Building the Bridge from Lab to Market: Inside Ohio State's RAPTIC Program
COLUMBUS, Ohio - On August 31, 2026, a group of Ohio State researchers stood up in EAIC 130 and pitched their ideas for RAPTIC's very first pitch competition, and after a series of strong pitches, the judges selected three winners. The pitch competition was a first for RAPTIC, the Research Accelerator Program to Translate, Innovate, and Commercialize, but the work behind it has been building for years.
RAPTIC helps Ohio State faculty turn their health and medical research into real-world products and technologies. Through a year-long cohort program, it offers the coaching, training, and connections researchers need to move an idea from the lab toward patents and the market. The program runs in three phases, so it can meet a faculty member at the earliest spark of an idea or well down the road toward a finished product.
RAPTIC began with a gap its founder experienced firsthand. Kristy Townsend, a professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery and founder of RAPTIC, shared how a research need ultimately led to the organization’s creation in 2022. At her previous university, Professor Townsend was working with engineering colleagues to develop a medical device required for their research. Their work focused on how to functionally measure nerve electrical activity through the skin in preclinical models because reviewers increasingly requested this data in their papers and grant applications. They knew they needed to build something to address the problem, but this endeavor was purely an idea based around a research need. They weren't thinking at all that it might have clinical applications or considering that the technology could become intellectual property.
In reflecting on her journey, Professor Townsend noted, "that experience personally made me realize how many people are probably in my situation, and especially at Ohio State; we're huge, right?" According to Ohio State, the College of Medicine alone has more than 2,600 faculty, and researchers in the health and medical space work across roughly 11 colleges. Unfortunately, until recently, university researchers did not explicitly think about engaging in technology commercialization efforts. Townsend built RAPTIC to change that.
The program’s thesis becomes clearer as you understand the people it reaches. Townsend points to an emergency medicine physician who joined RAPTIC after building a virtual reality training module for clinicians on his own. Although the physician was innovative, he did not have a roadmap to guide him through the commercialization process. He was not familiar with where to go on campus to learn whether he held intellectual property, how to fund his work, or how to speak the language of commercialization. Townsend is still impacted by the physician’s reaction to discovering the RAPTIC program. When she introduced him to RAPTIC, the physician exclaimed, "This is all the information and resources I was looking for and couldn't find. And here it is, wrapped in one place."
RAPTIC delivers that support through two main pathways: trained research coaches work alongside faculty throughout the commercialization process, offering steady guidance and accountability rather than a lecture; and monthly learning sessions – most of which are open to the public - dive into the mechanics of innovation, including intellectual property, customer discovery, and funding.
Since 2022, the RAPTIC program has been an integral force in a growing innovation and technology commercialization ecosystem at Ohio State. In 2025, RAPTIC expanded from a College of Medicine initiative into a campus-wide program with new partners, including the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge (ERIK), Wexner Medical Center, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). It now serves investigators across multiple disciplines and colleges at both Ohio State and Nationwide Children's Hospital. Ali Hinkle, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications for CTSI, described the kind of opportunities this network provides. According to Hinkle, “[RAPTIC] brings together the investigators with the programs, the resources, and the partners that may have not otherwise crossed paths."
Connection is the thread running through the entire ecosystem. When asked what she wishes more people understood about RAPTIC, Townsend did not reflect on the importance of patents or funding. Instead, she emphasized the people behind commercialization. "It's very, very challenging to do this in isolation, to do it on your own," Townsend said. "You really need a community and ecosystem around you to support the innovation process."
That belief is central to the Ohio State Early Investor Network (OSEIN): people do their best work when they have the right community around them. RAPTIC is a powerful example of that premise from the research side. It helps faculty recognize that their research discoveries can become something more, then surrounds them with the coaches and ecosystem partners to carry the work forward.
The first RAPTIC pitch competition was a snapshot of that conviction in action: a room full of Buckeyes, ideas moving beyond the walls of the lab, and a growing network of innovators ready to help move their ideas forward. It was a reminder that Ohio State's innovation ecosystem is not a plan for someday. It is already here, and it continues to grow stronger.
About OSEIN
The Ohio State Early Investor Network is a membership-funded network developed by The Ohio State University Alumni Association and the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge to support innovation work within Ohio State, as well as engage the more than 600,000 alumni around the world. OSEIN seeks to foster an entrepreneurial relationship between Ohio State-related investors and entrepreneurs and provide access to investment opportunities and outside capital.