JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
Dr. Scott Walter, the Director of Technology Transition/Transfer for the 59th Medical Wing's Office of the Chief Scientist, along with Michael "Mic" Borcherding, Director of Innovation for VelocityTx, co-chaired a panel session titled “Leveraging SBIR, CDMRP, and MTEC to Accelerate Dual-Use Solutions” at the San Antonio Startup Week, held Oct. 20-24, 2025.
SASW 2025 was for entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners to support business development and featured educational panels, workshops, pitch competitions, and networking opportunities. The free, five-day event celebrated its 10th anniversary and was held downtown San Antonio, with Geekdom as the central location.
The "Leveraging SBIR, CDMRP, and MTEC to Accelerate Dual-Use Solutions" focused on helping attendees gain insight into Department of War priorities, understand the structure of various Defense funding programs, and learn actionable tips for strengthening proposals to align their innovations with defense needs.
The team covered key topics such as understanding DOW priorities and what the Department of War is looking for in terms of innovative solutions; navigating the structure and requirements of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for successful submissions and selections, funding opportunities and mechanisms like the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) and the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) for helping the DOW address military needs and requirements, tips and practical advice on how to submit proposals to improve the chances of selection and successful outcomes, and help participants leverage these programs to accelerate the development of technologies with both commercial and military applications (dual-use solutions).
The team answered questions from more than a dozen attendees and helped establish connections for future military medical R&D projects.