From the microbiology lab to Europe’s largest startup fair
Mona Mahmoud is a microbiologist who recently finished her postdoctoral program at the Biology Department of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Having worked on the topic since her doctoral studies, she has now come up with the idea to use the technique of photodynamic activation to heal chronic wounds. During her time at FAU, she participated in the EELISA Tech2Market program organized by Elena Berger, an innovation specialist at UPM in Madrid.
Tech2Market – from Research to Innovation
The program took place from February to May 2026 and focused on supporting around 25 researchers from BME, FAU, ITU, PSL, SSSA and Politehnica Bukarest to understand the business potential of their work and build a compelling business case around their innovations. The goal was to develop their entrepreneurial skills and gain insights into market dynamics, enabling them to transform their innovative research ideas into viable, market-ready solutions within 12 to 24 months. Weekly online workshops covered essential topics, from foundational knowledge and the commercialization process to pitch design and were led by experts from UPM, BME, ZHAW and FAU.
“Tech2Market was actually the first I&E program that I attended. Through the program, I understood that I have to think from the costumer’s side and not just about the technology”, explains Mona. “How to structure a five-minute clear pitch was also very challenging for me as someone from an academic background”. As researchers from different career stages and on different points in their innovation journeys participated, the participants benefited from each other’s challenges and insights.
Over several months the different workshops and individual 1:1 mentorship sessions prepared the participants for the final live demo day in Madrid.
EELISA goes VivaTech
During the final pitch, three teams were awarded tickets to Europe’s biggest innovation fair, held in Paris from June 17 to June 20 – Mona was one of them: “It was a totally new experience for me to be among innovators! Although somehow the skills for entrepreneurs and researchers are the same – we are all trying to attract investment and build collaborations – the drive at VivaTech was more about the impact of the product than the knowledge itself. That was really great!”
Through Université PSL’s first participation at VivaTech, the EELISA start-up founders – Forget LLM from SSSA, K-Now from ITU, Mona with LightHeal from FAU – pitched their work to an audience of nearly 200,000 industry leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers and students.
“After my pitch, I had a really interesting conversation with a business man from Canada, who gave me great advice: not only to search for business partners but also to go for big names in the medical field of chronic wounds to validate my idea and get credibility through their participation,” says Mona.
Université PSL’s stand served to highlight the tech and innovation ecosystem fostered within its institutions, which covers artificial intelligence, computing, health, energy and green tech and showcasing start-ups born from its schools and partners.
Beyond the demonstrations, Anita Kumari, Université PSL Innovation Project Manager, co-led a talk hosted at the stand with Judit Klein, start-up lead at ZOLLHOF Tech Incubator, on “Building Bridges: Scaling Deep Tech Innovation in Europe with the European University EELISA.”
“What has really changed through my innovation journey is that I know think more about the impact of my research – how my knowledge can actually give something back to society and create a benefit.”
The innovation path ahead
Currently, Mona is waiting for the approval of funding from the German Academic Exchange Service in order to start working on her prototype:
“I realized during VivaTech that I need to have a functioning prototype before I can actually attract investors.” With a first prototype in hand, Mona could further develop her idea during the “EELISA Prototype Contest” planned for December 2026 and pitch it to potential investors during the “EELISA Next Level” planned for spring 2027.
“Through EELISA Tech2Market, I now have a great overview of how to translate research into business. Now I need to learn more about funding opportunities, what IP is and how I can navigate it and how I can find partners!”