Creation and innovation: Graduate students participate in Sprout and Spark programs

July 7, 2026

Abigail Arnold | Office of Graduate Affairs

When Brandeis students come up with exciting ideas, the Office of Innovation is there to give them opportunities to make them concrete. Through the Sprout and Spark programs, Brandeis community members can develop and pitch ideas for projects and receive funding that helps bring them to fruition. Sprout funds scientific research with strong potential for commercial and social impact, while Spark funds technological, social, and business research with start-up applications. The Office of Graduate Affairs talked to two students who recently participated in these programs, who shared their projects, what they learned from the experience, and their suggestions for other participants.

Nicole Kopetz, Chemistry PhD Student and Sprout Grantee

Chemistry PhD student Nicole Kopetz received a Sprout grant in 2025 for a project aimed at identifying a novel tuberculosis inhibitor, which she worked on as part of her research in the Lizbeth Hedstrom lab. "My thesis project is characterizing a novel drug target, and I wanted to find an inhibitor for PanG, the enzyme I study, which could potentially serve as a TB inhibitor," she said. As part of this project, she wanted to run a DNA-encoded library screen, which would involve running many different DNA-tagged compounds against PanG to see which stuck and might have the potential to be the inhibitor. Since this process cost about $10,000, she applied to Sprout for funding of the project, pitching its potential for developing new ways to treat TB. While Kopetz led the proposal process, she said that Hedstrom was a huge help to her in developing the project.

Photo Credit: Dan Holmes

Kopetz enjoyed approaching her research from a new angle with the Sprout proposal process. Following an initial information session, she completed a written proposal, focusing on what she would do if she received the funding and how she would complete the project within a one-year time frame, as well as a logistics document, explaining who was on the team and how they would handle the money. "The bulk of the process is the pitch," she said - a fifteen-minute presentation in which she stood in front of a panel of industry professionals and explained the project and its social and financial impact. "I did research into the market, unmet needs, and how it could be commercially beneficial to investors," she said. "I looked at the return on investment in the long run, which is something we don't normally consider as grad students, so it was interesting to do that and learn a little more." The Brandeis Office of Technology Licensing, which handles patents, provided support in thinking through that lens, and Kopetz also had the opportunity to do a practice pitch for an industry professional and receive feedback, particularly on the business side of her work.

Kopetz found studying the commercial applications of her idea a great way to expand her knowledge and experience. "Most of the presentations we do as grad students are solely science-based," she said. "For example, I had to propose a project as part of my qualifying exam, and that was all about its scientific significance and the knowledge gap I would fill through it. That was still necessary for Sprout, but a large part of it was the commercial and economic aspect." Kopetz read global market reports, looked at the geography of where most people with TB live, and considered how manufacturers would get drugs to them. "I think this was extremely valuable as someone who wants to go into industry, seeing how people think about what projects are worth pursuing and real world application," she said.

With her Sprout funding, Kopetz was able to complete her DNA-encoded library screen and find and test five compounds that bind to PanG. She confirmed that four of the five can inhibit it and could potentially have a therapeutic effect. Besides the help it gave her in her project, Kopetz praised the opportunities Sprout gave her to learn more about the career path she was interested in. "A huge part of this for me was being able to speak to people in industry and get a sense of how they think about these problems," she said. "Even during my pitch, we had some back and forth, and people on the panel had points of view I never would have considered from working in the lab. Seeing how they approached the problem helped solidify that industry is the environment I want to be in, and their feedback was helpful for considering which skills I need to grow." To potential Sprout participants, Kopetz said, "Applying, even if you don't get the funding, is a great experience - although the funding is a great benefit, so work hard and have that be the goal! But the exposure to others was an equally great benefit."

Hui Wen, Anthropology PhD Student and Spark Participant

Anthropology PhD student Hui Wen participated in the 2026 Spark program, pitching an app called Get Together. "It's a social app to help people connect by doing things together," she said. "For example, if you want to go to an event or try a new restaurant but don't have anyone to go with, you can post a plan and be matched with someone else who is interested in doing similar things. You can also respond to others' posts if you are too shy to post yourself. The ultimate goal is to build more human connection, and we hope to make it easier for people to meet other like-minded people, have fun offline, and feel less isolated." Wen was inspired by her own experiences when she first came to Brandeis as an international student and did not yet have a social network in the area; she felt shy attending activities alone and wanted a buddy. With her partner, who is a software engineer, she discussed this issue and came up with the idea of the app; he works on the technology while she works on the user experience. "Last December, I read the Spark flyer in the library and thought, 'Why not try?'" she said. "I'm graduating soon, and I wanted to have this new experience."

Like Sprout, Spark centers on a pitch. "The pitch process was very intensive," said Wen. "I was super nervous because I really wanted to win - I haven't been so nervous for a long time! I had to go first, but once I was onstage I calmed down. Each team was grilled by the judges because they really wanted to understand the projects and bring out the potential pitfalls." The teams worked alongside each other in the development process leading up to the pitch, and Wen enjoyed seeing the way all the projects evolved. "I think we did our best, and it was really competitive!" she said. "Even though we didn't get selected, we got useful feedback. For example, we need to think about monetization; while I wasn't as interested in profit, Spark encourages a business point of view. Another thing we needed to focus on was demonstrating the project's traction."

Wen also enjoyed learning new business skills during the development process and participating in the trainings on business design led by Office of Innovation staff members Christina Inge and Fern Shamis. "I really learned a lot, and every training was a new experience," she said. "They trained us to be early stage funders, build a business plan, and identify users and markets. I learned about a lot of new resources and opportunities in Boston, which was very valuable. We also had marketers and entrepreneurs come and share their experiences and practical knowledge." She combined these new skills with her existing experience in participant observations and interviews from her anthropological training. "The experience pushed me to think about how to translate these skills into concrete product design," she said. Wen also worked to change the angle from which she presented. "In academia, I've given many presentations, but in my field, we are encouraged to keep a certain distance from our work and stay analytical," she said. "In the business world, passion is definitely important. You have to show conviction, urgency, and even a bit of aggressiveness. I think I maybe had too much scholarly calm!"

Wen felt that her experience with Spark would be helpful no matter what career path she chooses to pursue after the PhD. "If I apply for non-academic jobs, I now have a concrete start-up project to talk about on my resume," she said, "and if I stay in academia, this experience makes me appreciate my training in a new way and think about how to translate my skills into different contexts." To potential Spark participants, she said, "The most important thing is to definitely try if you are interested - it will be a very valuable experience." She especially encouraged women to participate, noting that only three of the ten groups participating this year had women leading the project. "On the practical side," said Wen, "if possible, build your project before the pitch so you can demonstrate it has traction. Connecting with people is important: look for help from those running the program and the other participants. This is a good opportunity to build your own project and try it, even if you make mistakes or don't get the funding; there are so many people willing to help and share resources."