With 25 years of research and treatment under his belt, medical oncologist and colorectal cancer specialist Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, knows a lot about translating basic research into patient care. Given that in the U.S. some 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed and more than 50,000 people died of the disease in 2018 alone, he wants to do it faster.

Two researchers are developing a device to stabilize newborns being tested for meningitis. Another two are growing human tissue for post heart-attack repair. Others are focused on solutions aimed at diagnosing or treating diabetes, pulmonary fibrosis and back pain.