A.J. Mellott

Professor Ranan Aktas, Maltepe University

Ronawk using stem cell tech developed at Olathe lab to advance liver cancer research in Turkey

A Kansas City-based biomanufacturing startup announced its first international customer Tuesday: a university team in Istanbul that was among the first to beta test Ronawk’s lauded T-Blocks. The maker of 3D cell culture products said the collaboration with Professor Ranan Aktas and the Cancer and Stem Cell Research Center at Maltepe University in Turkey will…

Heather Decker and A.J. Mellott, Ronawk

Voting now open: Startup’s stem cell scaling solution vies for ‘Coolest Thing Made in Kansas’

An Olathe biotech lab is once again growing “Coolest Thing Made in Kansas” honors with its breakthrough technology to help researchers produce stem cells at a massive scale to help fight pandemics and global diseases. T-Blocks were announced Tuesday as one of the Top 32 contenders in the Kansas Chamber’s annual Kansas-made tournament, which highlights…

A.J. Mellott, Ronawk

Olathe biotech startup represents Kansas in MassChallenge’s 50th accelerator program

More than 3,000 startups across the world applied to the 2021 MassChallenge accelerator program with Olathe-based biotechnology lab Ronawk earning one of the 229 slots to participate, shared A.J. Mellott. “[MassChallenge] has a really good reputation for accelerating companies that are in the startup mode and growing,” said Mellott, who co-founded Ronawk in 2019 with…

A.J. Mellott and Heather Decker, Ronawk

Olathe startup set to launch STEM training facility; plans to create 150 jobs over next seven years

Starting as two scientists with an idea to solve slow and costly cell production, Ronawk has now blossomed into a rapidly growing startup with an increasing demand for its work, said A.J. Mellott. “We quickly realized that Ronawk was going to need a lot of talent to meet the demand of its products,” said Mellott,…

Brooke Mullen, Sapahn

Pipeline pitch winner sells practical business moves (and leather) with socially conscious ethos

Brooke Mullen’s ability to pivot with silky smooth ease helped the Lincoln entrepreneur build a bridge to surging revenue in 2020, as well as win best pitch Thursday during a showcase of Pipeline’s latest fellowship class. “With a lot of our business being direct-to-consumer and actual live events, we had to completely change as all…