Jordan Kaufmann retired from the University of Iowa July 1st of this year after serving the University since 2014 in a variety of roles including Executive Director of UI Ventures, the Iowa MADE and Iowa Nurse Innovators programs. She was also the visionary inspiration for the new Medical Innovation Launch Lab - a six year endeavor that was funded via an $8.2M grant from Governor Reynolds’s office.

Of the 83 University spinout companies that formed during her time leading UI Ventures, Jordan supported 67 of them at different stages in their development. Those companies raised over $263M in equity financing and secured over $27M in SBIR grants. Under Jordan’s leadership, $3.34M of GAP funding was awarded to faculty innovators across 92 unique projects. Of those, 41 projects became start up companies and several others created patents via the University of Iowa Research Foundation (UIRF). While at Iowa, companies with licenses from UIRF raised over $500M in equity.

Iowa MADE, a student run FDA registered manufacturer for Class I devices, was another brainchild of Jordan’s that has brought 8 products to the market, sold over 37,000 units, and enriched the education of 20 student employees. Iowa Nurse Innovators engaged nearly 2,000 nurses across the state and awarded $109,000 in project funding…in most cases giving nurses agency for the first time to work toward solutions to problems they face daily that impact workflow and patient safety. Jordan also oversaw the creation of the Translational Research Incubator (TRI) with generous support from the Carver College of Medicine that has housed 11 companies securing 15 SBIR/STTR awards totaling $7M and leading to $26.9M in follow on equity funding.

Jordan was fundamental to the Office of Innovation growth since its creation in 2018. Her family has relocated to the Hill Country of Texas where she has extended family. She currently serves on startup boards and recently founded Live Edge Health, a nonprofit corporation focused on continuing her passion for supporting for early healthcare startup companies. We will miss Jordan and wish her great success in her next venture -though I suspect that she will never be far away.

From FY15-FY26: