How InsiteHub’s NIH-backed platform will inform Delaware scientists

At 13 years old, Newark’s InsiteHub has been a part of the Delaware tech scene for a while now — and now it’s having a major moment.

For years, the company developed one-off products like ConnectHub, which won Best Web/Mobile Product of the year at Delaware’s very first Technical.ly Awards in 2015. Now, the team is focusing on growing an education platform with a mission.

Last week it was announced that InsiteHub had been awarded a three-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, along with sub-award winners the University of Delaware and the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance. The three entities will collaborate on a project called I-RED University, an online education platform aimed at helping scientists and biomedical researchers commercialize innovations through entrepreneurial skills, resources and connections.

John Royer. (Courtesy photo)

“A lot of times, student researchers, people working on their Ph.D.s or even professors, in some cases, have all this great knowledge and they’re super smart and they’re trying to build something new,” InsiteHub CEO John Royer told Technical.ly, “but run [into] problems when it comes to knowing how to commercialize or understanding how to get funding.”

The I-RED online platform will offer on-demand training, coaching sessions and other resources to participants across the Northeast and is geared toward helping small companies get to the next level, Royer said. That includes not just the biomedical entrepreneurs who will be able to bring their products to market, but for companies like InsiteHub — an existing platform with a region-focused goal that includes establishing itself as a company while reimagining what online learning looks like.

“We used to be really ingrained in the tech community in Delaware,” Royer said, noting that the small company had been quiet after selling a previous platform as they looked for a new strategy. “We really want to get back to where we’re a solid contributor around Delaware, creating jobs and growing a business.”