Vanderbilt startup BioNanovations gets accelerated
As a graduate student in professor Todd Giorgio‘s biomedical engineering laboratory, Charleson Bell played a central role in developing a novel nanotechnology system that can detect bacterial inflections within a matter of minutes, compared to current tests that take several days to complete.
It was innovative and promising enough that Vanderbilt has applied for a patent. Being of an entrepreneurial bent, Bell convinced Giorgio that they should also found a company to turn it into a commercial product. As a result, while still studying for his Ph.D., Bell became the president of the startup, which they named BioNanovations.
In his role as president, Bell is currently in Silicon Valley attending a 12-week program called the NewME Accelerator designed to “educate, accelerate and empower underrepresented tech entrepeneurs.”