The National Academy of Inventors has selected Dr. Mike Sano, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, as a Class of 2026 Senior Member.

Sano, whose research focuses on using pulses of electricity to target mainly inoperable cancer tumors, will be formally inducted at the 15th NAI Annual Conference in California in June. He has authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications, holds 18 issued patents licensed to five companies and has founded two university spinouts: VoltMed and Gradient Medical. 

“This recognition is a testament to your remarkable achievements as an academic inventor and a rising leader in your field,” the selection letter said. “Your success in patents, licensing, and commercialization — along with your dedication to developing technologies that have made, or aspire to make, a real impact on society — truly exemplifies the spirit of innovation.” 

At NC State, Sano studies the complex interactions between cells and tissues and electric fields and, through his research, has developed what he calls Integrated Time Nanosecond Pulse Irreversible Electroporation, or INSPIRE technology.

“This honor is incredibly humbling and reflects the contributions of the students, collaborators and clinicians I’ve had the privilege to work with,” Sano said. “NC State has provided an environment that truly values interdisciplinary collaboration and translation, which has been essential to making this work possible.”

As a principal investigator, he has led multiple clinical trials developing the technology for treating inoperable or metastatic breast, liver and skin cancer. In 2024, INSPIRE therapy eliminated 80% of the inoperable tumors in study horses, highlighting how cutting-edge research at NC State often leads directly to life-changing patient care.

“Early cancer detection is fundamental to achieving curative treatment outcomes, and the technologies developed early in Dr. Sano’s career may one day enable rapid screening for cancer from a single drop of blood,” said Dr. Kate Meurs, Randall B. Terry Jr. Dean of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, in her nomination letter. “His technologies for treating inoperable tumors may provide new hope for patients with pancreatic, liver, lung, and brain cancer where more than 50% of patients will die within five years of diagnosis.” 

Sano has been awarded more than $11 million in research funding as a primary or co-investigator, and his technologies have been commercialized in the NanoKnife System, cleared by the FDA for the treatment of inoperable tumors, and the CytoRecovery CytoR1 platform used for label-free cell sorting. 

Sano studied electrical engineering and mathematics at the University of Buffalo and conducted his doctoral research at Virginia Tech on using high-frequency electric fields to isolate and identify cancer cells in blood samples based on cells’ electric properties. 

He also learned at what point the electricity killed the cells he was trying to examine.

His nanosecond-level electrical pulses were causing the cell membrane to develop pores, and eventually those holes ruptured, killing the cell. The short pulses also allowed the use of a higher voltage without creating heat that would damage other tissue, blood vessels or nerves nearby,

In 2017, Sano joined the NC State-UNC Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering as an assistant professor, later moving to the College of Veterinary Medicine to continue to develop the INSPIRE technology and therapy.

“I tend to think of myself as part of a team working to solve difficult clinical problems, and invention is simply a natural part of that process,” Sano says. “It’s deeply meaningful to see technologies we’ve developed contribute, even in small ways, toward giving patients new options where few previously existed.”

The mission of the National Academy of Inventors is to recognize and support inventors in research settings with patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The academy aims to enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, promote the disclosure of intellectual property, and educate and mentor innovative students.