Melissa Genetti, a doctoral student in Texas Tech University's Department of Animal and Food Sciences, took home second place honors earlier this month during the university's inaugural "Discoveries to Impact Week: A Celebration of Research, Innovation and Startups."

The California native's iLaunch Competition project was titled, "InOut Biome: A non-invasive, non-digestible capsule that can directly sample the fluid in all parts of the digestive tract, including parts of the small intestines (jejunum and ileum) that have never been sampled before." She received a $3,000 award for her project presentation.

Dozens of events were held in early April program that showcased a wide spectrum of research, innovation and business startups, said Taysha Williams, program director at Texas Tech's Innovation Hub at Research Park. The 1,006 registered participants had the opportunity to hear from 375 research presenters representing 12 institutions and four countries. More than $16,000 in prize money was awarded during the competitions.

Separately, the conference featured two entrepreneurial keynote speakers, Genevieve Thiers and Sherwin Greenblatt, along with three panel discussions. Some 222 mentors were engaged in supporting conference's participants and the 351 volunteers who dedicated their time. Events during "Discoveries to Impact Week" were made possible through a new partnership between the Innovation Hub at Research Park, the Center for Transformative Undergraduate Experiences and the Center for Integration of STEM Education & Research.

Sponsorship was provided by:

• Caprock Business Finance Corporation
• Covenant Health
• Dickinson Wright LLP
• Lubbock Economic Development Alliance
• Lubbock National Bank
• McDougal Capital
• Texas Tech College of Arts & Sciences
• Texas Tech Graduate School
• Texas Tech Honors College
• Texas Tech Office of the Provost's Teaching, Learning & Professional Development Center
• Texas Tech's Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion McNair Scholars Program
• Texas Tech's J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts
• Texas Tech's Jerry S. Rawls College of Business, Area of Management

CONTACT: William Brown, Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or william.f.brown@ttu.edu

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