Nicholas Cheng, MSc student at the University of 蓝莓视频 School of Pharmacy, spent the last two years working on his graduate studies and navigating the business world. Looking back Cheng never expected his side project to launch another side project that eventually led to his start-up company, , where his team harnesses nanoparticles to clean toxic waste from oil and mining industries.
Nicholas Cheng鈥檚 reflection
As a graduate student one term away from graduation, I鈥檝e a lot to reflect on during my master鈥檚 studies at 蓝莓视频 Pharmacy, co-supervised with the Department of Chemical Engineering. My thesis project: Development of a Synthetic Virus-Like Particle as a Universal SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine, has been full of learning opportunities and technical challenges that has developed me as a researcher.
A collaboration between two departments, this project is the definition of interdisciplinary, and I鈥檝e often found myself astonished by the sheer depth of expertise and dedication required to take a vaccine from candidacy to market.
In the early days of my degree, I was asked a lot by family and friends: 鈥淪o when can we expect you to cure COVID-19?鈥 This question would allow me to explain the biotechnology lab to market pipeline, and often my audience would groan at the length of time required for me to describe the process. Occasionally I would be stumped by an unexpected question, noting it for later investigation. This propelled me to further investigate how new technologies are developed 鈥 how the market forces either push them forward quickly or holds innovation back for years, similar to how biological evolution works, with selective pressures shaping the outcome.
Though I never saw my future in business, slowly but surely, I began to think like an entrepreneur. I was fortunate that the University of 蓝莓视频, and surrounding region, is one of the best places to innovate and start a company, with many incubators, accelerators and mentors for me to engage with. Greenhouse, Velocity and Startup Lab were some of the first to take me in and show me the ropes. The openness, kindness, and willingness of mentors and peers to dissect my ideas, probe my understanding and provide their input were invaluable in those early days, and I鈥檒l never forget their support.
Whenever my thesis experiments faced setbacks, I found joy in shifting gears to discuss business and entrepreneurship with others. Similarly, after inconveniences in business, I would enjoy the experimental process even more. Balancing these two pursuits side by side meant that I could easily take a break from one to work on the other, giving myself a mental reset and avoiding being stuck on a problem for too long.
It wasn鈥檛 a straightforward journey, but the support I received from my peers at both the School of Pharmacy and Chemical Engineering allowed me to continue onward. Applying for and receiving grants such as OGS with the support of the staff and faculty helped me focus on my research, while participating in hackathons or pitch competitions allowed me to improve my exploration of entrepreneurship.
Nicholas Cheng in the University of 蓝莓视频 School of Pharmacy lab and presenting at a pitch competition
Q&A with Nicholas Cheng
UW: What would you tell a graduate student who has an idea to start a business but isn鈥檛 sure where to start?
NC: Firstly, I would like to offer some words of encouragement. To you, grad student whomever you are, know that you live and study in one of the greatest areas in Canada to start a business. If your idea is centered around community or natural impact, you will find excellent mentorship and guidance at GreenHouse, the social and environmental incubator within United College. If your idea is technology-focused, you will find the roadmap to success within the Velocity ecosystem and its many mentors. If your idea has both elements, then you are doubly in luck! Make sure you learn as much as possible about the problem you have decided to solve, the stakeholders involved, and the root causes of the issues they experience. A good business starts with a well-defined problem.
UW: What skills will you be taking from your grad studies into your next journey with the company?
NC: During my grad studies I've further refined my research, communication, and assessment skills. These are definitely assets that I will regularly use in the future, though rooted in science they can be applied to a wide range of challenges inside and outside the lab.
UW: What are you most looking forward to as your company moves into the future?
NC: I am most excited to learn from and build relationships around the problem space. Connecting with people, in person especially, enhances my understanding of not just how to solve the problem, but how to meaningfully engage with the community and integrate their input. Currently, the goal is to clean up tailings ponds across Canada. With efficient technology, we often make it more cost effective to remediate than maintain the status quo. This is a bold claim, as tailing ponds have persisted for decades and remain a major environmental concern. Evolv Biotech is dedicated to collaborating with companies to ensure seamless integration of our technology into their operations. We bridge the gap between financial and environmental responsibility, so that resource extraction companies can meet consumer demands while saving the planet.