UW Chemistry Graduate Student Nidhi Mehta Wins 2026 CoMotion Innovator Showcase

University of Washington Chemistry graduate student Nidhi Mehta took top honors at the 2026 CoMotion Innovator Showcase, held Wednesday, October 7, as part of the UW School of Medicine’s annual Inventor of the Year celebration.

Mehta was one of six UW researchers selected to present their innovations in a fast-paced, one-minute lightning round. Attendees also had the opportunity to explore the researchers’ posters, meet the innovators, and vote for their favorite innovation. After the votes were tallied, Mehta was announced as the winner, receiving a $1,000 award from the UW School of Medicine.

Mehta presented Escher Therapeutics, an innovative approach to treating solid tumors using engineered bacteria to deliver immunotherapies directly to tumors.

Many existing cancer immunotherapies face challenges including toxicity to healthy tissues, limited effectiveness, and high costs. Escher Therapeutics aims to address these limitations by engineering bacteria to produce therapeutic proteins directly within tumors, potentially improving treatment safety, effectiveness, and accessibility.

The research combines protein and bacterial engineering to develop bacteria capable of delivering IL-12, a potent immune-activating protein. Early results have demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity in laboratory tumor models.

The project is a collaboration between Mehta and Dr. Jesse Zalatan of the UW Department of Chemistry, and Valentina Chiavarini and Dr. Roger Geiger of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine’s Systems Immunology department.

The CoMotion Innovator Showcase brought together six researchers representing the UW School of Medicine, College of Arts & Sciences, and College of Engineering, highlighting innovations spanning biotechnology, medicine, and engineering. Jennifer McCullar, a CoMotion innovation manager and associate director of life sciences, introduced the lightning round, giving each participant one minute to pitch their innovation.

In addition to Mehta, this year’s participants included:

• Conor Camplisson, Department of Genome Sciences — ColorSpace Bio: Lighting Up the Cells That Matter
• Justin Lee, Departments of Bioengineering, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Pathology — TreDox
• Ryan Nguyen, Department of Medicinal Chemistry — IMFrag
• Felix Schwock, Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bioengineering, and Radiology — BrainVista
• Preetham Venkatesh, Institute for Protein Design and Department of Biochemistry — Valentia Bio

The showcase was held in conjunction with the UW School of Medicine’s 2026 Inventor of the Year Award celebration, which honored Dr. Jeffrey Chamberlain, whose pioneering gene therapy research has been supported by CoMotion.

Congratulations to Nidhi Mehta and her research team, and to all six innovators for demonstrating the breadth of promising research underway at the University of Washington.

Learn more about the ⁠UW School of Medicine Inventor of the Year Award.

Have an innovation you’d like to explore?

CoMotion helps UW researchers explore opportunities to translate their discoveries into real-world impact. Whether you’re ready to submit an innovation or would like to request a consultation to discuss your ideas, our team is here to help. (UW NetID required.)