The Skandalaris Center is excited to announce six finalists for the 2025 Global Impact Award. The Global Impact Award was founded in 2013 to support the vision and passion of Washington University in St. Louis students, postdoctoral researchers, and recent alumni who are creating ventures that are scalable, sustainable, for-profit and quick-to-market with proof of concept for a broad impact. Up to $75,000 is available to these finalist teams thanks to the generous support from Suren Dutia and Jas Grewal.
“We were impressed to see so many diverse industries represented in our applicant pool this cycle, all of which are having a societal impact and looking to scale,” said Cyril Loum, Venture Development Manager. “I am excited for these six ventures as they continue their path towards the finals, receiving mentorship and guidance along the way. The Skandalaris Center is here to support them during the program, but we look forward to how we can continue to help them grow long after the competition concludes.”
2025 Global Impact Award Finalists:
Allumin8
Alyssa Huffman (MBA ’21)
Allumin8 offers a 3D printed, porous pedicle screw with cannulated shaft to utilize stem cells or therapeutics to reduce global revision rates for spinal fusion surgery.
ASL Aspire
Mona Jawad (PhD ’27)
ASL Aspire is an online educational platform that increases STEM literacy to K-12 deaf and hard of hearing students and their teachers through games.
Lux & Nyx
Lisa Hu (MBA ’17)
Lux & Nyx empowers women in the workforce with thoughtfully designed, stylish bags that support them at every stage of their careers, equipping them to feel confident, capable, and prepared for any challenge.
Sobriety Hub
Clay Canfield (BU ’23)
Sobriety Hub is a recovery residence management software setting a new standard by providing an intuitive solution built from the ground up for sober living owners, operators, and managers.
Top Tutors For Us
Angelica Harris (BU ’21, EN ’21, SI ’22)
Top Tutors for Us is an edtech platform customized for Black students to help close the racial testing gap.
WattShift
Will Blanchard (EN ’18)
WattShift optimizes smart energy devices for grid incentive schemes.
In April, these six ventures will compete for the award at our GIA Finals in front of a panel of judges. Winners will be announced at the Washington University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards, presented by the Skandalaris Center, on April 17, 2025. We’ll share event details and registration in the coming weeks and hope you can join us for this fun and celebratory occasion!
