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Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
We are a dedicated institute for student entrepreneurs across campus and beyond. We aim to maximize your success by fostering your entrepreneurial mindset, promote inter-disciplinary collaboration and provide support for the creation and development of your new ventures. Jumpstart your ideas and get involved today!
Tune in for excitement!
Passion. Potential. Pitches. Don't miss any of the 2025 New Venture Challenge excitement.
Tune in Friday, April 11 at 1 p.m. for great ideas and fierce competition. Then, join the judges, mentors, spectators and teams as they see who is going home with thousands of dollars in venture financing. The awards broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. and one team will walk away as the overall best venture.
Start your entrepreneurial journey
Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration is the home of the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship and the first Department of Entrepreneurship in the state of Michigan. We are a student-centric hub where experiential, curricular, and external entrepreneurial opportunities intersect.
Our mission is to maximize student success by fostering a campus-wide entrepreneurial mindset that promotes inter-disciplinary collaboration and the creation of new ventures.
We aim to create innovative programming, boost cross-campus and ecosystem collaboration and provide a comprehensive mentoring program.
Our institute provides extracurricular opportunities and is open to all undergraduate and graduate CMU students.
Student opportunities
- Meet experienced alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and other business and political leaders.
- Learn practical skills, innovative thinking, and connect with mentors and entrepreneurial resources.
- Attend skill-building workshops and compete in pitch competitions and Hackathons.
- Take part in special scholarship programs and travel experiences.
- Pitch your venture at our signature New Venture Challenge event and compete for up to $20,000 in cash awards.
Find your path
Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?
Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.
Parkinson’s research highlighted at international conference
by
Teagan Haynes
Tommie Cammarano, a second-year Neuroscience Ph.D. student at CMU, recently attended the Grand Challenges in Parkinson’s Disease Conference at the Van Andel Research Institute, originally expecting to be an audience member. However, her plans took a surprising turn when she found out she would be presenting her own work. Originally drawn to the conference by a highly recognized keynote speaker, Cammarano’s advisor, Michael Sandstrom, Ph.D. encouraged her to submit a poster on her Parkinson’s disease research. Out of 40 abstract submissions, only two were selected to deliver talks, one of them being hers.
Cammarano’s talk described her current study which investigates the combination of exercise and light-activated stem cell transplantation as a potential treatment for Parkinson's disease. This innovative approach using the rat, which is a common research model, allows transplanted stem cells to be stimulated by light, enhancing their integration into the brain when paired with exercise.
Cammarano’s long-term rat study extends over two months, which is the equivalent of several years in humans. In Cammarano’s model, Parkinson’s disease is induced in one side of the brain in the rats, and stem cells are then transplanted into that same side of their brain. The rats undergo regular exercise over the course of two months to evaluate the effects of the stem cells and exercise on levels of dopamine and their recovery. At the end of the study, Cammarano will measure dopamine levels in the previously injured side of the brain, during both rest and active exercise. Since Parkinson’s symptoms are caused by the loss of dopamine, an important chemical in nerve cells, Cammarano aims to see if the treatment increases dopamine levels.
Cammarano found presenting her research to a crowd of 150 professionals to be somewhat intimidating, but it was also incredibly rewarding to gain valuable feedback from experts in the field. Cammarano hopes her research will one day contribute to effective treatments for Parkinson's disease, expanding the scope of available therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Signature Programs
Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Compete & Win
New Venture Challenge 2025
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Build your skills
Workshops and events
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Develop your ideas
IDEA Den
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
Make-A-Pitch 2024
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Meet Mentors
Mentorship and support
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Support students
Make an impact
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.
View our programming newsletter
Alumni give back to students through mentorship, real-world experiences
The Wakeling Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program wrapped its first cohort this academic year.
Students compete to win cash prizes at the New Venture Challenge
Pitched 40 ventures at NMV Challenge, Friday, April 19, CMU. Judges awarded $100,000 in cash prizes.
Wakeling Gendron Scholars make a life-changing trip to Texas
Wakeling and Gendron Scholars attended SXSW in Texas, meeting industry leaders and gaining entrepreneurial insights.
Business barriers lead CMU students to a new venture
Justin Ashman and Philip Mundt won Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition with their 3-D printing operation, Form Further.
