News | June 2026

Spinouts and startups

AI heart failure screening tool, iHeF, awarded £1.3m. Invented by Dr Nay Aung, iHeF can screen for heart failure from a routine ECG by detecting changes in the heart’s structure and pumping functions. It’s easy to use, so it doesn’t rely on highly specialised staff or hospital equipment. The award from NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) will fund the testing needed to secure regulatory approval so iHeF can be brought into clinical use, possibly as early as 2028.

iHeF is pre-spinout and we’ll soon be looking for a CEO and executive chair. Connect with Dr Ben Golland if this could be you.

ReFleks founder, Dr Suzanne Eldridge, shortlisted for top business prize. The Enterprise Vision Awards is Britain’s biggest celebration of women in business. Dr Suzanne Eldridge is shortlisted for Inspirational Woman of the Year and recently won Queen Mary’s Research and Innovation award for Enterprise and Commercial Innovation (pictured in header image, right). Dr Eldridge is developing a new method for fixing joint damage to prevent future osteoarthritis which is substantially cheaper and easier to administer than even the best of today’s approaches.

ReFleks are raising investment. Connect with Dr Maria Frolova to learn more about this and other BioPharma innovations.

New patents awarded for AeroSolar, CE-Track and EcoBarrier. AeroSolar is a new method to improve manufacturing of perovskite solar panels, expected to generate annual recurring revenue exceeding $100m. CE-Track is a means of locating and tracking a capsule endoscope as it passes through the body to enable fast and accurate diagnosis. EcoBarrier is a new superhydrophobic coating to replace plastic in food and drinks packaging, a growing market predicted to exceed $1tn by 2030.

All are actively looking to work with more early adopters. Connect with Dr Adam Daykin to discuss further.

EcoBarrier, EduGrade AI and Palm Vault join MassChallenge accelerator. Originating at MIT, MassChallenge equips bold entrepreneurs to scale up fast. EcoBarrier Ltd is a new superhydrophobic coating to replace plastic in food and drinks packaging, EduGrade AI Ltd helps educators reduce marking time by up to 60% while delivering faster, fairer, rubric-aligned feedback at scale. PalmVault is a privacy-first biometric authentication platform that lets people access spaces, systems, and services even when offline.

We’ve partnered with MassChallenge UK to offer a new route to impact for our academic, student, and alumni entrepreneurs. Connect with Leah Thompson to learn how we’re supporting entrepreneurship at Queen Mary.

Partner with Queen Mary

Queen Mary science and engineering will be on display at The Advanced Materials Show. Highlights will include lightweight and recyclable composites for the aerospace, automotive and renewable energy sectors, solid-state sodium batteries, new biomaterials for bone and joint replacements, and new biodegradable, recyclable, and multifunctional materials to replace plastic in packaging, textiles, and electronics.

Connect with Dr Joanne Chamberlain to discuss partnering with Queen Mary Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Queen Mary rated Outstanding for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with LIFT Biosciences, Archipelago Technology, and Wise. Just 10% of KTPs get the top rating of Outstanding from Innovate UK. Working together with LIFT BioSciences we developed advanced in vitro cancer models to accelerate translation from lab to patient; with Archipelago Technology Group Ltd we optimised new methods for reliable flawless coatings for paper-based alternatives to plastic packaging; and with Wise we developed advanced machine learning models that predict customer behaviour, enhance data-driven decision-making, improve fraud detection, and support strategic growth.

Learn more about collaborating with Queen Mary.

Student and alumni startups

LucidTrack win Qincubator prize. LucidTrack is a unified system where students can record and track every application from submission to outcome. The data will allow university career departments to see in real time where students are succeeding and struggling, so they can give proactive data-driven support. Qincubator is a rigorous six-month programme to support student entrepreneurs at Queen Mary.

Connect with co-founder Harry Barnish to learn more.

Join us at London Demo Day. The best student start-ups from Queen Mary, UCL, Imperial, Kings, and LSE will be pitching to investors and industry partners this September.

Sign up by 28 August.

Solivus founder awarded honorary doctorate. Queen Mary alumna Jo Parker-Swift BSc, DSc(Hons) is a serial entrepreneur having successfully founded and exited two previous businesses, one of which was sold to a ftse250 company. Her current startup, SOLIVUS, is on a mission to decarbonise the built environment using new light-weight solar technologies.

Follow SOLIVUS to learn more.