Mississippi State University graduate student Max Wamsley is turning cutting-edge research into a real-world solution for the pet food industry.

A Ph.D.-trained chemist, Wamsley is the founder and CEO of Clarus Labs LLC, a biotech startup working to improve testing for meat quality, particularly in the pet food industry. And he credits Mississippi State with giving him the tools, mentorship and momentum to make it happen.

Clarus Labs’ innovation addresses a major challenge: outdated, time-consuming methods for testing meat oxidation. Wamsley’s portable device produces fast, accurate results in under 10 minutes—filling a significant gap in industries like pet food, where ingredient quality can vary widely.

While the science began in MSU’s chemistry department under the guidance of professor Dongmao Zhang, Wamsley said it was the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem that helped him commercialize it. Mississippi State’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, known as the E-Center and headquartered in the College of Business, provided critical startup training and mentorship. At the same time, MSU’s Thad Cochran Mississippi Center for Innovation and Technology, or MCITy—a startup incubator in his hometown of Vicksburg—offered both support and connection.

“The support I’ve received across campus transformed that research into a real-world solution,” Wamsley said.

As part of an MCITy graduate assistantship, Wamsley helps MSU-affiliated small businesses write proposals and funding applications while sharpening his own business plan for Clarus Labs.

“I knew the chemistry,” he said. “But launching a company requires another skill set. MSU’s online MBA program has helped me understand accounting, supply chain management and strategic planning. I’m applying what I’m learning in real time.”

That real-time application is paying off. Clarus Labs won the $10,000 Mississippi Made prize at MSU’s 2025 Startup Summit and took second place at MCITy’s Dawg Tank pitch competition. Wamsley is using the funding to support further research at MSU and improve Clarus Labs’ technology.

He’s also a graduate of the National Science Foundations I-Corps program hosted by the E-Center, where he conducted more than 160 customer discovery interviews—a process he said was key to refining Clarus Labs’ market fit.

Though he now works fulltime as a research chemist for the U.S. Army in Maryland, Wamsley remains committed to growing his company in Mississippi.

“My vision is for Clarus Labs to stay rooted here and help grow the state’s innovation economy,” he said.

For Wamsley, Mississippi State has been more than a university—it’s been a launchpad.

“None of this would’ve happened without MSU,” he said. “They gave me the foundation, the network and the confidence to bring Clarus Labs to life.”