is too difficult and expensive to sort, back into virgin-quality caprolactam — nylon-6’s monomer — without presorting. The recovered monomer can be fed directly into existing manufacturing processes without requiring producers to retool their facilities. The company recently completed successful ton-scale demonstrations of the technology, marking an important milestone toward commercialization.
“The Q gave us more than laboratory space. It provided an environment where we could rapidly translate breakthrough research into a company,” said Kratish, co-founder and now CTO of NylaNova, who spent a year as an entrepreneurial fellow at The Q. “Being surrounded by experienced entrepreneurs, mentors and fellow founders created an ecosystem that accelerated both our technology development and our growth as a startup.”
Since opening, the Querrey InQbation Lab has become a catalyst for transforming University discoveries into high-growth companies by providing entrepreneurs with fully equipped laboratory facilities, shared scientific infrastructure, business support and connections to investors and industry partners. The model helps startups remain and grow in Illinois during their critical early stages, strengthening the state’s innovation economy while creating long-term jobs, investment and societal impact.
