PHILADELPHIA, PA – (May 21, 2025) – The Science Center has selected five entrepreneurs for the 2025-26 cohort of its Founders Fellowship. The 12-month Fellowship provides hands-on startup experience for life sciences entrepreneurs interested in transforming ideas into viable business ventures.
Backed by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI) program, the Fellowship provides vital support for entrepreneurs tackling challenges related to aging populations. Additional funding and resources are provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and CIC Labs + Innovation Campus.
The 2025-2026 Founders Fellows include:
Grace Akinyele
Grace is developing a bioengineered platform to preserve mitochondrial viability and function for extended periods outside living organisms. Her platform will enable the use of frozen mitochondrial samples, addressing current limitations in studying mitochondrial dysfunction. This approach supports more practical and scalable research into Alzheimer’s disease, where defects in mitochondrial function play a central role. Grace is completing her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Top Charoensombut
Top engineers MENiscus Decellularized (MEND) scaffold to restore damaged meniscus tissue — a symptom that often leads to osteoarthritis and ultimately necessitates knee replacement. He is developing this technology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Tuhin Das
Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents a significant burden on healthcare systems and individual well-being. Leveraging big data analysis utilizing an AI/ML platform, TYSPAR Tx has identified a unique set of biomarkers in the brains of AD patients. Tuhin will look to develop and validate the promising gene panel into a robust and clinically relevant diagnostic assay. He is a Scientist and Adjunct professor at Temple University and received his Ph.D. from Calcutta University, India.
Josh Freedman
Josh is developing a digital version of the therapeutic (incentive) spirometers commonly used after surgery to help prevent postoperative pneumonia. His device is designed to coach patients through their exercises with live feedback and encouragement, remind them when to do their exercises, and enable nurses to track their patients and intervene when necessary. Josh has Bachelor's and Master’s Degrees in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Tam
The current process of creating a trusted medication history across care settings is error-prone and time-consuming, leading to significant inefficiencies and patient harm. Thomas is developing AI-powered medication guardrails to improve care quality, productivity, and reimbursement. Thomas is a Health AI researcher at University of Pittsburgh and has a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. His entrepreneurial enterprise has been advised through CMU's Project Olympus Incubator Program and Jewish Healthcare Foundation’s Patient Safety Fellowship.
“The Founders Fellowship continues to be a critical on-ramp for emerging entrepreneurs who want to translate their innovations into real-world impact,” said Tiffany Wilson, President and CEO of the Science Center. “We’re proud to help these founders gain the entrepreneurial skills, industry insights, and network they need to advance their solutions and build ventures that can improve lives.”
The fellowship is a yearlong program which includes both in-classroom learning, as well as virtual learning sessions culminating in a capstone project. The curriculum is divided into two phases: Immersive Learning and Active Building. The first six months emphasize aging and longevity, covering topics such as dementia, chronic disease management, and digital payment systems. The latter six months focus on technology translation and commercialization, including market assessment, IP protection, and raising capital. Throughout the program, Fellows engage with the Science Center’s network of subject matter experts. Each Fellow is paired with an entrepreneurial mentor and a mentor specializing in aging and longevity. By the completion of the Fellowship, the Fellows will have moved from the critical steps of ideation to customer discovery, to determination of next steps for their product or idea.
Each fellow will receive a $50k stipend for the 12-month program and access to lab space at CIC Labs + Innovation Campus.
This will be the fourth cohort of the Founders Fellowship, which launched in 2022 and has supported 12 entrepreneurs.
About the Science Center
The Science Center is Philadelphia’s premier catalyst of entrepreneurial activity, healthcare innovation, and economic growth. Established in 1963, the nonprofit has been recognized by The Brookings Institution as a best-in-class investor, mentor, and economic development partner for young technology companies. Working alongside industry partners and leading research and academic institutions across the globe, the Science Center has supported hundreds of early-stage companies that have a combined $7.8B annual economic impact on Greater Philadelphia. Today, the organization advances healthcare innovation from idea to the marketplace through best-in-class startup acceleration initiatives for companies around the globe and nationally recognized STEM education curricula for Philadelphia youth. For more information, visit sciencecenter.org.
