Denis Tamiev, a Ph.D. candidate in biochemistry in Professor Nigel Reuel's (CB&E) research group, advanced to the semifinals held on August 16 of the Iowa State University pitch-offs at the Iowa State Fair. While he did not make it to the finals, he is "very grateful for this opportunity to share information about the projects that I am working on. In addition, I am also very grateful for all of the support that I have received from my mentors and people who helped me along the way".  Denis participated in CYstarters this summer and his team's final presentation was selected as one of the best pitches and recognized with a $1,000 gift. In addition, his team joined more than 150 Iowa State University entrepreneurs competing in the pitch-offs at the Iowa State Fair during the first eight days of the fair.  ISU President Wendy Wintersteen and senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert presented to those who won awards during a ceremony on August 18 at the ISU exhibit.

Denis’ Cystarter team (below) included two mentors, John LaMarche, who specializes in finance and has been a part of VentureIowa for a long time; and Scott Cogdill, who specializes in business development and sales, and Paige Furman, a rising sophomore in Biochemistry, who Denis recruited as part of the team to work on data acquisition and analysis. Denis' company, Curiosity (@SoilCuriosity), creates artificial intelligence solutions within microscopy to improve cellular counting and classification in healthcare.  His Cystarter experience will lead to a publication and will also become a chapter in his Ph.D. thesis.  In addition to pursuing his Ph.D. in biochemistry, Denis is also in the graduate certificate program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.