REVS – Digital Health

REVS – Digital Health (Research Embedded Venture Studio) is a 12-month venture-building program designed to help promising computational medicine and digital health research from the Duke Center for Computational and Digital Health Innovation make the leap from the lab to the marketplace.

Developed with Duke’s Christensen Family Center for Innovation, REVS pairs researchers with the people, resources, and expertise needed to explore whether an idea can become a successful company.

Built for Duke Researchers

REVS is designed for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers interested in translating research into real-world impact. You don’t need a business plan, patent, or co-founder to get started—just promising research and an interest in exploring its commercial potential.

Participating researchers receive:

  • A structured path from research to startup: Move from commercial exploration to team formation, product development, and an external pre-seed or seed raise.
  • Funded time to build: 20% research buyout in the spring and full-time support during the summer.
  • A venture team: Lead a team of funded master’s and undergraduate students who help prototype and build alongside you.
  • Experienced guidance: Work with operators, domain experts, and commercialization coaches throughout the process.
  • A path to capital: Develop an investor-ready venture and build relationships with digital health investors from the beginning of the program.

The 12-Month Journey

Explore → Validate → Build → Launch

The program begins with a fall commercialization experience focused on identifying the strongest opportunity around your research. Teams then form around selected projects, develop and validate their ventures, and move into an intensive full-time summer build.

The program culminates in preparation for an external pre-seed or seed financing round, including direct engagement with investors and digital health operators.

For Faculty

Have research in your lab with commercial potential?

REVS provides a pathway for PhD students and postdocs to explore commercialization without requiring faculty to build the company themselves. Projects do not need an existing business plan, patent, or founding team to be considered.

Faculty are encouraged to nominate promising technologies and researchers from their labs.

Interested in REVS?

For PhD Students & Postdocs:
Learn more about joining the next REVS cohort.

For Faculty:
Nominate a researcher or technology for consideration.

Questions?
Contact Center_CompHealth_Admin@duke.edu.