The ASCEND (Accelerating Solutions for Commercialization and Entrepreneurial Development) Hub is a Regional Technology Transfer Accelerator serving the seven Mountain West IDeA States: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Led by the University of New Mexico (UNM), the Hub is directed by Academic Principal Investigator Dr. Eric Prossnitz.
Through the NIH-funded I-RED West Program, ASCEND 2.0 delivers targeted entrepreneurship training and commercialization tools to help biomedical researchers bring innovations from lab to market. Participants gain essential business skills to successfully commercialize healthcare technologies.
ASCEND strengthens entrepreneurship and the commercialization of basic medical sciences across the Mountain West by providing:
In its second phase of funding, ASCEND is expanding its reach by partnering with the New Mexico Startup Factory as its industrial lead and Rob DelCampo and the UNM Innovation Academy as its educational lead, enhancing its mentoring and training capabilities.
