Sameer Sonkusale, Nikhil Nair Honored at 2025 Inventor Recognition Event

The entrepreneurial spirit of research by Tufts faculty was on full display this week, as faculty were recognized for commercialization milestones of their disclosed inventions, and two School of Engineering professors earned special recognition for the impact of their innovations.

The university's annual celebration recognized university inventors who in fiscal year 2025 had a first issuance of the first U.S. patent on their disclosed inventions and/or the commercial optioning or licensing of their disclosed invention.  At the event, a total of 18 first to issue U.S. patents on a disclosed invention were acknowledged across 20 faculty members, and 15 faculty members were acknowledged for 13 commercial options or licenses.

At the event, Sameer Sonkusale received the Distinguished Innovator of the Year award and Nikhil Nair received the Rising Innovator of the Year award.

The translational research of Sonkusale, professor of electrical and computer engineering, spans biomedical devices, diagnostics, and flexible electronics, and has resulted in over 40 invention disclosures and multiple startup ventures.

Two of his most impactful technologies led to the founding of Anodyne Nanotech, which develops painless microneedle drug delivery systems, and Microvitality, which pioneers ingestible devices for gut microbiome diagnostics. Both of theseventures emerged from collaboration with students in the Tufts M.S. in Innovation and Management program.

In fiscal 2025, Sonkusalesecured a $3 million Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) awardthrough the Sprint for Women's Health Initiative to pioneer quantitative pain measurement technologies and address gender bias in pain treatment, along with a $750,000 Center for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) award to create point-of-care diagnostics for inflammatory biomarkers, further demonstrating his impact on public health and innovation at Tufts. In 2025, he was honored as a National Academy of Inventors senior member.

Nair, an associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, is a pioneer in microbial synthetic and systems biology. He has disclosed eight inventions, resulting in four issued U.S. patents and several pending applications. His innovations have led to the creation of two Tufts spinouts: Enrich Bio, which develops therapeutic enzymes for rare diseases, and Caravel Bio, focused on sustainable biocatalysis using engineered bacterial spores.

Through the years, Nair's research has attracted over $15 million in grant funding, including most recently a $4.5 million contract from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop special microbes that can turn agricultural waste into useful chemicals. He was elected as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventorsin 2025.

Vice Provost for Research Bernard Arulanandam called the Inventor Recognition Event an opportunity to honor faculty who exemplify the highest standards of innovation, entrepreneurship, and institutional service, and who, through their teaching and mentorship, extend their impact across future generations of innovators.

"At the same time that this celebration recognizes individual accomplishments, it also reaffirms our collective commitment to Tufts University's mission: to advance knowledge and generate bold ideas in an interdisciplinary and inclusive ecosystem for public good," said Arulanandam.