RBIA Innovation Studio’s four-day bootcamp for early-stage founders, taught by serial medtech entrepreneur Bill Walker, opens Biotech Week, Oct. 19–23, which also includes two events open to the public.

Eight teams of life science innovators, developing everything from new drug discovery to wearable medical devices, begin the first Commercialization Academy at RoVa Labs today. The four-day bootcamp, taught by Bill Walker, is run by the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance in the Innovation Studio at RoVa Labs. It opens Biotech Week, Oct. 19–23, at Roanoke’s new biotech incubator, which has signed nine tenants since opening in May. The week also brings two biotech community and educational events that are open to the public: Beer & Biotech on Oct. 21 and a talk by Walker on Oct. 23.

RoVa Labs is a partnership of Carilion Clinic, the City of Roanoke, Virginia Western Community College, Virginia Tech, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance, and it is operated by Scheer Partners, a national operator of life sciences incubators. Together, the partners built RoVa Labs to give the region’s researchers and startups commercial lab space in Roanoke. RoVa Labs also works alongside regional ecosystem partners such as the Roanoke Regional Partnership, which plays a key role in attracting businesses, including biotech companies, to the Roanoke Region.

“Whether it’s a breakthrough cancer drug, a next-generation medical device, or software that revolutionizes our hospital system, we’re building a holistic pathway to success in our region,” said Erin Burcham, CEO of the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance.

Inaugural Commercialization Academy cohort

The Commercialization Academy is a program of RBIA’s Innovation Studio, which leads programming for the biotech community at RoVa Labs. Over four days, participants work with Walker to shape their research into a defined product, and they leave with a roadmap. The Academy is designed to help founders in the region start and grow their companies here, meeting them at the very beginning of the commercialization journey, sometimes before they’ve formed a company or defined a product. It also aims to attract promising founders from across Virginia and beyond to the region. The first cohort brings together 11 life science innovators on eight teams, five of them based in the Roanoke-Blacksburg region:

  • Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech research team (Roanoke and Blacksburg): ultrasound imaging that measures blood flow and tissue changes in the body’s smallest blood vessels
  • CERM Inc. (Newark, Del.): regenerative medicine technologies built on human preadipocyte cells
  • Coleman Health Services (Providence Forge, Va.): a physician-led model that uses AI-assisted analysis to spot early signs of decline in high-risk patients between appointments
  • COMPUGENE LLC (Loudoun County, Va.): a scientific technology platform in development
  • Huginn Sonography (Roanoke): a wearable bladder ultrasound scanner
  • Lytic Biotechnologies (Blacksburg): engineered bacteriophages that let protein drugs now given by injection be taken orally
  • Triptos Veterinary, Inc. (Blacksburg): focused ultrasound as a noninvasive alternative to surgery for companion animals
  • VeriPass, LLC / EquiSira (Fincastle, Va.): secure digital identity and health records for horses

Walker is an inventor and serial entrepreneur who built two medical technology companies, PocketSonics and HemoSonics, both later acquired. From 2016 to 2025 he was the inaugural Mattson Family Director of Entrepreneurship at Duke Engineering. Read more about Walker.

“We could not think of a better leader for this bootcamp than Bill Walker,” said Chip Bobbert, RBIA director of innovation. “Not only has he personally traversed the commercialization gap, he’s built a career out of helping other inventors and researchers do the same.”

A growing tenant community

RoVa Labs has signed nine tenants since opening in May 2026. Tenants have access to private and shared wet and dry lab suites, shared equipment, and furnished team and office space.

Two public events

Both Biotech Week events are cohosted by RBIA’s Innovation Studio. They’re open to the public and designed for the region’s biotech community and anyone curious about the field.

  • Beer & Biotech at RoVa Labs, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 4:30–6:30 p.m. Networking runs from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m., and the talk begins at 5:15 p.m. Spencer Marsh, chief scientific officer and chief operations officer of The Tiny Cargo Company, will give a TED-style talk on how the Roanoke-grown company developed. His story runs from Tiny Cargo’s founding out of the Gourdie Lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and its early days in the RAMP accelerator, through more than $5 million in federal research grants and a seed round led largely by local investors. Beer & Biotech is an RBTC signature event held at RoVa Labs on the third Wednesday of each month. Catering is by Schaals, and parking on-site is free. Register here.
  • Start Up Stories with Bill Walker, Friday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.–noon. The Commercialization Academy instructor closes the week with a talk in the Fralin Commercialization Fellows Project Vital Speaker Series. The series is presented by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and RBTC. Walker will draw on his experience founding three companies around his own inventions, covering what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons he carried forward. The talk is designed for students, faculty, and aspiring innovators. Register here.

About RoVa Labs

RoVa Labs at Carilion Clinic is a 40,000-square-foot biotech incubator at 1030 South Jefferson Street in the Roanoke Innovation Corridor. It opened in May 2026 through a partnership of Carilion Clinic, the City of Roanoke, Virginia Western Community College, Virginia Tech, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance. RoVa Labs is operated by Scheer Partners and was funded by a $15.7 million state award and more than $10 million in regional investment.

About the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance

The Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance (RBIA) is a catalyst for growing the region’s innovation economy, technology and life sciences sectors, and professional communities. Established in 2013, RBIA is the region’s front door for innovators, founders, and funders. Its portfolio includes the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC), the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP), Common Wealth Angels, and Innovation Studio. RBIA has supported 71 tech companies through RAMP since 2017 and has generated $54.9 million in state and federal grants and appropriations for the region. Through Innovation Studio, RBIA leads programming for the biotech community at RoVa Labs, including the Commercialization Academy for early-stage life science entrepreneurs. Learn more at rbia.tech.