Business Incubator

Abel manages our Trailblazer Accelerator program and provides venture analyst support for tech startup clients and entrepreneurs as they progress through our curriculum and seek to raise venture capital.

Prior to joining JumpStart, he worked as part of the Business Development and Licensing Team at Cleveland Clinic Innovations. He was integrally involved in the production of marketing collateral and the planning and execution of supportive projects across therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health innovations.

Abel holds a B.S. degree in Biology as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo. During his time at the University of Toledo, he also conducted research through the Department of Biological Sciences related to cancer metastases and cytoskeletal dynamics.

Mikayla Coen is a Senior Specialist Embedded Software Engineer at L3Harris with extensive experience applying software engineering to manufacturing and defense systems. She works on transport services and embedded software technologies while advocating for stronger data modeling and development standards. Her current work includes a technology refresh for a subcomponent of the F-15 fighter jet. Mikayla has also contributed to American Rheinmetall's XM30 program, which is developing a replacement for the United States Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

At LightGuide, a Michigan-based projected augmented reality company, Mikayla helped launch its European branch and managed international sales and system installations. She deployed LightGuide technology at facilities operated by John Deere and Harley-Davidson, as well as major automotive and aerospace manufacturers throughout the United States. She also sold systems in the United Kingdom, Czechia, Italy, Brazil and India.

Mikayla is also a named inventor on several patents involving homography algorithms and calibration methods that align projected instructions with complex or irregular manufacturing surfaces. Several emerging-technology demonstrations she helped develop were also presented at the Consumer Electronics Show. Her broader startup experience includes Livio, an automotive software company that was acquired by Ford Motor Company, reflecting her interest in helping emerging companies scale and remaining involved through major transitions.

Mikayla's undergraduate thesis applied software development to the needs of volunteer search-and-rescue organizations through an open-source system designed to improve information sharing and coordination. Although budget limitations prevented the California Rescue Dog Association from implementing the complete system, Mikayla’s research identified operational bottlenecks and informed the organization’s later investment in an outside technology solution. She has also taught classes at search-and-rescue conferences and completed an exploratory research program at Carnegie Mellon University focused on accessibility technology for older adults.

Anthony Gillespie is a Director, Strategic and Technology-Based Partnerships and Technology Transfer Office at Parallax Advanced Research. He is responsible for managing several of Parallax’s strategic and technology-based programs and their technology transfer office. He has over thirty years of experience as an entrepreneur, program manager in government and university tech transfer, and consultant managing technology projects across a variety of sectors.

He is also founder and President of Keen Point Consulting, LLC (KPC), a minority-owned, small business firm established in 2015 that offers technology-led strategic consulting and implementation services. Prior to forming KPC, he worked in the technology transfer office at Carnegie Mellon University, managed the business operations of Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice focusing on the design and implementation of technology-based economic development and commercialization programs throughout the United States, and worked in technical roles in the electric power and financial services industries for American Electric Power (AEP) and The PNC Financial Services Group.

He holds a B.E.E. in electrical engineering from The University of Dayton and dual degrees from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management with an MBA specializing in entrepreneurship and an MS in Management of Information Systems (MS-MIS).

Katherine Pollard is an Associate Director of Licensing with a focus on commercializing medical device technologies developed at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining Innovation Partnerships, she served as an Associate Director of Venture Development and Senior Licensing Associate at the University of Toledo. Prior to joining Technology Transfer, she was a Senior Research Technologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Katherine is an active AUTM member and Treasurer of the AUTM Foundation.

Katherine earned her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Kent State University and her Master’s in Business Administration from Cleveland State University.

Dr. Aniruddha Ray is the founder of VisioCell and an Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Toledo. He holds degrees in physics from IIT Kharagpur and the University of Michigan, with postdoctoral research at UCLA and international experience at leading institutions including the Max Planck Institute in Germany and NIST in the U.S. With more than 100 publications, patents, and invited talks, his work spans biophysics, optics, and imaging technologies.

Dr. Ray’s research, supported by NIH, NSF, and NIST, has laid the foundation for VisioCell’s breakthrough handheld microscope, making advanced imaging accessible in both clinical and research settings.