TXST computer scientist wins BioNTX Tech Transfer Showcase for novel laser treatment technology

Aniruddha Bora, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Texas State University, won the 2026 Tech Transfer Showcase at BioNTX’s iC³ Life Science and Healthcare Innovation Summit. His winning idea, Noema-Laser, is an early-stage health technology that will harness AI to improve laser-based skin cancer treatment and other dermatological procedures.

The showcase gives university researchers in Texas a chance to pitch early stage health and life science innovations. Presenters from three universities competed at the 2026 summit before industry leaders, investors and potential partners.

Noema-Laser targets a critical challenge in skin cancer care. One standard treatment is Mohs surgery, a precise procedure that removes skin cancer one layer at a time. In many Texas counties, patients must travel long distances to reach a doctor trained in this specialized surgery.

Laser treatment is not a standard option for skin cancer because controlling the heat delivered to a tumor is challenging. Noema-Laser uses physics-informed reinforcement learning, an artificial intelligence approach that combines the known physics of how heat moves through tissue with measurements of the tissue’s temperature. The software would adjust laser power as conditions change to target skin lesions while limiting damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Bora is advancing the technology from computer simulations toward an early benchtop prototype using tissue-mimicking models, with further validation planned using skin tissue outside the body. He is also seeking clinical collaborators to help guide the next phase of experimental validation and commercialization.  

At TXST, early guidance from Office of Innovation, Commercialization & Engagement staff encouraged Bora to protect promising ideas with patents and consider commercial paths. The university’s BobCatalyst initiative, led by Matt Sorenson, Ph.D., also prepared Bora to explore who could use the technology and whether it could meet a real need.

“We have a great understanding of the science, but I am still learning the other side so I can take work from my lab into something useful for the public,” Bora said.

Last fall, Carolyn T. Chang, Ph.D., director of the Bioscience Education and Training Research Programs at TXST’s Translational Health Research Center, introduced Bora to the Nucleate Texas Activator, an equity-free accelerator program. At the statewide final May 29, the Noema-Laser team won the Popular Choice Award.

That early recognition propelled the Noema-Laser team to the BioNTX showcase, where industry mentor James Wang helped Bora prepare for the competition.

The progression from campus to Nucleate and BioNTX shows how a connected support system can move faculty research toward a successful startup venture. It brings student talent, mentorship, research support and industry relationships together around ideas that could create public benefit.

“I do not want to keep research restricted to academia,” Bora said. “I want it to be used by people.”