As University of Virginia Ph.D. students, Rachelle Turiello and Renna Nouwairi could sense right from the get-go there was something a little different about working in the lab of Department of Chemistry Professor James Landers.

“He was very much about building things that have real-world application,” Nouwairi said, “so there was always this theme and mentality of, ‘Create something that could exist in the real world and can solve a real-world problem.’ It wasn’t just research for the sake of research.”

Still, their eyes were wide open when it came time to commercializing their invention for liquid biopsies. Turiello, who had worked as a crime lab technician for the Baltimore Police Department and as a forensic chemist in DNA analysis for the Prince George County Police, and Nouwairi, who had worked as a high school teacher and in the chemistry department at James Madison University, were well-versed on start-up companies that failed because their founders were scientists with no business backgrounds.

“During the pandemic, we saw lots of technology get spun out into companies, and thought we could do the same,” Turiello said. “But we knew we were scientists – not businesswomen.”

Turiello and Nouwairi realized that in order to commercialize their invention – which improves workflow in the non-invasive blood-based cancer detection process -- they needed help from UVA, as well as from the Charlottesville business community at large.

Fortunately, a revamped and more-robust-than-ever ecosystem, which is now called UVA Innovates, was at their disposal.

Today, Turiello and Nouwairi’s company, Avant Genomics, is one of the hottest start-ups in Charlottesville.

Recently, Avant Genomics was one of seven companies selected from more than 1,000 to participate in the Titletown Tech Startup Combine in Green Bay.

In August, the company will move out of its UVA lab to become one of the first tenants in the new Commonwealth Bio Accelerator at North Fork Research Park in Charlottesville.

“Rachelle and Renna are a shining example of the things you can accomplish as both a scientist and entrepreneur if you take advantage of all the available resources,” UVA Licensing & Ventures Executive Director Richard W. Chylla said.

Turiello and Nouwairi’s entrepreneurial journey began in “Ph.D.+” courses run by UVA Associate Vice Provost Phil Trella..

Next, they interned at the Licensing & Ventures Group, the University’s tech transfer office on Preston Ave. that helps patent inventions, license technology and, in some cases, invests via UVA’s Seed Fund. Simultaneously, Turiello and Nouwairi served as student members of Cav Angels under the guidance of Managing Director Rich Diemer.

“That was wonderful because not only did we get to see how people from different fields made their pitches, but we also got to learn about the diligence side of it,” said Nouwairi, referring to the practice of investigating facts or details about a company prior to making an investment.

“And we got to see how the investors responded to the pitches – who gets them excited,” Turiello added. “We learned what the good balance is between scientific data and marketing information.”

From there, the founders joined LVG’s I-Corps program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and run by Robert Creeden and Matt Rannals of LVG’s University of Virginia Seed Fund.

“Bob and Matt were huge,” Turiello said. “They provided us a ton of guidance and made us work very hard to come out with a better idea and better product.”

Recognizing the potential Avant Genomics was discovering through the program, Creeden and Rannals directed a translational investment from the Seed Fund into the work being done at UVA, an investment that was subsequently matched by the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation.

While all this was happening and they were still working on their Ph.D. dissertations, Turiello and Nouwairi connected with Nikki Hastings from Cville BioHub. That led to their invitation to join the Commonwealth Bio Accelerator.

Turiello and Nouwairi said they also received tremendous support from biomedical engineering professor David Chen, the founding director of the UVA-Coulter Translational Partnership, as well as Dr. Christopher A. Moskaluk from the UVA Cancer Center.

In 2023, the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center established the AIF and committed $1 million annually to support innovative, entrepreneurial cancer-relevant biomedical research projects with commercialization potential.

Moskaluk, the chair of pathology in the School of Medicine, is optimistic that Avant Genomics can make a difference.

“The successful implementation of their technology promises to lower the cancer burden by identifying more cancers earlier on in their disease course,” Moskaluk said.

Even now, Turiello and Nouwairi are still taking advantage of all the University’s resources via LVG’s new Enterprise Studio, which is located in a space adjacent to LVG and next door to Kardinal Hall. Run by former tech executive Lisa Bowers, the Studio exists to support faculty, research staff and graduate student researchers who are considering commercializing their UVA-based ideas and inventions.

Darden School of Business Professor Michael Lenox. who serves as a special advisor to the provost for UVA Innovates, admits there was a time at UVA when the work of Turiello and Nouwairi may have not been able to make it out of the lab.

“We are building a robust ecosystem of support for researchers looking to take their discoveries out of the lab and into the world,” Lenox said.