Health system intelligence profile

Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator

University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Medicine affiliate)

Editorially verified · Last reviewed August 30, 2026

Intelligence summary

Program at a Glance

Program mandate

Organizational model

Academic · Nonprofit

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Program types

Accelerator Nursing innovation Entrepreneurship

Commercialization pathways

Strategic partnership

Focus areas

ClinicalMedical deviceTherapeuticsWorkforceOperational

Public scale or maturity signals

Established 2020

Documented successes: Awards of up to $10,000 per team for research and development plus a six-week summer accelerator at the Pennovation Center; one-year structured program with mentorship and entrepreneurial curriculum; funded by named donors Carolyn E. Bennett and Thomas L. Bennett, Seth and Jane Ginns, and Andrea B. Laporte; Penn Nursing innovation portfolio includes the Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative and Penn4C, which funded five community-led research projects; nurse scientist Pamela Cacchione's therapeutic robotics work reducing pain and agitation in older adults at Penn Presbyterian

Official engagement route

Program website ↗Health system website ↗

Last reviewed

August 30, 2026

Mandate and remit

What This Program Does

The Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator funds and coaches nurse-originated health care solutions at the earliest stage. Selected students and faculty receive up to $10,000 for research and development, with priority given to ideas serving populations of greatest need. Awardees are mentored by Penn's innovation team and participate in a summer accelerator program based at the Pennovation Center, Penn's translation and commercialization campus. Selection runs through a multi-round competitive process emphasizing entrepreneurial curriculum and business model development. The accelerator sits within Penn Nursing's broader innovation portfolio, which also includes the Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative and Penn4C, a co-creation collaboratory run with Penn Engineering.

Areas of Focus

ClinicalMedical deviceTherapeuticsWorkforceOperational

Commercialization Pathways

These routes appear in the program's sourced public record.

Strategic partnership

Publicly Reported Outcomes

Documented successes
Awards of up to $10,000 per team for research and development plus a six-week summer accelerator at the Pennovation Center; one-year structured program with mentorship and entrepreneurial curriculum; funded by named donors Carolyn E. Bennett and Thomas L. Bennett, Seth and Jane Ginns, and Andrea B. Laporte; Penn Nursing innovation portfolio includes the Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative and Penn4C, which funded five community-led research projects; nurse scientist Pamela Cacchione's therapeutic robotics work reducing pain and agitation in older adults at Penn Presbyterian

Leadership and Structure

Organizational home: Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Medicine affiliate)

Marion Leary — Director of Innovation, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

Contact the Program

Use the program's published contact route for partnership, licensing, innovation, or program inquiries.

Official contact page: Open contact page ↗

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Sources and Updates

Reviewed August 30, 2026. External source links open in a new tab.

Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator official source ↗ — nursing.upenn.edu. Accessed August 30, 2026.
Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator source 2 ↗ — nursing.upenn.edu. Accessed August 30, 2026.
Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator source 3 ↗ — ojin.nursingworld.org. Accessed August 30, 2026.

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