The Nucleus Institute Welcomes Rebecca Gerth to the Grow Team

Deep-tech founder and NIH SBIR/STTR awardee brings firsthand experience to Nucleus Grow’s support of Utah innovators

The Nucleus Institute has hired Rebecca Gerth as Program Manager for Nucleus Grow, which helps Utah companies pursue and win federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards.

Gerth has been through the process herself. She's a deep-tech founder and an NIH SBIR and STTR awardee, and she holds a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied the neural control of eye movements. That early interest in neuroscience grew into a broader passion for moving promising technologies and academic research from the lab into the marketplace.

"Rebecca will be an incredible resource for researchers and founders," said Jefferson Moss, CEO of The Nucleus Institute. "She’s been through the commercialization journey herself and understands firsthand the challenges of turning promising research into something that can succeed in the market." 

"I'm a huge proponent of the SBIR/STTR program,” said Gerth, “Its non-dilutive funding gave my company crucial support in the early stages of product development and helped us accelerate our commercialization timeline. Now, as part of the Nucleus Grow team, I'm excited to help other Utah entrepreneurs get that same head start."

Gerth will work directly with Utah founders on agency fit, proposal strategy, and the SBIR/STTR application process. Nucleus Grow serves deep tech companies across Utah, from first-time applicants to experienced awardees.