Announcing Our 2023 CIC Graduate Winners

Cutting-edge ideas, valuable insights and exciting prizes were found in abundance at this year’s Collegiate Inventors Competition^® (CIC). Our 2023 CIC Finalists came from colleges and universities across the country to compete for cash prizes and patent acceleration by presenting their inventions to Judges including National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductees and United States Patent and Trademark Office officials.

Every year since 1990, CIC has rewarded exceptional student inventors — and this year, Finalists also got to celebrate with us at the National Inventors Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary Induction Ceremony! The competition was held Oct. 24-25 in Washington, D.C., and now we are thrilled to announce this year’s winning inventors.

Congratulations to Our 2023 CIC Graduate Winner!

Our Graduate Winner is Adi Mittal, inventor of Cerebral Aneurysm Test (CAT-7), representing University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine!

This invention enables earlier cerebral aneurysm (CA) diagnoses. A CA, which affects an estimated 6.7 million people in the U.S., can cause neurological problems and can rupture, leading to life-altering or fatal brain bleeds. CA diagnosis can be a long process, current tools are invasive, expensive and potentially toxic, and ruptures often occur before diagnosis or treatment. CAT-7 is the first simple, whole blood-based diagnostic test to detect the formation of a CA, and it is noninvasive, less expensive, more accurate, safer and able to be used earlier in the care process.

As our Graduate Winner, Mittal received a cash prize of $10,000 and a USPTO Patent Acceleration Certificate.

“As an innovator in the healthcare space, the motivation is always the patients. Patients with aneurysms guided my current innovation and will always be my guiding principle with innovation moving forward,” Mittal said. “There is a lot of space to innovate and contribute in meaningful ways in neurosurgery. The concept that a simple idea may have the potential to improve the quality of life of a patient is extremely motivating.”

Congratulations to Our 2023 CIC Graduate Runner-Up!

Representing the University of California, Los Angeles, our Graduate Runner-Up is Amir Nasajpour, the inventor behind Entropic Biosciences, Inc.!

Developing tools for recreating functional human tissues and organs has been a significant challenge in biomedical engineering and healthcare. Entropic Biosciences Inc. has created a bio-inspired rapid sample preparation kit enabling high-throughput culturing of multiple cell types and rapid self-assembly of these cells into 3D self-standing tissue. This technology can be used to develop an array of tissue types from numerous cell sources. It enables the development of functional tissue and cancer models at faster rates than current technologies, accelerating life science research and drug screening in addition to working toward individualized treatments for cancer patients.

As our Graduate Runner-Up, Nasajpour received a $5,000 cash prize and a USPTO Patent Acceleration Certificate to advance his innovative journey.

“I am most proud of being able to spin out inventions from the laboratory into our startup Entropic Biosciences, Inc.,” shared Nasajpour. “I would like to bring innovations to improve and to rescue human society, to provide a better future for upcoming generations.”

Who Are Our 2023 CIC Undergraduate Winners?

Find out who won our Undergraduate competition by checking out our blog, and learn more about CIC by visiting our website.