January 3, 2011

 

UT Faculty Receive Funds from UT Research Foundation to Drive Further Development of Technologies

 

The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) has selected four UTHSC researchers or research teams to receive technology development grants for 2011. Grant funds will allow researchers to further develop or "mature" their technologies so that they are better positioned for licensing and commercialization.

 

Researchers were invited to propose work on inventions and discoveries that had been previously disclosed to UTRF or to propose work on new inventions and discoveries. A total of 22 proposals were submitted from UTHSC and UTRF funded four of them for a total of $57,750.

 

UTRF used a panel of subject matter and technology commercialization experts from across the state to evaluate both the technology and the development plan proposed by each researcher. UTRF also solicited advice from Technology 2020 and Innova Memphis, economic development organizations engaged by UTRF to assist with technology commercialization.   

 

The maturation program already has shown how modest amounts of funding can significantly impact the potential success of an invention and attract additional funding for research and commercialization. Prior to this year’s investment, UTRF funded 13 UTHSC projects over three years for a total of $180,000.  As a result, these projects have attracted more than 17 times that investment:  over $3.2 million in follow-on federal funding and $30,000 in corporate matching funds have been secured for these technologies.  Additionally there have been licenses or options executed for five of the technologies.

 

The following UTHSC proposals were selected for funding in FY 2011:

·        Mohamad ElAbiad, Keith English, Ajay Talati, Jie Zhang and Jacques Samson (Department of Pediatrics) for a method to determine lung maturity in fetuses

·        Monica Jablonski (Department of Ophthalmology) for a new ocular drug delivery system

·        Wei Li, Jianjun Chen, Jin Wang, Duane Miller, Arnold Postlethwaite, and Andrzej Slominski (Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rheumatology and Pathology) for safety and dosing studies on a potential new arthritis treatment

·        Lawrence Pfeffer and Charles Handorf (Department of Pathology) for a test to predict patient responsiveness to conventional Hepatitis C therapy

 

Upon completion of the development work, UTRF will receive reports from the researchers describing the new knowledge gained and improvements made in the subject technology.  These results are expected to allow UTRF to better position the technologies for licensing to either an existing company or a new start-up entity.

 

 

Contacts:

 

Richard Magid (Memphis), rmagid1@uthsc.edu, 901-448-1562

Joy Fisher (Knoxville), joy.fisher@tennessee.edu, 865-974-1882