This week, our research group held a highly anticipated meeting to introduce Spermotile to the public. It’s an innovation project poised to disrupt fertility healthcare which has been gathering IP and forming a concrete plan for commercialization for the past 8 years. Female infertility has received extensive attention globally—both in medical research and public discourse—and that has led to a stigma and shame associated with it. This is not a fate that male infertility has shared. There remains a significant gap when it comes to recognizing and addressing male fertility challenges. Our project seeks to address this shortfall by improving how sperm are selected for fertilization, with the ultimate aim of supporting more couples on their journey to parenthood.
The kickoff event brought together a diverse team from programming, AI, business, microscopy data collection, and fertility experts from the University Hospital, each of whom introduced themselves to the other attendees. Many of us have been focused on our own specialized tasks, so this meeting provided the chance to see the bigger picture behind Spermotile and get acquainted with the whole team. It was inspiring to hear how different disciplines will collaborate to drive real progress in a field that has long been overlooked.
The event featured speeches from the heads of the project:
Krishna Agarwal, Ph.D. Professor, 3D Nanoscopy, UiT, Norway. Her role is to lead the Nanoscopy part and project lead.
Dilip Kumar Prasad, Ph.D. Professor, Bio-AI Lab, UiT, Norway. Serial entrepreneur, Kauffman Fellow. Role: Lead developer AI solution.
Lars Sorensen, MBA. Business Developer, Norinnova, Norway. Experience in med-tech start-up. Role: IP and business development.
Mona Nystad, Ph.D. Head of Fertility Clinic, UNN, Norway. Assisted reproduction technology expert. Role: Sperm analysis and grading.
Krishna, the face of Spermotile, was the host. She was commended for her high expectations by Tore Guneriussen, the administrative head of the faculty of science and technology. Tore described Krishna as “demanding” in the best possible way. This clarity and ambition, he explained, has helped support structures rally effectively around the project’s ambitious goals. Asbjørn Lilletun, the CEO of Norinova (UiT technology transfer and innovation arm) expressed excitement and confidence in Spermotile’s potential impact, and there were energetic speeches by the other leaders in the room. Markus Rumpsfeld, the head of the Innovation Center at University Hospital of North Norway UNN emphasized how Spermotile has been able to create new possibilities through collaborations and innovation for societal impact.
Originally conceived in 2017, Spermotile has been steadily building intellectual property and momentum. Now, with dynamic leadership, enthusiastic partners, and a shared mission, we are poised to advance our product to commercialization where they are urgently needed. We look forward to sharing more developments, stay tuned!