TECH CONNECTTurning Ideas into Opportunities
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Monthly news & updates July 5, 2023
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| FY 2023STATISTICS
YEAR TO DATE
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| U.S. Patents Issued
50
*includes end-user software and materials licenses along with conventional technology licenses
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OVPRI's Chris Rowe selected for prestigious Harvard program to boost Nashville’s biomedical sector collaboration
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Chris Rowe, executive director for industry collaborations within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation’s Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization and professor of the practice of engineering management, has been selected for the 2023 Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School by Global Action Platform, a local partner for the program, which also collaborates with Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Rowe was among 10 Nashville leaders selected for an intense workshop over the summer with the goal of building a biomedical strategy for the region using cluster models created by Harvard economist Michael Porter.
“I’m excited to participate in this unique opportunity,” Rowe said. “I’ve taught Michael Porter’s research in my own classes for nearly 20 years. The chance to join such a learning experience in person is thrilling.”
A stated goal for the program is to develop a dynamic network of Nashville leaders to work across traditional boundaries to create prosperity and inclusive growth for all Nashvillians.
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Vanderbilt Innovation Ambassador Spotlight
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Get to know our Innovation Ambassadors through a monthly series highlighting individual members and why they became an Ambassador.
The Vanderbilt Innovation Ambassadors Program is an institutional initiative to provide Vanderbilt faculty with improved, peer-delivered access to information and assistance related to innovation and entrepreneurship on campus. The Program achieves this goal by recruiting a faculty Ambassador from each department to act as a liaison between researchers and innovation programs across campus.
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Colin Barker, M.D.Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
What motivated you to become an Innovation Ambassador?
The heart and vascular space is ripe for intervention. Many of the treatments we offer still require a significant amount of invasiveness and open heart surgery. Leveraging the expertise we have here at VUMC with collaboration with bioengineering at Vanderbilt University, we should quickly become leaders in innovation with respect to heart and vascular disease.
What excites you most about the Innovation Ambassador program?
The Innovation Ambassador program leverages a unique design here at Vanderbilt with the proximity of the clinical program at VUMC with the engineering and device design expertise at Vanderbilt University. The vision and commitment to resources from leadership is inspiring and allows those with an idea to take it beyond a transient idea.
What inspired you to pursue a career in research, and what led you to specialize in your current field of study?
I've always been excited about fluid dynamics, working with my hands, and having the opportunity to have a powerful impact on people's lives - whether it's improving their prognosis or enhancing their quality of life. Cardiology allows for all these opportunities, and the appetite for innovation has always been extremely well received. Therefore, a career in clinical cardiology coupled with device design has allowed me to pursue and achieve these goals.
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The Industry Collaborations Division of OVPRI and CTTC invites you to attend the 2023 Vanderbilt University Life Science Showcase.
Nashville is among the top 10 fastest growing biotech hubs for job opportunities and has seen more than $430 million invested in the life sciences industry over the past 3 years. To bring together the key players who can support the further development of Nashville as the Life Sciences Hub, the Industry Collaborations Division at the Office of the Vice Provost for Research & Innovation is excited to announce the inaugural Vanderbilt University Life Science Showcase.
The event will highlight innovations coming out of Vanderbilt that have positively impacted life sciences sectors with successful bench-to-market journeys and the current state-of-the-art for small molecules research, vaccine research, antibody research, medical devices in pipelines and much more. Attended by executives from Life sciences industries in the Greater Nashville Area, representatives from economic development and commercialization support organizations and venture support groups, the event is poised to serve as a catalyst to support the development of a strong Life Sciences ecosystem in Nashville area.
July 19th, 2023, 1 PM – 4 PM, followed by Happy Hour. Register below:
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Four Vanderbilt Technologies Earn Patent Protection in June
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Method, System and Speculum-Free Optical Probe for Optical Assessment of Cervix, and Applications of Same
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Stair Descent Control for Powered Lower Limb Devices
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11,666,636
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GLP-1R Agonists and Uses Thereof
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Human Orthopoxvirus Antibodies and Methods of Use Therefor
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Technology Spotlight:Actively Reconfigurable Metasurfaces for Dynamic Optical Components
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Phase change materials (PCMs) are a fascinating class of materials that can change certain material properties (e.g., absorbance or reflectivity) upon the application of a stimulus. Researchers at Vanderbilt University have used a PCM to create a novel metamaterial that can be reconfigured for use in a wide range of potential optical and integrated photonic applications from the infrared to terahertz spectral domain.
Technology and IP Status:
A patent application has been filed.
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Below is a sampling of the interactions that have taken place in our office and with our staff over the last month.
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- Executed an exclusive license with Vanderbilt startup Influent Medical for three pediatric cardiac devices developed by Tom Doyle, Dana Janssen, and George Nicholson from the VUMC Department of Pediatrics
- Executed a CDA with a large pharmaceutical company to discuss interest in drug delivery technology developed by Richard D’Arcy and Craig Duvall from the Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Executed an exclusive license agreement with Finally, LLC, a faculty startup commercializing a novel skin phenotype assessment, providing users with more accurate understanding of their skin needs. The company was founded by Stacy Sherrod in the Department of Chemistry and Christina Marasco, formerly in the Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Executed an exclusive option with Vasowatch, a faculty startup commercializing a postpartum hemorrhage risk prediction algorithm. The company was founded by James Weimer in the Department of Computer Science
- Executed an agreement to add a new technology developed by Kye Higdon in the Department of Plastic Surgery to an existing license agreement with Baxter Healthcare
- Executed an exclusive license with YAYA Scientific, a Vanderbilt startup created by Justin Baba for commercializing an intraoperative nerve visualization technology that arose from his laboratory in the Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center
- Executed a non-exclusive license with a research tool company for a technology created by Larry Marnett from the Department of Biochemistry
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- Held calls with a biotechnology company and a CDMO to discuss a genomic technology developed by Matthew Wilson from the Department of Medicine
- Held contract discussions with an international company regarding distributing research reagents developed at Vanderbilt
- Met with Sandeep Birdi, the founder of SAND IP, to learn more about his IP practice
- Organized and facilitated submission of proposals for Sanofi Innovation Awards 2023-2024 cycle
- Met with Life Science Tennessee to plan future collaborations to outline activities to support and strengthen the Life Science sector in Tennessee
- Met with Gauri Nair to discuss collaboration opportunities between Vanderbilt University and MassBio, a nonprofit organization focused on the life sciences and healthcare sector
- Facilitated strategic alliance and collaborations activities between Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a global pharmaceutical company
- Held term sheet discussions with multiple companies interested in the insect repellant technology developed by Larry Zwiebel from the Department of Biological Sciences
- Met with a patent monetization firm about their unique platform for discovering and valuing unlicensed patent assets
- Met with a representative from GE Healthcare during an on-campus visit to discuss the progress of ongoing research and GEHC’s commercialization efforts for joint intellectual property
- Met with leadership at the Wond’ry to discuss plans for joint projects between CTTC and the Wond’ry
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- Attended the Building a Biocluster Hub in Middle Tennessee event hosted on campus
- Attended 2023 ASPIRE Annual Career Symposium
- Attended a working group meeting on IP management plans for the NSF Engines program named “Generate Advanced Manufacturing Excellence for Change”, or GAME Change, led by the University of Kentucky
- Attended LaunchTN's Open House
- Attended Lightning Accelerator Demo Day
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- Led the summer meeting of our Innovation Ambassador Program, a group of 15 faculty members who serve as a liaison between their faculty colleagues and various innovation programs across campus
- Led a working group with leaders from Duke University, the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona, and Columbia University to discuss strategies to launch programs at their own institutions patterned after the Vanderbilt Innovation Ambassadors Program
- Hosted a visit by EKSO Bionics, the company that has bought Parker Hannifin’s Human Motion and Controls division and thus the licenses on Indego and SA-MPK from Vanderbilt
- Led submission process for full proposals for the Merck Research Laboratories Discovery Oncology SEEDS Program
- Guest lectured on the product development process for the Engineering Management program
- Hosted a visit from Vanderbilt’s Technology Transfer representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Brandy Wade, to discuss ways in which CTTC can better collaborate with the VA on jointly-owned IP
- Participated in an informational webinar hosted by the Wond’ry for potential participants in the NSF I-Corps Hub’s regional and national I-Corps programs
- Interviewed candidates for CTTC’s open positions for Licensing Analyst and Executive Director of New Ventures
- Hosted a visit by representatives from Analog Devices to meet with clinical research teams related to new trials sponsored by ADI, and to meet with Jim Weimer from the Department of Computer Science to discuss potential research collaborations
- Completed Vanderbilt Data Science Institute’s AI Summer Workshop
- Hosted AI Innovation Discussion with Brock Center and VU Strategic Partners
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